Grand Hyatt Deer Valley in Park City, Utah is rolling out the red carpet for military families at their luxury resort thru a special military partnership. If you love the outdoors this is a game changer. Their Salute to Service program will save you so much money and give you access to the “best snow on earth”.

Grand Hyatt Deer Valley Salute to Service Program

100 of their nearly 400 room hotel is designated to the program every single night. Similar to Armed Forces Recreation Centers your room rate depends on your rank but is variable. During prime skiing time you can easily save over $500 a night. On top of that you’ll get access to a private lounge and concierge just for military, 30% off food and beverages, $30 off valet parking (only parking option), and 25% off ski day passes to Deer Valley.

You can book stays up to one year in advanced at this designated site. When booking, add your Hyatt membership number to earn Hyatt points. If you still have access to a DoD email, you can also get Hyatt status for free to enjoy extra perks. There is no verification process when you book so be prepared to show your ID at check in or you will have to pay the regular rate.

All about the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley

The resort is so fancy it was extremely surprising how welcoming they are to families and even pets. For young kids they have an unsupervised kids club where you can take you kids to ride scooters, play with toys or games and more. They offer activities like cookie decorating, seasonal crafts, family movie nights and smores. Older kids and some adults will love the Nexus lounge with an old fashion arcade, ping pong, air hockey, X-boxes and PS5’s. The employees (and guests) were always so friendly with the kids. Remington Hall, the main dinning restaurant, offered kids menus, coloring pages and special cups.

Grand Hyatt Deer Valley is also dog friendly! They offer beds, pet bowls and a special menu for room service. Please note housekeeping will not enter the room for service with an animal inside.

If you’re looking for an Adults Only trip, I’d still recommend GHDV. They have the Hidden Ace for dinning over 21, a very fancy spa and all the makings for a relaxing vacation.

AmEx Platinum Perks

If you’re one of the many Active Duty military families who has an American Express Platinum card (the annual fee is waived), you can use that to your advantage. Grand Hyatt Deer Valley is part of the Fine Hotel’s & Resorts program so you can use your $300 semi-annual credit at the hotel (can’t be combined with the military rate but can be used in conjunction). You will also get $100 credit to be used anywhere except their Helly Hanson store, breakfast for two at the Remington Hall, room upgrade if available and a 4 pm late checkout. We used this our last night at the resort and it worked so well. To use the perk you must book thru AmEx’s travel site, select prepay and then pay with the Platinum card. If the rate is over $300, you can use points to cover the rest if desired.

Park City, UT is a great place to use your $100 a quarter Resy credit too! Since we don’t live near any Resy restaurants, the quarter before our trip we bought a gift card for the area that qualified so we could use two quarters of credits. We tried Hearth and Hill, highly recommend (best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had) and Flannigan’s, I do NOT recommend. I thought a small Irish restaurant right in Park City would be fun but everything from the service to the food was low quality. They were even unsure of how to use the gift card even though I bought it from their website. If you go during busy season you’ll definitely want to make reservations, ideally a few days in advanced.

Skiing in Park City

In Park City there are basically two options for choosing where to ski or snowboard; Park City mountain or Deer Valley. The two locations are just a 5 minutes apart. You could even do both if you wanted but here’s some things to consider when deciding between the two! Deer Valley has ski-in/ski out from the resort and discounted day passes. They limit the number of passes to reduce crowding and are known for great service and dinning options. If you have the Ikon Pass, you can use it here. Deer Valley is ski only though. If you have any snowboarders, you’ll want to head to Park City.

You can use the Epic Pass at Park City which for active duty families can save tons of money. While there are more guests, it is more than twice as large as Deer Valley in regards to both size, runs and lifts. No matter which you decide, I’m sure you’ll have a great time.

The resort offers ski lockers for guests and you can rent gear thru Ski Butlers. Ski Butlers will deliver and pick up your gear right at the hotel. They offer a 20% off discount thru GovX for military.

Activities other than skiing

We went during late fall which I would not do again. Although we still had a lovely time many of the summer activities were closed but the winter activities weren’t open yet. If you’re passing thru for a PCS definitely stop no matter the time of year or if you want to visit in an off season, pair it with visiting another city in Utah. The hotel has a shuttle to downtown Park City and Park City has a free trolley to ride on thru town. Highly recommend this combo because parking is limited downtown.

Heber Valley Railroad

Must do for kids during any of the holidays! They have a special polar express style train ride that you won’t want to miss. Halloween has a special ride too. Book a few days in advanced and dress warm. If you go on a regular day, it can still be fun for train loving kids. They have a “train robber”, a fiddle player and a short comedy bit. Snacks are available for purchase on board. The views of the reservoir are beautiful. It’s the same reservoir you can see when looking out from the resort. Servicemembers and veterans ride free. Immediate family members get 50% off. To book discounted tickets you must call or purchase in person.

Tanger Outlets

If you’re looking to do some shopping these outlets are super close to the resort and have a wide variety of outlets and regular stores. Many of the stores offer military discounts to save even more. Just look for the discount sign on the storefront or ask an associate. The best deals we found were for their outdoors brands and Gap. They have a taco truck and other food options on site too.

Olympic Parks

Park City was home of the 2002 winter Olympics and is getting ready to host the 2034 winter Olympics. You can take a guided tour, visit their museum or even go bobsledding! You’ll see their ski jumps from the freeway and it is super close to the outlets and Hearth & Hill, if you want to make an afternoon of it.

Homestead Crater

This is a geothermal hot spring located in Midway, UT that averages 94 degrees even in the winter. You can go scuba diving, snorkeling or just swimming. This is a popular activity. It sold out before we got tickets, so if you want to go book early! The photos and the reviews all look great. It is cheaper during the week if you’re looking to save money. They do have and require lifejackets but it’s bring your own towels!

Cost Breakdown

As you can see above this isn’t a dirt cheap, almost free trip. You should know though that with the military partnership you’re going to spend less than a Best Western in Park City and the value is through the roof. The amenities, activities, service and food is all top notch. This is absolutely a bucket list experience made affordable.

If you’re looking to save more money, visit the café for breakfast instead of ordering room service or going to the restaurant. There is also lots of dining options close to the hotel in all price ranges.

Don’t sleep on this partnership! Start planning your trip now and if you have any questions, drop them below or you can reach out to the hotels military concierge.