Originally Posted by
andrewpartyman
I made a comment on here that I didn't think the St. Regis San Francisco was anything special. Lucky for you guys, I happened to take photos of our room. (I do this all over the world; I am a dork.) I said something like I thought the rooms were comparable to an average Westin. I stand by that remark. Here are the photos of the room I stayed in at the St. Regis San Fran. To me it doesn't look like anything special. Basic comfortable bed (if not too warm), flat screen TV, bathtub that opens to room if desired, standard marble shower, and that's that. People have asked me which Westin's I have stayed in with better rooms (or comparable). In the past year I would say: Vancouver, British Columbia; Westin Times Square, Westin Michigan Avenue Chicago, The Westin Book Cadillac Detroit, the Four Points Sheraton Dubai, Westin Athens, Greece; and pretty much every W all over the world except Mexico City and Chicago Lakeshore (again, not Westins but St. Regis is supposed to be a vastly superior experience) Sure these locations are all over the world (thus varying degrees of service) but a St. Regis is supposed to be like staying at the Peninsula hotel: blown away at every turn. After waiting 10 mins to check in, 15 to check out, not having my amenity points on my statement, not getting points for food service, being charged for internet, and being "upgraded" I was hardly impressed to say the least. As I stated, the room was nothing to write home about
:
http://s1222.photobucket.com/albums/...rewpartymanFT/
Sigh.. Let me try to explain what the difference between a St. Regis and other Starwood brands. Your pictures tell it all: You are looking at a small room, but with very expensive interior and great amenities. All rooms give you Evian when they are being cleaned and at turn down service. You are looking at an awesome bed with very expensive linens and goose down pillows and duvet. You are looking at a luxury bathroom with great toiletries. Luxury hotels are about details like luxury robes and slippers. About a complimentary shoe shine bag for having your shoes shined over night. It's about getting a real newspaper of your own choice on your door, not the Newspaper for dummies (USA Today). I could go on.
So even if your room is smaller, it's filled with luxurious features. Don't get me started on your list of properties you claim are on par with the St. Regis San Francisco. There are hotels on your list that are well known dumps here on FT.
Sure, the check in issue would have p**** me off as well, and I do agree that this is not the best St. Regis, not even close, but I think your real beef with this place (as most others who complain about this property in this thread) is that you didn't get an upgrade.
Let's see if I get mine in two weeks and how I feel after my next stay
