Beginning January 23, 2020, and running until Sunday, February 2, Park City’s biggest event of the year will draw thousands of visitors, including a host of celebrities, actors, and film critics. The Sundance Film Festival is truly an event in a class all its own, and if you’ve never experienced it, add it to your bucket list.

Choosing the Right Sundance Hotels and Lodging
Where you decide to stay depends entirely on the experience you’re looking for. Here we break down the different areas of Park City and the best lodging options for each.

Consider Main Street the hub of Sundance. Festival events take place at venues here throughout the day, and by night, private parties fill the restaurants and bars. When you’re not taking part in the festival, you can walk to Town Lift, which will whisk you straight from the street to the mountain.

If you want to be walking distance to the action but still have a calm, quiet place to return to every night, check out the surrounding downtown area. You’ll still be able to take part in all the festivities without driving, but you won’t be in the epicenter of it all. This is a great choice for anyone who may want to head to Park City for the films, but not necessarily the after-hours events.

Deer Valley is for those who want it all: Easy access to festival events, ski-in, ski-out lodging, and unrivaled luxury. While it’s just 10 minutes from Main Street, it feels like an entire world away. Many lodgings in this area offer free transportation into town, too, making it even easier to take advantage of both the festival and the beauty of Deer Valley.

More than 124,000 attendees descend upon the festival every year. So what makes it such a desirable event? In short, it has the perfect amount of ritz blended masterfully with the rugged, historic surroundings, all less than an hour from an international airport. It’s a gathering where red carpet affairs can end up at a place like No Name Saloon, and where lodging options include everything from Deer Valley’s Stein Eriksen Residences to historic landmarks in Old Town.

When you’re not taking part in the festival’s events, you can ski at Park City Resort, which has the most skiable terrain of any mountain in the country. Or, head over to Deer Valley, where the number of skiers (still no snowboarding allowed) is capped every day, the trails are groomed to perfection, and the guest services are unrivaled.

Not up for skiing? Park City is full of mountain charm. Just walking the streets of downtown can fill an entire day, with coffee shops, boutique stores, bars, restaurants, museums, and Historic Landmarks around every corner. Once you’ve explored downtown, head out on any of the incredible day trips from Park City that are between 30 minutes and two hours away.