- Introduction: A Journey To The Most Expensive Place I’ve Ever Been
- St. Regis San Francisco Review
- Review: British Airways Lounge San Francisco Airport
- Review: British Airways Club World 777 San Francisco To London
- Review: St. Regis Rome
- Review: Hotel Cala Di Volpe Porto Cervo
- Review: Dining At Hotel Cala Di Volpe
- Review: Hotel Romazzino Porto Cervo
- Review: Dining At Hotel Romazzino
- Review: Hilton Rome Airport
- Review: British Airways Lounge Rome Airport
- Review: British Airways Club World A380 London To San Francisco
We were spending two nights in Rome, after arriving from San Francisco and before continuing to Sardinia. I’m generally loyal to both Hyatt and Starwood. Hyatt has no hotels in Rome, while Starwood has quite a few.
The St. Regis Rome looked like the most attractive option, and was a Category 6 property. Category 6 properties cost 20,000-25,000 Starpoints per night, and since this was in the high season, the cost was 25,000 Starpoints per night. The paid rate at this hotel was 550EUR per night. In theory this was more or less a breakeven redemption, since I value Starpoints at ~2.2 cents each. However, I’d rather part with Starpoints than cash, so that pushed me towards redeeming points.
This still seemed like the best option in Rome, given that the Westin (which I’ve heard is great as well) is also a Category 6 property.
We took an Uber from the airport to the hotel, which took about 30 minutes, thanks to the lack of traffic on a Saturday afternoon. Ubering from the airport in Rome is interesting, because the Uber driver actually parked and met us inside the terminal at the airport. If I understood him correctly, apparently they’re not allowed to directly pick passengers up, so I’m not sure if this is just a workaround, or what.
The St. Regis is nicely integrated into the neighborhood, and you’d barely know it’s a huge hotel based on the block it’s on.
St. Regis Rome exterior
The hotel doesn’t have an actual driveway, but rather just has three big “gates” you can walk through to enter.
St. Regis Rome entryway
The hotel’s public areas are under construction, though I believe the project is slowly wrapping up. That’s why there was a huge facade as you entered the hotel.
St. Regis Rome entryway
Once past the “gates” you can either turn left or right. Turning left takes you to the reception area. I believe the current reception area is just a temporary setup while the public areas are being renovated. The area was very small, and we had to wait a few minutes before we were helped. However, once we were helped the associate was friendly and thorough.
I had used Platinum Suite Night Awards for this stay to confirm a junior suite, so he recapped that and also explained that we’d be entitled to butler service. I also chose breakfast as the SPG Platinum welcome amenity.
St. Regis Rome reception area
The lobby area also has a small sitting area. Again, I assume this is temporary, until the renovations are complete.
St. Regis Rome lobby area
Once we were checked in we took the elevator up to the second floor, where our room was located. The hallways of the hotel are classic and beautiful. They’re immaculately maintained, and manage to strike the balance between feeling classic without feeling outdated.
The hotel is basically in a rectangular shape, so we turned left upon exiting the elevator, and then eventually turned right down a smaller hallway.
St. Regis Rome hallway
St. Regis Rome hallway
There our room was located on the right.
St. Regis Rome room exterior
As you can see on the below floorplan, our junior suite was rectangular and quite long and narrow.
St. Regis Rome floorplan
Typically when I think of junior suites I think of a single, large room. However, this felt much more like a full suite than a junior suite.
Upon entering there was a large living room with high ceilings.
St. Regis Rome junior suite living room
The living room featured a couch and then two comfortable chairs.
St. Regis Rome junior suite living room
Then in the corner of the room next to the door was a desk.
St. Regis Rome junior suite living room
St. Regis Rome junior suite desk
On the opposite end of the room was a TV.
St. Regis Rome junior suite living room
Underneath the TV was the minibar. I found it interesting that it featured a full size bottle of champagne, which you don’t usually see.
St. Regis Rome junior suite minibar
Waiting on the table next to the desk was a lovely welcome amenity, I assume thanks to my great Starwood Ambassador. There were a couple of bottles of sparkling water, some white wine, a fruit plate, and some cheese. Nom nom.
St. Regis Rome Platinum welcome amenity
St. Regis Rome Platinum welcome amenity
St. Regis Rome Platinum welcome amenity
Past the living room was a sort of awkward room with a vanity. Even though the room was huge, there wasn’t actually a door separating the living room, vanity, and bedroom.
St. Regis Rome junior suite vanity
St. Regis Rome junior suite vanity
The bedroom was narrow and beautifully appointed, with a chandelier above the bed.
St. Regis Rome junior suite bedroom
On the opposite side of the room was a Bang & Olufsen TV.
St. Regis Rome junior suite bedroom
St. Regis Rome junior suite Bang & Olufsen TV
Also next to the bed was the bathroom, which featured double sinks, a soaking tub, a shower, a toilet, and a bidet.
