Background & Location
While today there are over 50 St. Regis branded properties around the world, it all started with the first St. Regis hotel in New York City. The St. Regis New York, founded by John Jacob Astor IV, opened in 1904. It was the first hotel to offer guests their own in-room telephones, and the hotel is credited with creating the Bloody Mary cocktail in the US. I was excited to have a one-night staycation at the St. Regis New York, and this is the second St. Regis property that I’ve stayed at, with the first being the St. Regis Osaka in 2022.
The St. Regis New York offers 171 guest rooms and suites, while there is also a Residence Club within the hotel offering 31 residences on the 8th through 11th floors. It’s conveniently located in Midtown Manhattan on 55th Street and 5th Avenue, making it extremely convenient to luxury shopping on 5th Avenue as well as Central Park South.
Travel Agency Benefits
I work with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays. Fora is part of Marriott STARS & Virtuoso. These partnerships give you special perks when booking with me. The St. Regis New York comes with the following:
- Daily breakfast for two
- Complimentary upgrade upon availability
- $100 Hotel Credit per stay
- Welcome amenity
- Early check-in/late check-out upon availability
If you are interested in getting these perks and want to stay at the St. Regis New York, feel free to email me at takeofftotravel@fora.travel and I would be happy to help you plan your trip.
Takeoff Points
Date of Stay: January 2025
Room Type: Grand Luxe- 2 Double
Pros: Lovely location, solid service, and opulent decor.
Cons: No hot breakfast at La Maisonette, tiny TV, and a guest room refresh would be nice.
Arrival and Check-In
We arrived at the hotel around 4 pm and were quickly checked in. The doormen helped us with our luggage and bags were quickly delivered shortly after we got settled in the room. I booked this stay using a Marriott Bonvoy Award that was expiring in a month. The certificate was good up to 85k points, and the night I was looking at was 88k, so I just had to patch 3k points. Cash rates for the St. Regis New York start at $800 a night.
A friendly associate helped us check-in, and he let us know we had been upgraded to a Grand Deluxe Room, which was great. We were booked into the lead-in category, the standard guest room, and were upgraded to the Grand Luxe room type. As a Marriott Platinum member, he informed us that we could get bonus points or continental breakfast for 2, which I chose the latter.
Service continued to be attentive throughout the stay, as the messaging function on the Bonvoy App always had an associate respond quickly, and the Butler Service either picked up or called back very quickly.
Daily Destination Fee
At check-in, the associate explained what was included in the Daily Destination Fee ($50 a night plus tax). Considering the level and high rates that the property demands, I do find it a bit petty to be charging this fee, but on the plus side the fee comes with some decent perks.
- $50 Food & Beverage Credit, applicable in Private Dining, The Drawing Room, and La Maisonette
- $75 Laundry or Dry Cleaning Credit
- $50 Fodera Hair Salon Credit
- Daily Pastry (For Marriott Gold or higher)
Unfortunately for us, the Fodera Salon was closed during the duration of our stay, so the associate let us know that credit wouldn’t be able to be utilized. I have read that some guests have used it on hair products, but your results may vary. We didn’t end up using the laundry credit, or get the daily pastry, but the $50 food & beverage credit was utilized at the Drawing Room for some champagne.
Grand Luxe- 2 Double Room
Our room was located on the 14th floor, and the old elevator was a bit shaky and partially concerning, but it got us to our room.
As you enter the room, there is a large closet to the right. It offers a safe, hangers, luggage racks, umbrellas, and shoe brushes. Complimentary shoe shine is available as well.
As you proceeded into the room, there were two large double beds with a nightstand in between. The room had a very classic design. The nightstand had a Bose alarm clock, which was one of the older ones that I feel was popular in the past. Thankfully, there were also power ports and USB charging on each side of the nightstand. Each headboard had a separate reading light and also the controls for the lighting in the room. I enjoyed the chandelier in the middle of the room which exuded luxury.
The beds were comfortable, though I felt the mattress could have been a bit more plush for a five-star property.
Perhaps the weirdest thing was that the TV was so far away and it was super small. Kind of hard to watch TV from bed.
Cool Stationery Kit!
Toward the window, was a desk and chair. We had a view of some buildings across the street, but it wasn’t the most scenic city view. My favorite aspect of the desk area was the stationary kit provided, which had paper clips and essentials, as well as postcards envelopes, and writing paper. Interestingly, there was also a sewing kit as well as a nail filer, which I felt should have been in the bathroom.
Next to the TV was a table with a lamp and an armchair with an ottoman. Here, they provided these dark chocolates that were quite addictive.
