Apple has begun seeding a new update for the AirPods Max after hiccups in the initial rollout. The recent update, brought alongside iOS 18.4 earlier this week, enables lossless audio and super low latency when using the headphones over USB-C. Apples support page listing AirPods firmware updates was recently updated to indicate the said program, with build number 7E101, was now available for the AirPods Max. This succeeds the previous 7E99 build that was initially released this week but later marked as Coming soon. YouTuber Aaron Zollo shared a screenshot on X, confirming the change. Shortly after, Apple released the update on Tuesday, we encountered several reports about people being unable to download the update due to an unknown limitation, presumably in iOS 18.4. Understandably, the update only applies to the newer version of AirPods Max with a USB-C connector, and not the older versions with Apples formerly favored Lightning Connector. Recommended VideosThe update is crucial as it finally enables the AirPods Max to work over a USB connection instead of Bluetooth. More importantly, wired connection also enables 24-bit, 48kHz Lossless audio using Apples proprietary ALAC audio format. Apple says the feature preserves preserving the integrity of original recordings and allowing listeners to experience music the way the artist created it in the studio. In addition, the feature can also be accessed using a new USB to 3.5mm cable that Apple announced earlier this week. RelatedBesides lossless audio, the update brings Spatial Audio with head tracking features along with ultra low latency when the headphones are connected to a supported Apple device over a wired connection. AppleOnce you update your iPhone to iOS 18.4 (or iPad or Mac to the latest stable builds), you should now see the update in Bluetooth settings. Tap the i button next to AirPods Max in the list of devices to see the available firmware version and updates. Since the updates happen automatically while youre not using the AirPods, Apple suggests you charge your AirPods and keep them around your iPhone, iPad, or Mac for at least 30 minutes. After waiting, place the AirPods Max over your ears again to connect them to your Apple device. The AirPods Max will have updated by now. If that doesnt happen, you might have to reset your AirPods (heres how to) to receive the latest update. Editors Recommendations

The age of clunky, amped up, zoned out, overly literal movies adapted from video games lasted a long time from the very first one, Super Mario Bros., in 1993, stretching on through such duds as Mortal Kombat and BloodRayne and Max Payne and (sorry, fans) the Resident Evil series and the grandiose liquid sludge of Assassins Creed and, just last year, Borderlands. So in a way that era didnt end; the potential to turn a video game into a bad movie never goes away. Why would it? Video games are the anti-movies. They have characters and worlds and narratives and action and fantasy and spectacle, but theyre ultimately a post-psychological form for a post-psychological age. They lack the heartbeat that (good) movies have.Related StoriesOver the years, though, lessons have been learned. Overtly pandering strategies have been abandoned. Steven Spielbergs Ready Player One, while not based on a video game, had the visual wizardry to put you right in the gamers seat. And two years ago, offering a bookend to a form that had kicked off so wrongly, The Super Mario Bros. Movie was pure mutating eyeball-tickling fun a fantastic video-game movie that was also a nicely rounded kids fairy tale. It demonstrated that animation was probably always going to be the key to bringing video games to life onscreen. It hit the dazzle-and-emotion sweet spot. And it set the bar.Popular on VarietyA Minecraft Movie isnt nearly as good as The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Its not even as good as Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves which, given the latters 50-year-old pedigree, might be described as the analog version of a video-game movie. A Minecraft Movie is just a flaky, spirited, low-hijinks quest comedy that plops a crew of actors down into the Overworld, the epicenter of the Minecraft universe, where theyve arrived by coming through a portal that looks like its made of pulsating blue slime. Its very 1980s, that portal, and the whole movie has a retro cheeseball flavor, even though Minecraft wasnt created until 2011.At first, we register how hard the actors are working to make it all look like a breezy screw-loose adventure. Whatever your feelings about Jack Black (Im mostly a superfan), no one can ever say that he phones it in. Hes 55 now, with a gray-white beard as big and boisterous as the rest of him, and though he might strike you as a little long in the tooth to still be doing his happy dazed stoner line readings, he invests them with so much conviction in A Minecraft