St. Regis Rome junior suite bathroom
St. Regis Rome junior suite bathroom
St. Regis Rome junior suite double sinks
St. Regis Rome junior suite shower & tub
St. Regis Rome junior suite tub
St. Regis Rome junior suite toilet
St. Regis Rome junior suite bidet
The water pressure and temperature control were excellent.
St. Regis Rome junior suite shower
As usual, toiletries were Remede branded, which I quite like.
St. Regis Rome junior suite Remede toiletries
St. Regis Rome junior suite Remede toiletries
Also next to the bedroom was a rather large closet, which ended up providing a good laugh.
St. Regis Rome junior suite closet
St. Regis Rome junior suite closet
Perhaps the one downside of the room was the view. When we checked in the associate described the view as “quiet,” which I think was pretty accurate. While the view was a bit underwhelming, at the same time it was indeed very quiet, which was nice.
St. Regis Rome junior suite view
One of the benefits of St. Regis butler service is that you can get complimentary coffee & tea 24/7. When ordering coffee early in the morning I was happy to see that they even brought some pastries along with it.
St. Regis Rome butler service complimentary coffee
In terms of other features of the hotel, there were two different sets of elevators. While one set was no doubt more practical, I loved that they had a vintage elevator that actually worked. To use it you’d first have to open the door leading to the elevator, and then would have to open the door to the actual elevator. I wouldn’t exactly describe myself as an elevator enthusiast, but I thought this was so cool.
St. Regis Rome classic elevator
St. Regis Rome classic elevator
St. Regis Rome classic elevator
St. Regis Rome classic elevator
That elevator dropped off on the first floor, on the opposite side of the hotel of reception.
St. Regis Rome hallway
From there it was just a short walk to the hotel’s grand restaurant.
St. Regis Rome hallway
We had breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant the first morning, and to say the space is impressive would be a severe understatement.
St. Regis Rome restaurant
St. Regis Rome restaurant
St. Regis Rome restaurant
And if you think the restaurant is grand, it pales in comparison to the adjacent lounge. Amazing, eh?
St. Regis Rome lounge
St. Regis Rome lounge
Breakfast consisted of a huge buffet, along with drinks of your choice offered by a server. I’ll let the pictures of the buffet (mostly) speak for themselves.
St. Regis Rome breakfast buffet
St. Regis Rome breakfast buffet
St. Regis Rome breakfast buffet
St. Regis Rome breakfast buffet
St. Regis Rome breakfast buffet
St. Regis Rome breakfast buffet
St. Regis Rome breakfast buffet
St. Regis Rome breakfast buffet
St. Regis Rome breakfast buffet
St. Regis Rome breakfast buffet
St. Regis Rome breakfast buffet
St. Regis Rome breakfast buffet
St. Regis Rome breakfast buffet
St. Regis Rome breakfast buffet
St. Regis Rome breakfast buffet
St. Regis Rome breakfast buffet
St. Regis Rome breakfast buffet
There was even Moet champagne with breakfast!
St. Regis Rome breakfast buffet
Given that we were in Italy I ordered a cappuccino, which was delicious.
St. Regis Rome cappuccino
The hotel also had a gym on the fifth floor, which is inside the spa complex. While the room itself was a bit bland, the equipment was pretty good.
St. Regis Rome gym
St. Regis Rome gym
St. Regis Rome gym
Breakfast at the St. Regis technically only began at 7AM, though we had to leave the hotel at 6:30AM the second morning. I was impressed that the hotel offered to bring us fruit and pastries (and anything else we wanted, for that matter) via room service at 6AM, even though they weren’t serving breakfast yet. That’s good service, if you ask me.
St. Regis Rome room service breakfast
When we went to check out, I was also impressed that in the lobby they had a setup with complimentary water, juice, coffee, tea, etc.
St. Regis Rome complimentary coffee & tea in the lobby
St. Regis Rome complimentary coffee & tea in the lobby
St. Regis Rome complimentary juice in the lobby
Check-out was quick, and the associate helping us was super friendly.
As far as other things to note about the hotel go…
The hotel has a great location. It was within walking distance of most of of Rome’s popular sites, and we didn’t use a taxi or public transportation once while in the city, other than to get to and from the airport. Instead it was just a nice 15-20 minute walk to the Coliseum, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, etc.
I also have nothing but great things to say about the staff at this hotel. Everyone was exceedingly friendly and professional in an Italian/charming way.
St. Regis Rome bottom line
The St. Regis Rome was fantastic, plain and simple. From the decor to the location to the service to the size of the junior suite, this is a top notch hotel. If you can swing staying here (either using cash or points), I’d highly recommend doing so.
