The St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico [Master Thread]
Dec 2, 2010, 11:49 am
#16
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: ATL
Programs: AA Gold, HH Diamond
Posts: 1,061
Of course in PR the majority of hotels across the board are members of this resort fee conspiracy, not just SPG hotels.
Dec 2, 2010, 1:48 pm
#17
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Lafayette, CO, USA
Programs: SPG Lifetime Plat, AA Gold, UA Gold, DL Silver, HH Gold, Vail Epic
Posts: 9,096
OLD:
"Our resort fee is $60.00 per room, per night plus applicable taxes. The resort fee includes access to the Kids' Club, key access to our fitness facilities, water sports (non-motorized), Wi-Fi and high speed internet access in all guest rooms and public areas, pool and beach service, and bottled water provided in guestroom."
CURRENT:
"Guest will be charged $60 USD daily for a resort charge inclusive of tax. This includes: toll-free and local phone calls, high-speed wireless Internet access in public areas and guest rooms, a welcome cocktail amenity in each room upon arrival, beach and pool services including beach umbrellas, ice cold water “spritzing”, frozen grapes, electronic books and I-pods (based upon availability), fresh-fruit bites, unlimited use of all non-motorized water sports and snorkeling equipment exclusively at the Boat House, bicycles (based upon availability), tennis center/courts day and night (equipment available at no additional cost), and use of our golf course driving range."
Dec 11, 2010, 11:38 am
#19
Join Date: Jul 2010
Programs: SPG Plat, UA 1K, AA Plat
Posts: 4
Nice property
I'm at the property now - it's very nice. I didn't get upgraded even though it seems a bit dead this weekend. We stocked up on some food at "Econo" supermarket in nearby Rio Grande -- we'd gladly buy this stuff at the resort, but all they have is dark chocolate in the gift shop... Overall a beautiful property but somewhat too isolated (ie, not near a cute town / restaurant area).
Dec 11, 2010, 5:37 pm
#20
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 113
Just back from a two day stay at St. Regis Bahia Beach in PR. Overall impression? FABULOUS. Sure it’s new, and not everything is 100% perfect yet… but as things go, the things that mattered most were all top notch. Here are the details….
As mentioned before, getting to the hotel isn’t easy. Luckily, the previous trip reports gave us some insight into what we were getting into – so we had some fair warning. But in general, signage in Puerto Rico is horrendous, so it’s hard to get anywhere. Bottom line: We rented a car, got onto Route 26 East. Took that to 66 East, to 3 East, then took a left turn to Route 187. 187 is a tiny side street that does turn into a one way at one point, forcing you to drive on a parallel street without warning. When you get to the end of that one way, make a left (NOT toward Luquillo) and then you’ll find the St Regis on your right after a short drive. The directions the hotel gives are too complicated (they’re too complicated back to the airport, too – I’m not sure why they can’t be the simpler version I gave above).
Anyway, after the gate opens (you give your name to the gate attendant), you drive for what feels like an endless amount of time (in a good way) through beautifully landscaped foliage. There’s a lovely lake on the right (you can kayak and sail there) and the golf course on the left. Make a left around the fountain, drive some more, run over an iguana (okay, we didn’t run it over, but almost did… when they have “Iguana Crossing” signs, they aren’t kidding!) and finally arrive at the Plantation House which is the main building where you check in, have dinner, etc.
We were greeted by name as soon as the car door was opened, ushered in to the check in area which isn’t standard hotel fare (a lovely sit-down desk with cushioned chairs). We were offered Champagne and Mimosas, and while our reservation was loading on the computer we were able to take a look at the beautiful surroundings, the fabulous high ceilings, well appointed décor, very inviting lounge area, and so on. It all felt very luxuriously homey – and we felt very relaxed.
As a Gold SPG member, we were given 4pm checkout (nice since our flight wasn’t till 7pm) and were upgraded to a suite – room 312 in Casa Gobernador. (As an aside, our first suite was room 613, but when our butler took us there, there were workers in the suite changing a light bulb. Our butler was very embarrassed, apologetically took us back to the main house for a new room assignment, and gave us complementary cocktails while we waited). The new suite was located in the last casa to the left (when facing the main house). The walkway was a lovely meandering elevated wood planked path through beautiful foliage, skipping salamanders, and soft birds chirping. There was a “main” keyed door to the casa, and once inside the vestibule, only two room – ours and 311. I believe the fancy governor suite was right above us.