Movie, he simply will not deliver a line of dialogue straight that he spikes the film right along.He plays Steve, who always yearned to be a miner and wound up falling in love with the Overworld, a place where you can literally create anything that pops into your head, even though it will always come out as the cubic version of itself. The place is a surrealist Lord of the Rings alt-world paradise thats also as angular, in its billowy way, as the world of Lego, because its made of voxels, which is Minecrafts fancy word forblocks.In the Overworld, there are blockish snow-capped mountains, blockish bumblebees, blockish pink sheep, blockish shrubs and trees, blockish flowers, blockish ducks, a blockish wolf, blockish skeleton archer warriors, blockish baby Frankenstein zombies (a whole army of them), blockish buildings that look like gingerbread houses gone brutalist and, in the underworld known as the Nether, blockish pigs, who have blockish boar incisors and are done up in a way that suggests a Mad Max biker horde meets The Dark Crystal, all of them slaves to Malgosha (Rachel House), the evil British swine queen, who has kept Steve imprisoned in a dungeon.Minecraft, in real life, is whats known as a sandbox game. Like Roblox, it creates a place for the player to invent things as much as it offers a goal of victory. And so the challenge of making a movie out of Minecraft is: How do you create a story we have a stake in if the whole point of the world is simply to hang out in it?The producers of A Minecraft Movie attempted to resolve this dilemma by handing the assignment of directing the film to Jared Hess, who is still best known for Napoleon Dynamite (2004). He has had a few quirky indie follow-up films and has worked in television, but watching a self-consciously absurdist filmmaker like Hess take control of a blockbuster monster machine like Minecraft made me think, at moments, of Episode One of The Studio, in which the hip director Nicholas Stoller is recruited to somehow create a movie out of the Kool-Aid franchise. Watching A Minecraft Movie, were always aware that the story is something thats been grafted onto the world, and that we dont have much of a dramatic stake in it that its just the films way of cobbling together something that works. (Which, in its way, is very Minecraft.)Yet Hess brings something likable to A Minecraft Movie. Hes a genial camp satirist who knows how to invest not taking anything seriously with a flaked-out conviction. A Minecraft Movie never stops goofing on itself, and thats appealing.As a movie star, Jack Black had a hand in inventing this school of air-quote daffiness, but the surprise of A Minecraft Movie is how much Jason Momoa gets onto the self-skewering doofus-kitsch wavelength. He plays Garrett The Garbage Man Garrison, who was a video-game champion in 1989 and now runs a corner store called Game Over World (its stuffed with old video screens and vintage gamer knickknacks), which is teetering toward bankruptcy. Garrett is a relic, maybe a clich, but I was amazed at how much Momoa, in a pink fringed jacket and heavy-metal locks, sinks into Garretts blissed-out cluelessness, his bedazzled narcissism hanging by a thread of desperate cool. Garrett and Steve may be overly similar personality types, but thats what makes the movie click the way they mesh and fight like rival dude brothers.And the plot? Do I have to go there? Theres a glowing blue orb the Orb of Dominance. Which fits into a box, known as the Earth Crystal. Plopping one of these things into the other, in a kind of Avengers-on-happy-pills way, will allow the characters to defeat the pig demons, and also to return to Earth. They already have the Orb in their possession; they need to journey to the Woodland Mansion to retrieve the Crystal. There is, of course, a Crafting Table, in which objects, or metal pieces, are placed on it and you bonk them with a hammer, and voil! they turn, with medieval alchemy, into a brand new object, often a weapon. As fun as these scenes are, the film could have done more with the mutating magic of it all. Thats where you wish Jared Hess were less of a comedian and more of a technological showman.There are two teenagers on hand, Henry (Sebastian Hansen) and Natalie (Emma Myers), an orphaned brother and sister who, despite their prominence, dont have much heft as characters. And theres a fish-out-of-water subplot in which one of the Overworlds blockish pacifist vegetarian monks a silent dude with a monobrow winds up traveling through the portal, landing on earth, and going on a date with Vice Principal Marlene, played by Jennifer Coolidge with her over-the-top diva broadness. Some of this is amusing, but like the rest of A Minecraft Movie it never feels like it matters. Yet its no insult to say that, in this case, that may be more true than not to the spirit of a video game that turns life into a blockhead version of itself.

