After spending a night at the W Dubai, I decided to check out the St. Regis Dubai next, which is just a short walk away. As I wrote about a bit over a year ago, the St. Regis Dubai is a Category 7 SPG property, which is Starwood’s highest category. That means a free night here costs 35,000 Starpoints, which is insanely overpriced. That’s not a reflection of the quality of the hotel, but rather it’s just totally off base for Dubai as a hotel market.
As I expected, paid rates at the St. Regis have dropped significantly since the hotel opened, though. Much like with my stay at the W, I booked the St. Regis through Starwood Luxury Privileges. The cost for booking through Luxury Privileges is the same as the flexible rate, and it comes with the following perks:
- One 100 USD food and beverage credit per room, per stay
- Daily full breakfast for two guests
- Complimentary standard in-room internet access
- Upgrade on arrival, early check-in and late check-out which are all subject to availability
The rate for my one night stay was ~350USD. While not cheap, I thought it was a pretty good value when you consider the benefits I was getting, and also in comparison to the points cost.
As I explained in the previous installment, the St. Regis is located in the same “compound” as the W and Westin, so it was just a very short walk from the W to the St. Regis.
St. Regis Dubai exterior
The exterior of the St. Regis can best be described as palatial. It looks like some sort of a royal compound, rather than a hotel. It looks especially out of place with the backdrop of a handful of sky scrapers.
St. Regis Dubai exterior
The St. Regis’ lobby is gorgeous, and feels classic and grand. It reminds me a lot of the St. Regis Abu Dhabi lobby, actually.
St. Regis Dubai lobby
St. Regis Dubai lobby
Reception was located at the far end of the lobby, and there were a few stations for sit-down check-in. There was a bit of a wait, so I was offered Arabic coffee and a cold towel while waiting.
Within a few minutes I was assisted by Giorgio, who couldn’t have been nicer. He processed my check-in quickly, and then his associate escorted me up to my room.
St. Regis Dubai reception
The elevators are located just to the right of reception. The hotel only has five floors plus the rooftop, so there was never much of a wait for an elevator.
St. Regis Dubai elevators
I was assigned a suite on the fourth floor — the hallway was stunning.
St. Regis Dubai hallway
Upon exiting the elevator I turned right, and then my room was on the left.
St. Regis Dubai room entrance
I got lucky and was upgraded to an Empire Suite (the hotel seemed to be really empty, and I’ve heard they treat Platinums well).
The room had an entryway with a half bathroom immediately on the right.
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite entryway
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite guest bathroom
Then there was the huge living room.
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite living room
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite living room
Near the entrance was a dining area with a table and four chairs.
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite dining area
Next to that was the minibar, which featured two fridges (one for wine, and one for other drinks), a kettle, and a Nespresso machine.
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite minibar
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite coffee machine & kettle
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite minibar
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite minibar
Past that was the living area, which had a couch and two cool chairs facing a TV on a console.
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite living room
Then past that was the desk area, which had a comfortable leather chair and conveniently placed outlets.
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite desk
On the living room table was a very nice welcome amenity, including a cheese plate, a bottle of white wine, and a fruit plate.
St. Regis Dubai welcome amenity
St. Regis Dubai welcome amenity
St. Regis Dubai welcome amenity
It’s not often I specifically get called out by a hotel for my blog, though they did here. I loved the paper airplane — how cute!
St. Regis Dubai welcome amenity
The living room was separated from the bedroom by double doors.
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite bedroom
The bedroom had a comfortable king size bed, a chair with ottoman, and a chaise lounge at the base of the bed.
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite bedroom
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite bedroom sitting area
Then there was a partition, and past that was a vanity.
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite vanity
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite vanity
Then there were sliding doors leading to the bathroom. The bathroom had two sinks on opposite sides of the room, and then a beautiful soaking tub between them.
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite bathroom
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite bathtub
Then on the right was the fully enclosed shower, and on the left was the toilet and bidet.
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite shower
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite Remede toiletries
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite toilet & bidet
Given that this hotel isn’t in a high-rise, views are relatively limited — I was mostly looking out over the hotel’s driveway, though in the very distance could see the Burj Al Arab.
St. Regis Dubai Empire Suite view
Moments after getting to the room the butler, Nirmal, came by to introduce himself and explain the typical St. Regis butler service amenities. I ordered some coffee since I was starting to get exhausted but wanted to stay awake, which he quickly delivered.
