Earlier this year we hopped on a Delta jet and headed to Puerto Rico for a long weekend. We chose the new St Regis Bahia Beach and the Ritz Carlton San Juan. For our first stop we spent three nights at the St Regis using free night certificates from SPG’s 2011 promotion. I was a SPG Platinum member during this stay.
Trip Report
- Delta Flight to SJU & Drive to Bahia Beach
- St Regis Bahia Beach
- St Regis Bahia Beach Continued
- El Yunque
- Ritz Carlton San Juan
Arrival
As I detailed in this post, our drive was a quick 35 minutes to the Bahia Beach area. After a quick stop for some Happy Hour supplies we entering the St Regis Bahia Beach Resort grounds. You enter through a gate then pass by the golf course and the boat house before arrival at the main building. We valeted our rental car for the three nights we were there. The valet team had are car ready within minutes every time we wanted to explore parts of the island.
The St Regis Entrance
Golf View From Drive To Resort
Arrival Area Look Out
Front Entrance At Night
Plantation House
The Main building is in the style of an old Plantation House. Our bags were taken by the bellman and we were seated for check in. The check in process went very smoothly. They had some nice touches like handing out ice cold water bottles and cold face towels. We were notified the hotel charges a $60 resort charge for little things like using the hotel pool chairs, wifi and other things like use of the bikes, tennis courts and golf driving range. Since Platinum members already receive free wifi, I was offered a $10 resort credit per day.
One cool tip is the hotel offers complimentary coffee in the morning at the main building. They also perform the standard St Regis champagne saber in the main building. Unfortunately we missed this event during our stay.
We checked out the great view of the beach from the Plantation House. After a quick look around the main building we headed to our room.
Lobby In Main Building
Patio Of Main Building
Patio Of Main Building
Lobby Bar With Complimentary Coffee In AM
Walk To Room
We were upgraded to a one bedroom suite for our three night stay. The suite was fantastic and a great value for three free night certificates. We were escorted for the short walk to our room.
Walk Way To Suite
Our Suite Was On The Top Floor In The Middle
One Bedroom Suite
After a quick tour of the suite our bags were delivered by the bellman. Not long after the bellman dropped our bags our private butler arrived to explain the service they offered. We requested water and ice each evening and they came through on our requests each day. A bottle of Champagne was delivered to our room as a gesture for being Platinum with SPG.
The room was over 1250 square feet and included a large terrace. Our favorite part of the room was being able to use the terrace to have breakfast delivered or enjoy a glass of Champagne before heading to dinner at one of the hotel’s restaurants.
The room had an entrance foyer where the mini-bar and 1/2 bath was located. The living room had a large flat screen television and Bose surround sound speakers. The Bathroom had a very cool walk in rain shower and bath.
The suite furnishings were high quality and the little touches made a big difference. The St Regis Bahia Beach is the nicest hotel I’ve stayed at on Puerto Rico.
Entrance Foyer
Living Room
Terrace
Hallway To Bedroom
Huge Bathroom
Bath
Bedroom
Of course we tried the “VIP” thermostat trick, and it worked! We could override the AC system and turn the air down as cold as we wanted by following a few simple steps.
VIP Trick Even Works In Puerto Rico
The View
We enjoyed this fantastic view for three days.
View From Room
Bottom Line
The St Regis Bahia Beach has un-seated the Ritz Carlton as our new favorite hotel in Puerto Rico. The rates at the St Regis are high, so I would suggest you consider using Starpoints from Starwood Preferred guest for a stay here. The hotel is currently a category 6 which requires 20,000 or 25,000 Starpoints per night.
In the next post, I’ll share additional pictures and details on the beach, pool, spa and restaurants at the St Regis Bahia Beach.
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About The Weekly Flyer
The Weekly Flyer writes about travel from a business traveler perspective. He travels the world every week accumulating points and miles along the way.
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This is one of a very few hotels I have gone back to. The facilities are amazing
Beware. The RC you are comparing to is the worst RC in the system. This StR may be the worst in terms of quality of service in the StR system, too!
Hi JimL – I Agree.
NYBanker – I’m comparing hotels on Puerto Rico…Regardless of whether the RC is the worst in the chain or not, I think it has a good little Casino and can be a great stopping over point on the way back from the Caribbean.
So I am completely late to the party, but I had an amazing experience. I am a points junkie and essentially I couldn’t get a room at the St. Regis resort because I tried to book too late (notice a trend here?). I ended up renting a villa at the resort that I saw on the Bahia Beach website. I called them and asked if I could use points but they aren’t on the Starwood system. We ended up booking anyway and negotiating a daily rate for a three bedroom villa in Las Verandas. Brand new construction, amazing location, the place had everything we needed. We had a golf cart for our own use and all of the facilities at our disposal. The gym for club members is the best I will definitely go back to the place again. It was perfect for my family.
Hi Robert – Awesome, good to hear. We really enjoyed our first trip to Bahia beach and will definitely return.