Originally Posted by
EuropeanPete
There is never going to be consensus on the St Regis New York, not least because of expectations one might have of THE St Regis which immediately risk being unreasonable. Bear in mind also that a lot of money in the Upper East Side doesn't necessarily get you that much hotel or service. I rarely spend over $1,000 for a room and it has always felt relatively special, except that in the St Regis New York it's just not that special.
I saw how the hotel can really turn on the charm for repeat or high spend visitors (for them), but as an SPG Platinum member spending more than I had on any hotel all year (in 200+ nights) after 10min waiting at check in while known guests were moved in front of me in the queue, I ended up in a room without proper windows and under some kind of aircon duct meaning it was super loud. I had to wait 15min just for a seat at the King Cole bar which was like going back to the 1980s. In comparison to something like the Nomad Library bar 25 blocks down the road, the drinks were more expensive, but both the quality of the drinks and the service levels were several levels below. For a similar price I could have gone on holiday to Bermuda.
If you're going to spend a lot of money on a trip (by St Regis standards), if you've secured a way of getting special recognition or if you're a repeat visitor then the place is genuinely special and you will receive a warm and elite reception, but be wary if you're marking a special occasion by saving up for a base level room and hoping for magic. New York in general and the St Regis in particular is not a place I'd recommend for that.
As I read your post I thought back to one of my rare disappointing SPG stays. Nothing at our Imperial (Vienna) stay lived up to my (admittedly high) expectations. The FDC was snippy to the verge of rudeness- we were given a small, tired room in the back where we could hear every note the musicians at the Musikverein we’re practicing (fortunately that wasn’t a detriment for us), and were overall made to feel unwelcome. This was so contrary to my other SPG experiences at Luxury Collection Hotels that I was at a loss and didn’t escalate as I should have. For years I blamed the Imperial — “it’s an overrated property- I’ll definitely avoid when I’m in Vienna.” (And sure enough, on our last visit we stayed at LMV)
But over the years I have come to realize that even 2 guests with similar tastes and requirements can have widely divergent experiences at the same hotel. And sometimes it’s just due to crummy luck.
The Imperial continues to draw rave reviews— including reviews from people I trust. It forced me to wonder- “was my experience typical, or did I simply have bad luck?” [Spoiler Alert ] I have determined the latter, and I plan to give the Imperial a second chance.
So much affects our impression of a stay- the FDC who greets us, the room we are assigned, how crowded (or un crowded) the hotel is at that time.
We are fortunate enough to stay at some pretty nice properties and St Regis NYC made my top 9 list of 2018 (along with Mystique, Domes of Elounda, Grande Bretagne, Prince de Galles, Schloss Fuschl and others). It is especially appealing on the current points redemption which is why we decided to return there again this Spring.