Nintendo has unveiled the first details about the Switch 2 console, its follow-up to the Switch, and several new games players can soon get their hands on. The Switch 2 will release on June 5 and cost $449.99, the company announced Wednesday morning.Mario Kart World, the super-sized ninth entry in the racing series, was also revealed and it goes off road for the first time in franchise history. Instead of racing through distinct courses, 24 racers (the most ever for the series) drive their karts, motorcycles, boats, trucks, snowmobiles and planes through an open world full of various regions. The Nintendo Direct showed new vehicles, items and costumes for the racers, which featured the classic Mario crew plus some other new faces. Related StoriesHyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, a third entry in the fighting series, was announced for a winter release. The Duskbloods, a gothic, action-heavy new title from Bloodborne developer FromSoftware, is coming exclusively to the Switch 2 in 2026. Kirby Air Riders, a follow-up to the popular racing game from 2003, is coming this year from director Masahiro Sakurai. And Donkey Kong is getting a new open-world game, seemingly inspired by Super Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild, titled Donkey Kong Bananza, releasing on July 17.Popular on VarietyThe original Nintendo Switch released back in March 2017, and its successor follows in its footsteps as a hybrid console that gamers can play at home or on the go. After months of rumors, the Switch 2 was officially announced in January with a teaser video that showed off its sleek, larger design. The new console has magnetically detachable Joy-con controllers and ditches their red and blue colors in favor of a mostly black palette. The controllers can also now be used as wireless mouses for certain games. In other enhancements, the Switch 2 has a bigger, 7.9-inch LCD screen that supports HDR, plus a built-in stand to prop up the console when playing it in tabletop mode. The same directional buttons are included on the left Joy-con controller, and the A, B, X and Y button are on the right. The new C button and built-in microphone allows gamers to chat with each other while playing online. There are 256 gigabytes of storage, which is eight times more than the Switch. Game cartridges are now red, instead of black, and support faster data reading. There will also be a camera add-on that allows players to video chat onscreen or put themselves in minigames in the upgraded version of Super Mario Party Jamboree.Nintendo Switch Online is getting a major expansion with retro GameCube titles being available to play on the console, including The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, SoulCaliber 2, F-Zero GX and more to come after launch. There will also be wireless, classic GameCub controllers to purchase to play the throwback games.The Switch 2 will be backwards compatible with certain Switch games, and past titles, like Super Mario Party Jamboree, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, will get upgraded versions for the new console. Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition, Hades 2, Street Fighter, Split Fiction, Madden NFL, Hogwarts Legacy, Tony Hawks Pro Skater, Hitman: World of Assassination, Yakuza 0, Borderlands 4, Civilization VII, NBA 2K, WWE 2K, Cyberpunk 2077, Final Fantasy VII Remake and more are coming to the Switch 2. https://www.youtube.com/live/DXUmjX7DsP8

This medical procedural on Netflix, which takes viewers inside a Miami hospital bracing for a hurricane, is drowning in soapy subplots.

"Investigation is ongoing" Vast pedophile network shut down in Europols largest CSAM operation 79 arrested after Europol shuts down massive child porn platform. Ashley Belanger Apr 2, 2025 2:59 pm | 24 Credit: REMKO DE WAAL / Contributor | AFP Credit: REMKO DE WAAL / Contributor | AFP Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreEuropol has shut down one of the largest dark web pedophile networks in the world, prompting dozens of arrests worldwide and threatening that more are to follow.Launched in 2021, KidFlix allowed users to join for free to preview low-quality videos depicting child sex abuse materials (CSAM). To see higher-resolution videos, users had to earn credits by sending cryptocurrency payments, uploading CSAM, or "verifying video titles and descriptions and assigning categories to videos."Europol seized the servers and found a total of 91,000 unique videos depicting child abuse, "many of which were previously unknown to law enforcement," the agency said in a press release.KidFlix going dark was the result of the biggest child sexual exploitation operation in Europol's history, the agency said. Operation Stream, as it was dubbed, was supported by law enforcement in more than 35 countries, including the United States.Nearly 1,400 suspected consumers of