The suite was spectacular (1200 sq feet, I think) – a large entry foyer with a kitchenette with a beautiful backsplash, large minibar fridge and cabinets, coffee maker, and complimentary mojitos. There was a large closet and the second full bath with tons of extra towels and full bathroom amenities. Then there was the living room – a lovely couch/chaise (the butler said it was a sofa bed) with beautiful side tables that had magazines on it, coffee table books (which were also on the ottoman/coffee table) another 2 chairs, a lovely wall/shelving unit in dark wood that housed lots of accessories and of course the TV with Bose surround sound. The ceiling was dark wood beamed with a plantation like ceiling fan. The area rug was lush and sophisticated – again – we felt like we were in a beautifully appointed home, not a hotel room. There was a sliding door to the patio (more on that below).
From the living room, we moved to another foyer that had lovely artwork on the wall and a dresser with the safe and drawers for our clothes. Off that foyer was the large closet, to the left the bedroom, to the right the bathroom. The bedroom was large, beautifully furnished, same ceiling treatment as the living room, benches at the foot of the bed and another chair on the side (plus a desk and chair also). There was another entrance to the patio, which had a large couch/chaise and ottoman plus a round table and 4 chairs. It was large enough that it could have fit another two or three couches. The view was wonderful – we had a view to the beach, but there was a grassy area with palm trees between our room and the beach which made it so much more private. We loved the fact that we couldn’t see anyone from our room and vice versa.
The bathroom was large, two sinks, separate toilet room, a huge “wet room” that encompassed a deep deep soaking tub (complete with rubber ducky) and a shower that must have been 8’x 8’ with rainhead and hand held fixtures.
We were welcomed with a plate of yummy pastries and a nice note from the manager. (Turn down left us with a bottle of water, 1 glass only, and a small tile showing a mardi gras clown. Cute).
All the lights were motion sensored – plus there was a touch-of-the-button-by-the-bed controls for all the lights in the room, plus the AC. (A quick word about the AC – it was very very loud!)
The beach is nice – nothing like the white sand and crystal clear blue water of Cayman Island for example. Brown sand and green water, but still nice to come to from the East Coast where the weather was a frigid 25 degrees F. The pool was so nice – terraced and curvy so you didn’t have to sit near or see other people if you didn’t want to. It seems that’s the name of the game here – private places to get away – tucked away outdoor beds on the lawn away from the pool; cabanas near the pool, beach cabanas, and so on. If you didn’t want to see anyone, you didn’t have to (of course, we went off season, so it was relatively quiet anyway).
Pool amenities like frozen grapes and water were welcomed. Staff was very attentive to our needs. Seems they’ve come a long way even since opening (based on reports from other people). Everyone called us by name, was always friendly, asked if there was anything we needed, etc.
A few things we noticed in our room: the outlets were closed (other than the bathroom ones) so we couldn’t plug anything in except in the bathroom. The AC was loud (as already mentioned) and actually woke us up in the morning. The hot water took a long time to reach “hot”. Other than that, we felt like we were in paradise.
We left the property to go to El Yunque rainforest – around a 20 minute trip from the resort. We only ate at Fern for dinner – outdoors on the veranda– very nice and we didn’t think it was expensive at all (at least compared to other high end restaurants). For the rest of our meals, we just munched on food we bought at the Econo supermarket on rt 187.
If we were there longer we probably would have spent a morning biking around the lovely grounds.
By the way (to respond to the other reviewers) – we saw no children at all when we were there (on weekdays) and we also had no problem calling the concierge – the phone was picked up right away all three times we called. Overall, it was a great stay and highly recommended. We actually would love love love to go back again!
