NDDomer86

Has anyone stayed here yet? I have an upcoming stay in June (yes I realize it will be hot as Hades and that Doha does not have a lot going on, but I am mostly just going to check out the property).

YvesDewaegenaere

Dear bulldoggolfer05,

Following your note, allow me to inform you we currently have an exclusive group staying at our hotel. As of 31st March however, we welcome all guests to experience The St. Regis Doha.

If there is anything your St. Regis butler can assist you with prior to your arrival, please do not hesitate to e-mail [email protected] or call +974.4446.0000.

We look forward to welcoming you in June and thank you for choosing to stay at the finest address in Doha.

Yves Dewaegenaere
Assistant Director of Marketing, The St. Regis Doha

NDDomer86

Yves,

Thank you very much for your post. I did notice that there was no availability through the end of this month, and now I know why. From your previous posts, I see that you came from the Turnberry Resort, so it is definitely enlightening to know that the staff here is not new to the Starwood portfolio. Again, I thank you for your response and look forward to visiting your property in the upcoming months

uapremier

I actually just got back from a stay at the St. Regis Doha over the weekend. I'd booked when it was available and although it was pre-opening, I believe the GM, Hal Philp and Guest Services Manager Carrie O'Reilly allowed me to stay anyway.
The trip was fantastic, staff wonderful and the hotel is beautiful.
I'm way too jetlagged to make a full report, but I will post a trip stay in the next couple days.
Feel free to PM me in advance if you have specific questions.

skrosvik

any platinum benefits here?

YvesDewaegenaere

Dear skrosvik & other SPG Platinum members,

In addition to the Platinum benefits you are most likely well aware off: upgrade to the best available room at check-in, guaranteed room availability when you book 72 hours ahead and complimentary in-room internet, The St. Regis Doha offers the choice between these three gifts at check-in: 500 SPG bonus Starpoints, St. Regis breakfast in the Vine restaurant or a welcome gift that changes regularly, for example this month Platinum members can choose a bespoke Moleskine® notebook. In addition to this, we also invite SPG members to regular events in the hotel, including cocktail receptions and preferred access to our restaurants & lounges.

I hope this answers your question.

Yves Dewaegenaere
Assistant Director of Marketing, The St. Regis Doha

mecabq

I stayed recently, and find your post very different from the reality that I experienced. I was not offered the choice of gift, although I see now that bonus Starpoints credited to my account. On my most recent stay, I did not receive any upgrade as far as I can tell (the hotel was almost empty, and I was in what must be the lowest-category room). Also, I apparently only received one night stay credit even though I stayed for four nights. I did receive other amenities in the room -- I cannot tell if this is due to SPG Platinum status or for some other reason.

I have had very positive experiences at the hotel, and look forward to my next stay. I am only reacting to the Platinum recognition that you are mentioning here.

holtju2

I think that it would be good for Yves to go for a Platinum benefits refresher course, or maybe have a look at the spg.com.

PLT members are eligible for space available upgrades to select standard suites.

YvesDewaegenaere

Dear mecabq, it is great to read you had a positive experience at the hotel. Feel free to send me a private message with your details and I will follow up on the bonus points awarded. I will also check with the team if an upgrade was not available upon your arrival or what the reason was for not receiving your upgrade. Please accept our apologies for any confusion or miscommunication from our side.

In response to holtju2, with best available room I meant suite as well. I should have worded this better, my apologies for this. A full overview of SPG platinum benefits can indeed be found on the SPG website: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/prefer...preferred.html.

I remain at your disposal for any further questions or feedback on The St. Regis Doha.

uapremier

I recently stayed at the St. Regis Doha and wanted to post a trip report. I booked the St. Regis Doha many months ago when it was available to book at an SPG50 rate of approximately 350USD/night. About a month before my visit, I was contacted by the hotel indicating that they were pushing their opening date, but that they were honoring my reservation and in fact, the stay would be complimentary. I was impressed with this gesture and would emphasize that I’ve been consistently impressed with the management at this hotel. They are proactive, intent on the hotel succeeding, and some of the nicest people I have met in the industry. It should also be noted from the outset, of course, that my view of the hotel was impacted by the fact that the rate was complimentary.

