THE ST. REGIS

My first trip to New York was in 2008. I was working in foreign trade at a state-owned enterprise, attending a gift exhibition in New York. I stayed at a Hilton near Times Square, booked by the company, about $300 a night.

Fifth Avenue was right next to the hotel. One day after work, I walked north along Fifth Avenue. When I reached 55th Street, I saw a building with uniformed doormen standing at the entrance, a very grand lobby. I stood across the street watching for a while, saw someone getting out of a Rolls Royce as a doorman came forward to greet them. Later I looked it up — that building was The St. Regis.

I've stayed at about forty-plus high-end hotels in New York. Midtown Manhattan, Upper East Side, Downtown, Brooklyn — all of them. St. Regis was my first stay in 2014, six years after I first spotted it from the street.

That time I was accompanying a client to New York. He worked in private equity, coming to meet some investors, and requested the best hotel. I gave him several options: The Plaza, The Peninsula, Mandarin Oriental, St. Regis. He chose St. Regis, saying a friend had recommended it.

I flew to New York three days early to scout the hotel first. That's my habit.

St. Regis is located at the intersection of East 55th Street and Fifth Avenue, address 2 East 55th Street. Walk three blocks south to Rockefeller Center, seven blocks north to Central Park. Less than a minute's walk to the luxury stores on Fifth Avenue.

The hotel opened in 1904. The founder was John Jacob Astor IV, one of the wealthiest men in New York at the time. He died on the Titanic in 1912. The hotel changed hands several times since then and now belongs to the Marriott Group.

In 2014, I stayed in the most basic room type, the Superior Room, priced at $695 per night plus tax. The room is officially listed as about 35 square meters, which actually felt slightly smaller than entry-level rooms at comparable domestic hotels. But the ceiling height is 3.2 meters, so it doesn't feel oppressive.

In 2018, I paid out of pocket to stay at the St. Regis Royal Suite. Not for business — it was my tenth wedding anniversary, and I took my wife to New York for three days. At that time, this room type was about $2,800 per night plus tax. Three nights cost nearly $10,000.

The Royal Suite is on a high floor of the hotel, about 90 square meters. It has a living room, a bedroom, and two bathrooms. The living room windows face Fifth Avenue with views of the street below. The bedroom has a king-size bed; the mattress is St. Regis's own brand, available on their website for about $3,000 each.

Let me share a few characteristics of St. Regis.

Butler service is the biggest selling point. Other high-end hotels I've stayed at also have butlers, but most only come when you call. St. Regis butlers provide proactive service. When you check in, the butler comes to introduce themselves and ask about your needs. Every morning they ask about your day's itinerary. When you return in the evening, turndown service is already done. This kind of proactiveness I rarely see at other hotels.

Geographic location is the second advantage. The 55th Street location in Midtown Manhattan is convenient for everywhere. MoMA is a five-minute walk, Central Park ten minutes, Times Square fifteen minutes. Taking a taxi or calling an Uber is also convenient — Fifth Avenue makes it easy to hail a car.