St. Regis San Francisco Award Redemption [gallery]

St. Regis San Francisco Award Redemption [gallery]

Pricey but great hotel in the heart of Soma

Whilst SeatLink is ultimately all about aircraft interiors, I’m going to write about some hotel experiences here on the blog, since they go hand in hand with air travel. I’ll be kicking off this hotel series with a stay at the the St. Regis in San Francisco. I’ve probably stayed here 25 times – the most of any single hotel property for me – so this hotel feels like a second home.

The St. Regis is Starwood’s highest end property in San Francisco, and having stayed at almost all of the others, I can say that comes through in the level of service at the property. On this stay I was upgraded to an Executive Premier room, which is common enough for SPG Platinum members. While every stay here may not be on points (many are revenue if the rates are good), I do definitely earn a lot of points as a SPG Platinum 75 (4 points/dollar) who also happens to be using the Starwood Preferred Guest card from Amex (an extra 2 points/dollar) for a total of 6 points/dollar. Given that I personally value SPG points at $0.03/point, that’s a 3% discount on all paid stays.

The Rewards Card Points That Get You Here:

This one is a no-brainer and the one I mentioned above: the SPG credit card from Amex. These points are great because not only can you spend them at amazing places like the W Verbier, you can also transfer them (usually 1:1) to over 30 airlines at a 25% bonus (up to 60k points/day). You can also use American Express Membership Rewards from any of their other rewards cards, like the Gold and Platinum or EveryDay cards. These transfer over to SPG at 3:1, however.

How Was The Hotel?

What’s awesome:

pretty decent location, whether you’re there for business or sightseeing, though SOMA can fail to impress
modern decor with classic St Regis service you’ve come to expect at their properties
grand deluxe rooms and up are good size, with varied and interesting floorplans

What’s not:

the spa could use some work, even though the pool area is nice (when there’s nobody else there)
if you’re not getting status freebies, food and drink is remarkably expensive in the hotel (perhaps as expected)
rates are high, but occasionally you can find good ones and/or use cash & points via SPG

View towards the desk area

Shower

Bedside room controls

View down the entry hall to the door

Deep soaking tub

The bathroom view

View of the bed in my Executive Premier room

The usual Remede soaps (which I like)

Small but adequate closet

View down 3rd towards Dogpatch

View towards the mission

Minibar

Just a single sink but plenty of counter space

Room controls screenshot

The bed

The desk area

View from the door

The Bottom Line:

A San Francisco staple IMHO, along with the Four Seasons and the Mandarin Oriental in that same tier, all of which aren’t too far from each other. Rates are high when SF is busy so look to redeem points on those days, otherwise you can find yourself staying at the St. Regis for just a few bucks more than the W, which is practically next door.

What else?

Have you stayed at the St. Regis in San Francisco before? Did you like it? Let us know in your comment below!

The verdict

Reviewed by

Seatlink

Date

2016-03-08

Airline/cabin

St Regis Hotel San Francisco

Rating

American Airlines 767-300 Business Class Review

LAN / LATAM 787-8 Economy Review, Santiago (SCL) to Lima (LIM)

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