One of my bucket list hotels has always been to stay at The St Regis New York at Christmas time. I was supposed to visit in 2021, but a break-up led to the cancellation of the trip, and so back on the bucket list it went.
Finally, in 2024, I managed a stay.
My mum had never been to NYC before, and so for her 60th birthday I decided to treat her to a Christmas visit. I had a bunch of Virgin Atlantic airmiles to use and almost 400,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
Of course, I decided to use a bulk of them to book a two-night stay at The St Regis New York.
So, let me tell you all about our stay at the St Regis New York!
Using Bonvoy Points to Book The St Regis New York
Now, I used 276,000 Bonvoy points for two nights over a weekend in December.
Rooms start from $2,500 per night during December weekends, so I thought this was a pretty good deal and a great use of my points! Especially as a lot of the points had been earned through work travel and work expenses.
I then also used 95,000 points for two nights at the AC Downtown New York (where the rooms would have cost $600 per night for Weds-Fri in December), so we also had a couple of nights down in the downtown area so my mum could experience a different (and quieter) side of Manhattan.
Platinum Bonvoy Check-In Experience
We checked in on the Friday, arriving at around 11am. Sadly we weren’t able to get an early check-in as the hotel was fully booked due to the holiday season, but they were able to confirm my 4pm late checkout which is a Platinum benefit.
While we were there I also asked about the Platinum suite upgrade. I noted that there were two suites showing as available on their website.
Interestingly, I was told that those suites weren’t actually available.
The lady on the desk said that the St Regis purposely overbooks rooms in case of last-minute cancellations or no shows, and then if everyone actually shows up, they send the extra people over to The Peninsula across the road. I was slightly shocked that they admitted to doing this tbh.
No matter though, we left our bags there and headed out to explore Midtown.
When we came back at 3pm to check-in, we were served by Trang (who was amazing!), and although a Platinum suite upgrade was unavailable, Trang was able to upgrade us one category level to a Deluxe guest room.
This was worth an extra $500 per night, as these rooms average at $3,000 per night over weekends in December.
Deluxe Butler Service Guest room
We entered room 409 on the fourth floor, to find what can only be described as a junior suite – it was huge at 650 sq ft!
Room Amenities and Layout
Each room at The St Regis New York has a sofa and coffee table, even the most basic level rooms, and all of the rooms are large and spacious for New York standards.
As well as the sofa, coffee table and chair, there was also a desk and chair, with the desk containing headed notepaper and St Regis postcards.
The King size bed is plush and ridiculously comfortable. I completely fell in love with it and am now saving up to purchase their entire set of Frette bedding (you can purchase the duvet, pillows, sheets, and mattress topper for around $1500).
I’m not even exagerating when I say that the bed and pillows was probably the comfiest and plushest I’ve ever slept on.
And I’ve slept in a lot of very fancy beds.
Beside the bed are three-drawer bedside tables, complete with charging points built in, and the ability to control the rooms temperature etc via a touchscreen pad.
There’s a large honor bar with a wide selection of snacks and drinks, and a TV above this unit. There are also complimentary bottles of water in the St Regis branded bottles.
Also, they offer turndown service which I love. It feels so lovely and luxurious to come back to your time to the bedding turned down and slippers by the bedside. Also it’s worth noting that the slippers and gowns are all unbranded with no St Regis logo on them.
The St Regis Deluxe Bathroom
The bathroom was all grey marble and gold fittings. It was stunning.
We had double sinks and a separate bath and shower. Now, I loved the shower – it was probably the most perfect shower I’ve ever experienced. It was SO powerful and felt like an actual waterfall pouring over your head!
There’s also a separate toilet contained within the bathroom.
Negatives of the St Regis Deluxe room
Really the only main negative with the room was that our room was on the side of the hotel on East 55th Street, so it was very, very dark. We had to constantly have the lights on because there was very little natural light.
I was also sliiightly disappointed that there was nothing in our room when we arrived. As a Platinum Bonvoy member there’s usually a cute card and a fruit platter or tray of chocolates waiting for me (and I would even get this just as a Gold member), but there was nothing.
It’s also worth noting that you don’t get a kettle or coffee machine in the room. You have to contact your Butler and ask them to bring you a cup of tea or a coffee…but it’s only free in the morning before 12noon.
My mum loves a hot lemon in the mornings though, so they were able to leave a kettle in the room with a sliced up lemon for her. So if you’re British like us and love making your own cup of tea, just ask the Butler for a kettle in the room and they will leave one along with some different teas.
St Regis New York Destination Fee
Like many hotels in New York City, the St Regis charges a ‘destination fee’. If you’ve seen my comment in Christopher Elliott’s USA Today article, you’ll already know my view on these.
In short: I hate them.
I think they’re a total scam and should be illegal.
But alas, it is apparently ‘mandatory’ (and Marriott are the only hotel brand who make their status guests pay it, unlike Hilton and IHG who waive it for status members).
At The St Regis New York the ‘destination fee’ is $50 per night, plus sales tax etc, so for two nights I was charged an extra $114 in total.
What the destination fee includes
The hotel’s fee includes: $50 of food & beverage credit, $75 laundry credit, $50 salon credit, complimentary pastry, and internet. So technically you’re getting almost $200 in value from the $50 fee, but of course, only if you actually use it all.
The other issue I have with the fee, is that the fee is based on calendar days.
So if you check-in at 4pm you must use your fee credits for that calendar day by midnight that night…leaving you not a lot of time to spend it all. If you’re staying for say, two nights, you must then use the next day’s credit by midnight the following night, so you cannot use it on the day you check-out (i.e. you couldn’t use it on breakfast the day you check-out).
