I stayed in a 5-star hotel in Salt Lake City and couldn't believe my 880-square-foot suite cost $340 a night
The Grand America Hotel is one of the few 5-star hotels in Salt Lake City.
I stayed in an 880-square-foot suite with a living room and a marble bathroom for $340 a night.
The room was so spacious and luxurious that I thought it would have cost much more.
I've stayed at many upscale hotels that charge upward of $1,000 a night. And my $340-a-night stay at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City was just as luxurious as any of those.
As one of the few 5-star hotels in Salt Lake City, the Grand America Hotel boasts spacious suites, Italian marble surfaces, and spectacular skyline views.
After looking around my suite, I could see why it was recently ranked one of the best hotels in the world by CN Traveler's 2024 Reader's Choice Awards.
There are 775 rooms at the Grand America Hotel.
A hotel representative told Business Insider that there are four tiers of rooms, with starting rates ranging from about $300 to $8,500 (depending on hotel occupancy).
In January 2025, I booked a two-night stay in the second-tier room — an executive suite with a base rate of $340 per night, though BI received a media rate.
Once I got to my room, I was shocked by how spacious and luxurious it was for the price point.
Though the hotel was built in 2001, the representative told BI that it began "refreshing" its suites in 2024. The refresh is ongoing, but I was lucky enough to stay in an updated room.
My 880-square-foot suite opened into a living and working space.
Scott French, the director of hotel operations, told BI that when redesigning the suites, they aimed for an old-world European ambiance with modern comforts and luxury.
The teal, English wool carpeting filled the living room and bedroom. In the living room, a TV was across from a couch. The coffee table was tall enough for me to eat breakfast on.
On the other side of the room was a desk with a large leather chair in front of a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. Working there made me feel like an exec.
Double doors revealed the bedroom — and one of the most comfortable mattresses I've ever slept on.
French said they considered a variety of luxury mattress brands for the suites and customized their top choice.
"We handpicked and influenced some of the contents of the mattress. We asked them to add this and that until we got it exactly where we wanted it to be," he said. "We applied that process to most items we've added."
French said the room is filled with custom-made furniture, including the bed platform, which was redesigned and tweaked multiple times to showcase the wood exactly this way.
He added that the platform design also considered housekeepers by eliminating ledges that would make it harder to make the bed.
On one side of the bedroom, floor-to-ceiling windows opened to a small balcony with a city view.
I could also see the brightly lit hotel courtyard below my balcony at night.
I found the walk-in closet and bathroom on the other side of the bedroom.
The walk-in closet was about the size of my bedroom in my NYC apartment. It held extra pillows and linens, a rack of hangers, an iron, a steamer, and a safe.
I especially appreciated the terry cloth robes with pleated pockets and the matching slippers.
The white marble bathroom was bright and spacious.
The bathroom had a shower and a separate soaking tub on one side and a toilet behind a closed door on the other.
It seemed like every detail was considered — even the trash can was gold-tinted with intricate carvings.
The Italian marble was handpicked.
"We have it throughout the hotel, and it was picked to be a timeless stone," French said of the Italian marble. He added that they only used slabs with minimal veining.
"We bought pallets and pallets of that stone that we won't use because the owner, Mr. Holding, would only use certain crates of it," French told BI.
The bathroom had toiletries from a brand I'd never seen before.
The product's scents and soothing feel on my skin were nothing short of luxury. I even took some home.
The Grand America Hotel is a great option for anyone looking for luxury on a budget.
The Grand America Hotel offered such great value that I could see myself staying there again and again.
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