Park City Ghost Town: Montage vs. Waldorf

Waldorf Lobby

Since my layoff last October, I haven't been in many hotels. Marie dropped by in November, providing an excellent excuse to head up into the hills for a night out.

I made dinner reservations at Montage Deer Valley's Apex.  When she found out Apex was in the Montage, she said something like, "That big monstrosity of a place?"

I for one, have never had a negative thought about the Montage. But wanting to be objective, I remained silent and entertained her perspective.

At the Montage, we ate in an echoey dinning room and watched an inebriated fifty-something woman, desperate for a shag, working the two bartenders and solitary male.

In the offseason, and without people, the scale of the Montage seemed off somehow. It gave me the feeling of wandering around an empty cathedral intended to reinforce the glory of architecture and the insignificance of man. The hotel's great room, built to be a cozy gathering spot, could have been a set from The Shining.

Marie convinced me to drop in for dessert at the Waldorf Astoria Park City, near  Canyons ski resort. I've never wanted to visit the Waldorf, because its location in sagebrush pastureland a mile or so from ski runs has none of the romance of the pine-nestled Montage.

We lounged by the fire, and then snacked on gingerbread and ice cream after being comfortably tucked away on a plush banquette in the hotel's Slopes restaurant.

I was willing to concede this one. Marie was right. For cozy, off season dining, the Waldorf wins.

To be fair, here is a color photo of the Montage's Lobby Great Room.

Montage Lobby Great Room. 

Betwixt the both of them an inferiority complex is brewing

Rachel: Asian, young, pencil skirt. Polished, but not excessively.

"We are about to make the transition from carpet to black marble." Her heals begin clomping. "Are you a golfer? Because you're wearing a golf shirt, you know."

We leave the low-pile carpet of the Hilton Bonnet Creek, and enter the gleaming floors of the Waldorf Astoria Orlando. Waldorf is Hilton's luxury brand.

The two hotels are connected.

The idea is that for a meeting of about 2,000, a planner could buy-out the Hilton's 1,000 rooms, and book 200 or so at the Waldorf Astoria for VIPs, executives and discerning travelers. Delegates are able to meet in ballrooms located between the two properties without fully committing to either side. 

We move into the lobby lounge, with iridescent peacock patterned carpet, and look out the window onto the pool deck.

"Guests are welcome to use either pool. But we find that parents and families are drawn to the Hilton's water slide and lazy river. So, really, why walk all the way over here?" 

In the soft-toned Presidential Suite 16 floors up: 

"The princess of Saudi Arabia was here just a few weeks ago. She used this whole room just for her jewelry. . ."

We examine the posh master bedroom, and continue into the bathroom. The shower is bigger than my kitchen.  

Back in the living room, after pointing out the flat panel TV that retracts into a cabinet so as not to obstruct the view of the golf course and freeway beyond, the subject returns to the Saudi princess.

". . .She would be the queen of Saudi Arabia, but she is the fourth wife. So she's just a princess.  The King of Saudi Arabia is 70 or something. She is only 23. I don't care what country you're from. That's just gross!"

We finish the tour by swinging by the chrome and marbled Guerlain Spa, pausing at a wall displaying photos of Ella Fitzgerald singing in the Waldorf in NYC (Where Rachel held her bachelorette party), and stopping in front of a tall clock under the guilt dome of the main lobby. It was exactly 4:00 p.m. 

The clock chimed. 

Rachel's cell phone buzzes for what must have be the tenth time. "The chime is an exact replica of the clock found in the original Waldorf Astoria. Ever heard the phrase, 'I'll meet you at the clock?' Well, that's where it came from." 

"So is the clock an exact replica?" 

"Um, not quite. But it is a modern version of the original."

We exchange cards. Rachel arranges for a driver to take me back to the Gaylord Palms. 

The Waldorf is an accessorized satellite shrine to the temple back in NYC. The Hilton, if nothing else, is new.

They are both very close to Disney World.