"For us, it's all about the destination, bringing our guests to a unique destination," he said. "When you look at our portfolio . . . you look at all of them, they're in fairly unique destinations, with the culture, the rich heritage and obviously the landscape, and that's what we see in southern Utah."

Amanresorts specializes in a "less is more" philosophy, "offering a unique lifestyle experience along with the destination itself," Heywood said.

While Amangiri remains in the design stage, Huntsman said it will lead to 150 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs.

"We're going to have people knocking on our door from around the world, those who are looking for all kinds of destinations," he said. "And I think this helps the state in terms of expanding the range of possibilities that will be offered to people visiting our state, so it is very much in keeping with our overall travel and tourism theme."

Amanresorts' other U.S. resort is Amangani in Jackson Hole, Wyo. That facility faced the same challenge confronting Kane County's: accessibility. But Amangiri will be a 25-minute drive from an airport in Page, Ariz., that is served by international airports in Denver and Phoenix.

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E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com