We had been looking forward to staying at the St. Regis in Ft. Lauderdale since we visited my brother in 1995 (he lived nearby). I don't know exactly why it took almost 13 years to open, but a recent trip was the perfect excuse to stay there. The hotel is certainly lovely, airy, and spacious. It was easy to find from the airport and our greeting by the valet staff was welcoming and most helpful (as they proved to be throughout our stay). It seems, however, as if this branch of one of the loveliest hotels is not up to what it offers. I have a major problem with service staff that is instructed to be solicitous and gracious, yet does not seem to listen to the responses they solicit. At the desk, we were told that they deliver USA Today; was that alright or did we prefer another paper? We said we would like the New York Times throughout our stay, and yet one never appeared. (We found them in the lobby.) We asked about lunch, as our room wasn't ready, and the woman at the desk offered to escort us; we got about halfway into the lobby, when she turned and said she would check on our luggage. We never saw her again. The point is, we certainly and easily could have found the restaurant ourselves, but they offer to help and then strand you in the middle of the lobby.

Upon entering our room, the butler came and asked if we had any requests. We needed shirts pressed for the evening (not laundered, just pressed). They came back in a timely fashion -- but not ironed! And they tried to charge us $40 for it (we're still contesting the charge).

Two major problems with the room were readily apparent: there are carpet nails you do not see that snag your socks -- or worse, puncture your feet; and the bathtub. The shower glass only goes halfway, so every time I took a shower the floors became soaked. I had to lay towels down so that I didn't slip getting over the rather high tub wall. There is a television in the bathroom, which the bellman remarked upon, saying that we could soak in the tub and watch television. Well, no you can't. The tub was facing the wrong way. The bathroom is beautiful, however, and, aside from the ever-present danger of slipping when getting out of the shower and cracking my head on the marble, was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. Kudos to the housekeeping staff, by the way. That tub/shower looked as hard to clean as it was to use.

Lunch was excellent both times we ate there, once in the dining room, and once by the pool. The walkway to the beach over A1A was out of commission, so I never did figure out how we were supposed to use the hotel's section of the beach. Ultimately, not worth the money or the time it takes you to get anywhere away from the immediate beach area. After the consistently superb staff at the St. Regis in New York and how dedicated they are to the guests' comfort, the Ft. Lauderdale outpost is a total letdown and a sorry relation.

My husband and I stayed at the St. Regis for 4 days/3 nights for New Years Eve. We used points for two nights, paid for one night - - roughly $800 for a corner queen room. Overall, our stay was a fantastic experience. We had read some of the prior reviews regarding attitude problems and it really appears that the hotel has addressed this issue.

Arrival: We were greeted warmly. I am an SPG gold member and before we arrived they had already upgraded us to a king oceanfront room. Our bags had to be stored temporarily until the room was ready, but they would be delivered automatically. They were not, but they did deliver them once we called.

Room: Just beautiful. Very similar decor to the US Grant in San Diego, another SPG property in the Luxury Collection which recently underwent a multi-million $$ renovation. Very impressive. The bathrooms are fantastic with huge soaking tubs with both a faucet and a shower head. Dual sinks, beautiful marble tile, large stand up shower with rainfall showerhead, lots of pressure and great heat. Toilet is in a separate room with a door inside the bathroom. Bed was super comfy, large flatscreen tv. Very stylish chairs, mirrors, artwork. Also, upscale amenities in the honor bar - - duckhorn wines, etc. Nice size patio facing the ocean. Also, very thick sliding glass doors which completely blocks out the sounds of the busy road and bar scene below.

Pool: It's a pretty vibrant scene, it was packed every day. You had to go down to the pool by 8 am to work the pool butler to secure the large padded recliners in a spot that got sun into the later afternoon. I tipped $20 for this service, but it is free. Lots of towels and lots of attention for ice water, beverage and food service. The pool bar food was fantastic, I had the seafood special everyday. My husband had the cheeseburger and the hot dog - - both fantastic. The cocktails were delicious, but a bit expensive, ~ $17 each. One of the pool bartenders was a bit difficult one morning, but it seemed he was just shorthanded and apologized later on. Generally, service was wonderful. Best part - - pool is heated just enough to make it easy to get in water, but not as warm as bath water.

Spa: Both my husband and I had a massage. Both of us had a great service. The spa is very nice, the locker room does not have steam, sauna or whirlpool however. The relaxation room is very nice. Service there was very friendly.

Bar/Food: We did not eat at the restaurant, although it looks very nice. We bellied up to the large bar twice, we had excellent service and tried a few small items off the bar menu which were delicious appetizers for the evening. We also sat in the darker wine lounge one night, which was also lovely. It is the exact same menu as the other bar however. We also ordered room service dinner one night, which was delicious. It DID take 3 hours to be delivered, which was likely due to NYE crush. They covered the cost of the entire meal, which included a rather expensive bottle of wine AND sent us a complimentary bottle of champagne. Talk about excellent recovery!

Service: As I've said, it was great. One day i was walking through the lobby and ran into a random employee and asked whether they knew if fans were available (i need white noise to sleep and the rooms are VERY quiet). She said they had fans and humidifiers, but she wasn't sure what was left. She just asked our room number and said it would be handled. When we arrived back in our room an hour later, a humidifier (with fan option) was waiting in our room. Nice.

Area: We are fans of Ft. Lauderdale, this being our 4th visit in the last few years. We usually visit during off-season, so it was a bit busier this time. We love the local bars and restaurants, some of which have fantastic food and some have nice live music for adults.

Other: The only real negatives are that although it is called a "resort" they do not have any gift shops or boutiques, nor do they have a coffee shop. Each morning it was hit-or-miss whether there would be coffee available in the lobby. They indicated they are still building the gift shop, not sure if it will inlcude a coffee bar.

Recommendation: Ours was a fantastic experience and the room was just beautiful. It IS a bit pricey, but they treated us very well and there wasn't anything that made me say "you'd expect better for so much money!"

We stayed here for 4 nights before going to St Martin and it was fabulous. Starwood must have placed all of the best staff they had at this hotel because there was not one flaw we could possibly mention. We are going back in 2008 for sure!

My husband and I spent 2 nights at the St. Regis during Christmas week. The hotel is beautiful. My husband is a Platinum Starwood member and we were upgraded to a junior suite facing the Intercontinental. The room was great! When booking a room I would suggest an ocean view room instead. The hotel generators were located on that side of the hotel. The staff were very helpful. We never had a problem getting our car out of the valet. The pool was crowded but the staff keep a list of people waiting for chairs and spent their day moving chairs around and making sure that guests didn't just reserve their chairs for the entire day. Lunch at the pool was yummy & a bit expensive (but expected). Pool staff came around with melon sticks and frozen grapes! The wine bar was great. The hotel is close to Las Olas. We would highly recommend this hotel!