m1987

I’m at the St. Regis property right now for a week long honeymoon. Here’s a couple of initial thoughts 3 days in:

• No Covid test requirements to get here which is great. We flew out of Miami on Qatar Airways and they checked our vaccination cards, QR code for the pre arrival traveler declaration, and passports before departing.
• Seamless transfer from the airport to the resort. Someone was waiting at the exit point of the airport with an iPad that said St. Regis. From touch down on our flight from Doha to take off on the sea plane it was literally under an hour.
• We booked a regular OWV using Marriott points and were told we got upgraded to a panoramic OWV. It’s literally just ocean in front of us and the deck has sunshine all day. It’s towards the end of the deck for the villas so a bit of a hike to get around, but very private.
• Food has been very good. We saw the prices beforehand so no real sticker shock. $14 a bottle for water at dinner rubs me the wrong way though, especially when they hand it out free all other times.
• The gym has new equipment and is clean, all you need for a week stay here.
• Service from our butler and staff has been very good. The butler will communicate with you on WhatsApp for reservations and pickups.
• We have a second leg of our honeymoon trip to Sri Lanka after this and were planning to do laundry here. Prices are exorbitant to say the least. $8 per pair of socks and pair of underwear, $12 a shirt, etc. We are conserving clothes as much as possible so we don’t get stuck with a $500 laundry bill. It’s insane.
• We did the couples 90 min massage for $600 yesterday. It was great, best massage ever. Later this week we have a dolphin boat ride and sunset fishing. The kayaks and stand up paddle boards are free.
• They booked us a 45 minute blue hole experience for free for our honeymoon. It was really nice, but don’t think I’d spend the $180 it normally costs.
• As I’m sure you all know alcohol is crazy expensive. Beers are $14 and cocktails start around $25, not including the 20 percent fees tacked on.
• The Whale Bar sabering is back on, but I guess I was a little confused on what it entailed. Every St. Regis I’ve been to before this poured out free champagne during the sabering ceremony. Here you can buy the sabered champagne bottle for about $120 or get 15 percent off champagnes from 6-6:45. I mean would a free glass of champagne after sabering really kill anyone?

Overall it’s been a great trip thus far and we are looking forward to our later excursions. The resort is definitely meeting our expectations and exceeding in some areas as well. I have Titanium Marriott status, not sure all the perks but we had a bottle of champagne waiting for us, 10 percent off the Spa, 15 percent off the Whale Bar drinks from 9-midnight, and like 10 percent of drinks at Crust during lunch.

jcg20

We’re on day 7, leaving tomorrow. Will make it to the Whale Bar tonight…how will I know you?

Edit: looks like there are at least two other FTers here (4 total).

agjil

IIRC they used to hand out a free glass of champagne to everyone during the sabering ceremony at this resort as well, just like any other St. Regis property in the world.
It is really confusing and disappointing to hear now they charge for it.

tiph33

Besides the 10% off spa treatments for Platinum members and above- did they offer any spa specials upon arrival? I have read some threads where they offered a special priced massage if booked within the first couple days of arrival.

Dn10

And it was more like a half glass they gave away for free anyway.

TommyboyCAN

Got offered a Romantic Spa Journey for $375++ / couple.

Option of:
a) Rose petal and min bath ritual complemented by chamonmile tea, snack, and heart chakra massage
b) Massage followed by a couple mini facial (tea and snack after)

You had to sign up in your first 48 hours.

m1987

We definitely didn’t get that offer. I wonder if it was because we booked the $600 couples massage a few months before coming and they wanted us to keep that rate. If that’s the case it’s a little annoying. We did get some sort of spa package offer but it was basically a 60 minute massage and 30 min facial for $300 per person. Not sure if your status dictates what you get but I’m Titanium.

TommyboyCAN

I'm a platinum, not sure if that has anything to do with it.

I think the couples massage is probably a lot more substantial than a heart chakra massage, but I'm no expert in the subject.

betonic

Would you mind sharing costs for the sunset fishing and dolphin tour? Also, if anyone has more information on Norma excursions please.

I’m trying to mentally prepare my husband so he doesn’t spend the entire trip miserable about how expensive everything is.

joecool1885

Expect a minimum of $1500-$1800/HR with a 2HR minumum should you decide to rent Norma. Unless things have changed since late last year, they don't have shared excursions on the Yacht.

Here's a site with some experiences they offer (prices/offers may have changed since this was published) https://www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/lo...ommuli-resort/

NEfan22

My wife and I have a confirmed stay here May 26 - June 2. Unfortunately, after much discussion and review reading, we decided to cancel our backup reservation at the Ritz in December. We’re now questioning whether we should continue with our trip due to the potential impact of the St. Regis closure. Has anyone here dealt with staying at a resort a week before they close? I have to believe certain amenities/food choices/activities would be impacted as they prepare for the closure.

I’ve reached out to the resort about the pre-closure impact and for any impact to our May 31 and June 1 nights. I’ll report back if I hear anything.

For now, I booked those 2 nights at the Ritz in an overwater villa (ocean view) at the increased point cost. I may call Marriott rewards to see if they’ll match what I was paying at the St Regis should they force us to cancel those two nights.

wsc

Prob not worth going to Ritz Carlton for 2 nights given transfer costs IMO unless St Regis cover the costs.

RZR

When will they anounce that they are closed, officially?
Given the geographic location and time to book/secure international fligths , it would seem that some significant amount of time should be given.
Perhaps some of the people who are presently at the property can reach out to a manger on site and see if they have further information on when an official annoucement will be made.
As back up i've booked Ritz, Meridien and W since all these closure rumours were announced.

friedablass

No its not worth it. You should let STR take care of your reservation and make your sure you get a complete stay at no extra cost to you above what it would be to stay solely at STR.

I don't think they officially announced yet, but upthread there was at least one FT member who posted that they received an email from the property notifying them that they were transferred to the Ritz.

NEfan22

That’s my goal to have them cover the transfer and my 2 nights at the Ritz for the same point cost. I have business class flights on mileage redemption with no availability to change dates so I’m stuck with the transfer charges (if they don’t cover it), or I just cancel the trip all together. Either way, it sucks because I’ll be paying 1.5x the cost in points to rebook the trip. Hopefully they do the right thing.