The Grand America Hotel Lives Up to Its Name

“Get Out There” is a column for itchy footed humans written by long-time Paste contributor Blake Snow. Today we visit Utah’s first ever and still classic five-star hotel, the Grand America.

Everyone feels special at The Grand America Hotel. During a recent stay with my soulmate, I was completely enchanted by this $2 billion property that engulfs an entire city block in downtown Salt Lake City. 

With 775 rooms, Grand America is the largest hotel in Utah’s capital. At 24 stories, it’s also the tallest. Built for the 2002 Winter Olympics, the 10 acre, Parisian-inspired sanctuary was the state’s first five-star hotel. It’s hosted celebrities, dignitaries, heads of state, and professional athletes ever since, with its reputation as the “nicest” hotel in the area.  

20 years later, The Grand America hasn’t lost any of its original luster. In fact, it shines even brighter as a locally owned and operated hotel with added personal touches that you don’t expect from increasingly consolidated and globalized hoteliers. 

Starring million dollar chandeliers, regal lobbies, sprawling ballrooms, ornate guest rooms, Italian marble bathrooms, the biggest custom drapes I’ve ever seen, and the most photogenic courtyard in the city, The Grand America Hotel lives up to its name in everything but price, which reasonably starts under $300 per night (in low season) for luxury accommodations that cost two to three times that in more expensive cities. 

Beauty in the details

“How many gardeners do you think are on staff?” I asked my wife, while walking and gawking at the courtyard’s perfectly manicured topiary trees, flower beds, and landscaping. “A lot,” she deadpanned. The answer is five. I learned this later that night while reading more employee profiles than I’d like to admit on the hotel’s official blog. I’ve never read a hotel’s blog before. But I’ve never stayed at a hotel like this either. Rumor has it the gardeners plant over 40,000 tulips every spring. 

When you see something as beautiful as The Grand America, you naturally want to know more about it. “You should see the laundry room!” one publicist told me. I did that too and don’t regret it. More than just a hotel, The Grand America is a “city” within a city. We didn’t need to leave, nor did we want to, during an extended weekend. Everything was taken care of on site. Fine food. Luxurious lodging. Even entertainment. In that way, the Grand is a “city” worth escaping to, whatever your reason for visiting the greater city that engulfs it. 

But no one visits fancy hotels for the laundry room. They come to feel like important people. They come to skirt the daily grind. They come to relax. They come to refuel. They come to feel weightless. They come to be pampered. They come to see beauty. Grand America facilitates all of these things. 

On our first afternoon after checking in, my wife and I received the royal treatment at the bougiest five-star spa I’ve ever attended in 10 years of travel writing. The couples massage was performed in a private parlor that had its own 9-point massage shower, heated beds, and a housemade fruit tart stacked with giant raspberries and blueberries that were freshly picked from some nearby Garden of Eden. 

This is going to sound melodramatic, but I swear it’s true: after my masseuse Susan expertly finished the full body rub that kneaded out every physical and emotional knot I was holding on to, I nearly cried when she gently rubbed and patted my feet to finish the massage. I didn’t. But I felt a profound connection to a complete stranger that is often hard to come by. I will cherish that moment as one of many that colored a wonderful weekend. 

People make a difference

There are others that left an impression on me. Joe, the thoughtful bellman, has worked at The Grand America for 12 years. Kara the hard-working sales director for 18. Blair, our server of carefully crafted sandwiches, delicate desserts, and dandelion chai over Afternoon Tea has been with the company for 16 years and insisted on showing us several multi-million dollar chandeliers and commissioned paintings the hotel acquired from 20th century Europe. 

French “Pastry Chef of the Year” Xavier Baudinet has worked at The Grand America for 10 years and bakes some of the finest croissants, macarons, bread pudding, and over-sized pastries I’ve had on either side of the Atlantic. “Every morning I come in and see the hotel—it’s beautiful,” he says between thoughtful, passionate, and appreciative pauses. “It makes me feel, you know—like, today is going to be a good day.”

I’m convinced there is no such thing as a bad day at The Grand America. There are indoor and outdoor pools here. Live musicians and manouche jazz bands play the lobby four nights a week. Public spaces abound with handcrafted furniture, intricate upholstery, and hallway carpeting that secretly leads to the nearest elevator (follow the crowns, people). It has all the trappings of some of the world’s greatest hotels with none of the pretentiousness. If it’s not already, The Grand America will someday become a state treasure and historical, if not national, landmark. It might be the closest you can get in America to staying at a real-life version of Wes Andersen’s fictional Grand Budapest Hotel. 

If it sounds like I’m gushing, it’s because I am. There is just so much to like about The Grand America—its inviting balconies, floor-to-ceiling mountain views, four premium restaurants, and an equal number of toy, clothing, and sundry stores. Again, this isn’t just a hotel. It’s a magical place that anyone can enjoy. I will be returning soon—hungry for the all-season humanity and richness on display. 

ProTip: For the best courtyard and mountain views, ask for an east-facing room.

Blake Snow contributes to fancy publications and Fortune 500 companies as a bodacious writer-for-hire and frequent travel columnist. He lives in Provo, Utah with his wife, five children, and one ferocious chihuahua.