I still remember the first St. Regis hotel I ever visited.
It was at the tail end of a 2 month round the world trip, at the St. Regis Shanghai.
I was blown away.
Sure at the time it was a brand new property, but everything about it was a step above.
From the in-room coffee service, to the luxury rooms, to the spectacular views – it was the perfect way to end an exhausting trip.
18 months later, we found ourselves in Singapore visiting 8 of the top 100 bars in the world. We booked a room at the St. Regis Singapore, and were just as impressed as we were the first go around in China.
So much so that I’ve thought many times about declaring a goal of visiting all of the 53 St. Regis properties around the world.
Fast forward to November 2021. In my first trip since COVID hit, I found myself in Georgia to do a media trip to Reynolds Lake Oconee.
I extended the trip a few days to visit some friends and play some golf in Atlanta, and naturally, I tried to find the best hotels I could.
One name came up over and over again: The St. Regis Atlanta.
So in honor of traveling for the first time in far too long, it felt only right to splurge a little. I did one night at the Four Seasons Atlanta, followed by two at the St. Regis.
And as you might imagine? I was far from disappointed.
First Impressions of the St. Regis Atlanta
Immediately upon entering the St. Regis Atlanta I knew I’d made a good choice.
The lobby is smaller than I expected it to be, but it is extremely well done, and you truly feel like you’re walking into someplace special.
I didn’t arrive until 7pm on a Friday night and there was a lot going on at the hotel. There was a lineup of cars waiting for the valet out front, and on the 4th floor it didn’t matter which one you chose: the St. Regis Bar, Atlas, or the Garden Room – they were all packed.
Check-in was smooth and they thanked me for my Marriott loyalty before “upgrading” me to a higher floor room.
Upon walking into my room, the very first thing I noticed? The smell.
After numerous stays at Shangri-La properties, their signature scent is very nostalgic for me. But I have a feeling with a few more stays the “Caroline’s 400” signature scent of the St. Regis will evoke similar memories.
While I can’t say I can totally pick out the notes of “quince, apple, and cherry blossom” that it describes, it does smell good and it truly adds to the luxury experience and ambiance.
Even entering my room more than 36 hours after I arrived, I can still smell it. Either they’re very good at hiding diffusers or they’re piping this thing through the vents.
Won’t lie, I’m not mad at it.
The Rooms at the St. Regis Atlanta
I walked into my room and everything was prepared perfectly. The lights were on across the room, my large 65″ TV was welcoming me, and there was classical music playing from my tablet control center on the nightstand. There was a welcome gift on the table by the window, and I literally said out loud “Damn, this is nice!”
The rooms at the St. Regis Atlanta, or at least my Superior room, is understated, featuring a lot of neutral tones. There’s very little art on the walls, but the live orchid made for a nice pop of color.
My room featured a comfortable couch, two ottomans, and a table by the window.
Considering I was planning to spend a lot of my stay in my room working, I was a little disappointed to not have a dedicated desk – but the table ended up being fantastic and the chairs were much more ergonomically friendly than I’d expected.
On this trip I stayed in beds at the St. Regis, Four Seasons, and Ritz-Carlton.
The Ritz has the softest beds. It’s the one that you just melt into as soon as you climb in. But I honestly found the St. Regis beds to be the most well-balanced and enjoyable to sleep on. They weren’t too soft, which the Ritz beds kind of started to feel like after a few days.
But obviously, with any hotel of this level the beds are going to be phenomenal, so no surprises here.
As is typical with a St. Regis, the bathroom is large and very attractive. It’s not over the top like the St. Regis Singapore, and didn’t have the views of the Shanghai property, but the extremely deep tub with a passthrough window was a very nice feature.
The only knock I’d give it is the shower. When you’re staying at a 5 star property the shower is honestly one of the best parts of the room.
The Four Seasons Atlanta had a large shower with a wonderful head that put out some serious water pressure.
The showerhead at my room at the St. Regis was a wand-style, and unfortunately, the holder for said wand was loose – so during my first shower it was a constant battle to keep it from coming off. I finally gave up completely and just held it.
But, with one phone call to Butler Services they had the problem fixed within 10 minutes.
Speaking of the “Butler Service” it was less emphasized here than at other properties, which isn’t a critique, just something I noticed.
For instance, at the St. Regis Singapore if you want coffee in your room you call and they bring you whatever you want – complimentary. Here, they have a Nespresso machine, which is honestly much more convenient and is still one of my favorite features in high-end hotels.
