CIT85

We just finished a 5-night award stay at the St. Regis Beijing in a pre-assigned Statesman Suite. The 2-room suite was nice, with enough room at 60 m2 for the 3 of us. Extra bed charge was 400 RMB, so my daughter gladly slept on sofa cushions on the floor with extra sheets, blanket and pillow in exchange for $150 worth of clothing.

The service level was excellent at the hotel. It helps if you speak Mandarin well enough like a native. We had breakfast the first morning and then went to a French Bakery a couple of blocks away the following moring. Breakfast was pretty expensive at 218 RMB +15% service charge per person. I inquired at the front desk about my breakfast charge not on the bill the day we were checking out. The front desk agent looked up my folio and told me that I was entitled to free breakfast as a Plat member. This is new as of Feb. 2009. So we had our second breakfast at the hotel. This is a very valuable new benefit for Plat members, at ~$120 per day for a family of 3.

The evening appetizers at the Lounge changed daily, although there only seem to be 3 different menus that are rotated. The quantity and quality of the evening food is very good. You can easily make it a light evening meal.

We had one issue during our stay. Our first night (Monday night) there was a dinner party with music in the outdoor Garden Courtyard. My daughter was tired after our very long trip from RIC to LAX to ICN to PEK (over 24 hours) and needed to sleep by 8:30 PM. The music was so loud that we could hear it clearly up on the 15th floor (technically 12th since the hotel had no 4th, 13th and 14th floors). I called down to complain and the front desk had to investigate what I was talking about. Call back said the music will end at 10 PM and that the volume will be turned down. At 9:30 PM, I could hear the words to ABBA's "Dancing Queen" very clearly so I went down to the front desk to complain in person. I then went out to the Courtyard at 9:50 PM to make sure that the music will end. After I asked if the DJ if they are ending at 10 PM, he promptly made an annoucement to the party of ~15 people that were left and ended the music. I never did get an apology from anyone at the hotel the next day.

I understand the dilemma the S. Regis was treading in servicing a group staying at the hotel, especially during very slow times for hotels in Bejing. At the same time, they risk alienating other guests that may view the hotel poorly. Certainly, I have a dim view of the group that caused us a couple of hours of sleep. It was YPO International Family Board Meeting (apparently with representatives from various countries, mostly Caucasians).

People have different opinions of what they are entitled to do. But I don't want to hear music from my room at an expensive hotel after 8 PM at night. I draw the line when your rights tread upon mine. Anyone wanting a party can turn the music up indoors in a ballroom.

Even with the unpleasant first night experience, I would gldly return to the St. Regis when I'm back in Beijing.

azepine00

I hold a very different view on this.
If peace and quiet is critical to your comfort this early in the evening ask for earplugs - I am sure St Regis would offer you a pair.

wma

As I stated in the previous post, I too just returned and I was there the same time you were and heard the music and thought it a little odd but it really didn't bother me.

We too are PLT and I emailed about breakfast before I arrived and was told that we would be given breakfast, ( I thought because I explained it was a special occasion) however I was never told it's an "official" policy. Is it an "official" policy just for that St. Regis or all St. Regis?

Starwood Lurker

Definitely not a brand policy.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

nologic

I really like this hotel. Pre-upgraded to Statesman Suite, and check in agent did further UG to Deluxe Suite, which was quite spacious, with great view. Free breakfast are nice Plat perk,, but make sure you only take buffet as does not apply to a la carte items. The location is great, IMO. The lounge is small and food offerings are really limited/boring...not sure why they bother. But this is a small and very personal hotel, and the service really reflects it. I look forward to returning.

Quasiconvexity

This is one of my favorite hotels! As a Gold, got upgraded to a Diplomat Deluxe (and received email confirmation of the upgrade 3 days before the stay). The lounge facility was quite nice, and the overall level of service was spectacular. The fitness room, in particular, was awesome! Really enjoyed our 5 days here.

ihdihd

I'm staying at the property right now and had some thoughts on it constrasting it to the LRM Shanghai for those familar with that property:

General Hotel Feel

This is a classy property. Because of its location in the diplomatic area the service is top notch without being pretentious. While the LRM was modern, spacious, and large, this hotels feels much smaller. While the LRM is a great hotel with lots of ammenities, it's all about precision of service at the St. Regis Beijing.


Rooms

I prefer the rooms at the LRM. The junior suites have great views and I prefer the open layout. Suites at the St. Regis Beijing are large in total size, but considering they're 2 rooms, feel smaller than they actually are (we had a statesman suite). Probably better for families rather than for couples. I noticed that this was the case for even their larger suites.

Concierge

While the LRM Shanghai concierges are completely useless (and I've seen some pretty bad concierges out there), I would classify the St. Regis Beijing concierges are good with an agenda. They have a single tour company they work with, for example, and almost any question you ask you get the sense that they're selling more than advising, from restaurant recs even to which acrobat show to go to (they originally said that they only book for the Tiandi acrobat show, but after insistence of going to the chowyoung show they admitted that they could book that one too for me).


Food

For breakfast both the LRM and this hotel offer breakfast buffets in their main restaurants free for plats. While not at the scale of the Sheraton GS in Bangkok, the breakfast buffet at both properties is plentiful and very good. I'd give the edge here to the St. Regis beijing because the quality of food was higher and because the food was better laid out (in one area vs in LRM Shanghai).

