TallestHotelInJapan

The other guy said the taxi stinks. Then, I prefer to take the rental car. The parking is free of charge at the hotel?

JohnRain

I only had good experiences with cabs, but this will obviously vary.
From what I've read elsewhere parking at the hotel should indeed be free.

NoY

We recently stayed here again & thought it might be uesful to see if things have improved since last June;

Booking
We booked a standard King Superior room on a Brunch, Breakfast, late check out rate. Good value at about 1700 AED all in. Upon check-in we were upgraded to a St Regis Suite.

Check-in Process
The check-in process was again friendly but somewhat cumbersome/awkward. We were not offered a cold towel this time & overall the process was reasonably swift. The room (at midday) was not ready & our bags were taken in exchange for a luggage receipt (more on that later) No choice of amenities other than 250 Starpoints was offered initially (but upon prompting a drinks voucher was offered & chosen).

After brunch (which was very nice) we were given keys to our Suite (not escorted, this time) We were not offered a welcome tea or coffee & had none of the Butler duties/services explained to us – just like our last stay. Bags took 40 minutes (despite a 5 minute promise) & 3 discussions ("can you describe your bags sir?") Eh!

The Room
Very nice. rather than a two room suite it was one very large space with separate sofa/chairs/lounging area along with a work desk/vestibule area, similar to the Ocean Suite. There was a small fruit & nut plate awaiting us & a welcome note from the GM. Unlike the Ocean Suite my wife’s biggest gripe in hotels did not manifest itself here – a hairdryer/straighteners plug was right at a dressing table in the walk-in wardrobe!! happy
Mrs NoY!!

Facilities
The hotels three pools are, as previously reported, very nicely done. they are however showing a fair few signs of wear & tear. The table next to our pool loungers was VERY worn out & in fact falling apart. The dining chairs at brunch (outdoors) were stained & tatty. One of our brunch guests had, ahem, bird poo on his shirt from the cushions. Nice. We noticed lots of this type of thing. I know the weather/sand/sea air takes its toll but lets hope their maintenance standards hold up.

Restaurants
We had booked Olea for Brunch & yet again we got allocated THE WORST table in the house. Again (as last year) I quietly pointed out that we expected something a little better given the circumstances (booked 2 weeks days ahead, Suite Guest, SPG Gold etc) & we were given a lovely table with a view. The food was delicious & we were very well looked after following this. The Champagne flowed freely Very nice.

We ate breakfast via room service. This time, the room service was a little dumbed down in quality but still enjoyable. We enjoyed our free drinks voucher at the pool bar.

Housekeeping
Pretty dreadful. Dirty bathrobe in room on arrival & used soap? No thanks. Not anywhere else I have stayed. Somebody sort it out!

Summary
We DID enjoy our stay here & will stay here again but with expectations firmly managed. We were financially compensated upon departure but would have been happy to pay the full whack had services been delivered impeccably.as the hard product just about makes up for a sometimes lousy soft product. Feels more like a high-end Sheraton/Westin than a St Regis really.

NoY

Duplicate post. Deleted

LovetoTravel83

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10OX76f3DUg

snaffled

Many of the hotels make great videos before their annual parties - that is probably the one for the St Regis. The Sheraton hotel in Pattaya does some funny ones. I think they are great fun


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B95MpozZ0b4

The_Daddy

their services is collapsing (it actually never get there at all)...so maybe they are just trying to divert the attention.....very gangnam style

remymartin

Any updates? I skimmed through this thread and saw no mention of late check-out? This property is on Starwood Lurker's infamous resort list

KSA_USA

I stayed at this hotel last month for 2 nights. I did not like it at all. got upgraded to a huge suite ( forgot its name) but the layout was disaster and tasteless. bell man threw ( yes threw) my luggage in the room and left

when I checked-in some little kids were playing soccer in the lobby. no one talked to them. I heard a guest asking an employee are we in a stadium? the employee smiled and just kept walking

breakfast service was good.

remymartin

Sorry to hear that. How was the rest of the property (pools, grounds, location)?

I'm also reaching out in the Abu Dhabi hotels thread on some recommendations for a combined DXB/AUH mini vacation. Thoughts?

The_Daddy

The property is nice but service can be very frustrating especially their butler service that create costantly a great confusion with housekeeping/frontdesk/concierge all ending up in guest don't getting the proper service in time or at all. And that is no episode.
The steack restaurant is very nice and they are very polite. So is the other restaurant in the main building where the buffet is, even if in this one lot of staff is not properly trained.
The beach is nice but as you might have read already there is an issue with all the stones on the shore.
The main pool is "tricky" in the shape/geometry and the service is spotty.
Adult pool is small and get shadow often and it is too close to some buildings.

Forget about sitting on the main outside terrace...all (and I mean all) the tables and chairs are costantly dirty with birds doing their needs all over...it has been one of the more desgusting scenario I had to see in probably my entire hotel experience...and it has been there all the time all the day all the weeks I have been there three times no matter how many times I told them.
And among that unberiable environment they had the courage to serve food and drinks, in a st. regis. Unbeliavable!

Would you care for it, they have a nice baby club and the girl there are really nice and sweet even if they miss a real programme to keep baby entarteined and it ended up doing the same boring things all the time with one or two of the staff painting some paper or doing minor things (tatoo or things like that).
It has a babypool in the outdoor area that was very enjoied by kids all the time.

That said this hotel is really rocking the scene...it was costantly full of rich people showing off their ferrari/bentley/rolls.....

you might give it a try...all in all is a nice property and the rates are still extremely convenient...but be ready to face some issue with the service.
If that is going to spoil you choose a different place where to stay.
As you mention an Abu Dhabi - Dubai holiday I found the Royal Meridien Dubai (to stay with the SPG family) to provide among the best hotel experience in terms of service I have ever tried.
Best,
daddy

remymartin

Thanks for the input, The_Daddy!

I'm not too fond of birds and what you wrote is very disturbing. Having said that, LRM is over twice the amount of points at the moment and I'm travelling alone so wish to splurge reasonably.

I also looked at the new St Regis Abu Dhabi. Strangely there are no photos of the pool area

Do you have any thoughts on that property?

KSA_USA

Main pool was filled with screaming kids. Adult pool is ( as The Daddy pointed out) small and close to buildings and because of its proximity to the main pool its noisy.

the hotel is located in a very quiet area about 10 to 15 minutes drive to the city. about 80 min drive to Dubai ( Jumirah area) and about 100 min to Dubai Airport (city centre).

I did not try the St. Regis Abu Dhabi yet so can't comment on it.

try the St. Regis Saadiyat Island hotel for your self you may like it.
enjoy your time.

The_Daddy

Sorry but no...I believe it has open very recently so expect, in case, some minor issues that usually erase in properties recently open.

aussielori

Just did a stay here on a BRG.
upgraded to ocean suite 6 days before checkin as plat .
breakfast downstairs was nice . loved the hotel.
slow checkin and even slower checkout so make sure you come down 1.2 hr before the limo arrives.
love to come back !
cleanest stunning water in the world.
great staff especially pool area.