As construction shapes Deer Valley East Village, another piece of the long-term vision will soon welcome its first guests. Canopy by Hilton Deer Valley, the first Utah location for Hilton’s Canopy brand, is scheduled to open this summer. It will be the third hotel to debut in Deer Valley East Village following the opening of the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley and Pioche Village.  With the opening expected at the end of July, the property will serve locals as well as visitors, said Kat Barrett, vice president of commercial services at Extell.  Located at the base of Deer Crest with the Jordanelle Express Gondola steps away, the four-story 180-room hotel includes four dining venues, an indoor pool, hot tub, sauna, steam room, cold plunge and fitness center, a game room, meeting spaces and skier services. Extell Development Company owns the Canopy Deer Valley as well as the neighboring Grand Hyatt Deer Valley and is also developing the Four Seasons and Waldorf Astoria hotels at the new base area. It will also be the second property managed by Extell’s own recently created hotel management arm, Barrett said, with a few other properties in the pipeline. “(Canopy) hits this upper upscale positioning in this market, which I think is a huge opportunity, because there’s not a lot of upper upscale inventory,” said Barrett. “It’s luxury or maybe it’s mid-scale product, so it’s going to open up doors for people who wanted to travel here.” The hotel is also significant for the 12-year-old Canopy by Hilton brand itself as the first property to come online with its new face, including a logo and updated color palette. Of the 180 guest rooms, 96 are king rooms, 74 are queen-queen rooms and 10 are suites. A king room with a small balcony is expected to start around $300 per night during the offseason before increasing to $800 during peak ski season. Credit: Photo courtesy of Canopy Deer Valley Credit: Photo courtesy of Canopy Deer Valley Design elements incorporate the colors associated with the Canopy by Hilton brand, with textures and patterns that match the local feel of each hotel’s location. While Canopy is positioned within Hilton’s upper-upscale portfolio, Barrett said the brand is similar to boutique-style hotels by creating a sense of place. “As part of the Canopy branding, it’s local, it’s a sense of home,” she said. “Every Canopy hotel has a bed canopy, and the inspiration behind that is we’re bringing you under the canopy, so we’re showing you things local, we’re showing you our home.” Not only does that come through in the design elements, but also in the retail items that will be available for purchase and the dining concepts.  Artwork and furnishings reference skiing and Utah’s mountain landscape. Rugs resemble aerial views of ski trails, while whimsical collage-style artwork includes images such as a hand mixer whipping up a snowstorm and an oversized tea bag steeped in a mountain lake. “A lot of the colors that you’ll see here are reminiscent of ’60s, ’70s ski culture,” Barrett said. “Everything has texture to it, color, a different finish, so if you’re here four or five nights, you could technically be sitting in a different seat and having a little bit of a different experience.” As part of the Canopy by Hilton brand, every bedroom has a bed canopy. At Canopy Deer Valley, the woven pattern adorning the beds are made from straps reminiscent of backpack straps. Credit: Photo courtesy of Canopy Deer Valley For the namesake bed canopies, a large weave of colorful straps extends up and over the bed, reminiscent of backpack straps, Barrett said. Historical influences also appear throughout the restaurants, like a decorative rope installation in the three-meal restaurant that pays tribute to the area’s ranching and mining history. The hotel’s culinary program will be led by Executive Chef Scott Rackliff, whose resume includes hospitality brands like Pacific Hospitality Group’s Meritage Collection and Michelin-starred restaurants such as Eleven Madison Park in New York City. Rackliff recently moved to Park City from Huntington Beach, California, after growing up in New Hampshire. “It feels like coming home, coming back to nature, and in the mountains,” Rackliff said. The property will feature four separate food-and-beverage concepts designed to serve hotel guests and local residents. A grab-and-go café in the lobby will offer coffee, pastries and sandwiches during the day before transitioning to desserts and sweets in the evening. The main restaurant is an Italian brasserie featuring an outdoor pizza oven, Italian cuisine and flatbreads. The concept was developed with consulting chef Daniele Uditi, founder of the Los Angeles restaurant Pizzana. On the other side of the lobby’s two-way fireplace, a lounge provides another casual gathering space, while the fourth-floor restaurant will focus on elevated American comfort food paired with mountain views. “It’s rustic American comfort food, but with lots of inspiration from what we have here,” Rackliff said of the upstairs restaurant designed with a-frame ceilings and a large vintage fireplace. “So there’s bison on the menu, we’ll play with some elk probably on specials and stuff like that, and then game meat.” One of four food and beverage outlets at Canopy Deer Valley will be a rustic Italian concept, shown in a rendering, with design elements meant to incorporate Park City’s mining and ranching heritage. Credit: Rendering courtesy of Canopy Deer Valley Among his favorites planned is a duck confit sandwich, with a traditional duck leg confit pressed and grilled until the skin becomes crisp, served with arugula, sweet and pickled cherries, fennel seed and mustard seeds on a pretzel bun. There will also be classics like a Salisbury steak made from Wagyu beef, potatoes, charred carrots and a mushroom demi-glace. “One of my favorite things is comfort food, just try and give it that Michelin-star twist,” Rackliff said. “To me Michelin isn’t about actually getting the damn star. I don’t really care. But if you embody those criteria into what you’re doing, you’re going to have a great restaurant.” That approach also includes sourcing ingredients locally whenever possible. Rackliff said the kitchen has some budding partnerships with local purveyors like PaMaw’s Organic Farm in Daniel for produce and Heber Valley Artisan Cheese for regional cheeses. The plan will be for all four dining outlets to open with the hotel, and increase hours as the busy season arrives. As the team puts the final touches on the property, Barrett said the excitement is growing. “It’s so rare, at least in hospitality, that people get to be part of an opening,” she said. To commemorate that, each staff member involved is gifted a Canopy-branded hard hat. Reservations are now open for stays starting Aug. 16. For more information, visit hilton.com/en/hotels/slcvepy-canopy-deer-valley. The post A few finishing touches prepare Canopy Deer Valley for summer opening appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less