The St. Regis

Wow, what an utter disappointment. Where do I even begin? So they really try to impress you at the start — opening the door for you, immediately taking your luggage, cold hand towel to cool yourself… it’s a beautiful sheen. But that’s where it ends. Let me count the ways:
1. Room was not cleaned/​serviced the first day at all. We left at 7:30am, returned at 5pm… and nothing was done. Well, except someone did come in to swap the water bottle. So there’s that.
2. Evening turndown service just opens the door after one brief door knock without any warning — twice. Surprised me and my wife while we were changing last two nights.
3. Must call to have ice brought to room, can’t get any yourself.
4. They claim they have shoe shine service, but it is anything but. First time requested, no shine or cleaning was actually performed — shoes were just put back in bag and returned. Mentioned it to front desk, they apologized and promised it would be fixed… and exact same thing happened next day. I just cleaned them myself the second day…
5. Windows are chain locked (apparently due to liability) even on the first floor. Nicely they offer you ability to unchain the windows if you sign away liability… so I did just that and confirmed with the front desk. Returned later that evening, windows were still locked. Left very early next day assuming it would be done, but never was until I again followed up at the front desk.
6. Asked upon checkin what paper we would like, requested Wall Street journal which they confirmed was available. Instead delivered New York Times.
7. Fire alarm went off for 5 minutes — no call to room or anyone on any floor alerting guests to cause (either positive or false). All of us went down to lobby… only to be casually told by the only person in the lobby that «it isn’t a real alarm, we somehow set it off». Fire alarm continued for 10 more minutes.
8. Requested dinner reservation at local restaurant from concierge. Was told they would attempt to make reservation and let me know whether they were successful. No followup from hotel as to whether reservation was made or not, we just had to contact ourselves.
9. Wifi is horrible. Takes 30+ minutes to connect if you can connect at all, and repeatedly drops. Eventually gave up on second night after having it be more spotty than the poor 3G service here in Italy.
10. Drain in shower is placed directly under your feet when you stand in shower, so you end up just closing drain every time you try to take shower and tub fills with dirty water. That is, when the water isn’t pouring onto the bathroom floor as the shower «door» is just a small piece of glass that barely covers a third of the shower.
11. A/​C couldn’t cool a closet, much less the whole room. We’ve had it running on the lowest temp for 48 hours and it is still hot and muggy in room.
We are actually still here at the hotel but needed to write this review now because the number of issues were getting so high they were starting to blend together. All of these would be bad at a Best Western or Motel 6. The fact that this is the type of «signature service» given at a so-​called 5 star St. Regis where the cheapest room rate is over $ 400/​night is unacceptable. What a shame and waste of our hard earned money…
UPDATE: To their credit, Stephanie the front desk manager did her absolute best to apologize for the terrible experience and compensate with points and some other perks. While this did not change our disappointment with the stay, her effort and sincerity was extremely appreciated. Thanks Stephanie for doing your best here…

It is literally maybe 350 ft. from the sister property (westin excelsior) but has an entirely different feel. Not necessarily better, just perhaps more exclusive. Smaller, even boutique by comparison. It is a nice, nice choice. I am a bit spoiled by the familiarity of the Excelsior, and that counts a lot for me… also, Massimo is the concierge across the Piazza… he’s very resourceful, that one. All staff are fantastic both places. A friend of mine taught them how to make a Margarita (*yes, with Tequila, not the style of pizza) So the staff are fun spirited and open minded.

