The St. Regis Venice

We had a very nice stay and thought the property and location were perfect. The staff was always warm, attentive and great at remembering your name. Food at the bar and the breakfast buffet was outstanding and you can’t beat the view sitting on the patio overlooking the grand canal. Hope we get back but only of we find a less crowded time in Venice.

Not up to St. Regis standards. And not worth the cost of admission. The start was bad: our luggage was not delivered from the dock. After an hour, my husband and I went back to the bellcheck, only to find our luggage was actually put in someone else’s room. No apology, no I’m so sorry. Just a man sent to scurry off to get our suitcases. It was subsequently re-delivered correctly but it was a terrible start to our time there. Further, the breakfast buffet was really lacking in imagination, display and variety. It was more like a Fairfield Inn, not a top end hotel. Finally, we were mislead by a concierge about transportation to an event we had booked. He promised us a complimentary shuttle which did not come through the next morning. When we hurried to make alternative water taxi plans, the same head bellcheck from the night before actually chastised me for not making reservations in advance. Needless to say I informed him that we had worked with the concierge who mislead us. It was a very frustrating experience. Again, no apology for the previous night’s misdirection. We had just left Florence where our experience at a smaller hotel was warmer, more personal and more special. By comparison this hotel was unwelcoming, unexciting and not worth even a photo of the lobby, the room or the restaurant.

The St. Regis Venice. The St. Regis name evokes such high hopes for a stellar experience. I will not say this was a bad experience, but I also will not say it was the experience we expected. Much of it was good and some was not so good. Check in was easy and our room happened to be ready, which is always a great start to any stay. The staff was helpful in checking us in and showing us to our rooms. The rooms were well equipped and nicely appointed. Our luggage was delivered quickly to our room. However. Our friends’ luggage was not. Upon check in we were given one ticket for all the bag and were told they would all come up at once. We waited and waited… still no bags for our friends. Finally we went downstairs to check and the bags were not there either. The bell staff finally found the bags IN SOMEONE ELSES ROOM. True story and unacceptable. At this point in my review, I will also say that this hotel is a hub for higher end tour groups such as Tauck and others. There are large groups of tour people at this hotel. Therefore, the feeling was much like being on a crowded cruise ship, or perhaps a glorified Holiday Inn and not the St. Regis, Very disappointing and rather unexpected. We dined at the hotel bar for dinner our first night. We were aware of the pricey menu prior to deciding to eat there. We did have a lovely table outside by the Grand Canal that the concierge had arranged for us, despite the no reservation policy. That was very kind. But I have to say, the prices were shocking for what we got. The linguine and clams was a small mound of pasta with a few tiny bits of clams in it. The cost for nearly 50 euros. That was highway robbery. Yes, it was tasty, but not for that price. And a burger for 45 euros… yeah. Ridiculous. And my husbands burger was literally raw. No we did not send it back. Drink prices were in the same vein. We’ve stayed in many St. Regis properties around the globe over the years and had many breakfast buffets there. This one did not live up to what we expected. It was basic… very much Holiday Inn-ish. Yes, you could order one thing off the menu, so I guess that was a plus, but the one thing was either eggs cooked multiple ways or pancakes. We were also misled by the concierge on our quest to get to the island of Murano buy water taxi. We were originally told that the hotel ran a complimentary water shuttle to Murano. Only to find out, it was not going where we needed to be. We had no choice but to try to take a water taxi in front of the hotel. However. The water taxi drivers were on strike. Had we been informed of this by the hotel (who knew about it) we would’ve made other plans. So instead, they did make us a reservation for a taxi despite the strike. That reservation was subsequently cancelled by the taxi company. Again, we were not informed. After an hour of waiting by the dock (after being told it would take 5-6 minutes to get a taxi), we were about to miss our planned, very expensive, pre paid activity on Murano. I finally went back to the Concierge and made a ruckus. They were kind enough to call the place we were headed on Murano and let them know of the problem. But it took 1 hour of aggravation, no information and finally making a stink before any action was taken. Our final night was an early one, as we had to leave the hotel very early the next morning. We arrived back in our room at about 8:30 pm. We noticed we never got any turn down service that night. (Again…Holiday Inn). We went to bed and around 9:30 pm someone entered our room. We jumped up scared to death. It was the cleaning lady attempting to do turn down service. What in the world was that all about. That was not fun and took awhile to calm down from. So basically, in a nutshell….If you’re going to pay this much money to stay at the St. Regis Venice, dont do it. Spend your money elsewhere for a better experience.

You expect great service from a St Regis but what a super experience. Rooms were the most quiet we've ever experienced. Great shower. Comfortable bed. Facilities are modern but not austere. Very elegant experience. But all of this did not compare to the great friendly staff. Restaurant was the highlight of the trip. We had lunch multiple times outside at the restaurant. Phenomenal. Special kudos to Nicola and Veronica who made us feel very welcomed! Bravo! Didn't get upgraded........ but all beauty has a flaw. :)

From the moment we arrived until check out the experience was absolutely sublime. The room was gorgeous and we had some lovely drinks on the terrace and then a fabulous dinner at the restaurant on the grand Canal. Thoroughly would recommend.