St. Regis Explained | Butlers, Sabers and a Drink Too Rude for Its Own Name

Sabrage at The St. Regis Bangkok, from the hotel's official gallery. Every St. Regis opens a bottle this way each evening. All photos in this article: Fora Advisor Portal, used with permission.

Every evening, somewhere in more than 65 hotels, a member of staff raises a saber and knocks the top off a bottle of Champagne. Nobody ordered it. It is how St. Regis says the day is over. The brand that does this started as a single hotel on Fifth Avenue in 1904, was still a single hotel in 1997, and now runs a signature cocktail in each property that the original hotel once considered too rude to call by its name.

Thirteen pages, about thirty-five minutes. Who it does not suit, up front: travelers who only sleep at the hotel, anyone who plans dinner around an executive lounge, and people who find formal service tiring. Page 5 runs a same-day rate check at St. Regis Bali and shows where an advisor booking moves the numbers, and where it does not.

The last page has a checklist of twelve things you are free to do at any St. Regis. Three cost nothing. One of them is texting your butler, which at least one St. Regis now lets every room do by WhatsApp.

1 / 13 The short answer About 3 min

中文版：瑞吉品牌指南，十三頁 →

01 · THE SHORT ANSWER

You are paying for a butler. Put the butler to work.

The St. Regis Bar at The St. Regis Bali Resort, official gallery. At most St. Regis hotels, this is where the evening starts.

St. Regis earns its rate when you put the service layer to work: the butler, the evening sabrage, the bar. What you pay for is not the room; it is how much of that service you use. Guests who come back only to sleep usually get more square meters for the same money at another luxury brand.

At St. Regis Bali on December 13 to 16, the STARS advisor rate was US$550 a night, US$14 below the Bonvoy member rate, with daily breakfast for two and a US$100 credit added. Check my dates Independent Fora advisor · California SOT #2151995-50 · Room charges paid directly to the hotel · No first-hand stay described

Founded	September 4, 1904, The St. Regis New York, Fifth Avenue at 55th Street, by John Jacob Astor IV
Tier	Marriott "classic luxury," alongside The Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott
Size	One hotel in 1997; 38 by 2016; the 60th opened in 2024; more than 65 by April 2026
Signatures	Butler service, evening sabrage, a local Bloody Mary at every property, Astor-named top suites
Elite breakfast	Yes for Platinum Elite and above (page 9)
STARS perks	Daily breakfast for two; US$100 hotel credit once per stay; personalized amenity; welcome from hotel management and a note from the General Manager; early check-in, late check-out and upgrade when available

How to plan it

• Before bookingCount the hours you will spend at the hotel. Out from breakfast to midnight, the service you are paying for sits unused.
• With statusPlatinum and above already get breakfast here. On a STARS booking the gain is the credit, the amenity and the welcome. Weigh that against any Bonvoy promotion on your dates.
• Same cityPrice the nearest Ritz-Carlton for the same nights. Page 5 shows why the cheaper hotel can change by destination.

02 · ORIGINS

A lake, a niece, and a telephone in every room

John Jacob Astor IV had a building rising on Fifth Avenue and no name for it. On a visit to the Adirondacks, his niece pointed at the water and suggested he call it after the lake. Upper St. Regis Lake was itself named for Jean-François Régis, a 17th-century French Jesuit; one hotel-history column adds that he was known for his hospitality to travelers.

Scene September 4, 1904, Fifth Avenue at 55th Street. The St. Regis New York opens. Each room has a telephone, still unusual at the time, and an electric clock synchronized to a master clock that receives the exact time from Western Union. Construction has cost more than US$5.5 million.

1904	Opens September 4. One hotel-history column gives the opening year as 1905 and 1904 as the year ground was broken.
1912	John Jacob Astor IV dies on the Titanic; his son Vincent, 20, inherits the hotel
1927	Vincent Astor sells the hotel
1935	He buys it back at a foreclosure auction for US$5.09 million
1937	Air conditioning in more than 250 rooms, run through the original ventilation ducts

His mother, Caroline Astor, ruled New York society in the Gilded Age. The brand frames its evening rituals and its Midnight Supper events as tributes to her parties, which is why the top suites at many St. Regis hotels carry her name and her son's.