This is a long overdue review. 5 Stars, if not for the incident we faced. Again it’s not easy to get the customer service like we’re used to in U. S sometimes. While booking on spg, it was accidently mentioned as a single (because that was the default setting before you confirm and every time you make or reset even if you put in 2 adults, it resets to 1 and we forgot to correct it). We were so tired and just want to checkin and crash and they made a scene that it was reserved as one and that my gf was there. Really?! Which century are these people in. First of whether it is one or two people, it won’t make any difference in rate. Secondly we are so loyal to SPG and just came from the beautiful Westin in Venice. So much for being Gold and Platinum. Anyway, but soon as they saw we were not happy, they decide to upgrade us to one of the presidential suites. Only after several days we realized it was the presidential suite and it costs $ 18 000 USD a day. Well, we still paid over $ 2500 a day. But it was a pleasant surprise. They turned the bad checkin into a best one. That was one of the unforgettable moments. An entire side of the hotel facing the river and the westin. The room (well, we can’t call it the room. It was a like a home. Phenomenal butler service, we had 3 balconies to ourselves. We have been in several st. regis, but this far exceeds anything that we’ve experienced. The review view, the night dome view was all phenomenal.
But regardless they should be considerate to the customers a bit.

Beautiful!!! However— the maids constantly change around your clothes/​underwear/​whatever u have out!!! They make up the room almost a little too much!!!

I am a bit partial to St Regis properties. I think they are lovely.
In Italy, especially so. The Rome, Florence and Venice properties are all beautiful, well served, historic and classy.
Florence, is my favorite. It is beautiful inside and out, and small, intimate and exclusive.
A location along the river means its a short walk to the Galleria, the Square, shops and everything else you want to see in Florence. The service is impeccable, the bar is gorgeously appointed and they make a fantastic Spritz.
The feel of the hotel is a lot more comfortable than others. The size isn’t very large at all, meaning you feel more like you are staying in a large mansion property than a hotel.
The rooms are something else. Lovely beds, canopied with curtains, walk in closets with separate tub and shower, all in glass and marble with huge windows that open up to the sound of the river outside. Hardwood floors, flat screens and super high, adorned ceilings…
What a lovely hotel. Cannot wait to come back.

800!
I can think of no better way to ring in this milestone than to shower the Firenze St. Regis with some well earned love. The hotel is right on the Arno, close to all of the city’s attractions and just a short walk from the station if you take the train into town.
The service is what we will remember from our stay here. They were super helpful in reaching out to us prior to our arrival. Travel advice, tickets and restaurant bookings all taken care of before we were even checked in. Our host hooked us up with the check in, personally calling Starwood to confirm the accuracy of our account. Our Venezia SPG stay had just bumped us to Platinum status and not only we were upgraded to a river view suite, we got breakfast each morning too! In truth, this was something that we had earned during a year of heavy traveling. However, these seem to be the things you need to fight tooth and nail about at other hotels. Off to the room…
What a room it was! I think our jaws were still wide open when the floor butler and bellman arrived at our door. Our butler explained in detail the many complementary services that they offer: NYT daily at our door, coffee delivered each morning, ironing, and even assistance packing and unpacking. Before he left us, he unlocked the doors to our terrace facing the Arno. What a view!
The room was amongst the nicest we’ve ever had anywhere. It was the Vasari suite, decorated in a Medici theme of garnet, blue and gold. Huge canopy bed, gorgeous paintings, desk and chair, marble bath, entry wardrobe area, valet, flatscreen tv, ihome radio and safe. I loved the added touch of a painting of the river and the Ponte Vecchio that we had just steps away. We slept like babies our entire stay and had coffee and cappuccino at our door minutes after ordering, in Italiano natch.
The spread for breakfast was impressive. It had everything you would expect including an omelette station and the signature St. Regis Bloody Marys. Food was great and often left us so stuffed we were able to get to dinner with just a light snack.
The staff here made us feel right at home. No request was too big for them and they were all pleasant and helpful in dealing with us and my attempts to get better with my Italian. Everyone we dealt with was bilingual, but I still felt like talking like a local. Concierges went out of their way with bookings and travel advice. The kids had a blast too and even got arranged with a Christmas theme.
And the best part? Checking out with a zero balance. Molto buona.
Gratzie Mille St. Regis!