As mentioned before, getting to the hotel isn’t easy. Luckily, the previous trip reports gave us some insight into what we were getting into – so we had some fair warning. But in general, signage in Puerto Rico is horrendous, so it’s hard to get anywhere. Bottom line: We rented a car, got onto Route 26 East. Took that to 66 East, to 3 East, then took a left turn to Route 187. 187 is a tiny side street that does turn into a one way at one point, forcing you to drive on a parallel street without warning. When you get to the end of that one way, make a left (NOT toward Luquillo) and then you’ll find the St Regis on your right after a short drive. The directions the hotel gives are too complicated (they’re too complicated back to the airport, too – I’m not sure why they can’t be the simpler version I gave above).
Anyway, after the gate opens (you give your name to the gate attendant), you drive for what feels like an endless amount of time (in a good way) through beautifully landscaped foliage. There’s a lovely lake on the right (you can kayak and sail there) and the golf course on the left. Make a left around the fountain, drive some more, run over an iguana (okay, we didn’t run it over, but almost did… when they have “Iguana Crossing” signs, they aren’t kidding!) and finally arrive at the Plantation House which is the main building where you check in, have dinner, etc.
We were greeted by name as soon as the car door was opened, ushered in to the check in area which isn’t standard hotel fare (a lovely sit-down desk with cushioned chairs). We were offered Champagne and Mimosas, and while our reservation was loading on the computer we were able to take a look at the beautiful surroundings, the fabulous high ceilings, well appointed décor, very inviting lounge area, and so on. It all felt very luxuriously homey – and we felt very relaxed.
As a Gold SPG member, we were given 4pm checkout (nice since our flight wasn’t till 7pm) and were upgraded to a suite – room 312 in Casa Gobernador. (As an aside, our first suite was room 613, but when our butler took us there, there were workers in the suite changing a light bulb. Our butler was very embarrassed, apologetically took us back to the main house for a new room assignment, and gave us complementary cocktails while we waited). The new suite was located in the last casa to the left (when facing the main house). The walkway was a lovely meandering elevated wood planked path through beautiful foliage, skipping salamanders, and soft birds chirping. There was a “main” keyed door to the casa, and once inside the vestibule, only two room – ours and 311. I believe the fancy governor suite was right above us.
The suite was spectacular (1200 sq feet, I think) – a large entry foyer with a kitchenette with a beautiful backsplash, large minibar fridge and cabinets, coffee maker, and complimentary mojitos. There was a large closet and the second full bath with tons of extra towels and full bathroom amenities. Then there was the living room – a lovely couch/chaise (the butler said it was a sofa bed) with beautiful side tables that had magazines on it, coffee table books (which were also on the ottoman/coffee table) another 2 chairs, a lovely wall/shelving unit in dark wood that housed lots of accessories and of course the TV with Bose surround sound. The ceiling was dark wood beamed with a plantation like ceiling fan. The area rug was lush and sophisticated – again – we felt like we were in a beautifully appointed home, not a hotel room. There was a sliding door to the patio (more on that below).
From the living room, we moved to another foyer that had lovely artwork on the wall and a dresser with the safe and drawers for our clothes. Off that foyer was the large closet, to the left the bedroom, to the right the bathroom. The bedroom was large, beautifully furnished, same ceiling treatment as the living room, benches at the foot of the bed and another chair on the side (plus a desk and chair also). There was another entrance to the patio, which had a large couch/chaise and ottoman plus a round table and 4 chairs. It was large enough that it could have fit another two or three couches. The view was wonderful – we had a view to the beach, but there was a grassy area with palm trees between our room and the beach which made it so much more private. We loved the fact that we couldn’t see anyone from our room and vice versa.
The bathroom was large, two sinks, separate toilet room, a huge “wet room” that encompassed a deep deep soaking tub (complete with rubber ducky) and a shower that must have been 8’x 8’ with rainhead and hand held fixtures.
We were welcomed with a plate of yummy pastries and a nice note from the manager. (Turn down left us with a bottle of water, 1 glass only, and a small tile showing a mardi gras clown. Cute).
All the lights were motion sensored – plus there was a touch-of-the-button-by-the-bed controls for all the lights in the room, plus the AC. (A quick word about the AC – it was very very loud!)