CSAM have been identified among 1.8 million global KidFlix users, and 79 have been arrested so far. According to Europol, 39 child victims were protected as a result of the sting, and more than 3,000 devices were seized.Police identified suspects through payment data after seizing the server. Despite cryptocurrencies offering a veneer of anonymity, cops were apparently able to use sophisticated methods to trace transactions to bank details. And in some cases cops defeated user attempts to hide their identitiessuch as a man who made payments using his mother's name in Spain, a local news outlet, Todo Alicante, reported. It likely helped that most suspects were already known offenders, Europol noted."The online world is not anonymous," Europol warned. "Most of the suspects identified in Operation Stream were matched against records in Europols databases, proving that most offenders engaged in child sexual exploitation are repeat offenders and are not unknown to law enforcement authorities."Arrests spanned the globe, including 16 in Spain, where one computer scientist was found with an "abundant" amount of CSAM and payment receipts, Todo Alicante reported. Police also arrested a "serial" child abuser in the US, CBS News reported."Some of those arrested not only uploaded and watched videos but also abused children," Europol said, while confirming that "the investigation is ongoing," making it appear likely that more arrests could follow.More arrests could prevent more abuse. In Germany, cops conducted raids in nearly 100 locations. Guido Limmer, the deputy head of the Bavarian Criminal Police, told CBS News that a 36-year-old German man was among those arrested. He not only allegedly searched for CSAM on KidFlix but "offered his young son for games," Limmer said.Other users potentially uploaded fake child sex images generated by artificial intelligence, as police found AI CSAM on one suspect's devices, Todo Alicante reported. Law enforcement globally has warned that a flood of AI CSAM is making it harder to identify real victims, which could complicate Europol's task of protecting more kids through its ongoing investigation.Ashley BelangerSenior Policy ReporterAshley BelangerSenior Policy Reporter Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience. 24 Comments

The drive to explore has taken humans to most ofthe habitable planetMarco Bottigelli/Getty ImagesThe Explorers GeneAlex Hutchinson (Mariner Books (UK, 10 April; US, on sale now))Approximately 50,000 years ago, our ancestors the first modern humans set out from their African homeland in droves. We dont know for sure what prompted this mass uprooting (sometimes known as the Great Human Expansion), but our species staggering geographic spread is proof of its success.In relatively short order, humans made it to more or less every habitable corner of the planet, writes Alex Hutchinson, a journalist,

HeazyIT TechVerifiedOct 28, 20174,551London, UKFrom Nintendo UK site NippleVikingMemberMay 2, 20184,678Jesus. $800 AUD then?Doctor_ThomasMemberOct 27, 201711,182Ooof.raspberrymousseMemberMar 19, 20215,159Cheaper than I thoughtStitch AUMemberOct 29, 2017561Brisbane, AustraliaWhat the fuck, thats $880AU for the mario kart edition.Type VIIMemberOct 31, 20172,840I was expecting 425 so not too bad. At least we know when the preorders go live.CasuallyDressedMemberJan 13, 20201,481Eek.HelixMayor of Clown TownMemberJun 8, 201926,582i thought it was going to be 50 quid cheaperxendlessTeyvat TravelerMemberJan 23, 201913,394Nintendo UK store crashed already it's utterly fucked when preorders dropFevawevaMemberOct 30, 20177,382That is about what I expected to be quite honest. HutchieMemberOct 27, 20171,752LondonDecent but will wait n see how much cex sell em so can get rid of my remaining voucherCharlie0108MemberOct 29, 20174,568I have 460 set aside for it so ok for me but I was expecting it to be about 50 cheaper.discogsMemberOct 28, 2017493LondonWhen are UK preorders coming?xendlessTeyvat TravelerMemberJan 23, 201913,394Hutchie said:Decent but will wait n see how much cex sell em so can get rid of my remaining voucherClick to expand...Click to shrink...On the Switch 1 launch it was way above rrpdiscogs said:When are UK preorders coming?Click to expand...Click to shrink...The OP image dude....Swarming1182MemberJan 14, 2018507Hell yeah.HutchieMemberOct 27, 20171,752Londonxendless said:Only Switch 1 launch it was way above rrpClick to expand...Click to shrink...Looks like im waiting 6 monthsDECKARDCreator of WormsVerifiedNov 26, 20176,863UKWhat I was expecting.Now open the preorders someone!ItsBradazHDMemberNov 21, 201881935 quid extra for mario kart is crazy valueJ SnowMemberOct 25, 2017391About what I expectedHutchie said:Decent but will wait n see how much cex sell em so can get rid of my remaining voucherClick to expand...Click to shrink...I was thinking this but I went in today and they're