I was staying in Shenzhen for two nights, and as a Hyatt and Starwood loyalist I had quite a few hotel options. Shenzhen has several Hyatt and Starwood options (heck, Hyatt even has two airport hotels in Shenzhen), so I had no shortage of choices.
Like many others I love luxury hotels, and if they’re reasonably priced, there’s no reason not to stay at one.
Based on my research it looked like the most luxurious Hyatt or Starwood option was the St. Regis Shenzhen. I booked through Starwood Luxury Privileges, which comes with the following perks at this hotel:
- Complimentary fourth night for stays through April 30, 2016. Black-out dates: November 17, 18, 19; December 24, 31, 2015. Complimentary night will be adjusted at check-out.
- Complimentary standard in-room internet access
- One 600 CNY food and beverage credit per room, per stay
- Daily buffet breakfast for two guests
- VIP Treatment
- Upgrade on arrival, early check-in and late check-out which are all subject to availability
The paid rate for my stay was ~$250 per night (the Luxury Privileges rate is the same as the flexible rate), which seemed like a better deal than redeeming points. This is a Category 5 property, meaning a free night redemption costs 12,000-16,000 Starpoints per night. Given that I value Starpoints at ~2.2 cents each, I decided to pay cash, especially after factoring in the Luxury Privileges benefits.
I had arranged a hotel car from the airport, and arrived at the hotel at around 7:30PM (the ride from the airport took about 30 minutes). As we pulled up to the hotel I was greeted by Louis, who was waiting to take me to my room for in-room check-in.
I thought this was brilliant execution, and it amazes me how many hotels don’t do this. If you’re arriving in a hotel car, the hotel should know exactly when you’re arriving, so creating a seamless experience on arrival really makes a huge difference in a first impression of a hotel.
The St. Regis Shenzhen takes up the top floors (specifically, floors 75 through 100) of Shenzhen’s tallest building. The lobby is on the 96th floor, so we took the high speed elevator up there first.
The lobby has incredible views of Shenzhen, though I’ll talk more about that later.
St. Regis Shenzhen lobby
Once on the lobby floor we had to take a separate elevator down to the 85th floor, where my room was located. Perhaps one of the few downsides to impressive hotels at the top of skyscrapers is that it often takes two sets of elevators to get to your room (#FirstWorldProblems).
The hotel also has ab grand atrium spanning the height of the hotel (it’s not quite as impressive as the one at the Grand Hyatt Shanghai, but still very impressive).
St. Regis Shenzhen lobby
St. Regis Shenzhen atrium
St. Regis Shenzhen atrium
Once outside the elevator I turned left, and then my room was at the end of the hallway on the left.
St. Regis Shenzhen hallway
St. Regis Shenzhen room entrance
I had been upgraded to a Caroline Astor Suite, which is a very nice upgrade. In general SPG Platinum treatment is great in Asia, though this was an especially nice upgrade.
The suite was advertised as being about a thousand square feet. Inside the door was the spacious living room, featuring two couches and a chair around a coffee table.
St. Regis Shenzhen Caroline Astor Suite living room
I loved the telescope by the window, given the great views from the room of Shenzhen and surrounding areas.
St. Regis Shenzhen Caroline Astor Suite living room
Opposite one of the couches was a TV.
St. Regis Shenzhen Caroline Astor Suite living room
Waiting on the living room table was a beautiful welcome amenity with many of my favorite things. I sure do love my SPG Ambassador, though I’m not sure he’s doing me a favor by having all these goodies waiting for me when I’m traveling alone. 😉
St. Regis Shenzhen welcome amenity
Then to the side of the living room was a small nook with a desk and office chair. I appreciate when a hotel has a dedicated office space like this, and also that there were conveniently placed outlets.
St. Regis Shenzhen Caroline Astor Suite office area
Then there were two doors connecting the living room to the bedroom. The bedroom featured a comfortable king size bed facing a TV.
