A trip to Hong Kong gave me the opportunity to stay at the newly opened St Regis, which has a double distinction: not only is it the latest luxury hotel to open in the city, but it is also the 7000th Marriott hotel in the world.
The booking of the room
I of course booked with the Marriott mobile app. We all know that hotels in Hong Kong are expensive, especially luxury hotels. I will decide to book a standard room and pay for it with my points.
Having also a few “Suite Night Awards” under my belt I decided to use them for this very premium property. A “Suite Night Award” allows me, without waiting for check-in, to apply for a suite upgrade and sometimes to request a suite category that is not eligible for a “normal” upgrade. When I see that the Metropolitan suite, the 3rd largest of the hotel is available I jump on the opportunity and make my request.
Winning bet: 3 days before my arrival I will have the confirmation of my upgrade.
Arrival at the hotel
The hotel is located on Hong Kong Island, in the Wan Chai district. Very well located.
From the airport I will take the train which takes me in 25 min to the Central Station from where free shuttles bring guests to the hotels. The St Regis is not (yet?) mentioned on the shuttle itineraries, but you can take the one that serves the Renaissance right across the street.
The bellman takes my bags. In the entrance we find a lounge that we just cross to take the elevator that brings us in the lobby where is the check-in, therefore located in the upper floors.
As I did my mobile check-in on the application the formalities will be reduced to a minimum and I will be accompanied to my room.
General overview
Before going further a short general tour of the hotel. As usual at St Regis it is about sobriety and good taste.
The Metropolitan Suite at the St Regis Hong Kong
To open the door of the suite I can use one of the keys I was given but also the Marriott application on my mobile.
And it works. Too often the very promising “keyless” of Starwood did not work, at Marriott it did! This shows that the merger did not only have negative points.
We enter through a large living room. A welcome note is placed on the table.
It is beautiful, comfortable, spacious. I have some doubts about the wall in the orange tones though.
Then the room.
The bed is huge and takes up most of the space! A bit like the St Regis Kuala Lumpur I think they could have given a few more square meters to the room, if only at the expense of the lounge.
The TV is gigantic.
And finally the (very) large bathroom with bathtub, large shower and double dressing room.
And the traditional video…
I stayed 4 days and the experience was really perfect. Quality bedding, beautiful spaces, silence, comfort, what more could you ask for?
The service is also very attentive as always at St Regis. An example? I had left cables and chargers on my bedside table in a beautiful mess as usual. And what did I find when I returned to the hotel in the evening? Everything is set up and held by cable ties that I still have.
The view was very nice. I think there are suites with better views but they are given to “paying” guests.
On the other side we see the big tower of the Ritz Carlton.
Gym, pool, spa
Let’s start with the gym. Located on an upper floor, it offers a superb view and a new and comprehensive equipment.
A video is better than all the pictures.
The downside of going to a newly opened hotel is that sometimes everything isn’t quite finished yet.
During my stay the pool was closed and I will not take the time to go to the spa.
Bars and restaurants
A visit to a St Regis without testing the St Regis Bar is criminal.
The bar is small and unfortunately often full at aperitif time or even later in the evening.
But I will eventually find a seat at the bar.
The menu is of high quality. The creations are very fine and the variations around the traditional bloody mary very successful.
Beautiful creations very well done but also a very professional staff with whom I took a lot of pleasure to discuss their job and their menu.
Just before the St Regis Bar is The Drawing Room, a sort of brasserie/bar/restaurant.
I will try to have a drink and dinner there one night. The person in charge of the reception and the placement of the customers seems to me a little overwhelmed and takes people in the order she wants and not in the order of arrival.
In short, no room for me. I was about to leave the hotel to eat elsewhere when a bartender from the St Regis Bar noticed, caught me, reprimanded the other one and assigned me the first seat that became available.
My bottom line: very long service and good food but nothing more.
The hotel also has two gourmet restaurants: one Chinese and one French. Impossible to find a table at the French one: always full. So go for the Chinese. That said, it is unfortunate that a quota of seats is not “secured” for hotel guests.
I’ll take a chance on the tasting menu.
Verdict: well presented dishes but the taste lacks either finesse or “pep“. I am not enough connoisseur in Chinese gastronomy to give a definitive opinion, maybe the problem is my inadequacy to the local cuisine and not the execution of the dishes. Well, excellent service, but I expected a little better.
Example of dishes served.
Departure from the hotel
I’ll check out on the mobile app, and go straight down to wait for my Uber. By the time he arrives, the staff will propose me to wait in the lobby lounge.
Someone will go around the corner to guide the driver and make sure I don’t have to wait outside.
Bottom line : almost perfect
I’m not going to be picky: the stay was almost perfect, especially considering that this is a newly opened hotel where some adjustments are still logically necessary.
Given the price of the stay (0€ + bar and restaurant) it would be wrong to be picky.
Will be happy to try again when everything is ready.
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