As part of a business trip to the United Arab Emirates, I stayed at the St. Regis Dubaï for 3 nights in early July 2017. Located in the newAl Habtoor City complex, Starwood Group’s Ultra Premium property disappoints with some of its services. A look back at a half-hearted stay.

Booking

I booked this stay only a few days in advance on the SPG website as usual. Excellent surprise, the rate is quite low, a little over AED 500 + taxes, one of the cheapest Starwood hotels in the emirate.

For the first time, due to the unavailability of meeting rooms in our Dubai office, I had to make an ad hoc reservation a few days before. The initial reactivity is quite bad and the proposed rate is initially indecent. I can negotiate a better rate around AED 1500 all inclusive, but the process is complex and does not take into account the mobility constraints of business travelers.

Arrival

Before I arrived, and since the room type had not been changed on the day of my arrival as is usually the case when I am upgraded. So I proactively contacted my Platinum Ambassador service the morning of my arrival to secure an upgrade, as superior rooms and suites were available for booking. A few minutes later, I received aconfirmation email from the hotel.

I arrived at the facility around midnight on the day my reservation began. The welcome is polite and is done from the outside of the Emirates car that took me to my destination.

The check-in procedure is fast. My upgrade to the executive suite was confirmed by the receptionist, and the choice of Platinum benefits was made at that moment.

So I rush to my room to enjoy the few hours of sleep I have left before my meeting the next day in the hotel.

Room

The assigned suite is located on the second floor of the property. The view is limited to the construction of the adjoining building which continues the development of the Al Habtoor area.

From the entrance, a spacious dressing room is available on the right, with plenty of storage space.

The bathroom is also very spacious and hastwo completely separate basins facing each other, one for Mr. and the other for Mrs. Remède toiletries, a hallmark of the brand, are provided in large quantities.

A beautiful free-standing bathtub sits in the center of the bathroom. On the sides, the toilet and a bidet are available on the right and separated by a door, and the shower is located on the left. The latter, all in marble like the rest of the bathroom, has a small integrated bench. Unfortunately, this shower leaks a lot during use, and it floods the bathroom.

The lounge area is located in arecess of the suite. With a sofa, two nice armchairs and a coffee table, the main window is located in this space, which also has its own television.

The room is not very bright. Even if the bed is extremely comfortable, I regret that the cleaning service does not make this bed properly. I even found a towel (not sure if it was clean or dirty) between the sheet and the comforter.

The office is pleasant and well equipped.

There is also an area equipped with an espresso machine and a kettle.

Note that, very surprisingly for the brand, no turndown service is offered.

Finally, a video tour of the suite:

Hotel facilities

The hotel has very luxurious facilities due to its name but also due to its Middle Eastern location.

The lobby, obviously majestic, illustrates this assertion.

Sports facilities

The sports facilities are located on thesecond floorof the property. In addition to the very qualitative decoration, the appliances are very recent and connected with phones and adapted watches.

In addition to the equipment,a sports coach is available to clients in the mornings and evenings, and on call outside these hours.

Pool

The hotel has two outdoor swimming pools on its roof. They are small but this is relative to the size of the hotel, much smaller than its neighbors W and Westin. No apparent service, at least not for me!

Spa

The hotel has a spa that has anexcellent reputation. Unfortunately, I could not test it during this business stay.

Restaurants

The hotel has2 restaurants, both located on the second floor of the property. I could only test the Parisian brasserie, both for breakfast and lunch.

Breakfast

Breakfast is served only in the French Brasserie on the 1st floor. The welcome is good. The first morning, the Platinum benefithad not been properly registered in the system, a problem that was later corrected.

The tables are beautifully set.

The buffet is not very large, but the food offered is ofhigh quality. Nothing to do with the buffets of the big chains.

The quality of the smoked salmon, the variety of the cheese platter, one of the best ever seen in the region, as well as the care taken in the cooking of the egg dishes, are all noteworthy.

Lunch

I also had lunch twice in this brasserie. As with the breakfast, the service is of high quality.

Great care is taken in the preparation and presentation of the dishes and desserts.

The gustatory complexity of the requested pasta was worthy of a star restaurant.

Conferences and Conventions

Due to room constraints in our Dubai office, I had to booka meeting space in the hotel. The reservation was quite laborious, as the process did not take place in real time.

The shift of the weekend days in the Middle East did not facilitate the operations, far from it.

A negotiation took place, the rate being reduced by 25% compared to the original quotation.

The signing was not easy, since I was on the road. Process to be reviewed when the organizers are those who travel.

If the assigned room was very luxurious, the lack of functioning of the audiovisual equipment, which took more than 45 minutes to work, is unacceptable in a hotel of such a standing!

Departure

In view of my very early departure (3:55 am), I anticipated these formalities the afternoon before my departure. At that moment, I was asked if Iwanted a wake-up call and a double espresso brought to me… With pleasure!

The morning of my departure, I received the call and the double espresso, and I was on my way after a short shower. A small passage by the reception is necessary to release the amount retained on my credit card.

A short time later, my Emirates First driverwas waiting for me, luggage loaded!