Originally Posted by bhrubin
(Post 26981917)
There already are so many Michelin restaurants already nearby and popping up like crazy in recent years. If the StR can just focus on making the Grill even better, this is the best choice. Well done.
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St. Regis San Francisco sold; Marriott retains long-term management.
http://news.marriott.com/2016/12/mar...ent-agreement/ "Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) today announced it has completed the sale of The St. Regis San Francisco hotel for approximately $175 million to Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). Marriott will continue to manage the hotel under a long-term management contract." “We have a strong and successful partnership with QIA and we are thrilled that this iconic hotel will expand QIA’s collection of Marriott-branded hotels to the U.S.,” said Arne Sorenson, Marriott International’s president and chief executive officer. “This hotel will remain a flagship for the St. Regis brand, a jewel in the Marriott International portfolio and one of San Francisco’s most desired places to stay.” Cheers. |
I post most often in the Luxury Hotels forum, so I placed my review of my 3 most recent stays here at the StR San Francisco there. Here is the link for anyone interested:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...l#post27636245 Suffice to say that the team at the St. Regis San Francisco remains exemplary...and that this hotel remains my favorite in San Francisco, in California, and in the entire USA. They really went overboard in hosting us this past weekend. |
Originally Posted by bhrubin
(Post 27636470)
I post most often in the Luxury Hotels forum, so I placed my review of my 3 most recent stays here at the StR San Francisco there. Here is the link for anyone interested:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/luxur...l#post27636245 Suffice to say that the team at the St. Regis San Francisco remains exemplary...and that this hotel remains my favorite in San Francisco, in California, and in the entire USA. They really went overboard in hosting us this past weekend. |
I stay here every few months, and find that suite upgrades are hard to come by. Sometimes I see that I'm pre-upgraded on the SPG site, but by the time I check in, I'm given a normal room. My guess is that the suite is being given away to pushy customers checking in before me.
Used a SNA for my last stay, and got upgraded to an Astor Suite. It's a corner room, and has a weird layout - almost U-shaped. It was a room on the low floor, and there was lots of road noise. I was pretty irked that my room wasn't ready until after 5pm after being told to expect it around 3pm. I felt that the front desk could have done more, other than an offer to downgrade me. I think this is one property where the squeaky wheel gets the grease. |
Originally Posted by Condition One
(Post 28850801)
I stay here every few months, and find that suite upgrades are hard to come by. Sometimes I see that I'm pre-upgraded on the SPG site, but by the time I check in, I'm given a normal room. My guess is that the suite is being given away to pushy customers checking in before me.
Used a SNA for my last stay, and got upgraded to an Astor Suite. It's a corner room, and has a weird layout - almost U-shaped. It was a room on the low floor, and there was lots of road noise. I was pretty irked that my room wasn't ready until after 5pm after being told to expect it around 3pm. I felt that the front desk could have done more, other than an offer to downgrade me. I think this is one property where the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Second, I've never not been upgraded here. Ever. In fact, I just told one of the managers that I might like to try an upgraded room category rather than a suite--simply to evaluate the rooms vs suites! For what it's worth, I'll be here for 3 different stays this fall and winter, all paid. SNAs applied only for 1 of those for leisure. Third, I like the Astor Suite. Its bathroom could be a bit bigger for a couple, but when I'm there alone it's more than spacious enough. I like the separation between bedroom and living room and usually love all the natural light in both the bedroom and living area. Fourth, when you get upgraded into a suite, it's often on a lower floor in many hotels--since higher floor suites are usually not in the standard suite pool for SNAs. I have gotten higher floor Astor Suites, but I attribute that to my Ambassador status. That being said, I had no issue with noise in a lower floor suite. If you don't want a lower floor, ask for an upgrade only to a higher floor nicer room category. Fifth, if you want an upgrade and know there is a 4 pm late checkout for yourself and others, it stands to reason that sometimes your upgraded room may not be ready at 3-4 pm. So then you either accept the room you booked and get it at 3 pm or you wait for the upgrade. It's not too terrible. Now, if the front desk miscommunicated the expectation, then that's fair game and fair criticism. They rightly need to get that right if they set an expectation. |
Originally Posted by bhrubin
(Post 28850930)
Now, if the front desk miscommunicated the expectation, then that's fair game and fair criticism. They rightly need to get that right if they set an expectation. |
I had a good stay at the St Regis San Francisco over the weekend. It's a well managed hotel with good hardware and is in the top tier of hotels I've stayed at in the continental US. I'd consider it again for a special treat, but there were some let downs which meant I'm not sure I can justify a rate double that of the nearby W's or Palace Hotel which I might try in future visits.
