My husband and I stayed at the St Regis Hotel in Houston a week ago. I was told the hotel building was originally built as A Ritz Carlton Hotel. I believe it. The building, resturants, lobby, bar and hotel rooms were beautiful!! The hotel rooms and bathrooms were large. The beds were great.
But what was so amazing was the staff!!! It was one of the best trained staff we have ever experienced!! There were truly no exceptions.
Several of us staying there own our own businesses and we were discussing how do you achieve this kind of perfection in your staff? Amazing!
Great Hotel!!!

Spent ~5 months at this hotel as a Starwood Platinum.

GOOD:
- Very large standard rooms
- Very comfortable bed and large desk to work from
- Outdoor pool
- Large bathtub, great showerhead pressure, and nice toiletries
- Great food in the restaurant (but pricey, unless you're on an expense account)
- Good location close to the Galleria, with a shuttle service to and fro the mall

BAD
- Doesn't match to the service standard of a St. Regis. Concierges didn't remember my name week-to-week
- Even with hotel availability through spg.com, only 2 out of the ~18-20 weeks did I receive an upgrade using the Platinum benefit to a suite
- The fitness centre is on the small side (big hotel, but only 2 treadmills, 2 elipticals, 2 bikes, and limited weights).

COMMENTARY
I would compare this hotel to the Four Seasons Houston, and while I give the benefit of the Four Seasons to the quality of customer service, I kept coming back to the St. Regis solely for the Starwood points program. I would also offer that the room quality between the two hotels is the same, but the Four Seasons gym is much nicer. Price differences were negligable (corporate rate ~$10 higher at the St. Regis v. the Four Seasons).

With all of that said, it was a comfortable 5 months, but just not at the level of service that I've come to expect with the St. Regis

I had not stayed at this hotel since it was the Ritz Carlton. It was so nice to be back in a nice neighborhood with exceptional service.

From the minute you get out of the car to the front desk to the consierge - they are all wiling to help you. I was traveling on business and needed reservations and recommendations. The consierge was excellent. He hit every restaurant on the head in price, quality, atmosphere including a great Italian within walking distance.

The rooms are spacious with all amenities including the robe and slippers. I did have a problem with housekeeping one night and not only got apologies from housekeeping but from the front desk when checking out. Things do happen but it is a good hotel that attends to their mistake quickly.

My package included high tea. As I was traveling on business I don't always have time for that but as I came in at the end, the hostess held everything for me. What an end to a day.

The gym is small but I never had a problem despite the size of the hotel. The pool is beautiful. It is expensive but you get what you pay for.

We stayed for our first anniversary - the location is one of the strongest features (close proximity to museum district, shopping, downtown, nice River Oaks area of Houston) and the hotel is set in a fairly wooded area that gives it a feel of being out of the way even though it's less than a mile from the Galleria area. The room (we had a Deluxe King) was well above average - we liked the bed, general decor, crown molding, windows, etc. The bathroom had some fixtures that were loose, but worked fine. Shampoo, soap were good quality. The first afternoon I went down to the pool/workout area and enjoyed the facility and steam room. My wife said the women's steam room wasn't working the next morning. However, spa and locker rooms along with the fitness area were small, which was a problem on Sat. AM as all the equipment was occupied. Pool area was nice, but we didn't use. Excellent service at front desk, from valet service, spa. I think our rate was around $180 for the night, which was a decent fare for the room. Over $225 and I would wonder if it's a good deal. I almost forgot to mention that the hotel left us a gift wrapped present (coffee cup) and card for our anniversary, which was a nice touch. Overall, this has been my favorite hotel in Houston (better than Magnolia, Lancaster, Doubletree), but probably the most expensive also. We ate at Mark's for dinner - highly recommend but be ready to shell it out.