The St. Regis Venice — Hotel in Venice

Wow! St. Regis Suite Was Over The Top Baroque Luxury!

Reviewed Jul 30, 2023

The St. Regis Venice was the last leg on our Italian Vacation...we had two more nights in airport hotels before we'd make it home.

Arriving by Water Taxi to the hotel was very luxurious and akin to a James Bond arrival. As the boat approached the landing we were greeted by several gentlemen who took our bags and showed us inside. The check in staff was very professional...thanking me for being a Titanium Elite and explaining breakfast and the other amenities.

I booked the room using Bonvoy Points last fall and applied an SNA in hopes that it would work out for us. Five days before our check-in the SNA was approved for my requested/selected "St. Regis Suite". We had know idea how posh the baroque St. Regis Suite would be...

The room was very well decorated and is a "hold-out" from prior decor updates. Our butler explained that many request that particular suite as a favorite. The suite had a divan, chairs, fully stocked bar plus a mini bar in the fridge. You can view the room and overall look for yourself instead of me spending four paragraphs on it all...I have stayed at some places before but this room was truly over the top.

The hotel is a short, five minute walk from St. Mark's Square. Being the off season the crowds were much less than usual but much thicker with people than Rome or Florence. Not bad though at all. We walked to the Rialto Bridge and strolled the streets...easy to navigate once we got the hang of it. We missed the Sabrage Ceremony the first night and our butler, Michele, was so kind and set it up for my wife to the honors and open the celebratory champagne...sabre style. The bartenders were all very proper and full of fun...our bartender explained the St. Regis Bloody Mary inception and the Venice version the Santa Maria. We wanted to try each of them. The Santa Maria was served with a strip of dried tomato. The dried tomato and the horseradish infused vodka seemed magic...it tasted more like a Bloody Mary than the red, original I had just sipped. They were proud to serve and share in our enjoyment.

The butler service was also great to press some pants and a shirt as well as polish a pair of shoes in preparation for the trip home. Breakfast each morning was choice of buffet or off the menu. The Eggs Benedict was as delicious as you would hope, cooked perfectly. One morning, we had the omelettes and they were also quite tasty. Off all the breakfasts on our trip, the St.R Venice has the best tasting breakfast sausage.

Throughout the trip, the Concierge team would chat with us and offer tips on eateries, tours and places to stroll. The concierge arranged a Water Taxi to get us to the airport...very simple and lux ride. Housekeeping, restaurant staff, concierge, bar, front desk and door/security team were all on top of their game ensuring a great stay. Looking back at our trip, the Venice location gave us the best upgrade, great butler experience that included the Sabrage Ceremony and overall the best "stay".

Date of...

I will never stay here again. They advertise wheelchair accessible accommodation on the Marriott website so I paid for two nights while in Venice awaiting a cruise departure. One CANNOT GET TO THE HOTEL if you use a wheelchair or mobility device. It is on the other side of a bridge. Several days in advance the Butler contacted me wondering how they could make our stay fantastic. One of the things I asked for was directions from the Vaporetto stop to the hotel. I knew exactly which stop to go to from my previous stay in Venice at the AC Venice Hotel that has an accessible route to St. Marks Square. They answered the other 2 questions that I had but not how to get there. So I asked again. No response. So the day we were to arrive, when on the train to Venice from Florence, I sent ANOTHER email in Italian thinking that might be the problem - not understanding English - and no response. Got to the Venice train station and again no answer so took the Vaporetto as I had indicated and phoned them from the bottom of a 20 stair bridge asking how they planned for me to get to the hotel? Then I got action. Yes I still had to climb up and down 3 stairs into a boat and be taken around the corner to where the water taxi's arrive however it was quite infuriating to be told at that time we should have just taken an accessible private Vaporetto ride to their dock and there are wheelchair accessible ones! Could that message been passed along 3 days back OR several months ago when Marriott Reservations phoned the hotel to let them know I needed an accessible room? Don't get me wrong - the room they put us in was gorgeous but the hotel really damaged our whole trip to Venice. I could not get off the island it was on unless I climbed over the bridge so we were stuck with 2 restaurants - St. Regis or another one which was okay (did not know what Celiac Disease was). So in the evening or morning we left we could not explore - I had to save my strength for climbing the bridge away from and back to the hotel the one full day we were in town. I tried talking to the Assistant Front Office Manager and other people at the hotel and they do not seem to think this is a problem - if a guest books your hotel based on what your website indicates, has central reservations follow up AND themselves sends 3 emails on how to access the hotel and no one TELLS the guest that the hotel is not accessible unless you pay for an expensive water taxi wherever you want to go, then the hotel is not doing their job and is offering poor customer service. Full Disclosure: the hotel did pay for a wheelchair acessible water taxi back to the train station however we waited 90 minutes for it and almost missed our train connection to Treiste where the cruise ship was docked. That is why I will never stay at this hotel again. I do not think I should be treated as a 2nd class citizen and that is the feeling that they definately...

This hotel was a horrible disappointment. While the hotel is beautiful with gorgeous rooms, the service is abysmal.

First: DO NOT take a restaurant recommendation from the concierge. Their recommendations were horrible. I expected homemade pasta and incredible sauces, but I had either incredibly small portions (literally 3 ravioli for dinner) or just subpar food.

Second: When trying to work with the concierge for excursions, they will tell you they have a boat. Fun fact, they do not tell you all the details involved. The boat will take you to Murano for free and back from Murano for free. You will be offered to take another free boat ride to Burano. If you do this, you will have to pay to get back to the hotel, a total of 140 euros. No one told me this, nor do I believe there should be a cost associated. Why am I being nickel and dimed for a boat ride when I am paying out the nose for a hotel room? Additionally, their contact in Burano was inattentive. When I arrived at Burano, I was told, ask for a reservation at X restaurant. I did. I was told, you do not need one. I went to X restaurant and guess what? I DID NEED A RESERVATION. The incompetence from this trip should have been an indicator but I had hoped that this was a one-off.

Third: The next day I wanted to go to San Giorgio to see their labyrinth. We got a tour of the canals and a boat ride to the island for 130 euros. I was not pleased with the cost but at least I had been informed prior. Apparently the concierges had bought us tickets to the labyrinth tour but failed to tell us that and additionally tell us where the tour was supposed to meet. It left without us and we had to buy another tour that we were informed AFTER purchasing was not for the labyrinth. Very kindly, the tour guide at San Giorgio did let me see the labyrinth but this was out of the absolute kindness of her heart.

Fourth: When dining at the hotel, which does, to their credit, have a nice restaurant with good food, I was shown a bottle of wine with my title and surname. Now, my expectation would be for them to offer a complementary glass of wine given that they went out of their way to find it and show me. Instead, I was charged for this. Again, for the prie I paid for a room at this hotel, I just felt like I was getting nickel and dimed. This is supposed to be a luxurious hotel and instead I felt like I was at a Best Western.

All in all, the hotel needs to be better at helping guests have a good experience instead of constantly letting them down. And very frankly, I believe I am deserved some kind of refund. Do not stay here until changes are made...