My husband and I were able to stay at the St Regis Bal Harbour this fall for just 1 night. I had stayed there one other time with my daughter. It's a great spot for a short visit because you can just walk across the street for food and shopping at almost any time of the day or evening at the Shoppes of Bal Harbour. Our dinner and breakfast at the J&G Grill were just delicious, with fine service and a great view. We even had our very good friends who live in Miami Beach over for lunch and they loved it!
I really liked the welcome champagne with the attention of a handsome butler to boot!!
Only had one problem, never resolved with the breakfast room service. The waiter brought the wrong order at the wrong time(too early) to our room. It was still dark and I couldn't find my glasses to see when I answered the door, so I didn't immediately know that the order was wrong. I called down and had the order resent correctly, I thought, but again it still wasn't right. Not to worry, I would still stay there again and again, just to sit in the beautiful bar and be pampered for a couple days by an awesome, professional staff. Eat wonderful food and look out over a beautiful beach!

Amazing , luxurious hotel.
Stayed in quite a few hotels in Miami and although this hotel is not as near bars and restaurants as some other hotels on Collins Avenue this is by far the best. The entrance is stunning and staff very attentive. We were offered a glass of champagne at the check in desk and were taken up to our room and shown how to work everything, as the lights and drapes were worked by remote.
Bal Harbour Mall just over the road.
Lovely private beach.
Expensive but worth every penny.

i recently went down for an annual conference for work in miami beach, which was held at the fontainebleau. the fontainebleau is a beautiful property, but after seeing st. regis opened a property up the street and having had a wonderful experience a few months ago at the monarch beach property, i was curious to try this one out.

i will just say this: the property did not disappoint. it is stunning and modern, and they go out of their way to make the stay as amazing as possible. i made the request to check in early and was traveling with the girlfriend and a female friend. the female friend was going to stay with some friends away from us, but accompanied us to check-in since we all had arrived early.

the early check-in request was actually made before our check-in date, as the st. regis butler staff actually called me about a week before to go through the reservation. while they could not promise me an early check-in, they did in fact accommodate me, and actually upgraded me to a corner suite (not sure what they call it, but it had two balconies, and four TVs if you include the one embedded in the bahtroom mirror, as well as a full bathroom and a sitting area with a separate TV for any guests that were staying in the suite with us).

the room was just stunning (suite 601 if you must know). everything was modern and well-appointed, and while the electronics and controls could be too much for some, we loved it because everything was a touch away, whether it meant opening the blinds or dimming the lights or changing the room temperature. i could go on about the suite, but if you read my other reviews, you will just have to know that this room is the best one i have stayed in yet.

even the elevator access was pretty amazing. you hold your room card to the elevator sensor, and it directs you to a specific elevator which takes you to the floor you are on. in our case, we had a private elevator that serviced our room and another--very nice.

the staff were very, very accommodating, and the facilities were fantastic. my only gripe might have been with the restaurant by jean-george, which i felt was a little bland. however, this is miami, and you can go anywhere you want to get some great food.

location is right across from the bal harbour shops, so traveling wives/girlfriends can shop to their heart's desire and relax in the remede spa.

pools are immaculate, and there is a family pool and an adults-only pool.

after my stay, the guest services manager, ali reda, called to follow up and addressed anything i had to say about my experience. this is truly world-class service, and my girlfriend and i will be staying in the st. regis in singapore in march.

Good things first. St Regis Bal Harbour is a very beautiful hotel – everything is new and works properly. The rooms, with an stunning ocean view, are to die for. Beach is amazing, probably the most quiet, relaxing and beautiful of all Miami Beach. Gym is well equipped and the pools are fancy. J&G Grill, the main restaurant, is excellent.


However, after a week there with my husband, I have to say that things didn't went so smooth. Unfortunately the hotel service does not have the same level of its facilities and location. Staff is numerous, but confusing. And a lot of small problems, have compromised all our experience.

Some examples:
1) They have offered us a butler service. But we just saw our butler when we arrived. He escorted us to our room and showed how it worked. Never said what the butlers could actually do for us. For the following 6 days, we never saw or heard of a butler again. If we needed him, the instruction was to dial for "butler services", which is the same as a concierge service. I believe a butler should be a proactive person. It is not the case.

2) Sunday night we ordered breakfast for the following morning in the room, as my husband had early meetings. It was arranged for 8 am, but actually it never arrived. When we called the private dining service at 8:15, they simply said there was no order for us. We had to go downstairs in a rush to get breakfast, so my husband wouldn´t be late for his conference. A few hours later the private dining manager called to apologize and offer us a complimentary breakfast any other day (which we though was a nice gesture).

3) The bottles of water we left unfinished in our nightstands were thrown away by the cleaning ladies. After two days of this routine, I called the concierge to ask what was that about and the answer was that when the water wasn´t finished they “assume” we won´t drink it anymore (!!). After my complaint they sent me a few complimentary bottles in the room.

4) Pool service and beach service are chaotic (as many reviewers have already said in TripAdvisor). It´s not that there is a shortage of employees. There are plenty of them. Nonetheless, it´s really hard to get their attention. One afternoon we ordered a bottle of wine in the beach and it took us 40 minutes to get the drinks. Despite the delay, the bill had a 18% gratuity automatically included (I am more than happy to pay a nice gratuity for good service but that was not the case).


5) When we checked in, the staff asked if we were SPG members (their loyalty program). After an 8 hour flight we were not able to find our numbers, so we said we would send the number before the checkout. Later in the room, however, I found an email sent by me to the hotel a couple of months ago informing our SPG number. It could be a minor thing, but we were not eligible to the program benefits during our stay. We missed opportunities such as upgrade (if available); I don't know why my prior email was ignored.
6) The service guide we had in our rooms mentioned that there was free complimentary in room beverage service. One afternoon I ordered 2 espressos. They came with a 20,18 dollar bill (probably the most expensive espresso ever). When we checked out I asked what was the complimentary in room beverage service about (as we were charged) and the answer was that this service was available for the suites not the regular rooms like mine. So, why was that information in my room?

7) When we tried to order the complimentary breakfast that was offered to us after the episode I mentioned above, neither the butler service or the private dining service were aware of the problem. We had to tell the story all over again. Anyway, breakfast was delivered in the proper time with just a minor setback – although we are a couple, they sent just ONE glass of juice.

8) Finally, butler services did email us some days before arriving. They offered a dinner sponsored by a champagne producer and asked if we were celebrating some special occasion. We informed them that we could be interested in the dinner and that we will celebrate two anniversaries (10th year together and 5 years of marriage). They simply ignore the information and never talked to us again about both subjects.

When I am at a 5 star hotel, I really expect a good service. Unfortunately, that was not the case in St Regis Bal Harbour.


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