St. Regis Shenzhen Caroline Astor Suite bedroom
St. Regis Shenzhen Caroline Astor Suite bedroom
In the corner of the bedroom was a lounging chair.
St. Regis Shenzhen Caroline Astor Suite bedroom chair with ottoman
Then the bedroom was connected to the master bathroom by two sliding doors as well. The centerpiece of the bathroom was a beautiful soaking tub.
St. Regis Shenzhen Caroline Astor Suite bathroom
Then there were double sinks, one on each side of the tub.
St. Regis Shenzhen Caroline Astor Suite bathroom sink
On the right side of the bathroom was a walk-in shower with incredible views of Shenzhen.
St. Regis Shenzhen Caroline Astor Suite shower
Meanwhile the toilet was on the left side of the bathroom.
St. Regis Shenzhen Caroline Astor Suite toilet
As is the norm at St. Regis properties, there were Remede toiletries.
St. Regis Shenzhen Caroline Astor Suite Remede toiletries
Furthermore, I was impressed by all the other toiletries available in the bathroom.
St. Regis Shenzhen Caroline Astor Suite toiletries
On the opposite end of the room, behind the living room, was a second half bath.
St. Regis Shenzhen Caroline Astor Suite guest bathroom
Also in that area was a minibar, Nespresso machine, and lots of bottled water (both still and sparkling).
St. Regis Shenzhen Caroline Astor Suite bottled water
St. Regis Shenzhen Caroline Astor Suite minibar
Louis gave me a tour of the room, and then took my passport and credit card to process check-in, saying he’d return them shortly. In the meantime the St. Regis butler came by to introduce herself, and offered me a glass of wine and some fresh berries — what a nice welcome!
St. Regis Shenzhen welcome drink and fruit
She also explained the typical St. Regis butler service amenities, like complimentary coffee (which I took advantage of a couple of times).
St. Regis Shenzhen Caroline Astor Suite complimentary coffee
Not surprisingly, the hotel had incredible views of Shenzhen and the surrounding area, given how high up it is. I loved how much natural beauty there was in the distance, which you don’t see in many other major Chinese cities.
St. Regis Shenzhen Caroline Astor Suite view
St. Regis Shenzhen Caroline Astor Suite view
I think it goes without saying that the suite was stunning, not just in terms of the decor, but it was also very practically designed. Internet in the hotel was fairly fast, though a VPN was needed to get around the typical firewall.
The rest of the hotel was equally beautiful. As mentioned above, the lobby was located on the 96th floor. Since the lobby is in the very top of the building, the ceiling must be about 30 feet, with a lot of natural light thanks to the huge beams.
St. Regis Shenzhen lobby
In addition to some seating by reception, there was a large lobby bar taking up about half of the lobby area.
St. Regis Shenzhen lobby bar
St. Regis Shenzhen lobby bar
The views from the lobby bar were stunning, as it shows you just how green the area around Shenzhen is.
St. Regis Shenzhen lobby bar view
St. Regis Shenzhen lobby bar view
Since I had a food & beverage credit to spend, I decided to have lunch at the lobby bar on my second day. I felt nauseous during much of my time in Shenzhen (I thought it was food poisoning at first, though in retrospect I suspect it was just exhaustion), so I stuck with pretty bland food.
St. Regis Shenzhen lobby bar
Even though bland, the food I ordered was excellent, and the service was great as well. My one frustration was that the Wi-Fi signal wouldn’t work in the lobby bar, which was unfortunate since I brought my laptop and was hoping to work.
St. Regis Shenzhen lobby bar lunch
St. Regis Shenzhen lobby bar lunch
St. Regis hotels don’t generally have club lounges, though this hotel generously has a happy hour for Platinum members, nightly from 5:30PM until 8:30PM. The happy hour is on the 100th floor, at Decanter Bar. This has to be one of the most bizarre versions of a St. Regis bar I’ve ever seen. Usually they’re decorated more like a cigar bar, while this one felt like a night club.
