jaejaez

Shockingly bad form of the hotel. Calling to ask a guest to check-out early is something I have never heard of.

Crossed off my list.

ANstar

I also had a pretty poor experience at this hotel..

It took around 40 minutes to check in - not because we were waiting to check in, but because the person checking us in was beyond useless.

I think the hard product in the hotel is ok - especially the gym which has to be the best starwood gym Ive ever come across. But alas... thats where it ends.


The service in this hotel is pretty poor from check in, to housekeeping to the restaurants (especially breakfast).

Certainly doesn't deserve the St Regis name tag... faulty towers more like.

Meanwhile up the road at Grosvenor house ( as someone earlier was asking) treats platinums superbly and have had nothing but great experiences on my numerous stays there.

nomadfre

Just finished a week at this St. Regis. It seems like this is a great property as long as things go well - appears to be an issue with conflict resolution and dealing with issues.

Great place for kids, staff was friendly, excellent deal for points. I was concerned due to the negative comments but we had a great week and would definitely go back. Kids club is one of the best I've seen. Full breakfast + upgrade for plat. They were full, but still managed to get me into a Jr. Suite, which was big enough for the family. Gym is fully equipped, best I've experienced at an SPG property. All in all, the fully booked hotel absorbed it well in terms of the beach and pool area, parking, restaurants, spa and gym, though they seemed to be strained at breakfast.

Also, massage at Iridium was best I've had in my life - 20% discount for SPG, though you have to pay (though not reserve) on checkin.

raunow

Spent 4 days with my family at the St Regis Saadiyat last week an we all (2 adults and 2 teenage daugthers) loved it very much.

I booked two rooms many months out (one on C&P and one on a flexible paid rate), and applied for an Ocean Suite upgrade of the C&P room with SNA's. The SNA upgrade cleared 5 days out, and I cancelled the paid room.

The Ocean Suite is big with plenty of room for two extra rollaway beds, a huge master bathroom and two terraces. The butler service was efficient when we called for coffee, ice or other small standard items. The room was ready for us after a quick check-in when we arrived at 10AM on the first day. We didn't need a late checkout.

The selection at the breakfast buffet (full breakfast for all 4 as Platinum aminity) was nice, with lots of quality international and local choices, both pre cooked and made to order. We tried the hotels beachside fish restaurant, and had takeaway from the Lebanese restaurant in the on-site shopping centre. Both outlets are highly recommended.

The pools and beach areas are very nice with lots of very helpful staff. We never had to wait for loungers and if we weren't to picky about location we could always get a cabana as well. The sea is beatiful and there's plenty of space (both beach and pool areas have adult-only sections).

The Gym is placed above the on-site shopping centre, and has lots of space and a wide selection of Technogym equipment. The on-site shopping centre has a supermarket, a pharmacy and some nick-nack shops as well.

After our stay here, we went directly to Grosvenor House and apart from the (exceptionally impressive) Lounge at Grosvenor, we found the St Regis Saadiyat to be the preferred place for a relaxing family vacation.

Comparing our experience with the bad experiences by other, I'd recommend to consider the following before going:
- If you're looking for a Platinum suite upgrade use SNA's. The hotel goes above and beyond in Platinum recognition (full breakfast and 20% discount on all F&B), but seems reluctant to upgrade to suites.
- Be aware that this is a BIG hotel. Just driving from the gates to reception takes several minutes. This means that you'll not get to meet the same staff everyday, or experience hide-away ambience outside your room. But there plenty of space and staff, and we never found service to be lacking, though some employees seemed new and had to consult more senior staff occasionally.
- Apart from the on-site shopping centre, there is nothing in walking distance, and you'll be dependant on transportation anywhere you go (valet parking is free and efficient if you bring a car).

dwatcher

Hello All,

I have booked 2 nights with C&P in March. Was wondering why I dont see Free night options for something with breakfast or "club room" as I see in other Starwood properties?

If I just want to upgrade with my points to another level of room where I can get breakfast included how much would it be? I am traveling in non-peak time.

How much is breakfast by itself if I may ask?

Thanks,

Chriscross

St Regis hotels do not have any club lounges, guess that is why. Do not remember the price at this property, but if I remember correctly the St Regis in the city took about 45 usd/pers. Guess it would be about the same here?

