Stan Castleton admits he’s gotten some strange looks while developing the ultra-luxury $320-million St. Regis Deer Crest Resort in Park City, UT. It’s one of the few five-star resorts to open in 2009, one of the toughest years in the industry’s history, especially for the luxury segment. St. Regis, in fact, was the brand where AIG spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in California days after receiving billions in a government bailout, causing an effect still being felt more than a year later.

Still, Castleton, the founder and CEO of DDRM, a real estate development company based in Park City, is confident. “There was some head scratching,” the Utah native says of the development opening today. “But this is a very unique project, in a very special location. There just isn’t a lot of product like this anywhere in the world. This property will be just fine in the long run.” And, he adds, in the short term too, thanks to “very strong sponsorship in this project” and surprisingly good sales.

The 181-key hotel, with 67 one-bedroom condo-units that can be converted into two-, three- and four-bedroom accommodations, is owned by Deer Crest Janna, a partnership between Deer Crest Associates, the owner and developer of the 600-acre private gated community of Deer Crest that surrounds the hotel, and Janna Hospitality Holdings. On the top four floors of the 11-story St. Regis are 26 high-end private residences, including the 11,000-square-foot top-floor penthouse. Celebrity owners already on board are sportscaster Jim Nantz, Papa John’s founder John Schnatter (the penthouse owner) and Hercules star Kevin Sorbo.

Castleton says the first phase of sales began several years ago and started very strong and that two-thirds of the private residences and condo units are sold. “Sales went very well initially and have slowed down some, but we’re still making sales,” he says. “Closing-wise we’re doing quite well, much better than any other project I’ve heard about. “

A big part of that, he says, is the prized location of the new resort. Neighboring Deer Valley Resort was chosen as the No. 1 ski resort in North America by Ski Magazine the past three years. “By definition, ski resorts are seasonal,” Castleton says. “But with this location, one of the reasons we came to Utah as developers is the opportunity to make this a year-round resort experience. Deer Valley is a very substantive and attractive destination and St. Regis is a great supplement.”

The hotel features all of St. Regis’ standard and luxury amenities and features, and then some, including Utah’s first Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant and Reméde Spa, a 5,000-bottle wine vault, North America’s only funicular, a European style ski beach with a 40-foot-long fire garden and multi-tiered year-round swimming pool, a state-of-the-art fitness center and more than 14,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space.

The signature piece is clearly the funicular—“the thing you see in James Bond movies,” Castleton explains—a Swiss-made dual car featuring leather seating, climate control, and oversized windows offering breathtaking mountain views. The funicular takes guests, in 90 seconds and without a human operator manning it, from the lower building to the upper and main building of the St. Regis Resort.