One of the advantages that Park City, Utah has over other Western ski destinations is its convenience -- it lies 35 major highway minutes east of Salt Lake City's airport. So if your desire to ski exceeds the time you have available to devote to the slopes, you don't have to lose an entire day to transportation: wake up at dark-thirty almost anywhere in the United States and catch a flight into Salt Lake and board your chair lift by the afternoon.

To sweeten the deal, you don't even have to buy a lift ticket on your first day. The Quick START Vacation program allows you to convert your boarding pass into a lift ticket at Deer Valley Resort, The Canyons Resort, or Park City Mountain Resort. You need to register in advance online for a voucher, which you present along with your boarding pass, a non-Utah driver's license or other official state identification at the ticket window.

Make sure you read all the rules and regulations on the website, since there's no flexibility in these requirements. Like, if you're a person who shuns printing boarding passes at home and relies on your PDA for check-in, you're going to need to change your ways to get this deal. And if the airline wants to keep your boarding pass, you're going to need to put up a fight.

As you'd expect there are also black out dates: you're not going to get this deal over Christmas week (December 25th, 2009 to January 2nd, 2010) or from Valentine's Day weekend through March 27th, 2010.

There are more Park City deals and promotions to be had, and I'm particularly keen on is a package offered by The Sky Lodge which is throwing in a complimentary breakfast and a 50 minute spa treatment with each night's stay November 26th to April 13th, 2010. The spa treatment deal is especially nice since the Sky Lodge's Amara spa offers all of its massage and body treatment clients a soak in traditional wooden Japanese tubs called Ofuro baths. Per Japanese tradition, you shower before entering the tub, which is filled with piping hot water I'll admit that the soak made me a little nauseous when I visited this past summer (when it was nearing an unusually sultry 85 degrees outside) but it would definitely be just the thing after a day on the slopes. Once again, there are blackout dates during peak periods, so from December 26, 2009 - January 2, 2010, January 21 – 31, 2010 and February 10 – 15, 2010, you'll be paying for your own spa treatment and breakfast.

Today's estate in Heber City, Utah offers the luxury of your own private lake. The home is a haven for the outdoor enthusiast offering fishing, hiking and more on 32 acres (additional acreage is also available for purchase). The six-bedroom home is a log lodge with an updated kitchen, stone floors and large windows showcasing mountain views. The decks are particularly wonderful, offering room to entertain with plenty of space that includes a dining table sheltered by a pitched roof. This home is listed at $9.95 million.

The Deer Valley area in Utah is very popular with winter travelers but if you head there in the fall you can enjoy the beautiful foliage and catch a sweet deal. The Fall for Luxury Package at the Stein Eriksen Lodge offers five-star, five diamond luxury accommodations at a reduced rate. The room rates are upward of $250 per person double occupancy in the winter season but the rates for this package start at $99 per person, per night for Deluxe Room accommodations and $125 per person, per night for a Luxury Suite. The Fall for Luxury package includes one-night accommodations, a three-course dinner at the award winning Glitretind restaurant, and complimentary valet parking. The resort has a luxurious spa, pool as well as hiking and just enjoying the mountains in the fall. If a visit here doesn't get you in the mood for the coming ski season nothing will.

[via On The Snow]

Not long ago, golf real estate communities sprouted across the country every month, each project promising a higher level of luxury than the last. These days, they're as a rare as a postseason in baseball that doesn't include the Red Sox or the Yankees. Hence the curiosity of the Victory Ranch Club, an expansive (5,600-acre) development just east of Park City, Utah, that's to be designed around a just-opened--and, of course, camera-friendly--Rees Jones golf course.

The primary selling point of Victory Ranch is its mountain setting. The 7,600-yard golf course gambols across rugged topography that features deep ravines, bulwarks of ancient stone and high plateaus that yield sweeping views of the Deer Valley ski area and the Jordanelle Reservoir. Horseback riding on a network of trails and fly fishing in the Upper Provo River complete the tableau. Whether buyers will come at a time when the nation's high-end real estate market is reeling remains to be seen.