selling second hand games more expensive than Argos a few doors down, I would really love to know what "algorithm" they use to calculate pricingToraThe Enlightened Wise OnesMemberJun 17, 20188,895Easily justifiable Ara63MemberNov 21, 20231,185Given the other pricing news, if you care about Mario Kart at all buying that UK bundle is likely the cheapest deal for anyone worldwide.LowrysMemberOct 25, 201714,423Londondiscogs said:When are UK preorders coming?Click to expand...Click to shrink...8 April. Gives all the scalpers and bots time to get ready ans vacuum them all up. Ridiculous. Just make them live now and let consumers have a chance.HutchieMemberOct 27, 20171,752LondonAnyone got software prices? Apparently mario kart is 90 physicalRaidenMemberNov 6, 20173,017Okay i'll take it. Do we have a official release date?AxeMemberOct 27, 20173,415United KingdomI honestly was bracing for worse pricing for us.geehepeaMemberAug 5, 2024255about what I expectedByron HinsonMemberNov 14, 20171,297UKIt'll be the cart pricing that's the killerSwarming1182MemberJan 14, 2018507Annoyed they chose to delay pre-orders. it just lets scalpers and bots grab them.The price is incredibly reasonable given the evident horsepower of this device, and especially with the Mario Kart World bundle, crazy good value.GowansModeratorOct 27, 20175,790North East, UKWhat about UK games prices?HelixMayor of Clown TownMemberJun 8, 201926,582ngl though i'm not keen on getting MK World, it's crazy not to get that bundle cuz MK is just expensive on its own lol harry the spyMemberOct 25, 20173,322Do we know where we will be able to preorder fromMutedpenguinMemberDec 5, 20171,341Obviously I'll get the Mario Kart bundle(if I can)...but I feel it would be a much easier sell to the masses, if it was 399 including the game.GovernWortProphet of TruthMemberFeb 20, 20201,062Gowans said:What about UK games prices?Click to expand...Click to shrink...View: https://imgur.com/yzDDQ4YBishop89What Are Ya' Selling?MemberOct 25, 201741,697Melbourne, AustraliaStitch AU said:What the fuck, thats $880AU for the mario kart edition.Click to expand...Click to shrink...More than a ps5, crazy.WillyMemberOct 27, 2017383I said 379 at the lowest previously so I wasn't far off. Honestly, not the worst price if you want Mario Kart World in the bundle. I think I'll be waiting for more first party games to come out though.edit - 75 physical games. Ouch.cursed beefMemberJan 3, 2021884so physical is just dead dead huh? nintendo said fuck familiesGowansModeratorOct 27, 20175,790North East, UKThank you, 75 seems wild esspecially in an age of cheap PC games and Game Pass.GovernWortProphet of TruthMemberFeb 20, 20201,062This is on the Nintendo UK site.Pro controller is 75 and the GC controller is 59IIFloodyIIMemberOct 26, 201727,061Was expecting 400 so not too bad ther. But they can absolutely fuck off with the 75 for games.HelixMayor of Clown TownMemberJun 8, 201926,58275 quid for flagship Nintendo games?.. geehepeaMemberAug 5, 2024255Prices for all accessories and software announced in the directEdit: also noticed this smallprint on the pagePre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 digital games, upgrade packs and amiibo will open on My Nintendo Store from 24/04.KoukalakaMemberOct 28, 201710,194ScotlandItsBradazHD said:35 quid extra for mario kart is crazy valueClick to expand...Click to shrink...Yeah, I expect the bundle will fly off the shelves considering it's a 30 savingSnarfingtonAvengerOct 25, 20173,115GovernWort said:This is on the Nintendo UK site.Pro controller is 75 and the GC controller is 59Click to expand...Click to shrink...Hmm I think I qualify but will have to check on the emails, wonder where I can do that? Hope it's not some rando newsletterGokouDMemberOct 30, 20171,292Game prices could be worse really, given the euro/dollar prices. And that's from the Nintendo store, you can probably knock 10 off at Amazon or Smyths.shadowman16MemberOct 25, 201740,375Not super happy about the prices... but Im a fool and will be getting DK and MK for sure... ANd Yakuza and SF...jazzfunkgreatsMemberOct 7, 2019301I fit the criteria for the invitation thing on playtime and subscription length but I've only just turned on newsletters now, so I'm not expecting much. I knew I should have just embraced the spamJayCB64MemberOct 25, 201711,341WalesHonestly I thought it would be a little worse lolIDreamOfHimeMemberOct 27, 201716,155I don't actually mind that price, especially the Mario Kart bundle price.Hoping to buy from Amazon....kept my Xmas gift vouchers for this.My plan this gen is digital only, I don't have the space for boxes anymore.Ocarina_117MemberOct 26, 20179,846Not as angry as others with this pricing to be honest. I get a tonne of time out of Nintendo games and their first party releases are spaced out nicely.LewiePMemberOct 26, 201719,475I was expecting 399 for the system to saved a cool 4.

