Frab1

I am currently staying at the St.Regis and I must say it is absolutely fantastic, it might be the best SPG / Marriott hotel I have ever stayed at globally (my previous favorite was the Grosvenor House in Dubai).

So many things are great about this place, the room and its design as well as the overly attentive service and butler service including the complimentary coffee in the room. I mean what beats writing your butler on Whatsapp 10 minutes before you get back that you would like a nice caffe latte in your room and its there when you arrive?

I applied my SNAs and we also got upgraded to the Metropolitan Suite. According to the butler, Metropolitan Suite and St. Regis Suite are the same in layout, Metropolitan Suite is just higher up with more view. If there is one "negative" thing to mention I'd say it is the view, we can see the ICC from our room and some of Causeway Bay skyline, but that is about it. But, for us that did and does not really matter. We also think the location is very good, there is a lovely hiking walk you can do just 10-15 mins from the hotel up the hills of Wan Chai with a view on Causeway Bay and the horse race track from above, there are lots of shopping opportunities at Causeway Bay and the nice restaurants at Soho etc. are a ~10mins Uber which costs about 50-60 HKD.

We haven't felt the protests much so far except for Christmas eve where we went to Tsim Sha Tsui with the Star Ferry and where we ended up in the middle of the protests (it eventually ended up on the global news). The police started shooting tear gas and everybody started running so we decided on the spot to take the ferry back to Wan Chai. In that sense, I would absolutely not take the Sheraton at Tsim Sha Tsui nor the Peninsula and probably also not the Rosewood as they are right in the middle of the protest action.

Frab1

Currently sitting at the airport and waiting for my flight back home from what was a fantastic trip to a fantastic hotel. We also went for dinner to L'Envol on our last night - I think the restaurant is rather at a 2 star level than the 1 star they got awarded and the chef went to speak to us and confirmed they are looking for more. The hotel butler actually helped us pack our suit cases

The staff are quite open that occupancy is not high, not even on new year's. If you walk around at night at around 9pm or 10pm only about 10-20% of the rooms in St. Regis have the lights on, same for The Murray. At today's breakfast in the St. Regis maybe 5 other tables were occupied at 10.30am.

helvetic

If they were to give me a reasonable rate I'd stay there… 🤷🏼.♂️

They have to be crazy to think they can ask for 3k/night in the current climate and get takers.

CPH-Flyer

That's part of the standard services at a St Regis. Also unpacking when you arrive.

saaveraward

So I'll ask the uncouth question. I'm going to stay at this property and I have no desire for a butler to unpack or pack for me, nor do I want a daily coffee delivery.

What is the recommended gratuity and do you give it daily or at the end of your stay? Any "task" I have for the butler could probably be covered by the concierge.

CPH-Flyer

None of these things happen unless you ask for them. They will probably ask you if they should unpack for you, but you can just say no.

This is Hong Kong, you should not tip. As with most Asian countries, gratuities are not part of the culture.

Kacee

And at many Asian LC properties also.
It’s an entirely different level of personal service (at least at properties that provide true butler service).

Frab1

Yes, well aware, just wanted to mention it for anyone reading this and being new to St. Regis like I was about a month ago.

@saaveraward: The butler team will not force themselves onto you, it is really up to you to ask for it. You can call them, e-mail them, use the Bonvoy in-app chat or simply Whatsapp. I found it very useful to make reservations, ask for timetables (e.g. when is the ferry to Macau and from where), get some pressing, some small items (like an Android charger cable) or get a coffee to the room. They actually did not help to unpack (we did it ourselves), but for packing before we left it was useful to have a hand.

All of the butler services are complimentary, I myself did not tip. We actually never dealt with the concierge.

The one thing that is a bit odd is that they sometimes give you a bill for breakfast if you stay around for too long, but they told me it is for their Finance department only and all breakfast fees were waived when I received the folio for review without me having to mention anything. Other than that, if you don't want to spend anything extra, it is very easy to avoid.

yorkboy24

You’re correct. There isn’t really any tipping in Hong Kong. And that’s from someone who has been here for about 15 years. If there’s a service charge it doesn’t usually go to the staff in restaurants but some will share a certain percentage depending on their position but with some still retained by the company (all depends on specific restaurants). I think for hotels they mostly rely on basic salary plus bonus so I don’t think the service charge goes to them (unlike Thailand).

Basically there’s no need to tip. That’s how it is here and we don’t want local customs to be changed by visitors.

yorkboy24

Totally agree - ridiculous rates given the current situation. I’ve stayed at other HK hotels for staycations but not this one yet as the rates are too high.

yosithezet

If you wish to discuss tipping in general or specifically in Hong Kong please feel free to do so in the Travel Buzz or Hong Kong destination fora. The specific question was asked and answered.

Also, please ensure you read the FT rules about personal attacks. Several deleted posts included comments about fellow members. This is uncalled for, against the rules, and unacceptable.

As always,
yosithezet
Co-Moderator, MB Forum

JordanWalker

Understandable it's been a while most people had the chance to stay here since the pandemic. And almost vertan FTer is at least some sort of Plat/Titanium if not Ambassador.

Planning to make a trip to HK next year and this is on my eyes. As a lowly Gold, do you think there would be any chance of upgrade?

Alternatively, when booking with 85,000 points.
It's only +$500 for St. R Suite
+$2000 for Metropolitian Suite
+$20,000 for Governor's Suite
+$90,000 for Presidential Suite.

91,000-92,000 Points for Grant Delxue / Premier Room.

The +$500 seems like a sweet deal for a Suite for those like me without a SNA. Probably a possibliity upgrade to a Metroplitian? It's the same layout with just a partial harbour view.

Kacee

HKD? I'd be right on that.

JordanWalker

Yup! Quite an increase onto the 85k required points where it could be equally spent on an over villa in Maldives. But for those that do want to use 85k at St. Regis HK, that extra $500 HKD is a steal for a suite.

lsquare

Are all of those prices in HKD? I think you should make it more obvious as to not confuse people.

As a gold, don't get your hopes up for a free upgrade. I seriously doubt it. It doesn't hurt to ask though.