Rather than post a moment-to-moment description of my stay and for the sake of brevity and conciseness, I’ll highlight some of the main positives and negatives of the hotel in my opinion.

Positives:
1. I was immensely impressed with everyone that worked at the hotel. It seemed like everyone wanted to ensure I had a positive stay. Staff always greeted me (sometimes even to excess) and were more than happy to assist in any way. I was also impressed with the dedication of the staff. It appeared to me that staff simply enjoyed providing some of the finest service I have ever received. And the service here, in my opinion, far exceeded the 7* Burj Al-Arab in Dubai.
2. I also sensed a level of dedication and investment from the upper-level management that I have yet to see at other hotels (and I have also stayed at some fairly new properties as well—recall my early review of the St. Regis Punta Mita). There was a genuine desire on the part of the management to request feedback about the hotel (did I have comments, questions, concerns) and also a sense of pride in showing me the hotel, working there, and what the hotel might become. I believe this is single-handedly the most striking asset of the hotel which will significantly benefit from a leadership team that is dedicated to its success.
On numerous occasions at 10pm at night I observed the GM greeting guests in the lobby and assisting as needed. I also felt personally recognized, as a guest, SPG member, and platinum member. I think it’s also noteworthy that Yves is monitoring this thread and responding to feedback. This is yet another indication that the hotel values feedback.

3) I was recognized as a platinum member and upgraded to a suite. I appreciated this gesture. The room was beautiful.

4) The swimming pool and surrounding area are amazing. The pool is almost Olympic size and overlooks Doha. WOW.
5) If you get the chance to use the gym (which is very nice) several gym trainers are on-hand to work with you and enhance your workout. I spent several hours with, Duc, a young former rugby player who helped me with one of the best workouts I’ve had in a long time.
6. I was also impressed with the Butler service. Sarath, my main Butler, went out of his way to do anything I needed. At one point, I mentioned that I really liked the tea that they brought with the morning tea service. Before I left the hotel, Sarah, brought me a case of this same tea bag. It was a very nice gesture. Again, I had the impression that everyone at the hotel wanted to perform the best service possible. This was above-and-beyond that.

Negatives:
1. Perhaps the single biggest drawback is that the hotel is simply not ready in my opinion for prime-time. The hotel is full of workers. Construction continues non-stop and the interior of many floors is not complete. I believe levels 2-6 in the main building are not yet constructed. This was evident in my many elevator rides to my room in which workers got on the elevator, only to get off to a dust-filled, unlighted corridor on another floor. Other main features of the hotel also remain under construction. For example, the hotel has no working spa and is somewhat awkwardly using a few rooms near the gym for makeshift spa treatments. Across the grounds, tools, sawdust etc….are everywhere.

Several personal examples convey how much work/construction is left:
A) I elected to get a massage from an excellent massage therapist. While the massage was excellent, at numerous points during the therapy, workers were loudly shouting in and out of the hallways connected to the make-shift spa area. They were carrying materials back-and-forth and talking loudly. This significantly disrupted the massage.
B) I elected to have breakfast outside one day as it was beautiful and I figured it made sense to enjoy the weather. The patio area is amazing, overlooking the pool, grounds, and the ocean. Yet I quickly realized that all I could hear was construction noise---coming from work on the property. The noise was loud enough to be fairly unpleasant.
C) Heating did not work in my room. Only one telephone (of 3) worked in my room.

2. While the staff strives to meet every request, I felt that many staff struggled with command of the English language. This included check-in agents and some of the butlers.
3. There were also issues with “newness.” Several examples highlight the need for a bit more staff training:
A) I asked for a taxi one afternoon because I wanted to go to the Islamic Art museum in town. The Butler service (clearly understanding my request) had a car take me. I realized that the car was actually not a taxi, but someone who was assisting with transportation for a delegation staying at the hotel. This made for an awkward and bizarre experience as half-way through the ride the chauffeur realized that he should not be taking me anywhere and that the hotel had made a mistake. I felt uncomfortable because I simply wanted to pay for a taxi ride into town. . .
B) On another occasion, I decided to see if I could walk around outside the property. I left the main gates for literally about 1 minute before I realized that I simply couldn’t walk anywhere due to lack of sidewalks, darkness and construction. When I returned to the property, I waved to the entrance tower (same people who had seen me leave a moment earlier), at which point literally 4 different staff members came racing at me alarmed that I had “intruded” on the property. The panicked look on their faces led me to the impression I had committed some kind of crime or something… If I tall white gentleman with blonde hair and blue eyes wearing a Prada coat and Ferragamo shoes is what alarms staff then I think they need a retraining course.