Worth slowing down for The Astor name survives on a second luxury brand. Waldorf Astoria, now part of Hilton, takes the Astoria half of its name from the hotel John Jacob Astor IV built in New York, later joined with his cousin's Waldorf. One family's legacy ended up split between Marriott and Hilton.

03 · HOW THE BRAND GREW

Ninety-three years as one hotel, then a brand

The lobby at The St. Regis Bali Resort, official gallery.

For most of its life, St. Regis was a single building. Starwood bought ITT Sheraton in 1997, and The St. Regis New York came with it as the only property carrying the name. A year later Starwood turned it into a brand.

1997	Starwood acquires ITT Sheraton; The St. Regis New York is the only St. Regis
1998	St. Regis Hotels & Resorts launches as a brand
2000	Enters Asia Pacific with Beijing and Shanghai
2016	Marriott takes over Starwood; 38 St. Regis hotels, 15 of them in Asia Pacific
2024	The St. Regis on the Bund, Shanghai, opens as the 60th
April 2026	More than 65 St. Regis hotels, each with its own Bloody Mary

That 15-in-Asia figure explains the map today. For travelers based in Asia, several St. Regis hotels sit within a short flight, which is why page 12 focuses there.

One footnote travelers occasionally trip over: the Hotel Saint Regis in Detroit opened in 1966, has no connection to Marriott, and kept the name. One explanation is timing: when it opened, the New York hotel was a single property in another city, long before Starwood built a brand around it.

04 · THE SIGNATURE DRINK

A drink too rude for its own name

A red cocktail with a lemon wedge at The St. Regis Bangkok, official gallery. The gallery does not name the drink.

The St. Regis tells one origin story for the Bloody Mary. The dates around it tell a slightly different one, and the differences are more fun than the official version.

Scene 1934, The St. Regis New York. Fernand Petiot, a bartender who had worked in Paris, becomes head bartender and brings a vodka and tomato juice drink with him, adding spices, salt, pepper and lemon. The hotel decides the name Bloody Mary is too crude for its guests and serves it as the Red Snapper.

Three details do not line up. The brand places the drink at the King Cole Bar in 1934, but the hotel's own history on Wikipedia has the King Cole Room opening in October 1935. Other accounts credit Petiot with first mixing the drink in Paris in the early 1920s. One source says the hotel renamed it; another credits Vincent Astor personally. Every version agrees on the bartender.

Original name	Red Snapper, still the signature at the King Cole Bar
Price seen	US$30 at the King Cole Bar, per a Boston Globe visit published April 2026 (visit date not given)
House versions	Siam Mary in Bangkok, Shogun Mary in Osaka, Great Wall Bloody Mary in Beijing with Chinese pilsner, Desert Snapper in Abu Dhabi with za'atar, Bloody Brunello in Florence with grappa, Batavia Mary in Jakarta, Misty Mary in Istanbul served with dry ice
The exception	St. Regis Kuwait serves no alcohol, so it has no version
Mallorca	St. Regis Mardavall garnishes its Pepper Snapper with grilled padrón peppers and sells around 500 a year

Ordering the house version is the cheapest way into the brand, and it works even when you are sleeping somewhere else. Ask the bartender why the drink carries the name it does; most have a story ready.

05 · PRICE AND CHANNEL

One Bali stay, priced three ways

The St. Regis Bali Resort from above, official gallery. Nusa Dua also has a Ritz-Carlton, which makes it a useful test case.

Checked on October 14, 2026 in the Fora Advisor Portal: three nights, December 13 to 16, two adults. The cheapest bookable room on those dates was the St. Regis Suite, 92 square meters with a garden view.

STARS advisor rate	US$550 a night average; US$1,996.50 for three nights including taxes and fees. Breakfast for two daily and a US$100 credit per stay. Pay later
Regular rate	From US$549 a night average, as displayed in the Portal. No STARS perks
Bonvoy member rate	From US$564 a night average, as displayed in the Portal
Taxes and fees	About 21% on top of the nightly rate, from the STARS total

Fora Advisor Portal, checked October 14, 2026; December 13 to 16, 2026; two adults, one room; US dollars as displayed. Rates change daily.

