Review: St. Regis Abu Dhabi

So to clarify, all this because you booked through American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts (which implies you need a Platinum or Centurion American Express card)? Is the booking process free?

@ Al -- There's no extra fee to book through Fine Hotels & Resorts, though you do have to pay the flexible rate (as opposed to a cheaper advance purchase/promotional rate).

"suite will be nicer than a St. Regis Suite"

*suite will be nicer than a junior suite

You really should go to Sri Lanka - it's really beautiful and relaxing there. They have a safari thing that pales in comparison with the African ones, but the highlight is really the stop at the Indian Ocean beachfront in the middle of the hot day 🙂

Too bad they don't really have chain luxury resorts there yet 😛

@ hkairlinenews -- You have a sharp eye!

Great trip report as always. What is in that bridge that connects the two towers at the top?

@ Simon -- Apparently it's a suite.

Is this or the St. Regis at Saadiyat better? I stayed at the St. Regis Saadiyat Island last year and was fairly impressed with the beach, breakfast spread, service and the rooms, whereas e.g. the rooms at this property do not look as nice to me from the pictures.

what do you say lucky?

@ bfkremer -- That's a toughie. The one on Saadiyat Island had a better breakfast spread and nicer beach for sure. However, I actually preferred the rooms at this one (I found the rooms at Saadiyat Island to be oddly nautical-themed) and prefer being a bit closer to the city. So I actually don't have a clear winner here. I like them both in different ways.

"What I didn’t realize till the second day is that the truly awesome facilities are located at the hotel’s beach club.

It can be accessed from the third floor, and involves taking the underground tunnel across the street."

Surely "It can't be accessed"

@ ScotlandsFlyer -- Sorry for any confusion. The elevator to the underground tunnel can be accessed from the third floor.

When you book through FHR do you still get night/stays credit unlike some other booking sites?

There really aren't too many cultural/tourist activities in Abu Dhabi other than malls (and even the malls are pretty crappy for the most part), so the concierge may just have been at a loss for what to tell you to do.

Currently staying at the St. Regis Florence. Had no idea tea was free, even though I have stayed at a number of St. Regis' around the world.

Thanks for the tip, will order now. Hopefully they won't charge me the 8 euro delivery fee they charge on everything delivered to the room!

Btw, I was at the SR Abu Dhabi a few weeks ago. Love that lobby, just gorgeous.

Just wondering why the place looks totally empty in all your photos?
Nobody at the pool, or the beach, or dining, or in the hallways.

Great report. Were you able to take both massages for the FHR benefit?

FDW

@ digital01 -- Yep, you do.

@ JOHN -- It's summer, so the hotel didn't seem full at all. And keep in mind it's also REALLY hot, so most people don't go outside to the pool or beach.

@ FlyingDoctorWu -- It's one massage each for up to two people, so since I was alone I only got one massage.

Like what is there to do there if you had no biz to do there? How is the underground LGBT scene? In Saudi its huge, what is going on in UAE Abu dhabi?

I have been reading your blog for quite some time now. I was wondering why not check out Bahrain's national airline, Gulf Air. I would love to see your take on our national product. Also being in Bahrain, I would love to show you around should you come over to the Kingdom.
All in all I like your reviews and this one was quite well put. One question though, how on earth did you take a photo of the bathroom mirror without your reflection being in it!

@ khalaf -- Trying Gulfair and visiting Bahrain is definitely on my list!

I hear you on the Starwood Platinum upgrades - it's becoming a bit of a fiasco. I too find that at nearly Starwood property I now need to fight for the entitlement, even when it's beyond 4pm, even when there's plenty of availability showing online.

I'm not sure whether it's indicative of further program enhancements? Regardless, I'm starting to avoid Starwood like the plague because of it...

Am I the only one that finds it very cool that they have mirrors with built-in TVs? 😀

Great post - you really captured the vibe of the hotel! I visited the hotel early this year and there were some things that changed, so you might be interested in reading my review: https://www.passportandpalmtree.com/hotels/