I hope this review helps. I had a great stay and think this will be an absolutely amazing hotel once construction is finally completed. I look forward to another stay in the near future. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

YvesDewaegenaere

Thank you very much for your review, we are delighted to read you had a very positive stay at The St. Regis Doha. To answer your question, it definitely helps to get very detailed feedback like this as it allows us to pinpoint the things we can improve on.

First of all, please accept our apologies for some of the inconveniences you experienced during your stay. To address one of your points, there are currently public road works happing at the main entrance of the hotel leading to some disruption. However these should be finished before the end of April and will improve access to the hotel. We assure you the other issues are being dealt with. We are currently drafting an action plan to address any of the outstanding challenges you brought to our attention. We commit to doing everything we can to continuously improve the experience of our guests and your feedback is invaluable to do so.

Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts. We look forward to welcoming you back.

Condition One

A new, but solid property in Doha located next to the Intercontinental hotel. Expansive lobby with lots of marble. Not exactly central, but taxis are cheap. That being said, if you need one, you’ll need to book one via the concierge, as taxis don’t wait outside the hotel. The wait for a taxi to show up can be up to 30 minutes! The hotel has their own cars, but I didn’t inquire how much one would cost.

Anyway, I was upgraded to a Caroline Astor Suite, which was very spacious and nicely decorated. I ordered a beef tenderloin sandwich via room service when I arrived. The presentation was nice, but unfortunately, the beef was so tough that it bordered on inedible. When the butler came to take away the tray, he asked me how the meal was, and when I told him, it really had no effect other than a perfunctory “sorry”. Room service said that they weren’t allowed to serve tap water, so you might want to stick to the bottled water in your room.

Plats can get choose to receive a continental breakfast as their amenity. It’s quite comprehensive and set up as a buffet. However, you can’t upgrade to a full breakfast, because all their hot items are a la carte. On the plus side, if you order something off the menu, you do get access to the continental breakfast buffet – I ordered eggs benedict and the total came out to QAR150.

The gym is extremely large, but due to confusing signage that pointed you towards the Spa, I passed the gym and ended up in the Remede Spa, which was unstaffed. After wandering around the Spa, I had to call and ask somebody to show me where the gym was. WiFi is extremely fast. Staff is fantastic and are all ready to help you with anything that’s needed.

There is still minor construction going on, but it all appears to be outside the hotel. I wasn’t inconvenienced in any way. All in all, I’d definitely stay here again.

YvesDewaegenaere

Dear Condition One, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback on FlyerTalk. It's fantastic to read you will be coming back to The St. Regis Doha. I already shared your comments with all department heads to address all the points you raised. My sincere apologies for the lack of follow-up on your in-room dining order. Could I please invite you to send me a private message with your full details, so we can further discuss this? Kind regards, Yves Dewaegenaere - Director of Marketing The St. Regis Doha.

LovetoTravel83

I'm planning to stay here next week, any recent reviews? Anyone knows if they offer babysitters?

YvesDewaegenaere

Dear LovetoTravel83,
Following your question, allow me to inform you that The St. Regis Doha offers a children’s recreation room, a supervised area for children between 3 and 12 year old. St. Regis recently launched the family traditions program with families traveling with children in mind. For a full list of amenities and family activities available at the hotel, please visit http://www.stregisdoha.com/en/family-traditions, or contact the Butler Service team prior to your arrival via e-mail on [email protected] or via telephone on +974.4446.0000. I hope you enjoy your upcoming stay, please note during Ramadan the opening hours of our restaurants & lounges changes, for more information please refer to the website or call us. I hope you enjoy your upcoming stay at The St. Regis Doha. Kind regards, Yves Dewaegenaere - Director of Marketing The St. Regis Doha.