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Stayed at the highly anticipated, new St Regis Bal Harbour Resort in Miami last week.
Arrived in the evening, was met by one of the doormen whom we informed about the damaged nature of one our suitcases, but who unfortunately did not relay the information to his colleague the bellman who actually took our bags up to the room. Escorted to the front desk area for check-in by the receptionist who accompanied us up to the room and showed us how to work the lighting system (tapping up and down the lighting pad to adjust brightness)
Ran into Apolo Ohno twice during our stay! Noticed quite a few Russian and Brasilian guests who are also among the demographic that have been snapping up the residential units. Quite a few Brasilians on the hotel staff as well including the very pleasant Ms L at the butler hotline, a 20-year resident of Florida so much so her accent when speaking English sounds more Colombian than Brasilian
There was also a couple of Brasilian bell staff in addition to their Colombian colleagues who are very visible in Miami's hospitality industry.
The Butler Hotline is probably the biggest plus of this resort. Any request for service will result in a follow-up call from the operator to ascertain that the request was fulfilled. Besides the very courteous Ms L, there was also the Italian-speaking Ms K who was extremely helpful. We also had a regular housekeeper on our faithful, the wonderful Ms A from Jamaica (we've previously had wonderful experiences with Jamaican and Haitian housekeepers at the Ritz Carlton South Beach). Overall, the service quality at the St Regis is excellent in comparison to the W South Beach where we were underwhelmed two years ago.
The room was huge and everything was brand new, of course. The best feature is the huge outdoor lanai/veranda area which looks out to the pool area as well as beautiful Bal Harbour/Surfside beach. Incidentally, Bal Harbour Shops is just across the street from the resort, but we were not there to shop on this trip. The location of the resort, while far (a $25 cab ride or a $2 one-hour bus ride) from the 24-hour nightlife and dining experience of South Beach, is perfect if you enjoy the more tranquil ambiance of Bal Harbour/Surfside/Sunny Isles.
Had a chance to do a treatment at the Remede Spa which is one of the hallmarks of the St Regis experience. Happy to report it was an excellent experience from the spa receptionist Ms E who was very helpful to the therapist (who we believed was at the RCSB previously).
Tried the in-house dining fare which produced mixed results. The short rib dish was one of our favorites, but the french fries that accompanied the burger were pathetic, as were the empanadas on the breakfast menu. In-room dining prices were higher than the Ritz-Carlton South Beach while quality was not necessarily better.
Stopped by the concierge desk one morning and was impressed by the duo of amazing ladies and the chief concierge--all of them les clefs d'or members (there was apparently another one whom we did not meet, as well as two other concierges working different shifts who were on track to receive their golden keys). Had a nice chat with the very courteous and informative Ms B, a British Asian who is bilingual in English and Panjabi, as well as the multilingual Ms G, an Argentinian-American multilingual in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese who is also a world traveler, formerly of the Mandarin Oriental Miami (but whom we might have run into at the Tides South Beach a decade ago!). Ms G informed us that one of our favorite Argentinian restaurants had relocated to Lincoln Road from Washington Ave where we last dined some five years ago.
A great stay at a brand new option for a Starwood property in the Miami Beach and one that we would definitely return to in the future.
Arrived in the evening, was met by one of the doormen whom we informed about the damaged nature of one our suitcases, but who unfortunately did not relay the information to his colleague the bellman who actually took our bags up to the room. Escorted to the front desk area for check-in by the receptionist who accompanied us up to the room and showed us how to work the lighting system (tapping up and down the lighting pad to adjust brightness)
Ran into Apolo Ohno twice during our stay! Noticed quite a few Russian and Brasilian guests who are also among the demographic that have been snapping up the residential units. Quite a few Brasilians on the hotel staff as well including the very pleasant Ms L at the butler hotline, a 20-year resident of Florida so much so her accent when speaking English sounds more Colombian than Brasilian
There was also a couple of Brasilian bell staff in addition to their Colombian colleagues who are very visible in Miami's hospitality industry.The Butler Hotline is probably the biggest plus of this resort. Any request for service will result in a follow-up call from the operator to ascertain that the request was fulfilled. Besides the very courteous Ms L, there was also the Italian-speaking Ms K who was extremely helpful. We also had a regular housekeeper on our faithful, the wonderful Ms A from Jamaica (we've previously had wonderful experiences with Jamaican and Haitian housekeepers at the Ritz Carlton South Beach). Overall, the service quality at the St Regis is excellent in comparison to the W South Beach where we were underwhelmed two years ago.
The room was huge and everything was brand new, of course. The best feature is the huge outdoor lanai/veranda area which looks out to the pool area as well as beautiful Bal Harbour/Surfside beach. Incidentally, Bal Harbour Shops is just across the street from the resort, but we were not there to shop on this trip. The location of the resort, while far (a $25 cab ride or a $2 one-hour bus ride) from the 24-hour nightlife and dining experience of South Beach, is perfect if you enjoy the more tranquil ambiance of Bal Harbour/Surfside/Sunny Isles.
Had a chance to do a treatment at the Remede Spa which is one of the hallmarks of the St Regis experience. Happy to report it was an excellent experience from the spa receptionist Ms E who was very helpful to the therapist (who we believed was at the RCSB previously).
Tried the in-house dining fare which produced mixed results. The short rib dish was one of our favorites, but the french fries that accompanied the burger were pathetic, as were the empanadas on the breakfast menu. In-room dining prices were higher than the Ritz-Carlton South Beach while quality was not necessarily better.
Stopped by the concierge desk one morning and was impressed by the duo of amazing ladies and the chief concierge--all of them les clefs d'or members (there was apparently another one whom we did not meet, as well as two other concierges working different shifts who were on track to receive their golden keys). Had a nice chat with the very courteous and informative Ms B, a British Asian who is bilingual in English and Panjabi, as well as the multilingual Ms G, an Argentinian-American multilingual in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese who is also a world traveler, formerly of the Mandarin Oriental Miami (but whom we might have run into at the Tides South Beach a decade ago!). Ms G informed us that one of our favorite Argentinian restaurants had relocated to Lincoln Road from Washington Ave where we last dined some five years ago.
A great stay at a brand new option for a Starwood property in the Miami Beach and one that we would definitely return to in the future.
) The Brasilian motif continued as Ms. L aka A of the butler team came out of her office with a packet of Guarana Antartica Zero (our favorite!) sourced directly from Brasil. Also ran into a repeat Brasilian guest whom we had run into on one of our previous stays.
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