Salt Lake and Park City

Flew to Salt Lake City Airport for the holiday weekend on United. No new snow systems so I was not in a rush to get on the mountain and opted to bounce around the city before heading up to Park City. Although I could have opted for a cheaper rental, I stuck with the Toyota Tacoma from Avis.

Lodging

After landing, I checked into the Fairfield Inn & Suites Salt Lake City South. Normally, not a leisure destination but I thought it would be a good location to meet with friends who live south of the city. They ended up being unavailable that day and my companion's former colleagues weren't available (headquarters was just another 10 minutes south). 

The next day, I checked into the Doubletree Park City - The Yarrow. Originally, the weekend was really expensive due to the holidays but the prices did drop to under $200 when I was checking in. I was behind a gentleman who inquired about booking two rooms last minute and he was quoted about $200 for two nights. With the continuing drought, Park City was struggling to get people to come in. The hotel was nice, the restaurant served as a lounge as well. There is a resort fee and they used that towards the "apres skiing" happy hour which was soup, appetizers, and dessert with s'mores to go for the fireplace. I had thought I would have enough energy to enjoy a dip in the outdoor heated pool but it was not meant to be after a day of snowboarding.

Doubletree Park City King Bedroom

Originally, I was going to stay for two nights at the Doubletree but Marriott created a promotion of giving you a free night for every stay made (up to max of 2 nights) so I opted to move over to the Sheraton Park City using points. Like the Doubletree, by the time I checked in, the rates had also dropped to less than $200 but I was already committed. I was also able to get upgraded to the Presidential Suite and late checkout at 4 pm. This hotel is closer to eateries and a little more centrally located. I later found out that the state liquor store is across the street (it looks like a warehouse). I did dine at the restaurant for breakfast. The food credit covered almost all of the cost of food. The best deal is to opt into their buffet as the menu items are far more expensive. As long as you are OK with an 'upgraded' continental breakfast (there were eggs and sausages), you'd be fine. And the buffet included coffee or juice.

Sheraton Park City Presidential Suite Living Room

Sheraton Park City Presidential Suite Bedroom

At some level, I liked the Sheraton more than the Doubletree and also not. The pros was the room  upgrade, Hiltons rarely give me upgrades anymore especially in pandemic times despite being a lifetime Diamond/HGV timeshare owner. The breakfast option was better with the hot breakfast and made to order omelettes and waffles. The cons was that I had to wait until 5 pm to check in and the pool was indoors. I'm not a fan of indoor pools especially when it sits in the middle of a courtyard with all the rooms surrounding it. Overall, it was still nice especially since my flight was in the evening and the late 4 pm checkout made it easy to work during the day.

Dining

Sweet Lake Biscuits & Limeade - I no longer had many bookmarked eateries in SLC as I've gravitated to going to Park City for boarding. After landing in early, I decided to get a bite to eat before checking into the hotel. The name caught my eye as you don't see limeade prominently advertised in most places and there was a Yelp waitlist which meant I didn't have to wait as long (or so I thought). Upon arrival, you do have to check in and it was another 15 minutes of waiting for a seat. The restaurant is small and with the pandemic spacing requirements, capacity is limited. Hoss and Biscuit Benedict entrees were ordered and I found the Hoss the better option. The reviews were consistent on how good the Hoss sandwich is, and I agree. I also liked the quinoa potato hash they serve. Of course, I ordered the raspberry mimosa which is their limeade, wine and raspberries. It was refreshing.

Sweet Lake Biscuits Hoss Benedict

R&R BBQ - Being in Salt Lake City, I opted to have a quick dinner at my favorite Utah BBQ restaurant. I'm a huge fan of their chopped brisket and ordered a loaded baked potato. My companion ordered a three meat plate of brisket and ribs. I technically wasn't hungry and thought the loaded baked potato would be a good compromise of carb and brisket. I still couldn't finish more than half of the meal.

R&R BBQ Baked Potato

Louks Greek Baby Donuts - I unfortunately forgot to bring a jacket for snowboarding and while shopping saw that this donut shop was in the same plaza. Since I didn't understand why Greeks would have different donuts, I was curious and wandered in. I would say it is a blend of malasadas and doughnut holes. I did enjoy it as it wasn't overly sweet but you can amp it up with custom fillings and toppings. I was also pleasantly surprised to find a location in my hometown so I guess I'll be able to get my fix if the craving hits me.

High West Saloon - Started off the meal with a flight of whiskey and tasted their basic to premium lines. The campfire was unique in my mind due to the charcoal taste (the distillery calls it peat). The appetizers were whiskey & sweet onion gratinee (french onion soup) and smoked trout chowder. Both were tasty! Entrees were elk and bison bolognese and duck and venison gumbo. The entrees were good but I would try something else on the menu on a follow-up visit. Ended the meal with a very yummy s'mores bread pudding.

High West Saloon French Onion Soup

High West Saloon Chowder

High West Saloon Ragu Pasta

High West Saloon S'mores

Activities

Shopping - Because I had forgotten my jacket and plans had fallen through on the first day of arrival, I spent my afternoon searching for sporting goods stores. Although still early in the cold season, many places were already low on snow jackets. I hit the majors like Dick's and Big 5. Before going into the snowboard shops and pay an arm and a leg for a jacket I didn't really need, I found Sierra. Since it belonged to the same group as TJ Max, Homegoods, and Marshalls, I correctly assumed that I would find a reasonably priced jacket.

Park City Resort (Canyons) - I had opted to prepay lift tickets in the Fall and was 'obligated' to snowboard at least once this season at Canyons. The snow hadn't been plentiful for the month but the runs were still packed powder. So I was glad that my gamble of buying tickets preseason panned out. I've learnt that the pre-sale tickets are definitely cheaper than buying during season as they will change prices to accommodate their expected attendance. Given the current pandemic and shortened snow season, rates did go up.

Park City Resort

After visiting High West Saloon, I ended up liking their signature line, Campfire. Unfortunately, they were out of stock at the time and I opted to look for it in the local liquor stores. Utah doesn't allow hard liquor to be bought at retail locations, you must buy from the state liquor stores, DBAC. Of course, when out looking for the whiskey, I did not go to the location next door to the Sheraton until after visiting two other stores near Kimball Junction and the Doubletree. On their website, they do list the inventory of what is in stock and the locations I went to had "several" but it ended up being incorrect. I was glad to find the last two bottles near the Sheraton. Outside of their signature lines, the american prairie can actually be bought cheaper in the liquor stores than at the saloon.