Channel verdictOn these dates the STARS rate sat US$1 above the lowest public rate and US$14 below the member rate, and added daily breakfast for two plus US$100. Over three nights the credit is worth about US$33 a night on its own. For a guest without Bonvoy status, the advisor route was the better deal on every line.

St. Regis or the Ritz-Carlton next door?

The test is one line: St. Regis makes sense when its nightly premium is smaller than the value of what only St. Regis gives you. A reviewer who stayed in late 2025 found the Nusa Dua Ritz-Carlton often around US$300 a night, roughly half the St. Regis rate. Against the US$550 above, that is a premium of about US$250 a night before tax.

Cash, no status	No breakfast at either unless the rate includes it. St. Regis has to earn back the full premium
Cash, Platinum, direct	Breakfast for two at St. Regis, none for elites at the Ritz-Carlton. The premium shrinks by the price of two breakfasts
Cash, STARS at both	Breakfast for two and US$100 at both. The full premium is back, and only beach, spa and butler can pay it off

The answer flips by destination. A 2024 Maldives comparison found St. Regis Vommuli starting around US$1,500 a night and the Ritz-Carlton around US$1,800, so there St. Regis was the cheaper door. The Ritz-Carlton Bali figure above comes from a review, not a same-day check.

US$14 a night under the member rate, plus two breakfasts a day and US$100 per stay. That was the STARS rate at St. Regis Bali for December 13 to 16. Points and elite nights post as on a direct booking. Other dates and other St. Regis hotels can land differently. Check my dates Independent Fora advisor · California SOT #2151995-50 · Room charges paid directly to the hotel · No first-hand stay described

How to plan it

• Same nightsPrice St. Regis and the nearest Ritz-Carlton for identical dates. With Platinum status and a gap smaller than two breakfasts, St. Regis wins on numbers alone.
• Short staysOn one night, the US$100 credit is spent or lost. Book dinner or a spa slot on arrival day.
• On arrivalAsk where the credit applies. Each hotel decides what counts.

06 · BUTLER SERVICE

The butler, as guests and advisors describe the service

A butler drawing a bath at The St. Regis Bangkok, official gallery.

Astor introduced butler service at the New York hotel in 1904, and it is still the brand's signature. Accounts split cleanly between guests who were looked after and guests who were left alone. The pattern is easier to see when you put them side by side.

When it worked

• A Fora advisor staying at St. Regis Bali in May 2026 injured a foot. The butler arranged transport to a hospital nearby; on the advisor's return a wheelchair was waiting and a teddy bear was on the bed. He also arranged outside laundry and a private Champagne ritual in the suite
• Another advisor, on a site visit in October 2026, noted that every room at St. Regis Bali can reach its butler by WhatsApp
• A reader review of the New York flagship timed the response: a call back within about a minute of each page, and shirts returned with French cuffs folded and clipped
• A journalist who doubted a butler could change a stay at The St. Regis New York came away convinced and suggested splurging on it at least once

When it did not

• The same writer saw both sides. At St. Regis New York in 2017, One Mile at a Time was met by a butler who introduced himself and explained the service. At St. Regis Hong Kong, the butler never appeared, and contact happened only when the butler button was pressed
• A Toronto guest who was unwell said repeated butler calls went slowly

Bali inclusions	Unlimited coffee and tea on request; packing and unpacking on request; pressing of two garments per person per day (hotel offer terms)
Tipping	A Cornell hospitality professor told a reporter St. Regis butlers do not expect tips, though a tip for good service is always welcome

Human factorsMost disappointment traces to expectation. Guests picture a butler who checks in on them; most St. Regis butlers wait to be asked. The guests in the "worked" column all asked for something specific.

How to plan it

• First hourGive three standing requests: coffee or tea at a set time each morning, which garments to press, and whether to unpack. Without them, many butlers never call.
• At check-inAsk how to reach the butler (phone button, WhatsApp, or both) and how many pressings per day are free.
• Anything oddLost luggage, a pharmacy run, a dinner booking somewhere full. These are the requests that show what the service can do.