You’re also not allowed to use the destination fee credit in the King Cole bar, only in The Drawing Room or through in-room dining.
When it comes to the laundry credit, I don’t know about you, but if I’m staying somewhere for two nights I’m not going to use the laundry credit. I simply don’t need it.
I also don’t want to spend time in the salon when I’m on vacation, and the salon prices were so high that you would end up spending more than $50. Apparently you’re able to spend the $50 salon credit on haircare products from the salon, but we weren’t told this until after we had checked out and left.
‘Complimentary’ pastries
When it came to the complimentary pastries, we requested this on the Saturday and what showed up was a tower of jams…and an empty bowl with just a blue napkin inside it. The hotel still charged us $31 for this empty bowl and blue napkin though (and I’m currently trying to get a refund from them).
When I raised the issue of the disappearing pastries with the Butler team that same afternoon, the Butler told us to request pastries on check-out day the next day and they would waive the fee for us. So, I phoned up on the Sunday morning and specifically requested ‘our complimentary pastries’, and a basket of delicious pastries arrived! Hurrah!
But oh no, they charged me $41 for that basket on the final bill. In fact, they messed up the final bill so much that instead of charging me $114 for the two nights of destination fee, they instead charged me a total of $185. I’m still trying to get this changed and refunded.
How to get out of paying the destination fee
Now, technically, it’s illegal in New York to charge a destination fee for things that are included already.
As Internet is included for free for Bonvoy members as a benefit, I think that technically Bonvoy members could get out of paying the destination fee by pointing this out to them. Sadly I didn’t realise this until we had already checked out.
Food & Beverage at The St Regis New York
Other than the destination fee, I think the F&B is where I felt a bit let down by the St Regis, both by the service and the prices.
We didn’t use their breakfast because 1. The Platinum breakfast benefit was just a continental breakfast, and 2. When we looked at the prices of the hot items, everything was between $50-$100 just for one dish?! Madness!
We chose to eat breakfast out instead – after all, New York is full of incredible restaurants and places to eat, that are much cheaper than the St Regis.
But, to use our destination credit my mum and I went to The Drawing Room on the Friday night to have a cocktail before going out for dinner.
However, we received a rather hostile level of service from the staff in there. They were all incredibly unfriendly and snooty.
They also don’t seem to save any tables for guests of the hotel, and we were – in a rather frosty way – told to wait at the side for a table to become available by the hostess. Meanwhile, we watched her be very friendly and warm to other guests who were arriving.
Eventually they showed us to a table – one of the tables not actually in The Drawing Room, but off to the side. It wasn’t the most pleasant experience. The cocktails were fine, but nothing special and certainly not worth the $30+ EACH that they cost.
Town Car & Amenities
I was super excited to use the hotel’s town car. When I’d stayed at the Langham New York in 2016, I had made full use of their town car and found it really handy.
Unfortunately, we never got to experience the St Regis town car.
Weirdly, it was only available after 2pm each day. But every time we tried to use it, it was already in-use. I suppose given the hotel was fully booked this was to be expected, but it was still a little disappointing.
One of the amenities I really loved, was the complimentary hot chocolate and apple cider available in the lobby for guests to help themselves to. This was a really nice touch for the holiday season and we really appreciated it.
How does St Regis New York compare to other St Regis Hotels?
The only other St Regis hotel I’ve stayed at was St Regis Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi. Honestly, I thought the St Regis Saadiyat had far superior service, and there is no resort or destination fee there (despite Saadiyat being a genuine resort).
I had a perfect stay at St Regis Saadiyat, and was expecting the same from the brand’s flagship hotel in New York. I was kinda sad that I didn’t get that.
Is the St Regis New York worth the money?
So, would I pay hard cash to stay at the St Regis again? For $2,500 per night? No.
If it was a similar price-point to the Beverly Hills Hotel and was around the $1000 a night mark, maybe (the bed and the shower were truly incredible).
But if it isn’t around that price point, I’d rather spend my money on staying at The Langham again.
If the St Regis had a pool and spa, and the town car was easier to use and more available (with use throughout the day instead of just afternoons and evenings), and breakfast was included complimentary with your booking as standard, then I think it would be worth it. But as it is, I don’t think it is and I think there are better luxury hotels in New York that offer a more luxurious experience for better value.
It just left a really bad taste in my mouth that they were so nickel-and-diming. A luxury hotel should not nickel-and-dime its guests, and it reminded me of when I stayed at Karma St Martin’s where they charged £500 per night, but then also charged £3 per biscuit for the biscuits in the room. It just lowers and cheapens the feeling of the brand.
Final Thoughts
While I was disappointed by the treatment we received in The Drawing Room, and also disappointed by the issues with the final bill and extras, the majority of the staff in the St Regis were really, really incredible and very helpful.
I’d also like to give a special shout-out to Trang on reception, who really made our stay super special. My mum excitedly told her that I was treating her for her 60th, and Trang very kindly sent up a beautiful tower of macarons and chocolates, and a bottle of prosecco, as well as a card.
And while I don’t agree with the destination fee and don’t think there’s a lot of value in it (I’d much rather have the $114 back in my pocket), I do think that for 276,000 Bonvoy points, we got a very good deal on our room.
Two nights in a Deluxe butler room which is essentially a junior suite size for 276,000 points rather than it costing us $6000, is very good value in my opinion.
So, if you have the points, go ahead and stay at the St Regis. Just don’t spend your hard earned cash on a stay there – stay at The Langham or The Knickerbocker instead (or The Ritz if you want a Marriott brand).