The good: - The St Regis bar was apparently separate until relatively recently and so doesn't follow the purchasing and brand standards of the (poor) Old King Cole format you see in many other St Regis hotels around the world (particularly in New York). The bar team from the waiters and the bartenders through to the evening champagne sabrage ritual were better than expected - The hardware was quality and has an almost Asian 5* quality feel to it - Good pre-arrival communications, helped by a regular at this hotel who was kind enough to put me in touch with the team - In all my hotel stays I've almost never found the hotel car to be easily available when I need it and able to take me where I wanted. On a Saturday night with no notice it just took 5min for the hotel Bentley to be available for a 10min ride The not perfect: - Despite it no longer being summer, the room's air conditioner seemed unable to keep the room at a comfortable temperature. I set the aircon on 65 (lowest) and fan at high, but it was hotter than I would like for comfortable sleep - I was pre-upgraded to an Executive Premier room. In a hotel of this type I would expect many high value guests are in the consideration for a suite upgrade, so I would make sure to book one (or at least SNA) if I wanted one. The room was very large but extremely poorly designed. A lot of the space was used up by a kind of hallway and an entrance area, meaning the space around the bed and desk was actually uncomfortably small for this level of hotel (it was a corner room and not like the room featured on the hotel website) - The hotel was mostly spotless, but the pool was uncomfortably grimy. I suspect some people had eaten at the pool sometime the day before, as there were stains, crumbs and plenty of human hairs around the chairs and on the sides of the pool - When I stay at a W I expect to have a flimsy door making going to the toilet with someone else in the room a bit awkward. At a St Regis I would expect a properly closing solid door. My room had a sliding wooden door that left a large gap on the left next to the shower |
@EuropeanPete I'm glad you largely had a good stay!
Sorry you didn't have good air con--that did happen to me once a few years ago here, but they fixed it. They did bring me a fan whenever requested, as well. I've not had air con issues since, though the rooms do warm up in afternoons on the western side with that harsh afternoon sun. Sorry you didn't get a better room layout. I've never not been suite upgraded here, actually. I've actually asked for my next work (alone) stay in a couple weeks to get a grand deluxe room rather than a suite to better evaluate that. I've never actually used the pool. Good catch! I've never minded the sliding doors to the toilet area. Even the Astor and Metropolitan Suite bathrooms have this same sliding door you don't like, I'm afraid. Never been an issue for me. |
Ritz Carlton Reserve butlers training with StR butlers
A surprising revelation this morning was meeting a butler here at the StR San Francisco who is normally at the RC Reserve Dorado Beach property in Puerto Rico. Apparently, Marriott is cross-training butlers at its premium properties across brands. I’m sure this also has to do with the Puerto Rico hurricane recovery and that the Dorado Beach property is currently closed.
I’ve always said that the StR San Francisco is one of the top StR properties in the world, and our RC Reserve butler being here does serve to reinforce that idea. After all, most people might consider the much smaller RC Reserve pool of properties to be even more exclusive than St Regis. |
Originally Posted by EuropeanPete
(Post 28966522)
Despite it no longer being summer, the room's air conditioner seemed unable to keep the room at a comfortable temperature. I set the aircon on 65 (lowest) and fan at high, but it was hotter than I would like for comfortable sleep.
To illustrate, my Metropolitan Suite living room (with direct afternoon sun exposure and no shades drawn) yesterday on arrival was 71 F despite being set to 60 F—but the bedroom was 69 F. On closing the door to the living room, the bedroom cooled quickly to 66 F. On closing the blackoutshades most of the way, the living room cooled to 69 F and then to 65 F by the time I went to bed. I awoke this morning to both the living room and bedroom being 63 F. I’d attach photos to prove the point, but the new updated system is causing me grief. |
Another almost flawless stay
Home from my latest 2 night stay at the StR SF. Another amazing stay. The only thing that went wrong was my morning coffee served by the butlers my first morning did not come with hot milk as I’d asked. That’s it.
Otherwise, my stay was flawless. Had wonderful room service breakfast twice and dinner once. My Metropolitan Suite upgrade assured me of my blackout shades in my preferred suite location, as well as incredibly good air con as mentioned in the previous post. I had great service in the beautiful and comfortable bar both nights, and never had to wait to find a seat. I also ordered dinner at the bar.as well as wonderful drinks with a friend last night. Our bartender, Erick, was hilarious and fabulously funny. Valets had my car ready and waiting very quickly every day, and they almost always greeted me by name. I didn’t use butler services as much as I usually do, foregoing packing and unpacking since I only had a small carry-on, but they brought me morning coffee both mornings, answered the phone for all of my requests, shined my shoes, pressed a pair of pants, and followed up to make sure I was happy. The GM and Guest Relations Manager greeted me, and the Chief butler made sure to say hello, as well. I also stopped by th concierge desk to confirm details for our stay in a month—and as always, everything was taken care of without issue. There’s a reason this is my favorite city hotel in the USA... |
I generally don't use staff names on review sites, but Erick was largely the reason for my positive review of the bar above.