Park City may be Utah's central ski hub, but Salt Lake City offers luxury stays at a lower price.I visited the area along Utah's Wasatch Front for the first time in January 2025 and booked hotels in both towns that cost about $300 per night.I spent two nights in Salt Lake City's five-star Grand America Hotel and one night in the Sheraton Park City, a three-star Marriott hotel.My experiences at each hotel were so different that I couldn't believe they were roughly the same price.Park City has more luxury hotels and resorts than Salt Lake City and they typically cost more than double the price.Park City and Salt Lake City. Joey Hadden/Business Insider Home to two world-class ski resorts, Park City is a place where you can wake up and hit the slopes right away. Salt Lake City, however, is about a 40-minute drive from Park City and has fewer five-star hotels that typically come at a lower price point.Park City has eight five-star hotels listed onBooking.com, with an average nightly rate of $760. Four-star hotels cost roughly $660 per night, and three-star hotels cost $340 on average.Salt Lake City has only two five-star hotels listed on the same site the Grand America Hotel, where I stayed, and the Hyatt Regency. The accommodations here cost less than half the average per night, at about $150 for three-star hotels, $220 for four-star hotels, and $310 for five-star hotels.I spent my first two nights in Utah at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City.The Grand America Hotel in Downtown Salt Lake City. Joey Hadden/Business Insider The Grand America Hotel was the first five-star hotel to open in Salt Lake City. It was built in 2001 for a specific reason to host the 2002 Olympic Committee."One of the stipulations to bring the Olympics here was to build a five-star hotel," a hotel representative told Business Insider.The hotel, known for hosting celebrities and professional athletes, was ranked among the 50 best hotels in the world by CN Traveler's 2024 Reader's Choice Awards.The Grand America Hotel stretches 24 floors on 10 acres in Downtown Salt Lake City. It has 775 rooms and four tiers of accommodation, with a starting rate of $300 per night during peak season (depending on hotel occupancy), the representative told BI. That rate gets you a 700-square-foot premier room that includes a lounging area, a marble bathroom, and a wall of windows.I stayed in the second-tier room, an 880-square-foot executive suite that cost $340 a night, though BI received a media rate for the two-night stay.Aside from the size, the rooms are quite similar.Then, I spent one night at the Sheraton Park City.The exterior of the Sheraton Park City. Joey Hadden/Business Insider Sheraton Park City is a premium Marriott hotel built in 1983. Before an upgrade in 2019, it was known as the Park City Marriott.The three-star hotel is about 10-minute drive from world-class ski resorts, Deer Valley and Park City Mountain, and the hotel has a shuttle service, making it a convenient stay for skiers.A hotel representative told BI that the hotel has 199 rooms and four tiers of accommodation, with a starting rate of $300 during peak season.I booked the lowest tier a guest room for about $300 for one night.The Grand America Hotel had a posh European feel.Inside the Grand America Hotel lobby. Joey Hadden/Business Insider The Grand America Hotel is drenched in old-world glitz and glam. With Italian marble floors, glass chandeliers, and antique decor in every direction, I felt like royalty as I stepped into the lobby.The Sheraton Park City had more of a southwestern mountain vibe.Inside the Sheraton Park City lobby. Joey Hadden/Business Insider The Sheraton Park City had a more modest feel. The lobby had an elevated cowboy-era look, with wood and leather furniture, a stone fireplace, and stacks of logs on the shelves surrounding it.My executive suite at the Grand America Hotel was 880 square feet and included a living room.The living room in the author's suite. Joey Hadden/Business Insider My executive suite at the Grand America Hotel had accents and decor that matched the upscale, European look of the rest of the hotel.The suite had a large living room with a lounge and desk.If I had booked the lower room tier for $300 a night, I would have had a smaller, sectioned-off seating area in addition to the bedroom.Sliding doors in the living room led to the bedroom.The bedroom in the executive suite. Joey Hadden/Business Insider The bedroom felt elegant with antique furniture, one of the coziest king-sized beds I've ever had