dingo

I am always happy to hear about folks having good stays, especially in my favorite country for Starwood stays. I've had three stays at the St. Regis as a plat. Admittedly, that was four years ago most recently. My experience was quite quite different. The front desk staff let me know that the Starwood policy was to upgrade to the next best room type. So perhaps they have had a change, and perhaps others here have experiences similar to yours. I think the St. Regis is a pretty common Starwood redemption.

paterwdb

I have a one night stay in November as a Gold and Virtuoso rate. I'll let you know how they treat me. I'm happy with a nice room and don't expect much, but it will be interesting to see.

Random question for anyone who has stayed there on a Virtuoso rate: there is a $100 stay credit attached typically for food or drink. Has anyone ever been able to apply it for airport transfer?

Time traveller

Does anyone know how many Junior Suites they have at the hotel? I am trying to gauge my chances of getting upgraded from an Imperial Room to a Junior Suite as a SPG Platinum for a 3 night stay in the winter. Has anyone stayed at both of these type rooms and can comment on the differences? Thanks.

LovetoTravel83

I've styed here a number of years ago. I was gold and got upgraded to an Imperial Room, then I made platinum before check in by a couple of days and was further upgraded to a Junior Suite. It was nice, the living room was good and the bedroom was a little tight but it was ok. The bathroom was huge though.

the first picture of the Junior Suite on their website is the exact room we were given, even the view was the same. As per the website, it says there are 15 of them, so I think you have good chances of an upgrade (hopefully further upgrade to an Ambassador Suite or higher).

The hotel really feels like a St. Regis. Been to so many of them but this one was my first and best in terms of luxury.

cfabar1

If I use a SNA will that be an upgrade to a SUITE if available? I don't want to use Snas to get upgraded to another room...

Keyser

you have the ability to choose what type of room or suite you attach your sna to....look for the available upgrades in the sna pool & pick the one you want....

zedthedeadpoet

Don't stay at this hotel. It is in desperate need of a renovation.

Shame on me for not doing my homework.

Was scheduled to stay for a week. After one night we decided it was time to leave.

I understand that the hotel was last updated in 2000. It felt older. Old nasty carpets; likewise for the furniture in the room - bed, couch, chair - you name it. All old as hell - felt like it, smelled like it and looked like it.

Service was ok. Not quite St. Regis standards.

I filled out questionnaire telling them all the above. They didn't argue. Apologized, gave me 10k points and assured me that a renovation is in the works.

They shouldn't be open until then. They simply waited too long.

I was in a standard deluxe room on the 4th floor. Lovely views into the room next door and drab courtyard below.

Moved to the St. Regis in Florence and they saved my trip....

James Luckard

Anyone able to remove the word "Grand" from the thread title? The hotel dropped it from their name a while back, it was the last vestige of the old name - "Le Grand Hotel".

abk

I stayed here 5 or 6 years ago and enjoyed it. Have they really let it run down that much?

Fizzer

We have 9 nights scheduled here in about 3 weeks. I see on the website that the Concierge, restaurant and bar services are relocated to the Ritz Ballroom during renovations. Has anybody stayed here during the renos and if so how intrusive are they? We did consider switching to the Westin when we realized but it seems that there is no availability for our dates.
Could I also confirm that the Plat breakfast is the full buffet for 2?
Thanks in advance.

bhrubin

I'll be very curious what you learn/discover, so please do share! We are considering a stay here in fall 2017 but are concerned about any renovations. If you learn when the renovations to the public areas will be completed, as well as if any more renovations to rooms/suites are planned and expected to be completed, we'd be most interested to hear it all.

And of course, we will be interested to hear your thoughts on your stay, regardless. Thanks!

stuntgoats

The SPG website has info about the renovations:
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/prefer...=71#conditions

"Special Conditions
Public Area Renovations: June 6 - September 30, 2016

From June 6 to September 30, 2016, there are ongoing renovations to the hotel’s public areas as follows:

Reception and concierge services will be available in Vivendo.
Culinary and bar services will be available in the legendary Ritz Ballroom.

All efforts will be made to keep disruption to a minimum. Please contact the hotel for additional information."

ATLawyer

Stayed here in late July. I would strongly discourage anyone considering this hotel unless you're paying significantly less than the nearby Westin.

We applied SNAs, which didn't clear, and were stuck in the smallest room I've stayed in for at least 3 years. Not even a single category upgrade.

Regarding the renovations, one of the most appealing things about St. Regis hotels is the grand public spaces. These simply don't exist currently. You are checked in in what is basically a hallway with chairs and a desk. Same with concierge. The "bar" has moved to a massive ballroom, with no ambiance whatsoever--just a huge room. Breakfast (yes, full buffet for 2, as every SPG hotel in Italy we've stayed in has ever been) is served in this same room.

Beyond the problems posed with the reno (which, admittedly, are basically all with the "feel" of the property), the staff and service level were just really poor. For example, when leaving one morning I asked the concierge to get us a 9pm reservation at a place that had good pasta and/or steak. At 8:30p we had received no communication from them, and I called down and was told the name of the place our reservation was at. Nothing else, no offer of cab, directions, nothing, just the name and hung up. When we got there, it turned out to be a fish restaurant.

None of these issues is life changing--we slept fine, checked in and out when needed, the room was cleaned regularly, and we weren't overcharged for anything. It just wasn't worth the St. Regis name (or, more importantly, price). I could have been at your garden variety Sheraton and wouldn't have known the difference (although the decor would have been a bit out of place!).

bhrubin

I confess that I don't see it like you do.

Your SNAs didn't clear in late July of high season...so you got the room you actually booked. Not a negative for the hotel IMO.

You didn't like the lack of wonderful public spaces...even though you were presumably aware that those were being renovated. Not a negative for the hotel, IMO. We always want hotels to refurbish/renovate, just not when we're there. Certainly, that would be more understandable had the hotel not advised you.

At least the room decor was nicer than that of a Sheraton, it seems. You couldn't even give the hotel a compliment for that nicer decor, apparently.

Your complaint about the dinner reservation seems cogent. But that seems to be the only real complaint. It seems probable that you might have ignored anything else the hotel may have done well due to being upset that your SNAs didn't clear.

Fizzer

I will do. The renos weren't announced when we booked but appeared when I checked back some months later. I have to confess to being a mite disappointed, as I feel that the public areas add a lot to the ambience and our enjoyment of a hotel. We doid look into changing but the Westin doesn't have availability for all of our stay and we prefer not to change hotels in the middle.
All that said we are unlikely to let any of that spoil our trip, although the comments on the small room is a concern. We had 8 days in a Banyan Room in the Westin Moana Surfrider last year and the room size was very poor, so that one person had to climb on the bed to let the other pass. I guess we pay the money ( or points) and take our chance in that regard.