My husband needed to stay in the Ft. Lauderdale area for business and we decided to make a long weekend out of it. We stayed at this hotel for 4 nights in January 2008. We stayed in an Ocean View room overlooking the pool area and there was butler service.
First the good: The hotel itself is beautiful. It is new (they opened in Spring 2007) and it still feels very new. The lobby area is very nice and the restaurant, lounge and wine bar are all very pleasing to the eye. The car valet service is very good. I never had to wait for my car if I called ahead. The concierge desk is top notch. The hotel is difficult to find and when i called and asked for directions the concierge insisted I stay on the phone with her so she could direct me. The butler was courteous and professional, although the only time we used her was to get our shoes shined. The pool area on the 7th floor is lovely. They have large over-sized upholstered chairs and the view of the ocean is very nice. The pool area is relaxing as there is no music and there is bar and food service.
Now for the Not so Good: While the physical property is beautiful and St. Regis obviously invested in some nice features (the room comes with a console by the bed that controls practically everything so you don't have to get up), the service at the hotel is inconsistent. While some of the staff is clearly experienced and provides excellent service, there are many employees who act as if they're working at a Marriott. It's as if they're "acting as if" they're trying to give good servicem but they do not. I found it telling that on 2 different occasions I personally witnessed hotel guests very angry and yelling at hotel staff! There were times during my stay when I wanted to reprimand staff members as well. There was one occasion by the pool when one of the pool attendents argued with me over the placement of my pool chair. Not only did they run out fo chairs that day but she tried to put my chair in a place that was clearly not acceptable (behind the bar area that was a weird place not near the pool) because she said I would be in the way of the food staff. I explained to her that I was in that exact spot yesterday and it was fine. I told her that later in the day that they would put someone else in that spot and she promised me that if they put someone on that spot that I could report her and she would lose her job. Needless to say, 30 minutes later they put someone in that exact spot. No, I did not report her or even bring this to the attention of a manager. I just found it odd that they did not train their eimployees not to argue with guests. She was rather rude.
On another occasion I dined at Cero, the hotel's restaurant for dinner and I ordered the seared scallops. The scallops were so salty they were inedible. I do not normally complain, but on this occasion the waiter noticed I barely ate anything and he asked me if the dish was alright. I told him how the dish was and he merely apologized, but did not offer me anything else, or to bring another dish, or even to discount or comp the dish. He merely walked away after asking me how the dish was! Strange and infuriating because I was so hungry.
Bottom line is, the hotel is beautiful and there are not a lot of other hotels of this quality in the area so if I had to stay in this area again I would put up with the inconsistent service and stay here. The St. Regis should work on the service training here. For the price we pay it needs to be better.






