Review: St. Regis Hong Kong (Great Marriott Bonvoy Property)

Great review Ben. St regis Dubai the Palm uses the same shampoo & shower gel brand.

Staying there just now. I would say that food quality is lacking a bit, especially for the steep prices. We had dry croissants at breakfast, medium warm food for dinner and oh my: at drawing room it's freezing cold because of the proximity to the terrace and wind blowing through the doors. I think I won't come back next time and would love to try Rosewood Hongkong.

Across the board, this hotel provides genuine hospitality, and that’s such a refreshing contrast to what we’re used to in the United States.

Hong Kong is like a refined New York City, which is not too surprising as London itself is like a refined NYC. And not too surprising as East and Southeast Asians, the dominant ethnic groups, are unfailingly polite.

Ben, what's your favorite hotel in Hong Kong with the best views of Victoria Harbour? Would love to know.

Ben, you've stayed at enough St Regis hotels...did you find the butler service to be proactive, or did you have to reach out to them to make arrangements for the daily coffee?

I ask because at some St Regis hotels, they've been very proactive. But at others, the butlers are like shy cats. You have to seek them out.

Can't beat the views from the Rosewood. Look at it's location on Google maps and you'll see why. FS has great views too, but I prefer the Rosewood's (and just the hotel in general).

The hotel reminds me a bit of (a slightly less impressive version of) the Landmark Mandarin. Beautiful rooms, amazing service but end of the day just a boring building in the city. You are in Hong Kong and if you are staying in a luxury hotel, you just want to be overlooking the harbor.

Curious how you handle tipping at full service properties, esp. with butler service. That's not something I've experienced before.

You don't write that much about staying at hotels in the Marriott portfolio, so how do you still have Ambassador status?

I’ve stayed at a few st Regis properties recently and they all have those bath products. Have they formally moved to a new brand standard?

He covered it earlier - rev credit from booking their home share platform

Mike the ambassador could not have written the card personally, unless he works in HKG, right? The Sr. Regis team wrote the card on his behalf, then?

@ ernestnywang -- Correct, it was written on his behalf, presumably.

@ Khatl -- See here:
https://onemileatatime.com/insights/earn-marriott-ambassador-status/

@ Paul -- I haven't stayed at the Rosewood or Four Seasons, but I'd like to check those out, as I've heard amazing things. Purely in terms of views, you can't beat the Regent (the former InterContinental), so I plan to stay there next time as well, especially as it's a points property.

@ Butler Service -- Interesting question. It was definitely reactive butler service, in the sense that they never came to introduce themselves, explain services, etc. Instead, the extent of the contact was when I pushed the "butler service" button on the phone, and they'd take care of my requests.

Truth be told, that's my preference, though. The only real butler service benefit I value is the coffee and tea, and I prefer to call down for when I need that. I don't need the introduction about how they can do packing and upacking, etc., though I realize others feel differently.

@ Nobody -- It all depends on the market. In Hong Kong, I didn't really feel it was necessary to tip for the coffee through butler service, though I'm sure some others might tip.

@ James -- Interesting, guess I haven't done many St. Regis stays lately. Seems the Remede partnership is over?

Ha - I'm at a St. Regis right now so I went into the bathroom to look. Same as this review, so I guess "Sachajuan" is their new partnership? Never heard of it either.

@ Nobody Tipping is so American. Would not want to insult the staff at this hotel by tipping. Full service? Even at barely functioning service hotels in America they would expect a tip lol. Not completely against tipping but it has got to be more than just doing something basic like giving you water at the airport lounges and then expecting a tip.

I really like the breakfast from the menu concept. I can only imagine the food wastage from breakfast buffet leftovers, especially in Asian properties that are very generous with their selections/offerings. The only caveat is that involves having enough floor and kitchen staff to handle customized orders fast enough. I'd be curious to know the overall cost benefit comparison (as in overall food and staffing costs) between buffet versus customized orders...

@Paul totally agree with Ben. Having stayed at the former IC hotel in HK and now the Regent hotel the view was breathless.

Come on. The ONLY hotel in Hong Kong worth staying at is The Peninsula, especially for someone who is willing to pay cash (like you regularly do).

At least they didn't bonvoy you on breakfast. The St. Regis in Washington, D.C., is not only giving Bonvoy platinum and higher elites toast or muffins for breakfast.

I'm convinced that almost no hotels in the USA can execute butler service correctly. As Americans, we like to think we value good service because we tip 20% no matter what, but most hotels and restaurants in the USA have awful service compared to countries where nobody tips.

"This was included because I booked through Marriott STARS, though Marriott Bonvoy Platinum members and above can also select breakfast as their welcome amenity."

I'm curious to know whether in fact Bonvoy platinums and higher get the same breakfast as a guest on a Marriott STARS booking. Likewise, the same for upgrades. It would be interesting to have two people make two bookings. One on a regular rate or points as an ambassador and the other as a no-status STARS booking.

@ FNT Delta Diamond -- I've seen reports that the breakfast benefit is identical, so I'm 100% sure of that.

Regarding upgrades, they're never going to be 100% the same, since there are so many different room categories, plus limited upgrade inventory. I would expect that an Ambassador booking through STARS would get an upgrade over an Ambassador not booking through STARS, all else being equal. Of course there may be other factors as well, like if someone is a repeat guest.

@ FNT Delta Diamond -- While I haven't stayed at the Peninsula, it wouldn't even crack the top five properties I'd be interested in staying there. Personally I don't love the old world design, and it's a bit of a zoo, given how popular it is with outside guests. Based on what I've heard, the Rosewood is the place to stay nowadays.

FNT - this is way beyond my pay grade, but what salary would a private "butler" command in the US? Would a hotel be able to pay a similar wage? I doubt it

Except you get the Rolls-Royce.

I doubt they'd be above $12-$17 per hour, depending on unionization. Heavily dependant upon tips.

@ FNT Delta Diamond -- "You get," as in you can pay for a ride in a Rolls-Royce? Or does it act as a house car for guests on a complimentary basis? If that's important, from doing some Googling, it seems the Rosewood also has a Rolls-Royce you can book transfers in.

Stayed at St. Regis Bora Bora last month, they had the exact same products as shown.

Ben if your Ambassador is Mike from Toronto Canada, you are in good shape. Before the Ambassador program fell apart under Arne, he was our Ambassador a few years and he was absolutely great !
He used to get in contact with hotels in advance of our stay, we presume he did that for you.
Please give him our regards, a couple from London and the USA.

I'd add the Ritz-Carlton in Kowloon as well. Panoramic views of HK Island. Amazing views from the 120th floor pool! And super easy access to the airport as it is attached to Kowloon station.

unfailingly polite? have you ever met a hong konger or singaporean? the orientalism is strong with this one, but i don't think something as blatantly wrong as this qualifies as racism lol

thinking HK or London are like refined NYCs makes me wonder if youve ever set foot in any of those 3 cities

Ben, I know you have been to HK a number of times over the years. This is your first since COVID, what do you think about HK this time (better or worse) overall? I was there couple months ago for the first time since COVID, and I think the night life is more quiet these days, and a lot of retailers have gone out of business. It's just not as robust/prosperous as it used to be.

If anyone in this world loves you, then there’s no reason whatsoever to risk a trip to Hong Kong now that it is completely controlled by communists. Very foolish.