07 · RITUALS

Four rituals, and which to plan around

Afternoon tea at The St. Regis Bali Resort, official gallery.

The brand says Astor had a bottle sabered every night from 1904 to mark day turning to night. Each hotel now runs its own version of that and three other rituals, on its own schedule.

Evening sabrage	Champagne opened with a saber. Reported at 5 p.m. in the Astor Lounge in Toronto; daily at the St. Regis Bar in Bali. Free to watch
Bloody Mary	A house version at every property (page 4)
Afternoon tea	Weekends only in Toronto, with a tea sommelier. Check each hotel's days
Midnight Supper	Events honoring Caroline Astor's late dinners; held at LOUIX LOUIS in Toronto
Masterclasses	St. Regis hotels in North America sell private sabrage lessons, open to guests and locals

Scene Late afternoon at The St. Regis Toronto. At 5 p.m. in the Astor Lounge, a bottle of Champagne is sabered to mark the separation between work and play. In Bali, the hotel's own offer terms list the same ritual every day at the St. Regis Bar.

Worth slowing down for Sabrage is older than the hotel. Opening Champagne with a saber is usually traced to Napoleon's era, when it was said to mark victory and defeat alike. St. Regis took a battlefield habit and made it the start of cocktail hour.

08 · DINING AND THE BAR

Plan the evening around the bar

The bar at The St. Regis Bangkok, official gallery.

Marriott regulars often plan evenings around the executive lounge. At St. Regis the social center is the bar, and whether a lounge exists at all has to be checked hotel by hotel.

The flagship bar	The King Cole Bar in New York was renovated from January to September 2024 and named the top hotel bar in the United States in the 2025 Global Tastemakers Awards
The mural	Maxfield Parrish's "Old King Cole," about 30 feet wide, commissioned by John Jacob Astor IV for his Knickerbocker Hotel for US$5,000. Parrish, raised a Quaker, was reluctant to paint for a bar
When and how it arrived	One account dates the painting to 1906 and its move to the St. Regis to 1932; another dates the commission to 1909 and the move to 1935, after a stop at the Racquet Club. A restoration in 2007 cost more than US$100,000
Breakfast	Included for Platinum and above. A 2019 review valued the New York flagship's elite breakfast at about US$93 a morning; the figure is old, but shows the scale
Restaurants	Vary the most of anything. St. Regis Bali has six, per a Fora advisor's October 2026 site visit; St. Regis Mardavall has the Michelin-starred Es Fum
Lounge	Some properties only. Confirm before booking

Worth slowing down for The legend at the King Cole Bar is that the merry old king has Astor's face. Parrish denied it, and one writer who looked for the resemblance could not find it. The man who paid for the painting may or may not be watching you drink.

09 · MEMBER BENEFITS

What Bonvoy status gets you here

A guest room at The St. Regis Bangkok, official gallery. Room type not labeled.

St. Regis is one of the Marriott luxury brands where Platinum Elite and above receive complimentary breakfast. The Ritz-Carlton and EDITION do not offer it to elites, a gap that catches many members at check-in.

Elite breakfast	Yes, Platinum and above
Upgrade	Subject to availability; room counts are small, so busy dates are tight
Late checkout	Per Bonvoy rules; resort exceptions may apply
Lounge	Some properties only
STARS stays	Earn points and elite night credit, and count toward promotions

STARS benefits stack on top of elite benefits. A Platinum member booking through STARS keeps the elite perks and adds the US$100 credit, the amenity and the management welcome; breakfast is the one perk that overlaps.

Two Marriott luxury names sit outside this math: Bulgari and Ritz-Carlton Reserve do not participate in Bonvoy for elite benefits.

10 · PROPERTY VARIANCE

What the logo guarantees, and what it leaves to each hotel

The view from The St. Regis Bangkok toward the city, official gallery.

The brand standard covers service and rituals. The age of the building, which rooms have been refreshed, and the quality of the restaurants vary hotel by hotel, sometimes room by room.

