Where to stay in Salt Lake City: the best areas and hotels

Everything in Salt Lake City is measured from Temple Square, quite literally: the street grid counts outwards from it. The granite temple, the domed Tabernacle and the gardens around them are the city's defining sight, and the open-air City Creek Center next door covers the shopping.

Downtown is compact, clean and easy to walk, with the Salt Palace Convention Center, concert halls and most of the city's best restaurants and bars within a few blocks. The hotels are the grandest in town, from a boutique in a historic building to a new high-rise with a rooftop pool and cabanas. The light rail runs straight through, and every street seems to end in a mountain view.

A few blocks west of Temple Square, the mood loosens up. The Delta Center, home of the Utah Jazz, hosts basketball and big concerts, and the Gateway district beside it has turned into one of the city’s livelier corners, with restaurants, bars, cinemas and shops.

Hotels here tend to be modern suite and apartment-style places with kitchens, which makes them good value for families and for skiers who want a city base. Temple Square and the convention centre are still within walking distance, and there is a light-rail stop by the arena. Major ski resorts, Park City among them, are within about 30 to 45 minutes' drive.

The city climbs gently eastwards to the University of Utah and the foothills beyond, and the views get better with every block. Up here you are a short walk or drive from the Natural History Museum of Utah, Red Butte Garden and Hogle Zoo, with hiking trails starting more or less where the streets stop.

Further south along the foot of the mountains, around Holladay and Cottonwood, hotels sit a short drive from Big Cottonwood Canyon and the national forest. It is a calm, residential side of town that suits walkers, skiers and anyone who would rather wake up to mountains than to traffic. Downtown is a quick drive away.

The middle and south of the Salt Lake Valley is where savvy skiers sleep. Midvale sits about 12 miles south of downtown, just off the I-15, and the roads up to the ski resorts are only minutes away. Stay here and you can ski a different mountain every day, then come back to a hot tub and a suite with a proper kitchen.

It is suburban, not scenic, but it is practical: shops and restaurants are all around, rates are lower than downtown and the TRAX light rail runs into the city when you want an evening out. Neighbouring Sandy has the Real Salt Lake football stadium, with the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium a short drive away for non-ski days.

West Valley City is a big suburb south-west of downtown, a few minutes from both the airport and the centre. The main draw is the Maverik Center, which hosts ice hockey and concerts, and a cluster of roomy, mostly all-suite hotels around it.

Families should take note of one in particular: a hotel with its own indoor water park, complete with three pools and a 183-foot slide. The light rail's Green Line runs from here to downtown and the airport, so you can leave the car behind. It is not a place to wander, but it is easy, affordable and well connected.

Salt Lake City's airport is remarkably close to the city, so staying beside it costs you very little in convenience. Hotels here are a mile or two from the terminal, most with free shuttles, pools and breakfast, and downtown is roughly ten minutes away along the I-80.

It makes sense for a late arrival, an early departure or the first night of a road trip to the national parks. Some hotels look out over a lake to the mountains, which is more than most airport hotels can say. For a longer stay, though, you will have more fun in the centre.