Your guide to St Regis Hotels & Resorts – history, rituals and future plans

Two days ago, Marriott announced that the iconic St Regis brand will be coming to London in 2023.

St Regis is one of Marriott’s smaller brands, but with a rapid expansion plan that hopes to double the number of hotels in the next five years.

In this article we’ll look at the history of the St Regis brand, what you can expect when you stay at one as well as future openings and a list of all our St Regis reviews.

This is the second article in a new occasional series which goes ‘behind the brands’. In our first article we looked at what a W Hotel is.

The St Regis website is here.

The history of St Regis

St Regis is one of the most storied hotel brands in history. It was founded by John Jacob Astor IV, one of the richest men of his time and who died in the sinking of the Titanic.

The original St Regis opened in New York City in 1904 at a total cost of $5.5 million. It was built as a sister hotel to the Waldorf-Astoria, part owned by Astor. It was technologically advanced for its time with telephones in each room, a fire alarm system and central heating and cooling.

When Astor died it was quickly sold out of the family, although his son re-acquired it in 1935 for $300,000. Over the decades it was frequented by many famous individuals including Marlene Dietrich, Alfred Hitchcock and Salvador Dali.

In 1965 the original St Regis was named a New York cultural and historical landmark and a year later it was purchased by Sheraton and renamed the St Regis Sheraton.

In 1988 the hotel closed for a complete refurbishment – the first in its history – at a cost of $100 million. It re-opened in 1991 under the St Regis name and became the flagship of Sheraton’s ‘Luxury Collection’ brand of hotels.

In 1998 Sheraton was itself acquired by Starwood Hotels and Resorts, which re-launched St Regis as one of its sub-brands. This led to the addition of a number of new St Regis hotels worldwide, including The St Regis Aspen and The St Regis Washington, DC.

St Regis Hotels & Resorts became part of Marriott Bonvoy in 2016, when Marriott International acquired Starwood, and you can now earn and redeem Marriott Bonvoy points at St Regis hotels worldwide. Our guide to the Marriott Bonvoy program is here.

Marriott Bonvoy categorises St Regis as part of its ‘classic luxury’ brands, and describes it as:

“Combining classic sophistication with a modern sensibility, St Regis is committed to delivering exceptional experiences at over 40 luxury hotels and resorts at the best addresses around the world. Since the opening of the first St Regis hotel in New York City over a century ago by John Jacob Astor IV, the brand has remained committed to an uncompromising level of bespoke and anticipatory service for all of its guests, delivered flawlessly by signature St Regis Butler Service. Born of a distinctive legacy and crafted for modern connoisseurs who desire the finest experiences imaginable, St Regis defines modern glamour and sophistication as the leading luxury lifestyle hospitality brand with an uncompromising commitment to excellence.”

There are currently nearly 50 St Regis hotels.

What can you expect at a St Regis?

Of all of Marriott’s brands, St Regis has perhaps the most unique customs and what it calls “Rituals”.

There are four Signature Rituals:

• Bloody Mary
• the Evening Ritual
• Afternoon Tea
• Midnight Supper

Bloody Mary

St Regis claims it is the birthplace of the Bloody Mary. There are a number of origin stories to the cocktail, all of which originate in 1920s and 1930s New York.

According to St Regis lore, Fernand Petiot invented the modern Bloody Mary (called the Red Snapper) with salt, pepper, Worcestershire and lemon juice in 1934 in the famous King Cole Bar at The St Regis New York. In the 1960s, Petiot claimed that the hotel was selling 100-150 Bloody Marys every day.

These days, every St Regis has its own locally inspired version of the Bloody Mary which forms part of the St Regis Ritual.

The Afternoon Ritual

Afternoon Tea is associated with Britain, but it’s also a tradition that St. Regis cultivates as part of its Afternoon Ritual. It was introduced to New York by Caroline Astor, doyenne of New York society and mother of St Regis founder John Jacob Astor IV, who made it a staple at the hotel in honour of her.

The Evening Ritual

The Evening Ritual is another tradition that traces its history back to the Astor family, who would mark the transition from afternoon to evening with the sabering of a bottle of Champagne at The St Regis New York in the early 1900s.

All St Regis hotels continue this practise to this day and you’ll find a butler opening a bottle of champagne with a sword at 5pm or 6pm around the world. Afterwards you can enjoy a free glass of bubbly. It’s a novel way to open a bottle and you probably won’t get the opportunity to see it elsewhere and well worth trying!

Midnight Suppers

The fourth and final St Regis Ritual is Midnight Supper. Unlike the other rituals, which happen daily, Midnight Suppers only happen to mark special events.

Once again, Midnight Suppers are a legacy of Caroline Astor, who herself used to host these intimate dinners, which would often begin at midnight. The tradition of the Midnight Supper at The St Regis New York dates back to the hotel’s founding in the early 20th century. It was a time when Manhattan’s social elite would join the Astors in their home for a decadent midnight meal, following the season’s most exclusive social affairs. 

Butlers

Another signature offering is the St Regis Butler Service. St Regis hotels around the world all offer a free butler service, often to all guests but in some properties only to those who have booked specific rooms.

There are a number of things you can request your butler to do, including:

• Unpack and pack your luggage
• Ironing/pressing service – generally up two items per day
• Beverage service, where a butler comes up to your room after your wake-up call to open your curtains, deliver coffee and tea as well as the day’s forecast and newspaper

As someone who rarely unpacks in a hotel room I find the unpacking service a real delight!

Other amenities

St. Regis hotels currently use toiletries by Laboratoire Remède:

If you’re a particular fan, you can buy them on the St Regis shop. There were reports in late 2020 that the brand was to be replaced, so it may be that we will see a change once current stocks are run down.

Future openings

St Regis is planning to double the number of hotels and resorts it operates in the next five years.

In 2022 it will open the The St Regis Kanai Resort, The St Regis Chicago, The St Regis Marsa Arabia Island, The Pearl (Qatar), plus a hotel in Belgrade. The St Regis San Francisco will reopen following a complete renovation.

And, of course, we have The St Regis London to look forward to in 2023.

A few properties have left the chain in recent years. The St Regis Mauritius is now a JW Marriott, having suffered from under-investment by its owner, and The St Regis Monarch Beach is now a Waldorf Astoria. Two Dubai hotels quickly came and went, but are being replaced – one has just opened, on The Palm.

St Regis hotel reviews

We have reviewed a number of St Regis hotels in recent years. Our review of The St Regis Mardavall Mallorca is here, whilst our review of The St Regis Istanbul is here. We have also reviewed the original The St Regis New York and The St Regis Bangkok.

As with Hilton’s Waldorf Astoria brand, new openings are generally more luxurious than the New York original. That said, Rob has stayed at the New York twice in recent years and has developed a soft spot for it – he is booked in again for July. The hotel has a disproportionately high number of suites and is generally fairly quiet, despite having an impressively central location.

I was hugely impressed by my stay at The St Regis Mardavall and Rob was also won over by the new-build Istanbul hotel a few years ago.

The St Regis website is here if you want to learn more about the hotels.

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How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (40,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points. 

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)