St. Regis Houston Review [2021]

The St. Regis Houston is no doubt one of the top luxury hotels in Houston. It’s a bit tucked away near the Galleria area of Houston, but I have been wanting to stay there for a long time and finally got a chance to do so. Here is my review of the St. Regis Houston.

The area

I’ve now stayed at a number of popular hotels in my hometown. Most of these have been in the downtown area like the Hilton Americas, the Hyatt Regency, The Sam, and the Marriott Marquis, among others. But I also have stayed in some properties in the uptown area like the JW Marriott Galleria and now the St. Regis. 

This area is great for shopping and dining as you have a lot of options in the nearby vicinity. I really like the JW Marriott because it is within just a block of the Galleria but if you want to get there from the St. Regis you will need to take a taxi/Uber because that is like a 30 minute walk.

And that would be the one small drawback of this hotel: there’s really not a whole lot that is directly adjacent to the hotel. Instead, you will likely have to take a very short Uber or taxi ride to get to a lot of places but that’s quite common in Houston. Without major traffic, you can get to downtown in about 15 minutes.

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Arriving at the hotel

As soon you pull into the hotel you should be greeted by the hotel staff just outside of the beautiful entry way. Whenever I made my way in and out of the hotel there always seemed to be a few friendly staff workers there so there should never be a shortage of people to quickly help you with your bags or to assist you with locating your Uber/ride.   

The level of luxury instantly hits you as soon as you enter. The St. Regis does not have a large hotel lobby and instead has small sitting areas and seats found along the corridors, much like a boutique hotel. The vibe is definitely on the traditional side though not overly opulent and a bit understated at times. 

The stately hallways are accented with abstract art. 

Check-in 

After checking in as a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium member, I was given the option to upgrade my deluxe room to a Junior Suite or to another larger corner room. I was warned about potential noise issues with a junior suite since it was located right next to the elevator but I wanted to see what the junior suite was all about so I went ahead and went with that option. In the end, there was no noise issue for me and I didn’t have any complaints.

In addition to the upgrade, I was given the choice of 1,000 Marriott points or a free breakfast. Knowing the value of a breakfast at a hotel like this I easily chose the breakfast. I also was able to get late checkout at 4 PM which is guaranteed to Platinum members and above. 

Getting these elite benefits was a big deal because Marriott supposedly had decided to not allow members to receive their benefits when booking through an online travel agency. I made this booking through the Chase Travel Portal which is essentially Expedia so I was very happy to receive elite benefits. So at the end of the day I spent 28,238 Ultimate Rewards + $0 for a $600 room + breakfast, so this was a great deal.

Butler service

With the junior suite, you’re entitled to butler service. I did not take advantage of the services but here are some of the services you can get:

• Upon arriving, a St. Regis Butler can arrange coffee or tea service for your room. After your morning wake up, a St. Regis Butler can also draw the shades and deliver your coffee or tea along with today’s newspaper and weather forecast.
• St. Regis Butler can take care of the unpacking and storage of your luggage. They can also provide assistance with gathering and folding your garments before you depart.
• They can provide complementary pricing for up to two garments per day (I also believe there is a shoe shining service that they offer)

The junior suite

As soon as you enter the room there is a closet on the right hand side and a snack area with illy coffee and coffee machine. It seemed like high quality coffee/espresso but I don’t drink the stuff.   

There are a number of different types of sweets and chips to choose from along with some beverages and mini- alcohol bottles. Prices for the snacks range from $3 to $15 so be careful about what items you choose. 

The junior suite is what I would call an “ideal” junior suite. I’ve experienced a number of different types of so-called junior suites but this one really had what I think they are should have: a partition dividing the bedroom from the rest of the hotel room.

The first thing that I noticed was the amount of space in the junior suite (600 square ft). There was a nice and spacious sitting area with a sectional, ottoman, and oversized chair to relax on with plenty of room. I don’t generally like to lounge around on hotel furniture but in this case, I was okay with it and found the sectional comfy. 

