Marriotts in Park City comparison

[BF2455]

I'm considering purchasing a plantinum floating week at a Marriott in Park City, looking at either Mountainside and Summit Watch.
I currently do not own any timeshares. I intend to use the week for both personal use (for spring break or sundance week), as well as to potentially rent it out when I can't use it. I'm hoping some current owners can provide some insights and comparisons between the two resorts; specifically I'd like to know
- how easy/difficult is it to book a week in Jan/Feb/March, how much in advance will I need to plan and book?
- given the popularity of these two resorts, I am assuming that renting out the week should be relatively easy but would appreciate any additional insights on renting
- Overall comparison between the two resorts; general impressions and specifically in booking availability and rental potential

thanks!

 

[jwalk03]

I don't own at either resort but I just spent a week at Summit Watch in Feb and also took some time to go checkout Mountainside while I was there as well.

Honestly I liked both resorts a lot. Mountainside is directly slopeside. The Payday lift basically goes over the pool. So for ski convenience its awesome- but that base area tends to be very busy and the lines can be LONG on busy days. The pool area is also nicer than the one at Summit Watch. Mountainside also has a movie room and nice owners lounge with shuffleboard and pool table.

Summit Watch is located in town vs on the mountain. Very easy walking distance to tons of restaurants, stores, a brewery, winery, town museum, etc, etc. Also while not quite as convenient as being slop side the Town Lift is directly across the street from the resort- there is even a sky bridge over the road to the lift so you don't have to deal with cars on the street. There is also free ski check provided for Summit Watch guests right at the lift area. A couple important considerations- the Town Lift is a fixed grip triple and not very fast. I would say its a 20 minute ride up. and then from the top of Town you can ski down or catch Bonanza to go up higher. Also the line for the Town Lift can be very long first thing at opening. Never saw a long queue other than first thing. Lastly you can ride the Town Lift back down to the resort or you can ski down as well- but the runs to ski back to town are all Blues- just something to consider if you have any beginner skiers. I enjoyed the pool area at Summit Watch as well- but not as cool as the Mountainside one. Also you have to walk outside in the cold to go over to the Station House where the pool is. Summit Watch pool is indoor/outdoor. Mountainside is all outdoor.

Mountainside is assigned higher points values than Summit Watch so Marriott thinks its more valuable, just a consideration if you ever try to enroll the week later.

Personally I think I prefer Summit Watch as I like the ability to walk to so many places after the slopes close for the day, and I didn't mind dealing with the Town Lift, and no beginners so skiing back on the blues was no problem.

Both resorts will rent well in prime season I'm sure.

 

[Superchief]

There was a landslide last week that may have impacted some of the resort. I only saw an initial report and picture and couldn't tell whether debris impacted the pool area. I expect there may be a special assessment to cover repairs and some temporary unavailability of facilities.

 

[jme]

There was a landslide last week that may have impacted some of the resort. I only saw an initial report and picture and couldn't tell whether debris impacted the pool area. I expect there may be a special assessment to cover repairs and some temporary unavailability of facilities.

Not only was it a close call, it was a certified scare because the opening of the earth was similar to an earthquake, and it came within feet of the resort (look it up).
That means it's a threat to happen again. I think it's going to be a major problem, but we'll see.
Because of that, I would definitely go with Summit Watch for a purchase. We've stayed at both at least 3 times each,
and we liked Mountainside but we loved Summit Watch
SW is easily walkable to the restaurants and shops all over town, and it's a fantastic location.

 

[PamMo]

I'm sure Marriott is going to look into the construction that's going on at the top of the slide.

Park City landslide breaks loose, reaching exterior of slopeside hotel - Park Record

A landslide broke loose in the vicinity of Park City Mountain on Saturday, sending dirt and snow down a small hillside, uprooting at least one tree and reaching a small section of the exterior of a hotel on the slopes. A slide is an extraordinarily rare event in Park City and the...

www.parkrecord.com

Park City developer says it is unclear whether there is a continuing landslide threat

The president of the homeowners association of King’s Crown on Friday said it is unclear whether there is a danger of additional earth coming down a hillside where a landslide occurred in late April, indicating...

www.parkrecord.com

 

[kozykritter]

The landslide did not affect any operations at Mountainside as it was on the rear side of the property that looks into a hillside...it did slightly push in the outside wall of one ground level unoccupied villa. Landslides in Park City are rare and this one appeared to be caused by a combination of record-breaking snow melting/saturation and construction going on the hill directly above the slide area. Those unique conditions don't seem likely to be repeated much in the future.

One thing about Summit Watch is that it is very noisy being in downtown and next to the main road between Park City and Deer Valley. The noise comes from cars and from people in the plaza/out on the streets. By contrast, I've rarely heard any outside noise at Mountainside, particularly if you are more north in the building towards the slopes.

