Snowbasin’s Club Med hotel is not going to happen after all. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Davy Ratchford, who is the General Manager of Snowbasin Resort, sent out a letter to passholders, detailing that their deal with Club Med had fallen through. Part of his statement is below:
“After extensive discussions, our two companies have decided not to pursue this project further…In recent years, we have seen increasing demand at Snowbasin, fueled by the growing Utah tourism market and our continued significant investment in the resort. As we navigate this period of growth, we felt it right to reassess the path ahead, enabling us to focus on our central goal of providing a world-class ski experience to each of you.”
Here is a snippet of Club Med’s statement:
“Unfortunately, while we had hoped our first US [ski resort hotel] project would be at Snowbasin, there have been delays and Snowbasin is reassessing their development plans on the mountain, instead focusing on improving the skier experience. As a result of these delays, Club Med is shifting its focus to other projects in its pipeline.”
They are still aiming to open a Club Med at a U.S. ski resort in 2025, but they have yet to announce where they will shift their focus too.
In spite of this, many major projects are still planned for Snowbasin. They’ll be adding another high-speed six-pack chairlift from Leitner Poma for the 2023-24 season. The Demoisy Express, which will carry up to 2400 people per hour, will help reduce crowds that typically happen over at the Strawberry Gondola on peak days. Davy Ratchford also confirmed to the Storm Skiing Journal that more lift replacements are planned in the future.
In terms of the village and expansion, one interesting thing that I did come upon was that Snowbasin deleted the pages on their website referencing these plans. I don’t think these plans have been canceled, but they’re likely being modified to reflect the Club Med cancellation and updated timeline. Construction on the village will supposedly begin in 2025.
Image/Video Credits: Snowbasin Resort