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Heading back tomorrow for our annual culinary weekend...with our dog. Can’t wait.
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My Favorite City Hotel in the USA: 2 More Incredible Stays in a Metropolitan Suite
Introduction The St Regis San Francisco is unquestionably my favorite city hotel in the USA, and one of our 13 favorite hotels of all-time anywhere in the world.I stayed twice (both paid rates) at the St Regis San Francisco this year, once alone for work for 2 nights in mid-Nov 2017 and again for leisure this past mid-Dec 2017 weekend with my husband and our dog, Macallan. As with my three stays in 2016, my stays this year again were absolutely wonderful--approaching the same levels of service I've come to expect from the legendary Amanresort hotels. I am posting these latest 2 stays here in the Starwood Hotels Forum. I posted last year's 3 stays in the Luxury Hotels Forum.The hotel lobby was beautifully decorated for Christmas on our second Dec stay:The view from the lobby bar:The lobby bar seating areas were very comfortable:The hotel restaurant was also nice and comfortable. We had breakfast and Sunday brunch here during our Dec stay: The hotel is supremely luxurious and yet very comfortable. It offers the San Francisco sense of chic design and luxury while also retaining a casual comfort that so evokes California.That being said, the hotel is expecting to undergo a renovation starting sometime in late 2018 to freshen up and renovate the public spaces and rooms/suites. Check In Check in was, as always, very friendly, quick, and efficient. There was no one checking in before me for my Nov stay, and in Dec there were two couples checking in before me. But I waited maybe no more than a few minutes. In Nov, the GM and Assistant Front Office Director greeted me on arrival. In Dec, the Front Office Director and Head Concierge greeted me. Both times, I was escorted by a butler to my suite--despite me indicating that it wasn't necessary. (But it's always nice to catch up with the butlers here!)In both cases, I had been pre-upgraded to my favorite Metropolitan Suite. I had actually indicated to the hotel that it wasn't necessary in November to upgrade me to a suite, since I was alone. But the hotel insisted and upgraded me anyway.In both cases, I arrived at the hotel around 2 pm. I previously had been approved for early check in with my Your24 benefit, and my suites were ready on my early arrival for both stays. Room The Metropolitan Suite is extremely comfortable and spacious. I had the exact same Metropolitan Suite for both my Nov and Dec stays.The entry corridor, with the afternoon sun blazing:After lowering the screens a bit to minimize the blazing afternoon sun from the suite's western exposure:The TV area and hidden bar area:The westward view from the living room onto the Moscone/Metreon complex and hills:The spacious bedroom also had plenty of natural light:The view from the bedroom was adequate:To the right of the wall mounted TV was the closet area:The table to the left of the bed had the control center and phone, as well as extra charging station with 2 outlets:The sliding doors opened from the bedroom into the spacious bathroom:Another slliding door opened to the toilet/shower area:Shower pressure was very good, though I think the rainfall head could use a bit more pressure. The view from the living room at night was more spectacular, I think (Nov):The sunset view was even better (Dec):The hotel had added blackout shades in the bedroom specifically for me in 2016:The suite living room and bedroom were truly blackout:The room air con also worked very well--though I arrived with that afternoon sun blazing. It was 69 F on arrival. Within an hour, though, and lowering the blinds, it had dropped to 66 F:By the next morning, the suite had achieved a beautiful 61 F during my Nov stay. (My husband would never allow me to cool to that level with him in the suite, so we compromised with 65 F in the bedroom and 68 F in the living room during my Dec stay!)The suite is beautifully comfortable and spacious, and was particularly wonderful for my Dec stay with my husband and our dog, Macallan:The hotel did try to accommodate our big boy despite him being larger than their official 35 lb weight limit for dogs:Suffice to say that the St Regis dog bed wasn't quite big enough for our boy! But we were ecstatic that the St Regis allowed us to bring him, nonetheless. Service Service for both stays was practically flawless. Before even arriving in Dec, the concierge had worked with me to get us confirmed with reservations at 2* Acquerello, 1* In Situ, 1* Luce, and 2* Lazy Bear. We eventaully changed things up and substitued 1* Mourad for Luce and 3* Coi for Lazy Bear. The concierge team handled all requests and changes with ease. Thus far, the concierge team has not once failed to get us a reservation that we wanted--even at any of the 3* restaurants in the city. That's a pretty impressive feat if you ask me.I had welcome amenities waiting for me in Nov:And we had welcome amenities waiting for us in Dec:Suffice to say that we were most pleased with