The St. Regis has a japanese restaurant that is really out of this world. We visited wihtout prompting and it was completely empty at 8.30pm on Sunday. It has private rooms for each table, and the sashimi platters, while very expensive (around $100 for a bigger platter) were the best and freshest sushi I've ever had (while I've never had sushi in Japan, I am from NYC). We also had some other apps that were also great (but not best ever had). If you're looking to stay in the hotel, go to this place and try the sashimi.

Lounges

If you're used to the LRM Shanghai lounge then the St. Regis one will be a big disappointment (but so will almost any other hotel's). While the lounge is nice and small, they do offer butler service and can fetch you anything you need up there. In the evening they have a small meal buffet similar to the one at the LRM. Not much of a difference here. The lounge is high (on the 18th FL), and has an ok view. Again, not many lounge views beat the LRM Shanghai.

Other Services

The hotel has a great gym with spaced out equipment. Whereas in nicer properties you get lots of nicer equipment, the St Regis has both quantity and privacy of equipment. While we didn't have time to try out the spa, it's ranked as the best spa in Beijing and looked fantastically nice.


Interesting Facts

This is the hotel of choice for US presidents- Clinton and Bush both stayed here. Obama was in town 3 days ago also staying at the presidential suite up on 19, with the hotel completely on lockdown.

Designer

Thanks ihdihd for your detail comparison of St Regis Beijing and Le Royal Meridian Shanghai.

I am planning vacation to Beijing and Shanghai in May 2010. (I hope this is the best time to go weather wise, don't mind if it is in low 80's)
My original thought was St Regis in both cities, but now I am curious and maybe the Le Royal Meridian in Shanghai should also be an option.

Do you have a comparison of LRM and SR in Shanghai?

I appreciate any insight, it sounds like you are huge fan of LRM! I am travelling on points, platinum member and solo female traveller.

PS- is the Stateman Suite the best room to request for upgrade at SR Beijing?

nologic

There is no question, IMO, that unless you are spending time with almost all your meetings in Pudong, you should stay at LRM. Even then, LRM is better, IMO. The location is amazingly different -- and traffic can be TERRIBLE in Shanghai (Bejing too). I debated this like you forever, and then stayed at both, and I would stay at SR again, but only if I have multiple meetings over in Pudong. Being single female doesn't make a difference, IMO, but if one were to hang out in a lounge for an extended period of time, there's nothing like the multi-story atrium of LRM's Royal Club. Based on experience, this is fact (especially for a Platinum), not opinion. However, I you will likely get a large junior suite at LRM and a full, classic (unexciting) suite at the SR. Also, the lounge at the SR is small and personal, but the food is marginally better -- there will be one featured item per day that could be better, but the lounge food offers at LRM are extensive and very good. The booze and champagne selection at SR coudl be a bit better, too (I forget exactly, but that's my sense, but the difference is small -- we're not talking Dom versus Moet).

As for SR Beijing, I prefer this hotel in Beijing although haven't stayed at the Park Hyatt. The Statesman Suite is the typical UG; I have been there twice and got s Statemen Suite and then more recently a courtesy UG to the next level suite (as a one time special gesture), so it never hurts to ask at the front desk. I appreciated it, and will continue to reward them with my business, and would hold a conference there, if I was planning one in Beijing. The service is very good....like cheers: everyone knows your name." The location is also fine...good for some things...a couple of miles away for others...I like the property. There is also a great spa just across the street from the SR called Taipan where massages/treatments are about 1/3rd the price of the hotel spa. It's a 2 minute walk (although not an elevator ride in your bathrobe). Also, for RMB 1000, you can get a card which will give you a discount of about 20% off already very low prices and get more bod/foot massages than you've ever dreamed of. This is a high end spa and a nice benefit of the location...especially after a long flight or long day. advantage of the SRs in eithter city is that you get free pressing.

ihdihd

nologic covered off on the differences quite nicely. Others have talked about the differences between the LRM and SR in Shanghai over in the respective master threads of those two properties. Like nologic said, it really comes down to convenience. Our stay in pudong was limited to seeing the SWFC, which until next month is the world's tallest (open) building. So that trip excluded, we spent most of our time around the LRM area. Make sure to email the LRM in shanghai before arriving and you'll have a confirmed upgrade without any guessing prior to arrival, and remember to take your breakfast downstairs in the buffet restaurant.

happydsa

Is the internet complimentary at St. Regis Beijing?

seiknujnama

80RMB per day

chuckroby

Has anyone used the St Regis airport pickup service?
I just saw this on Tripadvisor:
Their airport pick-up service is simply superb. A Beijing airport employee will meet you as you get off the plane, escort you pass the queues, collect your bags and over to a St Regis escort and a driver. Car is usually an Audi A6 with refresher towels, drinks and various reading materials. There's a food and beverage menu for them to call ahead to the hotel, particularly helpful if you're arriving late.
Is there a charge for this service?
Sounds great. We will spend 3 nights in October.

Quasiconvexity

We didnt use the airport pick up service but did enquire about it and were quoted a price of RMB 620 for an Audi A6 each way, and RMB 920 for a Mercedes Benz each way (this was in June this year). We decided to take a taxi from the airport which ended up costing us not a whole lot more than 100 RMB IIRC. You can also arrange for a car + driver to pick you up - the forums on tripadvisor list a few reliable contacts.

Flying Lawyer

This is the typical service every good hotel offers in Beijing. It does not help at immigration, however, I have never experienced long lines on arrival in terminal three (a real breeze compared to the US, quick, polite and no nasty questions). A local taxi is in the range of 120 RMB. What I normally do is a pick up on arrival and I take a local taxi (or the train) back to the airport.