 

[jwalk03]

There was a landslide last week that may have impacted some of the resort. I only saw an initial report and picture and couldn't tell whether debris impacted the pool area. I expect there may be a special assessment to cover repairs and some temporary unavailability of facilities.

I very much doubt a special assessment will be necessary. The damage to Mountainside appears to have been minimal.

 

[Superchief]

I very much doubt a special assessment will be necessary. The damage to Mountainside appears to have been minimal.

That would be great news. I was hit hard by Ocean Pointe increases last year and we love Mountainside and it still is a good $/DC point value.

 

[davidvel]

I don't agree that the slide is a systemic problem. I stayed just adjacent to the slide about a month ago. It is nowhere near the pool, that is completely incorrect. If you look at the photos, and read related stories, there was likely a drainage facility that was being installed in the new construction above that failed. Also, I don't see any correlation tot eh record snowfall and this failure. The area was significantly shielded and probably had 5-10 feet of snow at best, totally normal. There will be plenty of lawsuits, but Mountainside wouldn't be at fault.

 

[alchook]

I'm considering purchasing a plantinum floating week at a Marriott in Park City, looking at either Mountainside and Summit Watch.
I currently do not own any timeshares. I intend to use the week for both personal use (for spring break or sundance week), as well as to potentially rent it out when I can't use it. I'm hoping some current owners can provide some insights and comparisons between the two resorts; specifically I'd like to know
- how easy/difficult is it to book a week in Jan/Feb/March, how much in advance will I need to plan and book?
- given the popularity of these two resorts, I am assuming that renting out the week should be relatively easy but would appreciate any additional insights on renting
- Overall comparison between the two resorts; general impressions and specifically in booking availability and rental potential

thanks!

Booking a week at Mountainside isn't especially difficult in the winter, but you want to do it early. I usually book as soon as possible and haven't had a problem yet.

I also haven't used my week myself in quite a few years. I used to trade for points, now I rent on Redweek. I charge $5K for a week in March and haven't had any problems at that price. It's hard to find any availability through Marriott, but the last time I checked they were charging about $1300/night for a two BR.

 

[eyedude]

I own a ski week at Mountainside. You should plan to book your week 12 months in advance to get the week and check in day that you want. For 2024, I booked Sundance week. I made my reservation the minute reservations opened and the only available dates was Sunday to Sunday. I usually use my weeks but this past season I rented the suite side for $2199. We used the one bedroom side to stay in. The reserved week was Saturday-Saturday so we were able to be there the last two days of Sundance. We missed a lot of the hoopla of Sundance but did get to see a couple of the award winning movies that weekend. I don't usually like to ski on the weekends because of the crowds so it worked out perfectly. As an aside, the weekdays were not busy at all on the slopes and the skiing was amazing. This year I will rent the full 2 bedroom. Since it is Sundance week, I expect I can rent it out for at least 2.5-3 X my maintenance fees. A few years ago I did lock off my week and deposited the one bedroom side into Interval. I quickly got a 2 bedroom at Marriott Waiohai for the one bedroom. I rented out the suite side for $1600. As you can see, owning at Mountainside gives a ton of options...trades great in Interval, and rents for way more than maintenance fees. I own 8 Marriott legacy weeks in various resorts. I think my Mountainside week gives the best value when comparing maintenance fees to how much I can rent the week for.

During ski season, I think Mountainside is a great resort if you are going to ski...My wife only skis about 3 days during the week. With the resort being slopeside, it is easy to come in for lunch and take breaks...the younger ones, with more energy, can come and go as they please. They are usually out the door when the lifts open and come in when the lifts close. I can usually be found back at the condo drinking a beer and eating nachos at 3:30 pm.

We have stayed a few times at Summit Watch but only in the summer. I think they have slightly higher MF than Mountainside but the initial cost to get a legacy week is less. It seems like the purchase price of a resale week has gone up since I purchased a few years ago. I got my Mountainside week for 15K. Definitely worth the price.

 

[davidvel]

We have been to Summit Watch but only stayed at Mountainside. To us SW is a ho hum layout with no comparison on pool and surroundings, whether skiing or not. It feels like you are in a commercial setting, not a resort. If skiing, there is no comparison.

For those that love all the restaurants and Main street, which we do as well, the free bus line gets you there in 10 minutes from MS.

As others have noted, MS has a higher value than SW. I have always found trading to SW much easier than MS, for whatever that is worth.

Since you'll be making decent investment, rent a week at each and decide which you prefer.

 

[paxlin]

The only thing I want to add is that week 7 (President's week) is a fixed week at Mountainsidem, whereas Sumit Watch week 7 is not a fixed week.
So if you want a week 7 at Mountainside you have to get a fixed week which costs a lot more.

 

[Steve A]

We don’t ski or go in the winter. SW located right downtown is the right place for us: shopping, restaurants, theater, museum, shuttle.