both welcome amenities! They always greet us so well here.In addition, I took advantage of unpacking and packing services for both stays. The butlers always do a wonderful job. One of the butlers was actually a transplant from the Ritz Carlton Reserve property in Puerto Rico, as that hotel will be closed through Oct 2018 due to Hurricane Maria. She was absolutely lovely and a wonderful addition to the St Regis team.I asked for complimentary butler shoe shines during both stays, and they returned the shoes to me in less than an hour:I enjoyed complimentary French press coffee service every morning in Nov:And again in Dec:We also had wonderful turndown service for both stays. The only time turndown was missed was when I accidentally left the DND button lit by the front door! A quick call to the butler and the housekeeping team was there to turndown my room pronto--and with apologies that were unnecessary!For our Dec stay, we enjoyed the complimentary Bentley car service for 2 of our 3 nights, prior to our dinners at Acquerello and Coi:The hotel even allowed us to bring Macallan into the bar with us--quite a nice surprise! They kept offering us water and treats for our most spoiled boy.Bar service was usually fantastic. It was a little slow for us on our first night in Dec, so I mentioned it to the front desk. The bar manager introduced himself the next day and made sure to apologize--unnecessary but certainly appreciated. The next night, we got incredibly good service! There often was a bit of a wait for seating at the very popular bar between 6:00-8:00 pm, but I never waited more than 5 minutes to find seating on any night during my 2 stays.Restaurant service was also extremely good. We had breakfast on our first morning and Sunday brunch on our final morning of our Dec stay. The team even allowed us to order from the brunch menu despite having breakfast a good 30 min before the official start of brunch. And our breakfasts were comp'd as part of my Platinum amenity--even for brunch. I enjoyed excellent room service breakfast for both my mornings in Nov and once in Dec. We also had room service dinner once in Dec. The food was always brought promptly (usually 20-25 min, always less than the stated 30 min) and hot. The server always set up the meal beautifully, as well.Basically, the service at the St Regis is top drawer. The only mistakes I can recall are an order of hot milk being forgotten once with my morning butler coffee service in Nov and the bar service being unusually slow once in Dec. That's it. Otherwise, my two stays were pretty much service perfection. The valets, butlers, front desk, concierge, waiters, bar staff, and everyone really went out of their way to make sure we were happy. Coming to the St Regis San Francisco for me is truly like coming home. Dining The food and beverage here really does shine.For my Nov stays, I had room service breakfast twice and room service lunch once. All were delicious and brought quickly.I also met a friend and had a late dinner at the bar. It was a great burger, which went great with the barman's Sazerac!For our Dec stay, we had breafkast in the restaurant on our first and last mornings:Sunday brunch was particularly enjoyable with some friends who joined us:For our second night, we wanted a break from the 1* In Situ, 2* Acqurello, and 3* Coi meals we otherwise were enjoying. So we had room service dinner to enjoy our suite. It was fantastic and easy, just as we'd hoped.My burger was great, but the salmon was really outstanding. We were a little nervous ordering salmon, which can so often be overcooked. Not this salmon! It was beautifully grilled to perfection. We were quite impressed.Our second morning we decided to do room service breakfast since the restaurant was about to close--though we'd be given the wrong closing time. The hotel graciously comp'd our room service breakfast as way of apology.Suffice to say that, even in a city with as many amazing food option as San Francisco, the St Regis delivers with gusto in its food and beverage options. Location The location of the St Regis is perfect for me.For business, it is easily accessed from the SFO and OAK airports and BART/Muni. Its SOMA location makes it very easy to walk or drive into Untion Square, the Financial district, or anywhere else in the city one might need to go.For leisure, it is literally adjacent to the SFMOMA museum and Metreon 16 complex (where we saw Star Wars: The Last Jedi on opening day). It is a 5-10 min walk to Union Square or to the Ferry Building or the entrance of Chinatown:It was just a 10-15 min drive in the Bentley to both Acquerello and to Coi. It was literally a 2 min walk to In Situ (inside the SFMOMA). And it took just about 20 min to drive to/from SFO. Perfection. Overall The St Regis San Francisco is my true home away from home. There is no hotel that I visit more often that truly caters so well to my every luxury whim. The service, the rooms, the bar, the restaurant, the food/beverage, the concierge, the butlers, the restaurant--everyone and everything is truly world-class. We already cannot wait to return.
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