The St. Regis Bar - Deer Valley — Restaurant in Park City

If you were hoping for the kind of refined hospitality that one expects from a St. Regis, prepare yourself for something closer to a roadside motel that just ran out of coffee at the complimentary breakfast.

Our party of four arrived at the bar at this ostensible five-star resort, eager to settle into an evening of cocktails and quiet luxury. What we got instead was a masterclass in what happens when a brand trades on its name rather than its service. There were at least six empty seats at the bar, a mirage of hospitality just out of reach. The reason? The two bartenders were “overwhelmed,” an explanation delivered with the kind of finality one might expect from a national crisis.

Was the bar full? No. Were the bartenders mixing cocktails at breakneck speed, sweat pouring down their brows in a valiant effort to serve the thirsty masses? Also no. They were merely “overwhelmed.” By what? The mere thought of us, perhaps.

And so we stood, waiting. And waiting. Like a group of weary travelers denied entry at an exclusive club, except the club was a bar with empty seats and the bouncer was a vague sense of managerial neglect.

St. Regis is a name that conjures images of effortless elegance, impeccable service, and that slight but intoxicating whiff of old money. But here, among the ski jackets and confused glances, it felt more like a Best Western that had misplaced its training manual.

To the bartenders: I hope you have recovered. To the manager: You may want to pop your head in every once in a while. And to future guests: Consider drinking elsewhere. If nothing else, it’ll save you the indignity of begging for a seat that no one else is using.

(The picture posted is of drinks we wished we received but never had…because we were...

It wasn’t unrealistic to expect a touch of refinement but that was unfortunately not what I received.

The initial waitstaff startled us with “still or sparkling”, not even posed as a question instead of even trying to convey a warm welcome of “Good evening, my name is.. etc etc”.

Same went for our second waitstaff who asked about drinks within 60 seconds of being sat. Seeing as it’s a St Regis, I already knew I was going to have a Bloody Mary. My friends didn’t know right away what he wanted and maybe two minutes after the first approach is pressured into making a drink selection right then and there. Passive aggressive seemed to be the theme of the night.

Out of the corner of my eye and went to use the restroom the hostess is of course flirting with some guy. Hey, no worries, it’s a weekday night. But the looks received as if I was intruding were not warranted. When my friend went up to use the restroom before leaving, same thing, couldn’t even be bothered to be informed that some guy was snorting in the restrooms. I guess some people like to ski in a different way.

The drinks were sexy, balanced and I much enjoyed the company I was with. For $200 for a two rounds of drinks for three people, with one of them being a cocktail, just expected higher...

Unfortunately I think at this point the hotel and restaurants on the property are just coasting on reputation. The plates were delivered to us with used cocktail skewers on them. I brought this to the attention of the staff and they seemed unfazed as if this was common. The food and drink was adequate but nothing special (especially if you take into account the pricing). And my last comment was that it was unfortunately very loud, while the bar itself was not crowded the noise levels were very high. The main draw to the location would be it has a lovely view of...