REAL ESTATE

In an area with many outstanding places to live, Talisker Club in Park City, Utah stands out

By Larry Olmsted,
Special Contributor

If there is one place in the United States that truly has it all -- winter, spring, summer and fall -- it's Park City, Utah.

It not only has the quaintness of a small town, with an Old West historic district full of galleries and saloons, but also a huge slate of restaurants, thanks in part to five standout luxury hotels: the Montage, Waldorf Astoria, Sky Lodge, Stein Eriksen Lodge and St. Regis.

Park City has three world-class ski resorts (Deer Valley, the Canyons and Park City Mountain Resort) and has hosted the Winter Olympics. It is also home to the Sundance Film Festival (Sundance founder Robert Redford operates several restaurants on Main Street). The hiking, biking and other sports here are outstanding, too.

And it is all less than 45 minutes from Salt Lake, which has the most reliable major ski country airport in the nation, an international hub that rarely closes even during the biggest storms.

Then there is the golf.

There are a number of courses around Park City, including a municipal layout (that doubles as an excellent Nordic ski area in the winter) and several higher-end daily-fee courses, but the standout is the private Tuhaye course.

Designed by former Masters champion Mark O'Meara, Talisker was built on land that overwhelms with natural beauty, showcasing drop-dead views of the Wasatch Mountains at every turn. Everything about the golf operation is first rate, right down to the clubhouse designed by world-renowned Robert A.M. Stern Architects -- one of five clubhouses in Talisker designed by the firm.

Talisker home sites

That is what makes the Talisker Club community so unique. It's not a single-gated community, but several broken into parts that appeal to all buyers -- at least ones with at least $1 million to spend, which is the entry-level price for a home here.

The original part of Talisker is known as Tuhaye, with the golf course and room for 650 homes on 2,300 acres just outside downtown Park City. Tuhaye also includes the golf clubhouse, a state-of-the-art spa and fitness center, pools and other common facilities.

Talisker also developed the Empire Pass section of the Deer Valley ski resort, which includes the Montage Hotel as well as ski-in/ski-out condos and private homes, with immediate access to several chairlifts.

Just down the road, Talisker also owns the entire Canyons ski resort, the fourth-largest ski resort in North America with 19 lifts and nearly 200 trails. The club's real estate also fronts the huge Jordanelle Reservoir, offering members a full array of boating and motorized watersports options.

While its year-round sporting facilities are all world-class, the club has also put an emphasis on its culinary program. Besides the five clubhouse eateries, it operates several public restaurants, including one in the Waldorf Astoria hotel, The Farm restaurant at the Canyons, and Talisker on Main, its flagship downtown eatery that many consider the finest restaurant in Park City. Talisker executive chef John Murko was just nominated for a James Beard Award, cooking's equivalent of the Oscar.

Tuhaye home sites

The biggest question facing buyers at Talisker is golf first, skiing second, or vice versa? For golf course living, the choice is Tuhaye, where home sites (285 of the 650 have been sold) range from $275,000 to $1.75 million and finished custom homes from $1 million-$5 million. Those buyers who want to be on top of the mountain would choose on-slope living at Red Cloud, which is even pricier, with homes and home sites ranging from $6 million to $20 million.

But just as those living at the ski resort have run of all the golf facilities, those living at Tuhaye get the benefit of a large on-mountain private clubhouse at Deer Valley, the Talisker Tower, which includes lockers, ski concierge, a restaurant and a full spa, so they have the most hassle-free ski experience possible, storing their equipment here and bypassing the public base lodges if they wish.

Including all these holdings, Talisker has more than 10,000 acres of some of the most prime mountain real estate in the world. Owners pay dearly for it, but from a lifestyle perspective, it does not get much better than this.

Larry Olmsted has written more than 1,000 articles on golf and golf travel, for the likes of Golf Magazine, T&L Golf, LINKS, Golf & Travel, Men's Health, Men's Journal, USA Today, and many others. He broke the Guinness World Record for golf travel and wrote Getting into Guinness, as well as Golf Travel by Design. He was the founding editor of The Golf Insider, and the golf columnist for both USA Today.com and US Airways Magazine.

April 18, 2012

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.