The rooms were all fully automated with control pads everywhere you’d want them for automatically shutting the shades, or dimming the lights. I was kind of surprised not to see something like this at the Four Seasons, so it was welcome here.
Dining at the St. Regis Atlanta
As I mentioned above, when I arrived, the St. Regis was busy.
People were decked out in their finest weekend night attire, and for a second I even felt out of place in my golf clothes.
There are a handful of dining options at the St. Regis:
- Astor Court for breakfast and afternoon tea
- The St. Regis Bar for cocktails and bar food (if you can even call it that)
- Atlas for a modern fine dining experience
- The Garden Room – which looked like you were in a giant conservatory. Honestly, it was beautiful.
As I was staying at the hotel on my own over a Friday and Saturday night I just could never bring myself to try and pay a visit to the nicer (and very busy) restaurants).
The St. Regis Bar Atlanta
However, I did visit the St. Regis Bar for an early dinner and a cocktail.
The space is truly special.
There are two rooms, you first enter a sitting room that has a handful of TVs on the wall. While I was there, Georgia was going to town on some lesser team to the delight of most patrons.
And then you enter the bar itself which features a horseshoe shape, and a number of tables as well.
It’s become a bit of a staple for St. Regis bars to feature a mural, and the one in Atlanta is of a giant Phoenix rising from the ashes.
When you visit any St. Regis, you expect things to be good.
But the St. Regis Bar exceeded my expectations.
I ordered the St. Regis Boulevardier cocktail. I’ve had hundreds of boulevardiers over the years. But this combination of Woodford Reserve “St. Regis Barrel,” Dolin sweet vermouth, and Cappelletti Aperitivo was the very best I’ve had.
I ordered the $26 burger, and lo and behold, even it felt worth it despite the high price tag.
I’ve only seen my “perfect” burger on a menu once or twice. But for me that is a burger with bacon, bbq sauce, onion rings, and blue cheese.
Well, the St. Regis Burger got pretty damn close leaving off all but the blue cheese. And I’m sure they would have put some on there if I’d asked.
It was cooked to a perfect medium-rare, and was one of the better burgers I’ve had in the last few years.
A couple more thoughts on dining at the St. Regis
For as wonderful as the burger was, there’s something you should know about the St. Regis.
If you’re looking for something casual, or more of a snack, there aren’t a ton of options.
Both nights I was there I found myself wanting some food. Both nights all of the bars and restaurants were packed, and there was no place I could go to get a smaller bite or a sandwich or something.
So I figured I’d order room service, but to my surprise, as near as I could find they don’t do room service here.
It would have been nice if there were a more casual coffee shop for the mornings as well where you could get a pastry or a bagel.
That said, they had a wonderful complimentary coffee setup that was very nice to see.
If you are looking for something more casual, I’d highly recommend the Velvet Taco across the street.
St. Regis Atlanta Fitness and Spa Facilities
As I was spending most of my stay here holed up working, the natural break was to go for a workout.
The St. Regis Athletic Club, as it’s known, is one of the very best hotel gyms I’ve ever seen. They have everything you could ever want from weights, to cardio, and even a stretching room. It was a fantastic place to work out.
I also made use of the Peloton bike a couple of times, and it was the most juiced-up Peloton I’ve ever seen. I hit my 20 minute PR by more than 75 points. Nice little ego boost 🙂
The pool area is beautiful, and despite being there during a relatively cold period in November, I took a dip anyway. The water was the perfect temperature and it was a nice place to be.
I was disappointed to see that jacuzzi was not heated while I was there, and even more disappointed that there was no sauna or steam room available for hotel guests. These are only available if you’re getting a treatment at the Spa.
Other properties of this level I’ve visited often allow you to use them if it isn’t crowded, and I would have loved to see this here. Room rates were pushing $800/night during the time of my stay, and for that price that feels like an amenity that should be included.
Final Thoughts on the St. Regis Atlanta
Despite a few minor issues I mentioned above, my stay at The St. Regis Atlanta was everything I hoped it would be.
From the second you walk in you just feel like you’re in a special place, and they do a great job of making you feel special as well.
The room was a step above both the rooms at the Four Seasons Atlanta, as well as the Ritz-Carlton Lake Oconee which I also recently visited.
Pretty much everyone I spoke to regarded the St. Regis as the best hotel in Atlanta. After staying my stay here, I’d be hard-pressed to disagree.
Everything feels high-end and up to date, the food is phenomenal, and the service is everything you’d expect from a St. Regis property.
The only question left is: Which St. Regis should I stay at next?
[…] not quite 5 star St. Regis territory, but a very comfortable 4 star hotel […]