My husband and I went skiing at Deer Valley for the first time over the weekend. I had always heard about DV's exceptional grooming and customer service, which were the main motivations for trying it out (and paying out of pocket since we're not on Ikon), but unfortunately, there were a lot of disappointing elements. We pulled up to the parking lot at 8:20 am on Saturday, 40 mins before opening, and the only spots left were in the farthest-away lot (Lot 5). That's when I had a bad omen about the crowds. Then it took 35 minutes in the ticket window line to pick up our pre-paid tickets, which was so frustrating - I've never been in a line like that in my entire life and there were absolutely no staff around to help control the line or point people in the right directions. After 30 minutes of waiting, someone came over and announced that Ikon passholders didn't need to wait in line this year, which I can only imagine was really frustrating for everyone who had already wasted so much time there. I had heard there are "greeters" around, but I never once saw one. It was disappointing that there wasn't a separate window for online orders as well.
We managed to get in some great skiing and I did enjoy a lot of the runs/terrain there, but the Saturday crowds were out of control to the point where we constantly overheard people complaining about how it was the worst non-holiday crowd they'd ever seen. There was also a rumor that DV has been overselling its ticket cap lately - we heard several season pass holders claim that there were more like 11-12K people on the slopes instead of the 9,500 as specified in the cap. I can't speak to whether that's true or not, but I was surprised to hear it from multiple people. DV did confirm that they hit the cap mid-morning on their social media, which I had heard was a very rare thing and not something that just happens on random weekends. I don't know if they did on Sunday, but fortunately the crowds seemed much better then and we spent minimal time waiting in lift lines.
Finally, I saw absolutely no evidence of exceptional customer service. While that's normally not a big deal to me (I typically ski at smaller, no-frills resorts like Sugar Bowl), I was surprised based on all I'd heard over the years about the "Deer Valley difference" (one woman on the chairlift sneered "there's no difference anymore", if that tells you anything). I don't think I had a single staff member say hello, including the lifties, and I never once saw any kind of service that I would call exceptional. We used the complimentary ski storage, which was a nice touch, but the staff there banged up our skis and simply said "no" when we asked for a receipt for the $10 wax we paid for. It just didn't go "above and beyond" in any way.
I don't entirely blame DV for the crowds on Saturday since the road closure in Little Cottonwood Canyon and the World Cup event (which I didn't realize was happening) surely increased the crowds, but when you combine that with the mediocre/poor service, I'm not sure why I paid so much money to ski there. The grooming was fine (not exceptional - no real complaints but it didn't seem different from anywhere else) and it just didn't seem special in any way. I will say that the hot chocolate was very good, much better than most resorts for a similar price, but that's about it. Maybe if I had really utilized the dining options or the ski school, I would have a different impression since I know those are well-regarded, but ultimately, it wasn't a fit for us.
All that being said, my husband skied his first black diamonds ever there and that's the highlight that we'll be taking away! Thank god Sunday was less crowded so we could get in some great runs. I did like the terrain and the views quite a bit, but I can get great terrain and views at cheaper, less crowded places. Thought I'd leave this review here before others treat DV as a "splurge" like we did and come away a bit disappointed. Skiing is always fun no matter what, but going to DV was a one-time thing for sure.
We managed to get in some great skiing and I did enjoy a lot of the runs/terrain there, but the Saturday crowds were out of control to the point where we constantly overheard people complaining about how it was the worst non-holiday crowd they'd ever seen. There was also a rumor that DV has been overselling its ticket cap lately - we heard several season pass holders claim that there were more like 11-12K people on the slopes instead of the 9,500 as specified in the cap. I can't speak to whether that's true or not, but I was surprised to hear it from multiple people. DV did confirm that they hit the cap mid-morning on their social media, which I had heard was a very rare thing and not something that just happens on random weekends. I don't know if they did on Sunday, but fortunately the crowds seemed much better then and we spent minimal time waiting in lift lines.
Finally, I saw absolutely no evidence of exceptional customer service. While that's normally not a big deal to me (I typically ski at smaller, no-frills resorts like Sugar Bowl), I was surprised based on all I'd heard over the years about the "Deer Valley difference" (one woman on the chairlift sneered "there's no difference anymore", if that tells you anything). I don't think I had a single staff member say hello, including the lifties, and I never once saw any kind of service that I would call exceptional. We used the complimentary ski storage, which was a nice touch, but the staff there banged up our skis and simply said "no" when we asked for a receipt for the $10 wax we paid for. It just didn't go "above and beyond" in any way.
I don't entirely blame DV for the crowds on Saturday since the road closure in Little Cottonwood Canyon and the World Cup event (which I didn't realize was happening) surely increased the crowds, but when you combine that with the mediocre/poor service, I'm not sure why I paid so much money to ski there. The grooming was fine (not exceptional - no real complaints but it didn't seem different from anywhere else) and it just didn't seem special in any way. I will say that the hot chocolate was very good, much better than most resorts for a similar price, but that's about it. Maybe if I had really utilized the dining options or the ski school, I would have a different impression since I know those are well-regarded, but ultimately, it wasn't a fit for us.
All that being said, my husband skied his first black diamonds ever there and that's the highlight that we'll be taking away! Thank god Sunday was less crowded so we could get in some great runs. I did like the terrain and the views quite a bit, but I can get great terrain and views at cheaper, less crowded places. Thought I'd leave this review here before others treat DV as a "splurge" like we did and come away a bit disappointed. Skiing is always fun no matter what, but going to DV was a one-time thing for sure.