A Fora advisor on an October 2026 site visit to St. Regis Bali was upgraded to a pool villa suite and found issues serious enough that the hotel moved the advisor to a beachfront villa, which the notes call spectacular. They describe a well-maintained older property where some rooms have been refreshed and some have not, and the advisor now asks for refreshed rooms for clients. The same notes call the hotel's beach the best stretch in Bali; the beachfront villas there are the only ones on the island with that access.

Guests who have stayed at many St. Regis hotels disagree about where the brand performs best. One long-time guest in a One Mile at a Time forum reported better stays outside the United States and Europe, especially in the Middle East and Asia, and compared St. Regis Chicago to a nice Westin. On an Australian frequent flyer forum, one guest found St. Regis Singapore snooty, while another described consistent service and a similar look across Asia and the United States.

Reading these reviewsEach of these is one person's view of a specific hotel. The common thread is that the individual property, and often the individual room, matters more than the logo. That is why each St. Regis in this series also gets its own article.

How to plan it

• Before bookingCheck the opening or latest renovation year, then read reviews from the last 12 months only.
• UpgradesA bigger room in an older wing can be a step down. Ask whether the offered room has been refreshed before accepting.
• City or resortResorts give the butler more to do. In city hotels the role is closer to a business assistant.

11 · RIVALS

St. Regis against the Ritz-Carlton, Park Hyatt and Waldorf Astoria

A beachfront dining pavilion at The St. Regis Bali Resort, official gallery.

Head-to-head reviews of the two Marriott brands contradict each other, which is the most useful finding on this page.

St. Regis	Marriott. Old New York society and ritual. Elite breakfast for Platinum and above
The Ritz-Carlton	Marriott. Warm, classic, often larger resorts; Club lounge at some properties. No elite breakfast
Park Hyatt	Hyatt. Quiet, residential, design-led. Breakfast for top-tier Globalist members (confirm current terms)
Waldorf Astoria	Hilton, and the other half of the Astor story (page 2). Grand landmark buildings. Elite breakfast terms vary by region

In Nusa Dua, Bali, one reviewer gave St. Regis the edge on beach, spa and service, while the Ritz-Carlton won on its breakfast buffet, its Indonesian restaurant and price. In the Maldives, a 2024 comparison found the Ritz-Carlton's service warmer and the St. Regis more scripted, while St. Regis Vommuli had the better snorkeling and the Ritz-Carlton the calmer water for children.

A wider comparison noted that the United States has far more Ritz-Carltons than St. Regis hotels, 43 against 11 at the time, and that Ritz-Carlton tends to win on size, grounds and family facilities.

12 · ASIA AND BOOKING

Asia's St. Regis hotels, and three ways to book them

A lounge at The St. Regis Bangkok, official gallery.

Single-property articles for each hotel below will link from this table. The last column is what to order at the bar.

Osaka	City. Opened 2010 on Midosuji, the brand's first hotel in Japan. Room count is reported as 160 at opening and 159 in the 2007 announcement. House drink: Shogun Mary
Bangkok	City. The brand's first hotel in Thailand, open since 2011. House drink: Siam Mary
Beijing	City. One of the brand's two entries into Asia Pacific in 2000. House drink: Great Wall Bloody Mary
Shanghai, on the Bund	City. Opened 2024 as the brand's 60th hotel
Bali	Resort, Nusa Dua. Same-day rates on page 5; advisor notes on page 10
Maldives Vommuli	Resort, Dhaalu Atoll. Ritz-Carlton comparison on page 11

Three ways to book

• Points, booked by you in the Marriott app, when the redemption beats the cash rate. An advisor adds nothing to an award stay.
• Cash, direct, when a Bonvoy promotion is worth more than the STARS package on your dates.
• Cash, through a STARS advisor, when you have no status, or when the US$100 credit and the welcome matter to you.

Full disclosure: I book hotels as a Fora advisor, and the hotel pays me a commission on advisor bookings. That is why the first route on this list is points, booked by you.

How to plan it

• Points firstCheck the award price before anything else. If it beats cash, book it yourself and skip the rest of this list.
• Cash staysSend me the dates and I will compare all three routes before you commit.

