Originally Posted by EuropeanPete

This is certainly going to be an interesting thread. I stay in very different hotels to you (different demographics and interests) so I have a limited amount to contribute on the specifics, except to note that putting the Bristol and Laucala in the same bucket feels counter-intuitive. Perhaps we're talking about the personal service one gets in a higher end Bristol Suite as a repeat visitor, but (ignoring the different environments) I can't see these as in any way comparable to the Laucala experience.
I have stayed at the St Regis NYC and the Savoy and would also find it hard to see these categorised as "Superior Lux" given their hardware and service issues (again, probably not an issue when a serial repeat guest and/ or staying in one of the higher end suites). These hotels are expensive and have fame because of the city they are in, but in my stays at least they've not brought anything that I haven't seen bettered elsewhere in a $200 a night hotel at the bottom end of the Lux scale.