Turn-down service was more on the basic side. They did put water by the bedside as well as set up slippers.
The room also offers a plethora of minibar items for purchase such as drinks, candies, chargers, and care kits.
Bathroom
The bathroom was quite large, especially for (New York) standards, and offered a dual vanity with plenty of counter space. Our room had a separate tub, w/c, and shower. I found the shower pressure to be very good in the rainfall setting and there was also a wand offered. There was also a TV engraved on the mirror.
At the sink, there was Sodashi body lotion, as well as shower caps, and cotton swabs/balls. There was also a REN Clean Skincare facial cleansing gel which I found unique as most places do not give you face wash. This was very helpful. Then there was also mouthwash provided. In the shower, there was Sachajuan shampoo and conditioner, as well as Sodashi body wash (similar to the body lotion). I thought that it was interesting that they had two different brands of toiletries.
Overall, I really loved the bathroom in the room, and the towels were very plush.
Services
The hotel offers a complimentary house car service from 1 pm to 9 pm within 10 blocks of the hotel, for drop-offs only. You just need to inquire with the doorman and it’s first come first served. We wanted to go to Central Park in the afternoon and lucky for us, the house car was waiting outside (and available). It was a Bentley, and my first time riding in one. Still not sure if I prefer the Rolls-Royce that the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills provided, but regardless, it’s a nice and certainly cool service to have!
The famous St. Regis Butler Service can deliver coffee or tea to your room complimentary until 11 am, or anytime after your check-in on day one. After arrival, we utilized the service and it was nice to have coffee and tea delivered to the room. They also delivered a nice tray of chocolate and macarons, which I believe is because we said we were celebrating my friend’s birthday.
Evening Ritual
Part of the St. Regis evening ritual, the hotel sabre-cuts a bottle of champagne, every day in the lobby at 6 pm. Champagne sabering has long been a part of the history of St. Regis, dating back to 1904 when
founder John Jacob Astor IV sabered a bottle nightly to celebrate a spirited transition from day to night.
We stopped by shortly before 6 pm next to the Drawing Room and watched the fun spectacle, and of course, everyone in attendance got a glass of champagne. What a fun tradition!
Dining
La Maisonette
It is located on the lobby level and is open from 7 am to 4 pm. The breakfast menu is served from 7 am to 11 am. We had breakfast here in the morning, and it was puzzling that they did not have any hot items on the menu. Though, the space was quite pretty at least.
We just stuck with the continental breakfast, which was included with my Marriott Bonvoy Platinum status. It came with the pastry buffet spread, and then tea/coffee + juice, and a fruit cup with yogurt.
My favorite part was the fruit cup!
The pastry buffet spread was lackluster, and it was mostly sweet with a few savory options.
Not worth the $42 sticker price in my opinion, and I am confused as to how the main breakfast restaurant at the St. Regis does not serve hot items… If you want a full American breakfast or omelet, thankfully in-room dining still offers it.
Drawing Room & King Cole Bar
The Drawing Room and the famous King Cole Bar hours are from 4 pm to 11 pm. Since we had a $50 credit to use and couldn’t use it at the King Cole Bar, we used it at the Drawing Room right outside of it.
The King Cole Bar is famous for introducing the Bloody Mary to the United States and it has a famed Maxfield Parrish mural. In 1934, famed barman Fernand Petiot perfected the recipe at the St. Regis. The cocktail was renamed the “Red Snapper” so as not to offend the hotel’s refined clientele.
While we did not get a Bloody Mary at our visit, we did indulge in 2 glasses of Prosecco to utilize our credit ($23) as the cocktails all started at ($30) and we just wanted to use the credit economically.
And of course, in-room Dining is available 24/7.
Amenities
On the 19th floor is the Athletic Club, and it’s available 24 hours a day. It’s also staffed for certain parts of the day. For a city hotel, the gym was quite large and had plenty of equipment. I did a quick visit just to check it out, but I wish I had more time to actually work out. It had Peloton bikes which I’m always on the lookout for!
Lastly, the Fedora Salon is located on the lower lobby level, Mondays – Saturdays from 10 am to 5 pm.
The Verdict
It was certainly nice to give the original St. Regis a try, and I had a very comfortable and luxurious weekend staycation. The location is excellent for tourists visiting the city, and service is certainly up to par. Though, I did expect a better breakfast setup with hot items that one could order, and a larger television in our room.
Have you stayed at the St. Regis New York before? How was your stay? Comment below!
Cheers,
Ty
Have any questions? I’ve also started working with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays or planning trips. Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!
