The St. Regis brand is debuting in Dubai… for the third time. This will likely be Marriott’s most luxurious property in Dubai that doesn’t deny Bonvoy Platinum members and above breakfast.
Basics of the new St. Regis Dubai The Palm
The St. Regis Dubai The Palm has opened its doors. The hotel features 264 guest rooms and 26 suites, and features all the amenities you’d expect from a St. Regis, from several restaurants, to the signature St. Regis Bar, to an Iridium Spa, to a fitness center, to a pool.
The hotel is located at the base of Palm Jumeirah, which is Dubai’s famous palm-shaped man-made island. Specifically, the St. Regis occupies the first 18 floors of The Palm Tower, which is a new 52-story development.
The building is directly connected to the Nakheel Mall, and the location also provides easy access to The Palm’s monorail system.
The St. Regis Dubai is a Category 7 Marriott Bonvoy property, meaning that a free night redemption costs 50,000, 60,000, or 70,000 Bonvoy points, depending on whether you’re staying over off-peak, standard, or peak dates. As always, Bonvoy members get a fifth night free with award redemptions.
Below are some pictures of the new St. Regis Dubai.
St. Regis Dubai The Palm exterior
St. Regis Dubai The Palm aerial shot
St. Regis Dubai The Palm lobby
St. Regis Dubai The Palm lobby
St. Regis Dubai The Palm guest room
St. Regis Dubai The Palm bar
Why this hotel is unappealing to me
I really want to like this hotel, because St. Regis is my favorite Marriott brand, as the hotels generally have great service, and St. Regis also honors all Bonvoy elite benefits (unlike EDITION and Ritz-Carlton).
That being said, I simply can’t get excited about this hotel:
- I’m not a huge fan of The Palm to begin with, though usually the redeeming quality of The Palm is that you have a beach at your hotel, and you feel a bit removed from the city
- The St. Regis takes up the bottom floors of a skyscraper, has no balconies, has no beach, has no sense of privacy, has limited views, and is connected to a shopping mall; this would be fine if you were staying in DIFC, but I can’t imagine wanting this kind of an experience if staying on The Palm
In other words, the property has all of the downsides of staying on The Palm (primarily distance from other popular parts of Dubai), while having none of the benefits.
St. Regis keeps failing in Dubai
The St. Regis Dubai The Palm will be the third St. Regis in Dubai in the past few years, though the previous two no longer belong to Marriott:
- The St. Regis Dubai Al Habtoor opened in 2015, and left Marriott (or Starwood, at the time) in 2018; this is now operating as Habtoor Palace Dubai, a Hilton LXR property (hilariously the W Hotel next door was also rebranded as a…. V Hotel)
- The St. Regis Dubai Al Habtoor Polo Resort & Club opened in 2017, and left Marriott (or Starwood, at the time) in 2018; this is now operating as Al Habtoor Polo Resort, an independent property
The short-lived St. Regis Dubai Polo Resort
Here’s to hoping that the new St. Regis has better luck than the previous two properties.
Bottom line
The St. Regis brand has returned to Dubai, with the opening of a property on The Palm. While I’m happy to see the brand return to Dubai, I’m less enthusiastic about the property as such. A balcony-less hotel on The Palm taking up the bottom floors of a hotel that’s connected to a shopping mall without a beach doesn’t appeal to me all that much.
What do you make of the new St. Regis Dubai?
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