St. Regis Bal Harbour Review

Your travels with your mom and dad always bring a smile. My first "big" use of miles was to take my mom to Europe. You are right that those kinds of memories are worth all the miles it takes.
So nice you could bring Lucky. (Are you nicknamed after the dog?)

The hazards of reading too fast. I first thought it was Lucky the person that sat there most days for hours with his chin up enjoying the breeze (as opposed to Lucky the dog.) 😉

The imagined reactions:
"Zis vas a vunderful trip vis zou. Danke Bennie!"

"It beat the Hampton Inn Benjamin, but we really didn't deserve it."

Lucky (the dog) "The St. Regis? I could get used to this."

I though spg award reservations are only for 2 ppl per room. Did you tell the hotel in advance of the extra guest?

Also, how do you generate so many SPG points in a year to use them as much as you do?

I have stayed there three times in the last year (2 Thanksgivings and last year Christmastime) with a full family. They have really upped their game from just talking "it would be my pleasure to..." to talking and then doing. Also, there is a decent restaurant scene for a few blocks on Harding (one block west of Collins) for a few blocks south of 96th Street.

@ Jay -- It let me book it for three people without issue. I hoard Starpoints and almost never redeem them, so still have several hundred thousand.

What am I missing? Three people plus a dog with one king bed. Who slept on the floor?

@ TheBeerHunter -- Sorry, forgot to mention they brought a rollaway.

@ TheBeerHunter Well looks like lucky got a better deal than lucky

I don't know, looks kind of stark and pretentious for a holiday stay.

Lucky, how do you have that many starpoints? I've been an SPG Platinum for the last three years, have had the SPG credit card for two (and got the 30,000 sign up bonus) years, and I'm not even sure if I've accumulated 100,000 points in that time period. They just accrue sooo slowly with no bonuses on CC spend and only 3/$ on hotel spend.

Very impressive toilet. Thank you.

>Once in the elevator you don’t have to input which floor you want to go to, as it automatically takes you to your floor.

Wait, so does that mean only one person/room gets on an elevator at a time? Or can multiple cards be swiped for the same elevator?

#importantquestions

Why have I never seen a picture of Lucky before!? Rude.

Thanks for posting, as this represents a tremendous achievement for Starwood management, especially considering the average service level for Miami area hotels.

How much extra did they charge for valet parking?

How old is Lucky? I assume, with his medical conditions, he'a at a point where your parents would not leave him with a caregiver.

Overall,an excellent hotel choice: super high quality, within driving distance of Tampa, yet a very different scene and with the Bal Harbour shops nearby.

@ Stuart Falk -- Thanks! Indeed, I was impressed as well. Lucky is 14, and actually even if we could find a caretaker I value the time I can spend with him. Last Christmas we took both of our dogs, but unfortunately the other passed away shortly after the trip, so I was happy for the time I was able to spend with her traveling.

Valet parking is rather expensive at $32 per night (and I don't think there's a self park option).

@ Steven L. -- Nope, if multiple people swipe their keys it could tell them all to go to the same elevator. The screen on the side of the elevator lists all the floors that the elevator will stop at.

Dude, get a girlfriend. Seriously.

Great Review, and I enjoyed the aside about your guilting mother - I know that move.

As far as buffets go, the best I've ever had is at the Four Seasons Maui. They literally have a dozen types of bread, a dozen types of fruit, and a dozen types of pastries (all delicious), plus instead of an egg station, they have a station that makes fresh eggs, french toast, waffles, and pancakes, and for my gluten free sister, they offered to make any of the above gluten free.

Ben - Your conversation with your mom reminds me of the episode from Seinfeld when his parents stayed in the hotel which was "too nice".

[At the Plaza Hotel]

JERRY: Hey!!!

MORTY: Hey! I do you like this? Huh, huh!

HELEN: Oh! my god, Morty lets go, this is too nice.

MORTY: Hey! This is the kind of room Sinatra stays in. Hey! look , Macadamian nuts.

HELEN: Macadamian nuts?

MORTY: Hey! You know what these cost, they're like 80 cents a nut.

HELEN: Jerry, are you sure this all right?

JERRY: Yeah! it's all taken care of.

MORTY: ( from the other room) Hey!!! They got a phone in the john here.

I've stayed at the St. Regis there 3 times with my 4th stay next week. I keep going back because the hotel and beach are gorgeous and the service is some of the best in the US.

I also find the 18% service charge odd and find it throughout South Beach. What is your view on tips at that point? Nothing needed or still tip normal US-style?

@ Erik -- At that point I usually just tip a few dollars to round it up to ~20%.

Read both reviews and it sounds like a great hotel. Too bad it's Category 7 so can't combine 5th Night Free wtih 35% off Platinum requalification (only goes up to Cat. 6, right).

@ Lucky - My mom's "mid-round" birthday is in August and she loves spending time on beach so was thinking of taking her some place like this. Any recommendations on other quality hotels/resorts with great beaches that would provide a similarly great level of service/experience?

@ Ivan Y -- Is going abroad an option? If so I'd really consider Thailand or Bali, for example. For the most part US properties aren't a very good value compared to what you can get abroad.

@ Lucky - would always welcome your advice about foreign destinations (one day hope to copy the trip your mom & you took last year) but I'm especially curious about US options because we are less familiar with them; and long flights & time change aren't easy for mom anymore so a short(er) nonstop from Houston would be preferable in general.