The St. Regis Washington DC is one of my favorite DC hotels.  I have stayed here several times and love to share this hotel with friends and family.   The lobby is stunning and the hotel just oozes with history. Walking out of the front of the hotel located on 16th and K and looking left to your neighbor the White House never gets old.

As I approached The St. Regis Washington DC from the sidewalk for a quick weekend stay, the bellman promptly offered their assistance and escorted me to the gorgeous lobby for check in.  I find the bellman at this property to be some of the very best.  They are all extremely friendly and genuine.

In 5+ stays here as a SPG Platinum member, I have been upgraded to a Caroline Astor or Metropolitan suite every time without ever asking.  Hotels in DC are generally pretty quiet on the weekends so I thought I would save my Suite Night Awards. I was staying by myself and needed to get a lot of studying and work done so I didn’t care to have a suite, though I wouldn’t turn one down if they offered.  Just to be curious, I looked at the SPG iPhone app minutes before arrival and found boatloads of Metropolitan Suites, Caroline Astor Suites and upgraded rooms for sale.

Check in

The check in agent told me I was booked in a standard room.  I asked if any suites were available, knowing full well there were tons available and she firmly said no.  She said she could get me into a slightly larger interior room with no view. I declined.   I know I could have ‘begged’ my way into a suite but I really didn’t care.  I will note that it bothers me when a hotel, especially Starwood’s top St. Regis brand, ignores Starwood’s own clear upgrade polices (So clear they write it on the key card sleeves).  I shouldn’t have to ‘beg’ for an upgrade at a Category 6 Hotel.  It is embarrassing for both the hotel and the guest.

The check in agent informed me internet was included as a Platinum member and I had a selection of 3 Platinum amenities.  500 points, a bottle of wine, or breakfast at the St. Regis’ high end restaurant Adour.  All of my previous stays were before Starwood introduced the breakfast amenity option so I went with the breakfast.

The room

My room was located on the second floor.  The room was spacious and clean with lots of built-ins and tall ceilings. I love the use of chandeliers and mirrors throughout this property.  I am not a big fan of the yellow/white/gold color schema of the room though every piece of furniture was sturdy and in good shape.  The bed is extremely comfortable.

A few minutes after I entered the room, I heard chimes, a pop and clapping.  It took me a minute to figure out what was going on but then I realized it was the 6PM Champagne sabering tradition in the lobby.  A butler will saber a champagne bottle once per day at 6PM in the lobby and then hand out champagne to those watching the event.  I was thrilled to see they are still keeping up with the tradition though I would have preferred not to learn this fact while sitting in my room and not receiving any of the complimentary champagne.

The bathroom

The bathroom was clean but felt a little cramped given how large the rest of the room was. The shower bath enclosure requires you to use a stool to step up into the tub.  Despite all the safety bars and warnings in the bathroom, I still found this to be a little dangerous after a shower.  The bath products were the standard Remede product line.  The products are good though I would like to see the St. Regis use a model like the Park Hyatt where each has a local or high quality brand.  I actually don’t like seeing the same products in every St. Regis around the world. And finally, no St. Regis bathroom would be complete without the TV in the mirror!

The housekeeping staff did not leave my room stocked with a St. Regis robe in my room which was quite disappointing because the robes at the St. Regis Washington DC are hands down the best robes I have found in any hotel.  Contrary to my view on the bath products, I would like to see the St. Regis brand use the robes they have at this property for all their properties worldwide.

SPG Platinum Breakfast at Adour

I woke up early Saturday morning with great excitement to try the Platinum breakfast at Adour.  Adour is an Alaine Ducasse restaurant and one of the highest rated and most expensive restaurants in DC.  Earlier this month I had the Hyatt Diamond Breakfast at the Park Hyatt Washington’s Blue Duck Tavern and was blown away.  Could the St. Regis match?

The answer is a big fat NO.  The restaurant is beautiful but the Platinum breakfast is weak.  When I handed the waiter a coupon indicating I would receive breakfast as a Platinum amenity, he informed me I was entitled to the Parisian.  He did not indicate any buy-up offer to a full breakfast.

While 19 USD per person would seem like you would receive a full breakfast, it was just juice, coffee, pastries and a fruit bowl.  The fruit was fresh and the pastries were well made but I would expect a little more variety for that price tag.  It was clear that as a ‘free’ guest I was a second class diner.  Though the restaurant was nearly empty, the staff didn’t seem too interested in me.  Refills were sparse and after waiting several minutes to see if I needed to sign anything, I just left a few bucks and walked out.  To be fair, the St. Regis adhered to the breakfast policy as written though it was not exactly the experience I was so excited for.

For comparison, the Diamond breakfast at the Park Hyatt Washington will be covered in the Norway trip report though I will tell you right now the Park Hyatt DC exceeded this experience in every single way.

The bottom line

Though I had several issues with this stay, I still think The St. Regis Washington DC  is one of the best properties in the Starwood portfolio.  I find the staff incredibly friendly, helpful and genuine.  Likewise, the location just steps from the White House and the National Mall is unbeatable for playing tourist in DC.  I will return to this property though my last few stays at the Park Hyatt Washington have been phenomenal and that property is slowly winning me over.