St. Regis Dubai complimentary coffee
After working for a while I eventually headed to the St. Regis Bar for a drink. The St. Regis Bar is gorgeous, and I was the only guest there for the 90 minutes I spent there. That worked for me, as I could bring down my laptop and work in peace.
St. Regis Bar Dubai
St. Regis Bar Dubai
St. Regis Bar Dubai
I make a habit of trying the signature St. Regis bloody mary at each property, as each hotel has their own local “take” on it. Here’s the bloody mary menu at the St. Regis Dubai:
As you can see, the signature bloody mary here is the gold mary, which has gold dust on top of it. It was spicy and delicious, and served with great bar snacks.
St. Regis Bar Dubai — gold mary
St. Regis Bar Dubai — gold mary
After that I headed up to the Champagne Lounge, located on the second floor. The lounge has a nice design, and was once again completely empty.
St. Regis Dubai Champagne Lounge
St. Regis Dubai Champagne Lounge
St. Regis Dubai Champagne Lounge
The St. Regis offers Platinum members complimentary evening cocktails in the Champagne Lounge, including the choice between the following drinks:
One of the St. Regis rituals is a nightly champagne sabering, which at the St. Regis Dubai takes place at 7PM.
St. Regis Dubai champagne sabering
If you’ve never seen it, it’s quite a cool thing to watch. The free glass of champagne doesn’t suck either.
St. Regis Dubai champagne sabering
Here’s a video I took a couple of years ago at the St. Regis Deer Valley of their champagne sabering:
I got a good night of sleep, and then the next morning met a friend for breakfast at Brasserie Quartier, which is the hotel’s all day dining restaurant located on the second floor. Once again, I was among the only people there.
St. Regis Dubai Brasserie Quartier restaurant
St. Regis Dubai Brasserie Quartier restaurant
St. Regis Dubai Brasserie Quartier restaurant
As a Platinum member I had access to the full breakfast, which included the buffet as well as something off the menu. The menu read as follows:
I’ll let the pictures of the buffet speak for themselves, other than to say that all the food was high quality and flavorful.
St. Regis Dubai breakfast buffet
St. Regis Dubai breakfast buffet
St. Regis Dubai breakfast buffet
St. Regis Dubai breakfast buffet
St. Regis Dubai breakfast buffet
St. Regis Dubai breakfast buffet
St. Regis Dubai breakfast buffet
St. Regis Dubai breakfast buffet
St. Regis Dubai breakfast buffet
St. Regis Dubai breakfast buffet
St. Regis Dubai breakfast buffet
St. Regis Dubai breakfast buffet
St. Regis Dubai breakfast buffet
St. Regis Dubai breakfast buffet
My friend ordered the eggs benedict as his main.
St. Regis Dubai breakfast — eggs benedict
Meanwhile I had the granola, which was excellent.
St. Regis Dubai breakfast — granola
In terms of the hotel’s other facilities, there’s a nice gym located on the second floor. The only downside is that it has an interior view, so there’s not much natural light.
St. Regis Dubai gym
St. Regis Dubai gym
St. Regis Dubai gym
Just outside the gym was a beautiful courtyard. The weather in Dubai was perfect when I was there, so I’m sad I didn’t sit outside for a bit and enjoy the weather.
St. Regis Dubai terrace
St. Regis Dubai terrace
While I didn’t use it, I also checked out the rooftop pool. There weren’t any guests up there, though there were probably a dozen staff members working there. There were a couple of different pools, as well as some cabanas, etc.
St. Regis Dubai pool
St. Regis Dubai pool
St. Regis Dubai pool
The next day I headed to Dubai Airport at around 11AM, plenty early for my 3PM flight to Los Angeles.
St. Regis Dubai bottom line
I really enjoyed my stay at the St. Regis Dubai. The property is stunning, the food & beverage venues are great, and the service was impeccable across the board. All things considered this might be my new favorite chain property in Dubai.
If I had any critiques, I’d say it’s that the hotel lacks views, given that it’s only five floors. Furthermore, Al Habtoor City is still being developed, so it will be a while before there’s anything to do in the immediate area other than visit the three hotels.
Regardless, this is a top notch hotel, and if the price is right I’d highly recommend it.
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.