St. Regis Shenzhen bar
Upon telling the hostess that I was looking for the Platinum happy hour, she took me up a set of stairs to the upper level. There were maybe a couple of dozen seats, along with a self serve buffet.
St. Regis Shenzhen bar
St. Regis Shenzhen bar
In terms of drinks there was beer, soft drinks, and wine, and I believe you could also order other drinks if you preferred.
St. Regis Shenzhen Platinum happy hour
St. Regis Shenzhen Platinum happy hour
I’ll let the pictures of the food selection speak for themselves.
St. Regis Shenzhen Platinum happy hour
St. Regis Shenzhen Platinum happy hour
St. Regis Shenzhen Platinum happy hour
St. Regis Shenzhen Platinum happy hour
St. Regis Shenzhen Platinum happy hour
Overall I thought this was a very nice touch, as the hotel doesn’t have to offer something like this.
I skipped breakfast the first morning since I was feeling sick, so I only had breakfast the second morning. Breakfast is served in Social Restaurant on the 95th floor, from 6AM until 10:30AM.
The restaurant is reasonably nice, with great views of Shenzhen.
St. Regis Shenzhen Social Restaurant
St. Regis Shenzhen Social Restaurant
The buffet selection was extensive, and once again I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
St. Regis Shenzhen Social Restaurant breakfast buffet
St. Regis Shenzhen Social Restaurant breakfast buffet
St. Regis Shenzhen Social Restaurant breakfast buffet
St. Regis Shenzhen Social Restaurant breakfast buffet
St. Regis Shenzhen Social Restaurant breakfast buffet
St. Regis Shenzhen Social Restaurant breakfast buffet
St. Regis Shenzhen Social Restaurant breakfast buffet
St. Regis Shenzhen Social Restaurant breakfast buffet
St. Regis Shenzhen Social Restaurant breakfast buffet
St. Regis Shenzhen Social Restaurant breakfast buffet
St. Regis Shenzhen Social Restaurant breakfast buffet
St. Regis Shenzhen Social Restaurant breakfast buffet
St. Regis Shenzhen Social Restaurant breakfast buffet
St. Regis Shenzhen Social Restaurant breakfast buffet
St. Regis Shenzhen Social Restaurant breakfast buffet
St. Regis Shenzhen Social Restaurant breakfast buffet
In the past I’ve been pretty underwhelmed by most hotel breakfast buffets in China. While the selections are typically extensive, the food just doesn’t taste good to me (which perhaps is a function of personal preference) — I’ve often found fruit not to be ripe, pastries and croissants to take like cardboard, etc.
In the case of the St. Regis Shenzhen, the buffet food quality was very good.
In terms of the hotel’s other amenities, the spa is located on the 75th floor. This is also where the pool and gym are located.
There’s a lap pool as well as a hot tub, which were nice, especially as they looked out over the city.
St. Regis Shenzhen pool
St. Regis Shenzhen pool area
St. Regis Shenzhen hot tub
The gym was also a good size, and had an impressive amount of equipment.
St. Regis Shenzhen gym
St. Regis Shenzhen gym
I thought service throughout the hotel was excellent for a hotel in China. Everyone I interacted with was proactive and accommodating, and English skills were generally pretty decent.
I was hoping to explore more of Shenzhen, though during my full day there I felt sick almost the entire day, so stayed in bed. On my last morning I started to feel better so wandered around the city. Shenzhen seemed like a pretty neat city that reminded me more of Hong Kong than Beijing, for example. So I’d love to return at some point.
St. Regis Shenzhen bottom line
I was very impressed by the St. Regis Shenzhen. The hotel has beautiful public facilities, I was upgraded to a massive suite, and the staff were great across the board. They also go above and beyond for Platinum members with their nightly happy hour. I’d recommend this hotel in a heartbeat.
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