Today's expansive property belongs to billionaire industrialist Jon Huntsman Sr., father of Jon Huntsman Jr, the governor of Utah. The Deseret News says that Huntsman, Sr. put his 20,000-square-foot vacation property at the Deer Valley resort on the market in order to use the money for other causes including fighting cancer at the hospital that bears his name, the Huntsman Cancer Institute. He has also been spending more time fly-fishing in Idaho and he is also working on a development called Huntsman Springs.

This Utah property is listed at $55 million and includes three lots for a total of 63.83 acres. The main house is a 12-bedroom home with a game room, fitness room and two custom-built water features. The property also includes a pool and the land could be used for several more homes. The estate has been on the market for about two months, and the real estate agent says she has received several inquiries. It is the most expensive home in the area.

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

The most expensive real estate in the country has taken some pretty major price cuts over the past year or two. In the past, mega-mansions with huge pricetags would often sit on the market a year or two without a price cut with owners secure in the knowledge that the right buyers would eventually come along. These are uncertain times and there are some very motivated sellers testing their luck in the real estate waters. Our list of top ten reductions of U.S. properties we've covered in the past starts at a $10 million cut and it only gets higher from there.

10)The Sloane Mansion, was $64 million, now $54 million
Price Cut=$10 million
The Henry T. Sloane mansion on East 68th Street in New York City is located just steps away from Fifth Avenue on the East Side. The building has 18,500 square feet total spread out over five stories and there are 15 bedrooms and 17 bathrooms, seven fireplaces, a ballroom and a rooftop garden. The mansion was designed by architect Charles Pierrepont H. Gilbert for Sloane, the heir to a furniture empire, in 1905. The home is classic Beaux-Arts style and five of the rooms have all their original details intact including wood-paneled ballroom with original oil-painted murals. It has been on the market for over a year but may need to go lower than $54 million in this economy.

Those of you who have been playing this game with me for a while may remember this home. I first checked it out in 2006 when it was still under construction. Well now the 33,000 square foot lodge is finally completed giving us a chance to do a before and after. This home was built on a massive scale and has 14 bedrooms, a 12,500 sq ft underground heated garage and more stone, wood and glass than some hotels. Each room seems to be built on a huge scale with room for the masses. This home features one amazing Jacuzzi framed by a double-height window and a wine cellar big enough to provide years of wine-soaked nights by the fire. It was listed at $25 million in 2006 and has come down just a touch to $23.8 million.

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

Has the economy really come to this, people using rare gold coins to pay for groceries? A woman in St. George, Utah went to the Zions Bank and handed over 14 gold $20 Double Eagle coins, saying she had groceries waiting at Wal-Mart, which would not accept the coins as payment. The bank teller gave the woman $280 but the coins were worth far more. The oldest coin was minted in 1875 and the most recent was 1927. Now the search is on for the woman because she could be getting a lot more money. Double Eagles can fetch thousands of dollars or even up to $1 million depending on the date. Even melted down the coins would fetch around $900 each at today's gold prices. It is assumed the woman did not know the treasure that she surrendered but she's in for a big payday now.

Mitt Romney's wife Ann might regret leaving some of her jewelry at the couple's Park City Utah home, which is currently for sale for $5.25 million. The Park Record reports that someone stole between 15 and 20 pieces of her jewelry from the couple's mansion. The person who stole the jewelry apparently had access to the house because there was no evidence of a break-in. Workers were recently in the home making some repairs on a bathroom near the walk-in closet containing the jewelry and it is not clear if the jewelry was taken at that time. Currently the value of the pieces stolen is not known.