The TV comes equipped with standard channels, premium movie channels, and streaming channels like HBO Go, Showtime, and you can even watch YouTube or join Netflix. The remote control (which can stand up-right on its own) is easy to use and actually pulls up a guide on the TV which is nice so that you’re not guessing about the channels and programming. There’s also a DVD player. 

Next to the TV was some glassware complete with St. Regis drink mixers.  

There was also a large desk and work station area that I felt was comfortable to work in and plenty of space to move around in. There’s also a phone conveniently located on the desk. 

The bed had a medium level of softness and the pillows were very puffy. On either side of the bed were lamps and on one side, standard American power outlets along with USB outlets. One thing that is cool about all of the lamps is that they have dimmers on them so you can get the lighting just right. 

I really like that there’s a (large) TV on both sides of the partition. The room also comes with two remote controls although you can use either one for either TV.

The bathroom was nice but the shower left a little bit to be desired. It was clean and water pressure was great — I just prefer a stand-up shower.  

The bathroom mirror showed slight signs of aging so that the the room did have a little bit of a dated feel to it. 

I had a little bit of a view from the fourth floor so I could see the pool from above and also some of the nearby skyline. Houston has so many different skylines that sometimes it’s hard to keep up with what you’re looking at. 

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Fitness center and pool area

I really liked that the fitness center had views looking directly out to the pool with plenty of natural light getting in. You could choose from the standard line-up of (high quality) cardio equipment and free weights and a few machines as well. If you need a towel, head phones, or water bottle those are also available. 

I think I may have caught the pool area on a bad day. To begin with, it wasn’t the prettiest day in Houston and so I don’t think the staff was really out there trying to upkeep the pool area and you could kind of tell.

As much as I wanted to rearrange some furniture out there to make the pool scene a bit more photogenic, I decided to snap some photos of it in its natural state. I honestly do feel that if it was a pretty day outside that they would have made sure that the furniture was set up better but this is the state that I caught in. 

The other drawback to the pool is that an apartment complex overlooks the pool close-by. It’s not a major issue but does diminish the feeling of privacy to a degree. 

I did not try out the spa but here’s a photo of that area, including the sauna. 

Room service

We did not try out the The Remington Restaurant though we did order a full spread for room service.

We have been striking out when it comes to quality dining with room service lately but this was a sharp departure from that. Some food items that we tried for a steak, club sandwich, fries, lobster bisque, and desserts consisting of crème brûlée and a chocolate truffle cake. 

Everything that we had was very high-quality, fresh, and tasty (and also delivered relatively quickly).

Breakfast

I tried out the breakfast and ordered the Signature Eggs Benedict dish. The eggs and toasted bread were great and it was paired with fresh asparagus which was a little surprising but it went well. 

I do sort of regret not trying the afternoon tea time that takes place in the beautiful tea lounge but perhaps next time.

The service

The service at the St. Regis Houston was phenomenal. From the very second of arrival, through check-in, and anytime in between it was an absolute pleasure to deal with the hotel staff.

It has been a little while since I had stayed at a top luxury hotel such as the Ritz-Carlton, Conrad, etc. and it was nice to get welcomed back into that world. It also made me proud as a Houstonian to know that there is a legitimate five-star experience to be had at the St. Regis Houston. 

What made it even better was that I arrived dressed “down” in gym clothes, as I had just came from physical therapy. I didn’t get the sense that any staff member was acting snooty towards me despite my ultra-casual appearance which is something that can happen at some luxury hotels. 

So the staff gets a huge stamp of approval from me for the service.

St. Regis Houston FAQ

Final word 

Overall, the St. Regis Houston is absolutely deserving of five-star status. Despite being a bit tucked away and some potentially dated features, it’s a fantastic property. The service was about as good as any five-star hotel I’ve stayed at I wouldn’t hesitate to book a stay here if you were in search of a true luxury experience in H-Town.