The beach is nice – nothing like the white sand and crystal clear blue water of Cayman Island for example. Brown sand and green water, but still nice to come to from the East Coast where the weather was a frigid 25 degrees F. The pool was so nice – terraced and curvy so you didn’t have to sit near or see other people if you didn’t want to. It seems that’s the name of the game here – private places to get away – tucked away outdoor beds on the lawn away from the pool; cabanas near the pool, beach cabanas, and so on. If you didn’t want to see anyone, you didn’t have to (of course, we went off season, so it was relatively quiet anyway).
Pool amenities like frozen grapes and water were welcomed. Staff was very attentive to our needs. Seems they’ve come a long way even since opening (based on reports from other people). Everyone called us by name, was always friendly, asked if there was anything we needed, etc.
A few things we noticed in our room: the outlets were closed (other than the bathroom ones) so we couldn’t plug anything in except in the bathroom. The AC was loud (as already mentioned) and actually woke us up in the morning. The hot water took a long time to reach “hot”. Other than that, we felt like we were in paradise.
We left the property to go to El Yunque rainforest – around a 20 minute trip from the resort. We only ate at Fern for dinner – outdoors on the veranda– very nice and we didn’t think it was expensive at all (at least compared to other high end restaurants). For the rest of our meals, we just munched on food we bought at the Econo supermarket on rt 187.
If we were there longer we probably would have spent a morning biking around the lovely grounds.
By the way (to respond to the other reviewers) – we saw no children at all when we were there (on weekdays) and we also had no problem calling the concierge – the phone was picked up right away all three times we called. Overall, it was a great stay and highly recommended. We actually would love love love to go back again!
Dec 12, 2010, 7:50 am
#21
Join Date: Dec 2009
Programs: DL PLAT, SPG PLAT
Posts: 2
Also currently staying at the property; checked in yesterday and was told a big "thank you" for being a Plat, but that no upgrades were available - even though the property shows availability online and seems super quiet. When we got back from dinner last night, found a cake in the room with "Happy Birthday" written all over it... are you kidding me??? You're 6 months off...
No welcome treat, no note, no nothing to acknowledge my continued support of SPG and top-tier Plat status.... makes me miss my Diamond VIP days. This blows.
No welcome treat, no note, no nothing to acknowledge my continued support of SPG and top-tier Plat status.... makes me miss my Diamond VIP days. This blows.
Dec 12, 2010, 2:51 pm
#22
Moderator: CommunityBuzz!, OMNI, OMNI/PR, and OMNI/Games & FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: ORD (MDW stinks)
Programs: UAMM, AAMM & ExPlat, Marriott lifetime Plat, IHG Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 23,500
Dec 21, 2010, 7:44 pm
#23
Join Date: Aug 2008
Programs: SPG, Avis First, HHonors
Posts: 13
A world class resort for Starwood
I wrote a big review and, at the end of it, realized it would be better to sum the St. Regis up this way.
The St. Regis Bahia in Rio Grande is truly a world class resort. Great location, spectacular grounds, private beach, and plenty of activities all around. The concierge staff was fantastic in helping coordinate all of my adventures and all of the staff was as friendly and helpful as could be expected.
If you're going to the Caribbean, this is the place to go. It's that simple.
The St. Regis Bahia in Rio Grande is truly a world class resort. Great location, spectacular grounds, private beach, and plenty of activities all around. The concierge staff was fantastic in helping coordinate all of my adventures and all of the staff was as friendly and helpful as could be expected.
If you're going to the Caribbean, this is the place to go. It's that simple.
Dec 22, 2010, 7:37 am
#24
Moderator: CommunityBuzz!, OMNI, OMNI/PR, and OMNI/Games & FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: ORD (MDW stinks)
Programs: UAMM, AAMM & ExPlat, Marriott lifetime Plat, IHG Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 23,500
glad you enjoyed but personally I think the more detailed data from numerous reviews that get posted to the thread leads to a much better picture of the resort, so please post your review.^
Dec 22, 2010, 9:51 am
#25
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Fairfield County, CT USA
Programs: AA PLT+2MM / DL DM+1MM / A3 *G / Fairmont LT Plat / Ritz Gold / SPG Gold
Posts: 4,077
Beware!
I am sitting poolside at the property at present - but absent a miracle we will be leaving early today and going to the ritz carlton in San Juan.