Former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney may be feeling the financial pinch. The Boston Globe reports that Romney is selling two of his four homes, his Utah ski cabin and his Belmont, Massachusetts home. Romney also owns homes in New Hampshire and La Jolla, California. Romney's rep says that he and his wife Ann are downsizing because their children are grown and that the move has nothing to do with either the recession or the $42 million Romney spent on his campaign to be the Republican nominee for president.

Romney's Park City, Utah home is a seven-bedroom, 9,500-square-foot log cabin tucked into the side of a mountain on 11 acres. The post-and-beam home will be sold fully furnished with furniture made specifically for the Western-themed home. All the lighting features and fireplace screens were custom made. The home is rich in wood and natural stone including river-washed rocks which surround a large spa tub for relaxing after winter sports. This home is listed at $5.25 million.

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The listing refers to this Park City, Utah home as exceptional and they aren't kidding. The 13,000 sq ft home designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson is a modern version of a ski home. The most arresting feature has to be the lap pool which arcs out over the landscape, ending in a solid slab of aquarium glass to give you the sensation of swimming in a forest. Wood, concrete, steel and glass create a home that is angular and yet warm. The five-bedroom home has high ceilings, an elevator, gym, a streamlined wine cellar, covered dog run and large deck. There is also an indoor greenhouse. The 12.8 acre property has a ski trail across the street or you can ski through the woods to a main trail. It is listed at $9.8 million.

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Park City, Utah is already known for fantastic skiing and deep-blue skies but lacked five-star status with a premiere resort within reach -- until now. A new addition to the Park City area, St. Regis Deer Crest brings 26 private residences, 67 condominium hotel suites, and 180 luxury guest rooms and suites with all the expected quality of other St. Regis resorts around the world. It sits just 30-minutes from the Salt Lake International Airport for easy access and only one mile from Old Town Park City plus the resort is conveniently located between three world-class ski resorts for winter sport enthusiasts as well as Jordanelle Lake and State Park for year-round exploration.

Today's home is a celebrity estate of sorts but it is far off the Hollywood, New York track. The home in question, a ranch in Utah about a half hour from Park City, belongs to Tony Thomas, the award-winning American TV and film producer of Dead Poets Society, Insomnia, Blossom, Empty Nest, Benson,The Golden Girls and many other shows. Thel five bedroom 6,800 square foot home has a rustic charm and yes, a river runs through it. The South Fork of the Provo runs through the ranch for one-half mile and Noblette spring creek meanders by the home. The ranch includes sweeping lawns with a fire pit seating area, a sports court, volleyball court, bike paths and a complete horse set-up. It is directly adjoining national forest land providing easy access to trails. It is listed at $9.9 million.

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Park City Utah is known for its ski resort but about 20 minutes from the ski lifts you can find the Buffalo Run Ranch. This 897-acre ranch controls 1.5 miles of the Provo River and adjoins National Forest on two sides. The property includes a 13,000 sq. ft. main house and a 3,300 sq. ft. barn. The seven bedroom, nine bath home is rustic on a grand scale with huge wood beams and a skyscraper of a stone fireplace. The home is designed to be a total retreat including everything from a home theatre to a wine cellar. The retreat can also be used as a livestock operation with over 100 acres of irrigated meadows and two homes for ranch staff. It was once listed at $40 million but it has had a price cut to $28.9 million.

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I first wrote about Amangiri, the second U.S. offering from AmanResorts (the other, the Amangani, is in Jackson Hole, Wyoming) way back in 2005. Now three years later the first eight villas in the Lake Powell area of Southern Utah, are hitting the market at a very hefty $7 million each. The first eight are part of a total of 31 villas being created by the resort's developer, Canyon Group. The Amangiri Resort is scheduled to open at the start of 2009. The villas sit on private home sites that range from 1.3 to 10 acres and are designed to blend into the landscape. They feature multiple pavilions around a central swimming pool and firepit and each villa also incorporates a unique signature feature, such as an arroyo meditation platform. Can the struggling Southwest real estate market support this type of high-end real estate? Three years ago it seemed like a great idea, now it's less of a sure thing.