Had a cash+points stay at the St. Regis Rome recently. Somewhere in the room my partner found a Key-holder with a guest's name on it that was dated back in 2008. We thought it was a funny remnant from the past, and gave it to the front desk agent upon checkout (as a joke).
Days later there was an email from Vincenzo Falcone, the hotel general manager, apologizing and clearly mortified that this card had...
Had a cash+points stay at the St. Regis Rome recently. Somewhere in the room my partner found a Key-holder with a guest's name on it that was dated back in 2008. We thought it was a funny remnant from the past, and gave it to the front desk agent upon checkout (as a joke).
Days later there was an email from Vincenzo Falcone, the hotel general manager, apologizing and clearly mortified that this card had been left in the room all these years. He then proceeded to write that the entire charge for our stay had been refunded to my cc (circa 475 euros) as well as 10,000 SPG points. He concluded the email by attaching the credit note for the refund.
Hotel De Russie is nice (fantastic back garden restaurant), but had the hardest beds I've ever slept on. It was like sleeping on plywood.
I hope they don't destroy the classic character of this hotel as part of the renovations. One of my fav. NYC hotels, the Intercontinental Barclay, has been utterly destroyed by its most recent renovation, to the point that I won't stay there. It was getting quite worn before the renovation, but it just needed some refreshing. Instead, they've wiped any classic character from the place.
Thanks for the Timely Review. In a month I plan to stay at the St. Regis or the Boscolo Exedra (TomSan's comments not withstanding). With the ability for me as a Platinum (MR Plat who is now SPG Plat) to book SPG or Marriott with the points transfers option, I can't decide between the two hotels.
St. Regias Jr. Suite for 67,500 SPG or a standard redemption of 135,000 MR (with option for upgrade) at...
Thanks for the Timely Review. In a month I plan to stay at the St. Regis or the Boscolo Exedra (TomSan's comments not withstanding). With the ability for me as a Platinum (MR Plat who is now SPG Plat) to book SPG or Marriott with the points transfers option, I can't decide between the two hotels.
St. Regias Jr. Suite for 67,500 SPG or a standard redemption of 135,000 MR (with option for upgrade) at the Boscolo Exedra, and the possibility I may be upgraded. I have the points for both.
Any advice?
@Jane I couldn't agree more. The most interesting parts of Rome are also the oldest and offer the fewest hotel-chain choices. We stay at the Smeraldo near Campo dei Fiori when we visit. The Smeraldo is hardly a fancy hotel, and it is not super cheap either. But its location is outstanding and the rooms are clean and serviceable. The morning market in Campo dei Fiori and the proximity to Piazza Navona, my favorite square...
@Jane I couldn't agree more. The most interesting parts of Rome are also the oldest and offer the fewest hotel-chain choices. We stay at the Smeraldo near Campo dei Fiori when we visit. The Smeraldo is hardly a fancy hotel, and it is not super cheap either. But its location is outstanding and the rooms are clean and serviceable. The morning market in Campo dei Fiori and the proximity to Piazza Navona, my favorite square in Rome, are just two sights that are nearby. I shake my head at those who come to Rome and stay on the Via Veneto (where a few chains lurk) or where Ben stayed. No thanks.
I'm in Rome at the present time and was looking enviously at your review but frankly I would never stay at that location. I looked at using points from all the chain hotels but none of them are in either great or convenient areas. I think Rome is one of those cities where it's best to be in the location you want and fork out cash for one of the many unique hotels.
@Jake P @ Ron
I don't know, sure the Cavalieri is a bit out of the way but that view is priceless. Also thought the club lounge was quite nice, as well as the pool setup.
As Marcello recommended, De Russie is a contemporary, albeit expensive alternative to the baroque splendor of St Regis and Westin Excelsior. For tourists, the location of the Hassler is unrivalled, being atop the Spanish Steps. Nearby is the Portrait Suites, owned by the Ferragamo family (retail chain of same name), which is expensive but beautifully understated, with the best location for shopping.
Stayed here ~10 yrs ago on honeymoon and it was disappointing for the service, despite being Starwood Plat. Very pretentious. Location requires more walking to interesting sights. Stayed at the Westin on subsequent visit ~5 yrs later with young child in tow and found the service and location to be far better.
Stayed at Cavalieri as well a couple times in the last ~3 yrs...meh. Beautiful but WAY too far away and inconvenient. I'm...
Stayed here ~10 yrs ago on honeymoon and it was disappointing for the service, despite being Starwood Plat. Very pretentious. Location requires more walking to interesting sights. Stayed at the Westin on subsequent visit ~5 yrs later with young child in tow and found the service and location to be far better.
Stayed at Cavalieri as well a couple times in the last ~3 yrs...meh. Beautiful but WAY too far away and inconvenient. I'm with JAKE P, still searching for a better option in a city we love visiting!
@JakeP
Also have a look at the De Russie & Parco dei Principi. Although I don't think they're bookable on points either.
