The St. Regis Florence

“5 star arrival!”

I’ve just arrived for a 2-night stay at the St. Regis Florence, and I feel compelled to share an early review because of the exceptional check-in experience. It might be the best service I’ve ever received upon arrival at a hotel. From the moment I stepped in, every staff member nearby warmly welco… more

I’ve just arrived for a 2-night stay at the St. Regis Florence, and I feel compelled to share an early review because of the exceptional check-in experience. It might be the best service I’ve ever received upon arrival at a hotel. From the moment I stepped in, every staff member nearby warmly welcomed me, making me feel genuinely valued. Gabriella (I hope I got her name right) provided a detailed introduction to the hotel and its amenities, guided me to my room, and ensured I had all the information I needed for a smooth and enjoyable stay. She was incredibly helpful and friendly throughout the process. So far, I’m incredibly impressed and eagerly looking forward to a wonderful experience ahead.

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“Could Use a Refresh, But Nice Stay Anyway”

Our stay was, overall, enjoyable, but we were a bit disappointed with the property. Not with respect to the staff or cleanliness or comfort, but instead simply because the hotel feels dated and could use a refresh. This is a small quibble really, but rooms are priced at the very top of the Florence… more

Our stay was, overall, enjoyable, but we were a bit disappointed with the property. Not with respect to the staff or cleanliness or comfort, but instead simply because the hotel feels dated and could use a refresh. This is a small quibble really, but rooms are priced at the very top of the Florence market, and as such, should feel fresh and new. Again, staff was great and the hotel is well maintained. It's just probably due for an overhaul sometime in the not too distant future.

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“Not as exceptional as the Four Seasons Florence”

We divided our stay in Florence between the St Regis (for 4 nights ) and Four Seasons (5 nights ) so I will compare the two. Location: The St Regis is an easier walk to shops and restaurants and is next to the Arno River. They do not provide any shuttle service to the historic center like the Four … more

We divided our stay in Florence between the St Regis (for 4 nights ) and Four Seasons (5 nights ) so I will compare the two. Location: The St Regis is an easier walk to shops and restaurants and is next to the Arno River. They do not provide any shuttle service to the historic center like the Four Season does. The Four Seasons has gorgeous, large peaceful gardens but the St Regis has no outdoor areas for relaxing. Rooms: Although some of this is personal preference, we feel Four Seasons easily wins this category in terms of meticulous upkeep, outlets, bathroom design and ease of climate control. The St Regis was overall very well maintained but had more of an antique/grandma’s house feel with some sagging cushions, heavy dragging drapes, scuff marks on wood floor in our room and older- looking carpet and slight dings in hallways. We also preferred the overall ambiance of our Four Seasons room as it was lighter and brighter. Our St Regis room was large and very nice but had darker, bulkier furniture and heavy, very ornate closet doors. The St Regis had a slightly better shower stall size/ water pressure but Four Seasons had bigger/better towels. Both had very comfortable beds and pristine linens. The Four Seasons has electronic buttons for housekeeping and “do not disturb” but the St Regis has a paper sign you hang on the door. It was more circuitous to get to our St Regis room and required navigating some stairs, whereas, the Four Seasons was more convenient in this regard. However, this would likely depend on exact location of specific rooms. Both hotels have gorgeous impressive lobbies. Service: The Four Seasons definitely wins this category . At the St Regis we were never offered any water by the doormen or generally were not asked by them if we needed help ( except when we had suitcases). The Four Seasons doormen constantly asked us if we wanted water or needed assistance with anything. They were very proactive. One night we ordered soft drinks and appetizers in the St Regis restaurant bar area and actually felt ignored. We were never asked if we wanted any additional drinks, our dirty dishes were not removed, and we had to ask for the check. Service at breakfast each day was average. We felt servers performed their jobs on autopilot, whereas, the Four Seasons waiters were much more personable and service oriented. The St Regis did give us a bottle of Prosecco for our anniversary but no sweets or snacks to go with it like the Four Seasons did (plus other thoughtful surprises). Also, while we noticed the St Regis staff had placed a stopper in our open Prosecco bottle in the room, they also had emptied the water in the bucket but never replaced the ice. Laundry service came back packaged more nicely at the Four Seasons (but it was also more expensive). These are nitpicking items but shows the difference in level of service. I will say the St Regis concierge and front desk staff were excellent when we had questions and that a maintenance issue we had at St Regis was also quickly rectified. Food: We felt St Regis was average for bar snacks and the breakfast buffet for a luxury hotel. Nothing wowed us. The cooked to order breakfast entrees were much better at the Four Seasons in our opinion and more authentic. Coffee/cappuchino was always served lukewarm at St Regis. Room service meals at Four Seasons were outstanding in terms of taste, presentation and service. We did not order any room service at St Regis. Summary: If we had not stayed at the Four Seasons Florence the first part of our vacation we probably would have thought the St Regis was wonderful. However, we kept comparing the two hotels and kept saying to ourselves that we wished we had stayed at the Four Seasons our entire trip. The Four Seasons had a higher price point but we felt it was worth every penny as it was truly flawless and kept exceeding our expectations. It may sound snobbish but our St Regis experience fell slightly below our expectations for a luxury hotel which is why I gave it four stars instead of five (I know, first world problem).

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“Review”

Room was very nice, very clean Reynardo the butler was such a gentleman and wish I could’ve talked to him more. The one night we stayed for our anniversary we did not get the evening turn down service. When asked downstairs there was someone named Mr. Park who clearly was not only judging us by a… more

Room was very nice, very clean Reynardo the butler was such a gentleman and wish I could’ve talked to him more. The one night we stayed for our anniversary we did not get the evening turn down service. When asked downstairs there was someone named Mr. Park who clearly was not only judging us by asking “where did we eat for the evening” as one of the first comments, but also judging my spouse and I when it came to our clothes. By giving us constant up and down looks. Mind you that we were dressed very nice at least in our opinion and my spouse even had her Louis V bag, but that’s besides the point. When he asked I just said “somewhere” because we felt we were getting harrassed. To which he started laughing and saying “sure, sure” this was when we asked another employee about the turn down service and Mr Park came very aggressively to our conversation as if we were asking a lot. We did end up getting two free drinks at the bar downstairs while they did the service but I felt it was to shut us up while they cleaned our room for the service. Mr Park was not seen again as we also felt that the other employees handled it very professionally and kept Mr Park and ourselves separate in order to keep the peace. Hotel is very very nice and we were grateful for the room, but Mr Park needs some corrective training on customer service when it comes to the customer, Bottom line is that we were asking for a service that was included in our stay but when asked, the employee (Mr Park) was very aggressive for no reason. I only write this so future guest may know what to expect, We have stayed all over the world in various Marriot Locations from the Ritz to even courtyards but that one incident made our stay not a memorable one on our Anniversary night.

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