At the St regis They are having significant facilities problems and they didn't have the rooms we reserved. Building 1 has several rooms closed for a/c repair and power is partially out in the building. Bldg 2 has no hot water and they haven't worked out the replacement part yet. they put us up in a condo that is on property but a 20 minute walk from the main hotel for last night.
They seem unsure as to when they will have all their facilities open again. They are clearly in crisis mode in the rooms division right now.
Will post more thorough details and an update later today.
Not cool.
At the St regis They are having significant facilities problems and they didn't have the rooms we reserved. Building 1 has several rooms closed for a/c repair and power is partially out in the building. Bldg 2 has no hot water and they haven't worked out the replacement part yet. they put us up in a condo that is on property but a 20 minute walk from the main hotel for last night.
They seem unsure as to when they will have all their facilities open again. They are clearly in crisis mode in the rooms division right now.
Will post more thorough details and an update later today.
Not cool.
Dec 22, 2010, 10:59 am
#26
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 3,816
Ugh, worst time of year to be in crisis mode. When it comes to PR/Caribbean, this is prime time for them.
Good luck to you.
Edited to add: I just went on spg.com and they are still selling rooms for tomorrow through Dec. 26 (that's the furthest I checked). If they are having such big issues, it might be wise for them to limit additional bookings.
Good luck to you.
Edited to add: I just went on spg.com and they are still selling rooms for tomorrow through Dec. 26 (that's the furthest I checked). If they are having such big issues, it might be wise for them to limit additional bookings.
Dec 24, 2010, 4:18 pm
#27
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: ELP
Programs: AA EXP/LT PLAT, Marriott Titanium/LT PLAT
Posts: 4,120
What about the sand -- soft and nice to walk on or coarse and rough?
Dec 30, 2010, 6:22 pm
#28
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Finally back in Boston after escaping from New York
Posts: 13,644
This resort could be the most relaxing Starwood resort in North America, if not for the other glaring problem during my visit: there were young children EVERYWHERE. Frankly, the number of parents with 1-8 year old kids baffled me. I actually felt it was rude of the parents to bring children that young (and who are the opposite of the calm environment most of us want on a vacation) to a 5-star St. Regis Resort. I do think the resort bears responsibility for this issue as well, though, by not creating a separate family area at the pool and for not limiting the age at the lone hot tub (which always had a minimum of 5 kids in it). I don't mean to sound anti-children, but if I were staying at the Westin Swan Resort (in Orlando), I'd have the expectation that there would be lots of children--I wasn't expecting kids at this resort. I have a feeling the hotel will deal with this issue quickly though, as I overheard other guests commenting that they "couldn't get away from the kids" at the pool or hot tub...I'll definitely check this thread first to make sure the "kid issue" has been dealt with. 
I have to admit, I missed the part on SPG's website where it indicated the appropriate resorts for each age group, but perhaps you could send me your Emily Post version of hotel etiquette.
Thanks,
Mike
Last edited by mikeef; Dec 30, 2010 at 6:29 pm
Jan 20, 2011, 7:25 am
#30
Moderator: CommunityBuzz!, OMNI, OMNI/PR, and OMNI/Games & FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: ORD (MDW stinks)
Programs: UAMM, AAMM & ExPlat, Marriott lifetime Plat, IHG Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 23,500
The beach is what I would call a working beach, it is brown coarse sand. There is a tractor that hauls a sweep/pick up trailer behind it to sweep up the bits of plastic, glass and other man made materials that will wash up on the shore. The ocean had good sized waves, I don’t picture this beach to be a good swimming beach but if the wind shifted from the south, perhaps the waves would calm down. There always seemed to be rough chop in the water, so I don't think this is a good snorkeling beach/location either. The ocean has a green color here due to the waves and shallow bottom. The St Regis has one of the largest beach fronts of the resorts I’ve been to in Puerto Rico, but it also has the same problem. Lots of trash outside the area where the sweeper cleans. Tires, 5 gallon plastic buckets, plastic water bottles were all washed up when we took our ˝ mile stroll down the beach away from the resort. This should be cleaned up, period, no excuse for the trash not to be picked up.
There was not a golf course before the St Regis, so yes I'd say the course is as new as the property.
-