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I just wanted to add to my first couple days review.


THE NOT SO GOOD:

We did encounter a number of service hiccups. Many times we would call for butler service and no one would answer. Then we would try to call the main operator and no one would answer. This happened many many times over the course of our stay and sometimes when we would get an answer the person would have a very hard time understanding what we were saying. Be prepared for that. Eventually we would get a person and they would fix whatever issues we had. One morning it took 3 calls over a 40 minute period to get our morning butler service coffee. Another time I had to make 2 phone calls and then 2 requests, in person no less, for my shoes to be picked up to be shined and then yet another combination of calls and in person requests to get napkins and silverware so we could eat some items we had bought outside the resort. We scheduled a time well in advance for my wife to picked up by buggy to be taken over to where they do the guided nature trail walk. They did not show up. 3 calls later and they were still late causing her to be late for the tour. I had emailed the property the day before our arrival to arrange to have champagne and chocolate covered strawberries as a surprise for my wife. I received email confirmation this would be there and waiting for her upon our check in. It was not. One day we return and our door was not shut. I surmise housekeeping had forgotten to ensure to was closed all the way. Upon check out there was a charge to my room for a meal at he beach house we had not eaten for $134. It took about 20 minutes but they finally figured out that yes it was not us that charged that. There was also the matter of a $150 credit (which was for service recovery) that was not credited to our final bill as well so check you folio thoroughly!

The Good:

There are a some people at this property that truly live up to the St Regis brand. Héctor M. Rodríguez is one such man and when we got frustrated with issues listed above I would finally ask for him to call me and he would fix everything. He also ensured proper service recovery. Hector was the one who also does the nightly Champagne sabring. This man should be training others there as he fully gets it and executes. I intended to reach out to Marriot about the him.

Another would be KIrsy. I am not sure of her title but she definitely ensured a personal touch for my birthday she was usually out front or in the main lobby. I received some very generous gifts and a fully decorated room with balloons and a banners to celebrate. Kirsy had arranged with my wife and wrote a very touching and personal from the heart that was anything but the standard happy B day thanks for choosing to stay with us. Aside from the one time being late (which was probably a communication error) the guys that drove us every day (several times) were super. Usually if the beach is not pure white its a bit of a turn off. This beach is golden brown but if you walk to the west away from the main pool the beach is a most unusual color mix of gold/brown with black streaks. Every foot looked different and my wife and I kept commenting how it looked like someone had painted the colors. This is headed toward where the only real snorkeling spot is on property.Needless to say the beach was nicer than I thought it would be.

We received a number of great recommendations for places to eat off property. We were looking for real local spots and each and every place we tried that they sent us to was excellent. These recommendations came from butlers, buggy drivers, and waiters. we definitely hit some spots that many would consider dives but had fabulous food. Once such place was nothing but a tent with a big grill. We were the only tourists there. They were known for there Ponchos (sp?). This is basically chicken, shrimp, or pork on a stick cook over fire. The one we went to (Yunnis) was a bit of a drive from the property but dirt cheap but simply awesome local fare. We spoke with the locals eating there and one man said Yunnis is so good he drives past several other stands to get to this one which makes it a 45 min drive for him.

I thought the food was pretty good. We ate at Seagrapes twice for dinner, but never had breakfast on site. We ate at the Beach House for dinner and lunch and enjoyed those meals. FYI the cocktails at the Beach house are much better than those served in the hotels main lobby bar and a little cheaper. I think they are still trying to get some of the staff up tp the Regis standards, but the property itself is gorgeous.

Puerto Rico as a whole we were not that impressed with, but it did not matter as most of our time was spent in the oasis of the St Regis and its magnificent 500 acre surroundings. I was there to recover from a severe illness so we spent most of our time just relaxing not doing much. The incredible upgrade certain offsets a lot of the problems we encountered and made our stay a memorable one in good way. I would not recommend staying in an entry level room as the location won't be that good. If you want a place to go for that (or golf even though i dont golf i hear the course is really nice) ) I would recommend it despite the issues the hard product is amazing. I am sure with a little more time the staff will all be up on a higher level. They are all truly trying very hard seem to be quite happy working there. Also to their credit they did end up sending the Champagne and berries the day after I told them they did not show up and they did not charge us for it. So that was a nice surprise. If you are going to PR I would recommend staying at the Regis for the peace, beauty, great hard product and relaxation.