The Grand Hyatt Deer Valley opened on Wednesday, marking the end of more than 20 years of planning, negotiations and finally building the Morale, Welfare and Recreation hotel. In a collaborative effort among the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA), the Air Force and the Grand Hyatt, the hotel offers 381 rooms, with 100 rooms available at subsidized rates for eligible military use. “The driving force behind this whole project were these 100 rooms,” said Kristin Kenney Williams, public relations manager for MIDA. “MWR facilities have been forever increasingly so important to the behavioral health of our active service members and of our retired service members.” The first military guest to stay at the new hotel was Staff Sgt. Jensen Martinez and his wife, Staff Sgt. Micailey Martinez, with their 7-month-old daughter, Kaia. Jensen was deployed in Saudi Arabia for six months, arriving home in March. They stayed Wednesday through Friday before returning to their home in Spanish Fork.Grand Hyatt Deer Valley General Manager Anthony Dugger said, “The Grand Hyatt’s purpose is to care for people so they can be their best. And it really does drive every decision that we make and that we get to take care of you guys, particularly pre- and post-deployment.”With amenities geared toward family connection, activity and relaxation, Dugger expressed pride in the capabilities of the new hotel to give military personnel time to rewind and reconnect with family. The Martinez family was excited by the opportunity to explore this new space for the beauty and connection it offered. “Just coming up the highway and seeing it up on the mountain, the big, beautiful space here, it was amazing,” said Jensen.Jensen said he understands the need for a space like this in the time before and after deployment. “It’s a huge life adjustment of preparing to go, of knowing that you’re going to be out in a place that you’ll you’ve never been before, and then coming back, returning to those life structures and get back into ‘real life’,” he said. “Being able to come here with your family and just kind of settle down and take a relaxer for a little bit.” Of the many spaces available at the Grand Hyatt, the Martinezs said they were especially excited about Camp Hyatt, the kids lounge, where there’s room for their young daughter, Kaia, to play and spend time with other kids. The Northstar Lounge is also available to military guests with a private concierge, offering a space for the guests to connect and get to know each other in the space. Jensen offered his challenge coin from his latest mission to be held in the lounge room, soon to be kept beside others who stay in the future. Staff Sgt. Jensen Martinez from Utah Air National Guard displays the challenge coin he received from his deployment in Saudi Arabia. Martinez left the coin in a display in the military family lounge at the hotel. Credit: Clayton Steward/Park RecordA challenge coin is a unique coin symbolic of achievement and service to the country. Jensen said he has earned upwards of 20 in his career. “It’s always cool to share stories with others, like seeing those challenge coins. There is significance behind it, and being able to explain the challenge behind it, and tell your story to others, it’s great,” said Jensen. “I remember my first sergeant, she always carried one in her arm pocket. And so ever since she told me that I do that quite often as well.” Both Jensen and Micailey Martinez have received challenge coins in the past year. Micailey was granted one in 2023 for work she did as commander support staff, and Jensen for the significance of his work as an HVAC technician in Saudi Arabia. “It was my first deployment, I was gone while Micailey was pregnant, and there was a great challenge that came with that. We did a lot of cool missions. It’s just a nice little reminder,” said Jensen. The Grand Hyatt is slopeside to the new Deer Valley East Village expanded terrain and offers shuttle services to other mountains in the area.“MIDA facilitates public-private partnerships in meeting their goals of boosting the economy and supporting the military, and this is the first MWR facility integrated with a national brand,” said Williams. “So many eyes are on this project. The idea of replicating this model of a public-private partnership is really enticing.”The dream of a new MWR facility in the area has been long lived since the removal of the Hill Haus in the late 1990s. In preparation for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, a seven-room MWR hotel near Snowbasin Resort called Hill Haus was removed to make space for Olympic venue events. In 2001, Congress granted a parcel of land to rebuild a space in Park City to the Air Force, who partnered with MIDA to aid in forming the public-private partnership that led to the Grand Hyatt as it stands today. The Lounge at Remington Hall was one of the food and drink options for the Martinez family to enjoy at the hotel. The family ate at Remington Hall on Wednesday night for dinner.20 years in the making, the hotel stands for more than the expansion of market-rate ski lodging, according to Kristin Williams. “We’ve jumped from seven rooms to 100 [military subsidized] rooms because the demand is there. Even before the seven rooms were taken down at Hill Haus, Air Force Base had identified this need,” said Williams. The Martinez family echoed this need and expressed how significant the opportunities that MWR facilities provide to their family have been. It is more than a vacation, it is a point of connection and decompression that is deeply necessary to the wellbeing of military personnel, they said. “It allows you to meet other people you would never normally meet. So particularly coming here, especially with our little one, we would never have the opportunity [economically] to come up here. So being able to be at these types of events with our daughter, especially, it’s a really good experience,” said Jensen. Protections are in place to prevent the removal of the MIDA rooms and the Grand Hyatt in the future. “Within negotiations with Congress and the Air Force, there are multi-year negotiated agreements to protect these rooms,” said Williams. The Grand Hyatt offers military-exclusive discounted rates for these 100 reserved rooms, eligible to active-duty service members, National Guard, Department of Defense employees, and retirees with 20 years of service or more. Based on rank, these rooms are rated at $109/night, $171/night, and $209/night, including significant resort fee discounts. There are no blackout dates to military discounts, though the rates are increased during peak occupancy periods including Dec. 21-Jan. 5, Jan. 17- Feb. 3, and Feb. 14- 18. A non-MWR rated room can cost between $250 and $300 a night during non-peak periods, and in peak occupancy can go for upwards of $900 a night. Rates for MWR rooms are based on other facilities across the country and internationally and are not determined by the Grand Hyatt. These MWR room rates are comparable to other government facilities, including Shades of Green in Orlando, Florida, or the Dragon Hill Lodge in Seoul, South Korea. Just an hour’s drive from their home, the Martinez family is excited to plan their next stay. “We will definitely be coming back here, especially for our anniversaries or birthdays. Yeah, we’ll make up any excuse,” joked Jensen.Jensen, Micailey and their 7-month-old daughter, Kaia Martinez. Credit: Clayton Steward/Park RecordThe post The Grand Hyatt Deer Valley welcomes their first military guest appeared first on Park Record.