I stayed at this hotel about two weeks prior to your stay, the current restaurant and lounge are part of the ballroom areas of the hotel normally. I thought they were really well done as makeshift replacements. I completely concur with you about the quality of the breakfast, some of the most delicious eggs I have ever had! As you mentioned the Front desk was friendly and efficient. Housekeeping as well. We had one little...
I stayed at this hotel about two weeks prior to your stay, the current restaurant and lounge are part of the ballroom areas of the hotel normally. I thought they were really well done as makeshift replacements. I completely concur with you about the quality of the breakfast, some of the most delicious eggs I have ever had! As you mentioned the Front desk was friendly and efficient. Housekeeping as well. We had one little problem with one concierge, which surprised me because normally I find the concierge staff at this type of hotel to be flawless.
We were told that once the lobby renovations are completed, supposedly October 1, shortly thereafter, that half the hotel rooms will be closed to start room renovations, when that is finished, they will begin the other half.
Hmmm, is the first hotel in all of Lucky's reviews that offers champagne for breakfast?
This does make a difference in premium offerings.
Is there any other hotels that does so? [I remember Lucky mentioning Grand Hyatt Hong Kong serving Ruinart (all day? or just happy hour?) in their club lounge, but that is all?]
@Jake P:
Portrait & JK are by far the best properties, but not on points obviously
Overall, Rome's luxury points hotels underwhelm me. The Cavalieri is a great use of two free Hilton nights, but treatment was pretty lacking--even as HH Diamond. As it's technically a Waldorf, no suites/Imperial rooms for us (paging @DCS). Our Coliseum view was beautiful, but the location blows. Still searching for a great property in Rome to visit on our next stay... Thoughts, anyone?
i'll be staying at Boscolo Exedra Roma (Autograph Collection of Marriott group) next mid July for approx EUR 330+tax (can change to lower if I shift from flex rate to prepaid rate), which is probably a better deal with EUR 550 for St Regis Rome, which only looks slightly better (both have essentially same customer rating at Expedia.com)
I was there early June during our family summer vacation. We were checked in on the older reception and it closed for renovation the next day. The breakfast restaurant is also hoing under renovation so we has breakfast on the same place you did. We got the same junior suite but with a standard room with connecting doors for the kids. Our suite had the same configuration but the shower was a ceiling mounted rain...
I was there early June during our family summer vacation. We were checked in on the older reception and it closed for renovation the next day. The breakfast restaurant is also hoing under renovation so we has breakfast on the same place you did. We got the same junior suite but with a standard room with connecting doors for the kids. Our suite had the same configuration but the shower was a ceiling mounted rain shower that was amazing. We noticed that both rooms had Remede products but the suite had bigger size bottles than the standard room. We loved our stay, service was outstanding and the location was perfect. I would always go back to this hotel while in Rome.
My partner and I stayed here in January 2016 for 3 nights on SPG points in a standard room. We were assigned a third floor front-facing room. The view was a little better than Ben's, but the traffic noise was very annoying in the morning. We didn't dine at the hotel as we went equipped with a list of nearby restaurants. I think we received a very large package of cookies as a complimentary snack....
My partner and I stayed here in January 2016 for 3 nights on SPG points in a standard room. We were assigned a third floor front-facing room. The view was a little better than Ben's, but the traffic noise was very annoying in the morning. We didn't dine at the hotel as we went equipped with a list of nearby restaurants. I think we received a very large package of cookies as a complimentary snack. And, the decor, as noted above, is very baroque. On the whole, it was ok, but next time we're in Rome, we'll stay elsewhere.
Yeah its a central location but not a good location to be honest. I was there 2 months ago, and could see refugees all over the place, I was the only asian on the streets. Used to be a great place to hang out but not anymore. :(
Not a fan of the location, right by the train station, very busy streets, no? That's why quiet room was important.
The Westin is in the Via Veneto area, much more pleasant in the evening, further from the Coliseum but closer to the nicer parts of Rome. It's been a few years since I've been there, so not sure about the condition of the rooms these days.
Nice review. Have three nights booked next July. Renovation should be long completed.
Great and timely review, so thanks! We will be there in almost exactly a year.
I love reviews with lots of photos and not many words.
Eh, check-in looks ghetto. The room looks a bit pretentious. I am never a fan of baroque style or architecture, so the rest of the hotel is a turnoff.
The only saving grace is probably the breakfast, free for SPG Plat's I take it? I think this is the only breakfast where I have seen peeled pairs available.
@ Ryan -- Indeed, breakfast could be chosen as the welcome amenity.
The restaurant and lounge are very impressive. It made me think that part of the renovation was their actual restaurant/lounge and they were using Banquet space as the restaurant.
"I also have nothing buy great things to say about the staff at this hotel"
But not buy :)
@ Nolan -- Fixed, thanks!