It might be possible to pay for breakfast with points?

jaejaez

Was at this resort yesterday (a friend of mine recently moved into the St. Regis residence just next door so decided to swing by for coffee + chocolate on the way) and wasn’t impressed with first impressions.

Hardware is great – one of the nicest resorts I have been to in terms of grandeur and opulence of the building + design. Lots of marble, lots of great lighting, great scent etc

Software (service) is about the same level as Four Points Bangkok (and no, I am not exaggerating). Nobody opened my door when I arrived on taxi. No greetings, no eye contact, bellhops just idling around. The guy who is meant to serve you Arabic coffee when you enter is chatting/giggling with another staff as I enter. Nobody approached me when I walked in. everybody just doing their own things.

When I did approach someone, they were nice and cordial and helpful. But nothing above the Four Points Bangkok level, as in when I asked for directions they helpfully pointed to the direction for us and wished us a nice day, as opposed to the Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi that I visited two days ago where someone offered to walk me to the destination when I asked for directions (which I politely declined but is the sort of offer I have been spoiled with in such resorts in Abu Dhabi).

One other thing I found that made me frown a bit was the number of staff I found playing with their smartphones…? I don’t know whether they were on duty or not, but if they are seen within resort grounds and wearing a St. Regis nametag, they shouldn’t be seen on their iPhones scrolling through Facebook.

Another thing I picked up was two staff by the towel hut near the pool (one Asian lady and another western man) who appeared to be having an argument about work… they weren’t shouting or anything but from the tone of their voices and body language, they were clearly in disagreement about something and it was clearly noticeable in an open area that is meant to be the most tranquil & relaxing in the resort. I don’t think I can remember any other occasions when I was at a resort and heard an audible argument… anyway wasn’t pleasing to the eyes/ears.

So I spent good 20-30 minutes walking around the resort, including the beach (which is spectacular btw), pool, restaurants etc and was greeted by all of two staff. Everyone else were busy, walked right passed us (some looking at their phones), having an argument or giggling amongst themselves.

stargold

It's ironic that the two St. Regis in Abu Dhabi gets such mixed reviews, whereas (and of course, there is an element of lower expectation too) I was genuinely quite surprised at my very high satisfaction at the Aloft.

Sounds like I should opt for the PH if I want some sun and sand in Abu Dhabi rather than the SR.

FSU

We just got back from a 5 day stay here. Our experience was excellent.

The hotel was completely full and I had booked the cheapest room on a points and cash stay. I have no status other than Preferred Plus so I was not offered an upgraded room. The check in agent apologized for this and said if the hotel was not full, he would certainly have been able to upgrade us.

The basic room was gorgeous, with a bathroom that was almost as big as the room itself. Our balcony view was of the entrance area of the hotel. Not quite a beach view, but nice still.

The resort itself is beautiful. Very large, but with a very peaceful feeling. Every time we came back from touring, it felt like we were coming home. Unlike the previous posters, I found the staff very good. There were some communication problems as English was not the first language of many workers, but there was always someone for them to ask for assistance.

Even though the resort was full, there were always open chairs at the beach. Service was good here as well, when ordering drinks. The food overall was great. We ate at four of the restaurants, and had great meals at all of them. Both inside and outside tables were offered at all the venues. There is also a 20% discount if you are a SPG member.

The butler service was great, too. They are not as proactive as some would like, but I think that is the way the system is set up. For us they explained the room features as we checked in, but we did not use them much after that. Our friends used the service throughout the stay. They had the butler unpack, pack, make coffee, tea etc. They had requested a shirt to be pressed ( they offer free pressing) and when there was some confusion on which shirt it was, the head butler tracked us down at dinner to confirm (he had checked with the concierge where we were eating).

No we were not greeted by name each time we walked in. Sometimes the door was not held open. And sometimes we had to ask the gentleman at the front entrance for dates and tea, instead of him coming up to us. These things seem to be deal breakers for some previous posters, but not for us.

Overall an excellent stay. I would strongly recommend this property and look forward to returning.

stargold

Glad that you were happy with your stay - it is an absolute steal with C+P. However, for paid rates, they compete directly with the very best in Abu Dhabi. This means the staff, at a minimum, should:

- Greet guests properly upon arrival, by meeting the car, handling any baggage as appropriate, and guiding them to check-in (or other destination in the hotel);
- Should certainly not be playing with smartphones in public;
- Should not be raising their voice in an internal argument in a public area; and
- Should not be walking past guests like they are invisible.