The St. Regis Florence exceeded my expectations from the moment I walked in the door. The recent remodel kept the charm of the building but made the common areas and rooms feel clean and more modern. All of the staff was very personable and attentive. The butlers went above and beyond to make us feel at home. They even setup little displays on the bed each night with the kids toys. Our Standford Suite was huge and very comfortable. The oysters, appetizers and champagne sabering was the most luxurious St. Regis «happy hour» we’ve experienced. Florence was also our favorite city in Italy since it is smaller than Rome and easy to walk around. This location went to the top of my list for St. Regis locations.

Simply amazing accommodations from every point of view. Rooms are stunning, butlers and concierge so helpful. Our concierge not only helped us with the usual dinner reservations, but hooked us up with a great wholesale jeweler so that we could skip the very touristy Ponte Vecchio jewelers to find unique affordable jewelry. The wine tour that they set up for us in Chianti complete with English speaking driver was an absolute 10! They have great connections and recommendations on anything your imagination can think of. The doorman Aldo seems to always be available and knowledgeable.
Their front patio dining is very good for a late snack. Their in house dining was a little too extravagant and I would recommend eating out and enjoying the city with so many other options.
One last tip: Bring mosquito repellent or purchase some at any of the nearby farmacia because the hotel is close to Arno and there is no escaping them at night when you are sitting or walking around outside.

If there were ten stars available, I’d give the St. Regis twelve. I’m not sure where to even start here. I guess I’ll just start with check-​in. When I made the reservation, I let them know that this was a very special visit as it was my wife’s birthday and we were also celebrating our anniversary. We were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves in an upgraded room with a chilled bottle of champagne awaiting us along with a personal card from the GM of the hotel. Talk about a «wow» experience.
The daily breakfast was included in our reservation and was always wonderful. Dinner in the restaurant was fantastic. The concierge was very helpful with arranging trips around the city. Every staff member seemed almost obsessed to «over service» you at every turn. Florence is an amazing city and The St. Regis made our vacation more than we could have ever imagined.
PS — I booked the room on
. It was far less expensive than any other website I could find.

One of the best and greatest hotels in the area!!!
Great staff and location, luxurious décor, immaculate service.
Highly recommended!!!

What a fabulous place to stop for a glass of wine when exploring Florence!!! The hotel bar is absolutely beautiful and the table service was stellar, including complimentary aperitifs («aperitivos») !!! Check out my photos for a sense of just how spectacular the bar area is !!
After exploring Florence for much of the afternoon, we were in need of a «respite» and «refreshment», and yet it was too early for us to proceed on to our restaurant for our dinner reservation. We decided to check out the hotel bar at the St. Regis, which has an impressive historic exterior, and is located right on the bank of the Arno River.
Our party of 3 enjoyed 2 very nice glasses («calice») of wine at € 9 and € 12 each, including a very good Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio. Our 3^rd wheel ordered an outstanding Martini at € 14, which was prepared by our bartender extremely well !! Of course, at € 35 (about US$ 46 at current exchange rates). .. for each of the 3 of us to enjoy a drink, this was an expensive choice as a place to stop for a drink. However, this was the St. Regis after all, and the overall experience still more than lived up to expectations as table service was outstanding, and included a selection of 4 different complimentary aperitivo’s («aperitifs») that were absolutely delectable.

Loved the service and location… everyday we asked the concierge for help in planning or booking tickets. They were so helpful, and after staying in multiple international starwood hotels, i would say you can expect the same great service.
So many cool things a few blocks away — there was a supermarket where we stocked up on water, fruit, yogurt, snacks, and fiber cookies (trust me, this will make your vacation happier, not much fiber in italian food).
Also a great forno (bakery) which i dont remember the name but im sure the hotel staff can help with. And we could walk to city center, the main Santa Maria Novella train station, and so many tourist attractions — very convenient!
The rooms were very spacious for a european hotel, and there is a beatufully grand lobby area

Grand historic hotel in the heart of Florence. Beautiful frescos, friendly staff, walking distance to wonderful shops and restaurants.