mamby

My husband and I plan to come to NYC for 2 nights over memorial day weekend. We can get a basic room at either the St. regis or the ritz for bascially the same price. We can also upgrade at each once we get there. We have not stayed at either, although have stayed at the Ritz in other locales. Which is "better."

GoTravel

In NYC, my vote goes to the St. Regis.

The St.Regis has been ranked as one of the top hotels in the world for years.

You can get a park view room at the St. Regis.

The locations are very near each other. Within 5 or 6 blocks.

mamby

I've read that the standard rooms at the St. Regis are small- is that true?

emd

I have stayed three times at the St. Regis. I am a Starwood preferred guest w/a heck of alot of points. I have paid for and gotten rooms that hold the bed, a nightstand on each side, a desk, a little hall down to the normal size bath, without any extra room to walk around, no couch, no separate TV area, all three times. It was somewhat opulent, but has never stunned me as it seems to stun others as the absolute above-and-beyond best of all. I have stayed in bigger rooms in NY that weren't as ornate and oppulent but were nicer. I have not stayed a the Ritz in NY, so can't comment on that. I have also stayed a the St. Regis Club at the Westin Essex House. I liked my rooms at the St Regis Club at the Essex much better than at the St Regis Hotel- newer, not much bigger, but nicer feel to me. The butler service was the same. People say the overall experience is better at the St. Regis Hotel that the St. Regis Club at the Westin. I'm sure I will take some heat for this, but that hasn't been my experience.

mamby

I appreciate your response. I really want to make the right choice- we've heard so much about the St. Regis and would love to try it, but not if it's not worth it. Especially at the prices being charged, I have high expectations, and I would hate to be disappointed once I got there.

emd

Have you looked at some of the nice boutique hotels? They don't offer the butler service and prestige of "staying at the Regis" (yes, St Regis butler in crisp uniform brings you coffee on a silver tray w/a rose in the a.m., and anything else you need, but we don't use that too much) but they can be quite nice. I am trying the Italian hotel Michaelangelo over Memorial Day weekend after reading the great reviews on here and tripadvisor.com. Their rack rates are high ($400) but I got in for $200, a big bargain there. BIG nicely decorated rooms. There are other hotels like that. If you do check out the St. Regis at the Essex House, they have some rooms right on Central park. BTW-if you search on this forum for Ritz New York you'll get posts on the Ritz.

GoTravel

emd, your experience is the complete opposite of mine. The times I've stayed there (mind you it hasn't been many!!) my room has been on the large side.

I didn't pay for large.

Who knows? Maybe the stars were in alignment.

JAS

Definitely the St. Regis! Ritz is beautiful too, but the St. Regis is nicer roomss, better service- one of the nicest hotels!

mamby

I called the St. Regis and they said that their superior class rooms (smaller) were 430 sq ft. For New York, that seems pretty good. I was going to go with the St. Regis, but I'm not sure now in light of Emd's response. Tripadvisor posts also had some not so great things to say about the St. Regis.

emd1

Maybe I got bad luck and was there at a busy time all three times. I was there for business all 3 times during the week, and checked in after 5 p.m. at a rate of about $500. I am a Preferred Gold Starwood member though (over 150,000 points) and usually get upgraded, but not on those stays. I haven't seen tripadvisor posts, what did they say? I certainly had no issue w/the service.

mamby

A few of the reviews commented on poor/stuffy service. On review commented on how small the room was, even with an upgrade. 430 sq ft is a decent size for NYC, but I wonder if that's the number the quote on the phone, but perhaps not what you get upon check in.

jgkocis

I am also a starwood platinum and noticed a stay at the St. Regis is 20-25,000 points /night. That is a whole lot of points - that gets you 5-6 nights at many "executive collections" is this place that wonderful that it warrants 2-3/x the number of points at even the W on Union Sq, or Westin Essex? I am considering which hotel to stay in NYC for my wedding night and even with the points am wondering if the St. Regis is really all that great (I could use the points in Europe for the honeymoon or a future trip, etc...)

emd

jgkocis: I will say upfront that I like the Essex House. I think it is a good use of points, and due to the fact that it is your wedding night and you are a platinum member, they should really upgrade you, even if you use points. I routinely get upgraded to a park view there when I pay (although I will only take it if I am on a very high floor, as I am noise sensitive to street noise). I think the St. Regis is too many points (I am the same emd who posted above- emd1 is my work computer, emd is home). Room service is good at Essex, the art deco decor is nice, and I always get good service there. I think that esp. w/the park view, it is a nice place for a wedding night, and then use your points on the rest of the honeymoon. 20-25K points is outrageous. I just got 6 nights at the Sheraton Yokohama just outside of Tokyo (a very very nice Sheraton w/great location, lots of perks, indoor pool, really nice, internet access in the room) on the club level w/free breakfast and evening appetizers and drinks for 42,000 points (don't forget-Starwood deal is use points for first 4 nights, get the 5th night free). That is a good use of points as far as I am concerned. I suggest you see how far those 25K points will take you on your honeymoon before booking one night at St. Regis w/them.

mamby

Hi! I started this thread and just stayed at the St. Regis this past weekend. While it was very, very nice, I wasn't completely blown away by it. We got a fairly decent rate and were upgraded (Starwood Gold) to a deluxe room. I asked if they had any Grand luxe rooms available under the theory "it never hurts to ask" and I got a very chilly reception for so asking, as in "we've already upgraded you...and you have a low rate." (A simple, "no I'm sorry" would have been better.) I politely responded that I was just asking and that it he couldn't, I certainly understood, and indeed we were upgraded to a Grand Luxe room. However, truth be told, I liked the deluxe room better- it had a bigger feel to it and a bigger bathroom. The plus of the Grand Luxe room was that it had a separate sitting area- much like a junior suite. In any event, the room was very nice. It was a little narrow, but probably about 500 sq ft counting the bathroom. We found some of the staff to be GREAT- great doorman/valet/bartender. Didn't really use the butler all that much and didn't count that as a huge plus. The main lobby is very small and the elevators open directly to it so everyone sees you each time you enter and leave, which some may like, but we like a little more anonymity. There was just something about our stay that didn't blow me away, something I can't put my finger on. Part of it may be that for some reason I felt like some of the staff was looking down their noses at us-- it was almost imperceptible, but I felt it. We stay at 5 star hotels and resorts fairly often, and have been treated WONDERFULLY and have walked away feeling like a million dollars, but we didn't at the St. Regis-- again, not to say it was BAD, it just wasn't phenomenal.

jgkocis

Mamby - great review. I have been in the lobby of the St. Regis recently and while I thought it was very nice, I really wasn't blown away by it either.

Maybe it is that I prefer austere to opulent and I agree, the lobby felt crowded. Also, I did notice/felt some eyes on us that appeared to be saying "what are *you* doing here?"

finally, what was the great rate that you got, and how?? thanks

mamby

I wouldn't say our rate was "great" but for the St. Regis is was good. It was $395 per night and I got it from the starwood website. It included continental breakfast for 2 (which was scrumptuous and beautifully presented by room service-- by the way, they did not charge us for anything associated with the breakfasts-- no surcharge for room service, no automatic gratuity charge. Again, we got the upgraded b/c of the starwood gold membership. The reason I felt it was a good rate was b/c our amex platinum could only give us a rate of over $530 per night for the same room with the same amenities, and we usually get good rates from Amex. The rate amex could get us for the RC central park was $405, so for the same price essentially, with the same amenities, we thought we would try the SR. Again, not disappointed at all, just not blown away.