Expectations are bound to be different according to the comparators, rate paid and what one is used to. Even at the aloft, which is a Cat 2 hotel with a typical price of 300AED per night, I experienced far better service with none of the above issues. I would say jaejaez's account of his experience shows a property which is distinctly below expectations of any 5-star hotel, let alone a St. Regis.

FSU

Stargold,

I definitely agree with you on your comments. I did not experience the same things you did, but if I did it would bother me. I thought the overall experience was great and the property absolutely gorgeous. I agree that extra training for some employees to act on a more personal level with the guests would be good suggestion, but I still found them to be all very friendly.

Chriscross

Since this is a resort, I guess platinum members are not guaranteed a late check out. But has anyone been rejected a late check out as a platinum member at this resort?

m0hamed

At StR and Park Hyatt properties staff are trained to never point guests in any direction, rather to personally escort them. This is one of the marks of personalised service.

tds

Just returned from a 2 night stay at this resort, and like the mixed comments in this thread, so was our experience.

Pros:
Facilities are beautiful. Pools and overall layout of the resort are wonderful. Wide, soft sandy beach. Lobby and restaurant decor are gorgeous.

I inquired with the concierge about possibly getting a box for a item I needed to check on the flight home and she worked quickly and diligently to locate something that might work for me, finding something within 20 minutes.

Platinum breakfast was excellent - full buffet for two people, normally priced at 160 AED each (over $40 each). Breadth of options was almost overwhelming.

Stayed on points - only 12,000 per night.

Did not receive a suite upgrade (checked online day before checking in and couldn't reserve a suite for the two nights stay) but was upgraded from standard "superior" room to "sea view" 2 days prior to arrival and received a welcome email informing me of this (and requesting confirmation of approximate arrival time). The online price difference between these two rooms was about $150 per night. I didn't see the "standard" view, but based on resort layout, I believe it would be far inferior to sea view.

Cons:
Service at restaurants was maddeningly slow. Ate at Turquoise 1st night and had drinks and small plates in the Manhattan Lounge 2nd night. Both evenings, it took about twice as long as expected to receive our food. And in both cases, servers didn't seem to want to bring our tab - couldn't even get their attention so my spouse left the table (both times) to try to provide a hint. Had to ask both times - in the Manhattan Lounge had to go to the bar to try to get the tab.

Valet gave me the wrong ticket for my car. I went to retrieve something from it later and they seemed confused, ultimately taking me to a car near the valet stand and said, "This is your car right?" I wanted to say yes and drive away - it was a Bentley. I'm guessing the Bentley owner had the ticket for my Jetta rental - would have loved to see his/her face if I hadn't gotten there first when the valet tried to deliver that car to them.

At breakfast, received a bill for one buffet. Told the server we had taken the Platinum Breakfast option and she said they just "show the bill" but it would be removed from the final bill. When I got the final bill, not one but two breakfast charges were listed and had to request to have them removed.

Have not stayed at the St. Regis Abu Dhabi, but spouse and I decided if we were in the area again we would likely still choose to stay here despite the service hiccups because of the beautiful setting, especially if 2017 or after when the Saadiyat Cultural District is complete. Would love to visit the new Louvre, Guggenheim, Zayed National Museum. It will be a major draw and the St. Regis is located right next to this area that is currently under construction.

tds

Did not mention this in my previous post, but the email we received from the butler service 2 days prior to check in inquired if we wished to request either early check in or late check out. It did state that requests weren't guaranteed, but "every effort to accommodate them" would be made. I made a request for a 3 pm check out via email the day prior to arrival, it was not confirmed at that time, but we did receive a late checkout (ended up leaving at 1 pm).

The email indicated that if they couldn't accommodate the early check in/late check out requests they offer an “Early arrival and late departure lounge, where you can enjoy and have a relaxing beverage while waiting for your room on arrival or transportation upon departure. Inside this lounge we also provide wide selections of refreshments, free Wi-Fi internet access and also a gym that can be used by the lounge guests."