13 · FIRST DAY AND CHECKLIST

A first day at any St. Regis, and who it suits

The St. Regis teddy bear on a butler's tray at The St. Regis Bangkok, official gallery.

Times vary by hotel. The order below works at most properties because the fixed point is the evening sabrage.

A first day, in order

• Check-inAsk four things: sabrage time, afternoon tea days, where the STARS credit applies, and how to reach the butler.
• First hourGive the butler standing requests for morning coffee, pressing and unpacking.
• AfternoonAfternoon tea if the hotel serves it that day.
• Early eveningSabrage at the bar. Order the house Bloody Mary and ask its name.
• Next morningCoffee arrives at the time you set. Breakfast for two if your rate or status includes it.

A good fit

• The trip marks an occasion, and being looked after is part of the point
• You will use the butler: pressing, packing, bookings, the odd emergency
• An evening drink at a hotel bar is part of how you travel
• You hold Platinum or above, or book STARS, and want breakfast to absorb part of the rate

A weaker fit

• You are out from breakfast to midnight and the room is only for sleeping
• You want design-led spaces and nightlife, where W or EDITION fits better
• You plan dinners around an executive lounge
• Formal service makes you uneasy; one guest asked before a New York stay whether St. Regis would feel snooty

Experience checklist · 12 things None of these is required. Pick the ones that fit and leave the rest for next time. Items 1, 2 and 3 are free; confirm each hotel's current policy on arrival.

• Ask the butler for coffee or tea at a set time every morning
• Hand over packing and unpacking on request
• Watch the evening sabrage without ordering anything
• Message your butler instead of calling, where the hotel offers it
• Order the house Bloody Mary and learn its local name
• In New York, look up at the King Cole mural and decide whose face it is
• Leave the butler a tip, or not; St. Regis butlers do not expect one
• Ask whether an offered upgrade has been refreshed before you accept
• Price the Ritz-Carlton in the same city for the same dates
• Skip afternoon tea if the hotel serves it on weekends only
• Use your own points when the redemption beats the cash rate
• Book cash stays through STARS and still earn points and nights

Each St. Regis prices differently against its neighbors. Change the city or the dates, and the comparison starts over. Check my dates Independent Fora advisor · California SOT #2151995-50 · Room charges paid directly to the hotel · No first-hand stay described

This article is written in the expected-experience style ("what you will find"). No first-hand stay is described. STARS perks come from the Fora Advisor Portal's Marriott STARS program page; the St. Regis Bali rates, offer terms and two advisor reviews come from the same Portal, all read on October 14, 2026. Rates are for December 13 to 16, 2026, two adults, one room, in US dollars as displayed.

Sources: Wikipedia (St. Regis New York); an eTurboNews hotel-history column; View from the Wing (St. Regis brand history and the Detroit hotel); Untapped New York and the Boston Globe, April 2026 (King Cole mural and Bloody Mary versions); TOP HOTEL NEWS (60th hotel); blogTO and Glory (St. Regis Toronto); Journal des Palaces (sabrage masterclasses, Shanghai opening); Harper's Bazaar Arabia (St. Regis Mardavall); Yahoo (local Bloody Marys); Bend Bulletin, Take Risks Be Happy, One Mile at a Time, Turning Left For Less, Wanderlog, Australian Frequent Flyer and Frequent Miler (guest experience); Luxury Travel Diary (Ritz-Carlton comparisons); Prince of Travel and Live From A Lounge (STARS and elite breakfast); Business Traveller and Hotel Executive (Osaka); Khaosod English (Bangkok).

Items that conflict between sources and should be confirmed: the opening year (1904 or 1905), the year and place the Bloody Mary first appeared, when the King Cole Room opened, when the mural was painted and moved, St. Regis Osaka's room count, which brand is cheaper at a given destination, lounge availability per property, and late-checkout exceptions at resorts. The Ritz-Carlton Bali rate on page 5 comes from a 2025 review, not a same-day check. Images are from the hotels' official galleries in the Fora Advisor Portal and are used with permission; they were not taken by the author.

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