the pleasure of sleeping on, thanks to a customized mattress, and a small balcony overlooking Salt Lake City.When I stay at hotels, I love waking up to a wide view of the destination I'm visiting because it gets me excited to start my day of exploring.My room at the Sheraton Park City was 350 square feet. Joey Hadden/Business Insider My room at the Sheraton Park City had two queen-sized beds across from a dresser and a small work desk. It looked more like a typical hotel room than my suite at the Grand America Hotel. The beds were comfortable, and I appreciated the local artwork on the walls.I didn't have a balcony, and my room's window faced another side of the building, but I imagine that rooms on higher floors offered better views.Although it was a bit plain compared to the Grand America Hotel room, my Sheraton Park City accommodation was clean, modern, and functional. It was certainly on par with other three-star hotels I've booked.A large walk-in closet led to the bathroom at the Grand America Hotel.The executive suite closet and bathroom. Joey Hadden/Business Insider The closet felt huge. Inside, I found terry cloth robes with matching slippers and amenities like an iron, steamer, safe, and extra linens.There was also a vanity on one side of the closet and two mirrored doors that led to the bathroom.If I had booked the lower-tier room, I would have had a smaller closet and bathroom, yet with all the same amenities as the executive suite.My room at the Sheraton Park City had a smaller closet in front of the bathroom.Inside the Sheraton Park City room. Joey Hadden/Business Insider On the way to the bathroom, there was a small closet. It had an iron and ironing board inside. Across from it, I appreciated the brightly lit sink and vanity.My bathroom at the Grand America Hotel was spacious and coated in marble.The bathtub and shower in the executive suite. Joey Hadden/Business Insider Handpicked Italian marble coated the floors, counters, and some of the walls in the executive suite bathroom.The bathroom had a soaking tub, a glass-walled shower on one side, and a toilet stall on the other. It was stocked with travel-sized toiletries.The lower-tier rooms' bathrooms are smaller, but they have the same decor and include a tub and separate shower.My bathroom was smaller at the Sheraton Park City, but the shower felt larger.The shower in the Sheraton Park City bathroom. Joey Hadden/Business Insider This bathroom was decent for a 3-star hotel. There was no tub, but the shower felt larger than the one in my Grand America suite.Inside, there were two shower heads and full-sized toiletries.The Grand America Hotel had indoor and outdoor pools.The indoor pool at the Grand America Hotel. Joey Hadden/Business Insider The indoor pool was in the 20,000-square-foot Grand Spa, which also has saunas and 18 service rooms. The outdoor pool was surrounded by trimmed trees in a courtyard.The Sheraton Park City had an indoor atrium pool.The pool in the Sheraton Park City courtyard atrium. Joey Hadden/Business Insider The pool area sat in a courtyard atrium in the middle of the hotel and had an indoor-outdoor feel. Although there was no spa at the Sheraton Park City, the pool area had a hot tub and a sauna.The Grand America Hotel was packed with amenities.Inside the spa lobby at the Grand America Hotel. Joey Hadden/Business Insider In addition to the spa, the Grand America Hotel had a fitness center, a European-style coffee shop and bistro, a strip of high-end boutique shops, multiple bars, 24 business venues, and a 35,000-square-foot courtyard with intricate landscaping.The Sheraton Park City had convenient amenities, too.Amenities at the Sheraton Park City. Joey Hadden/Business Insider With two restaurants, a coffee shop, a convenience store, a fitness center, a game room, a business center, and 11 event venues, the Sheraton Park City had plenty of amenities for a three-star establishment.After staying at both hotels, I realized I'd rather sacrifice convenience than luxury.The author enjoys her executive suite at the Grand America Hotel. Joey Hadden/Business Insider I thought the Sheraton Park City was worth the $300 price point. The three-star hotel would be perfect for a budget traveler who wants to wake up and hit the slopes right away.But the Grand America Hotel was just as luxurious as hotels that have cost me $1,000 a night or more in other cities.After a tiring day of winter sports, I imagine retiring to a lavish room for a warm bath before stretching out on a custom mattress would be worth the drive.