Ah…the St. Regis…the absolute pinnacle of Aspen luxury experiences. A little known fact is that Max is actually born and raised in Aspen and we’ve visited his heaven of a hometown a few times over the years. Our dream in life was to stay at the St. Regis and it finally happened. While we were not able to secure a media stay during this all-time high season (first weekend of March), we were able to book one night last minute on Marriott points, transferred from American Express. While we couldn’t afford the steep 90k point for more than one night, we were more than happy to shell out the points for what we knew would be an amazing experience.

Location: 5/5

The St. Regis Aspen is situated in the heart of downtown Aspen, Colorado, a short walk from all the restaurants and bars. The hotel is also about 2 blocks from the gondola. They offer a complimentary shuttle to the ski lifts from the front door, so it’s not ski-in-ski-out, but its about as close as you’ll get here.

In a small town like Aspen, it’s almost impossible to go wrong when it comes to location. The property itself is fairly expansive and it’s surrounded by beautiful, quiet streets on all sides. Many of the rooms have a spectacular view of the mountains.

Lobby & Check in experience: 3.5/5

Full disclosure, I have incredibly high expectations when I arrive at a 5 star property that’s listed as one of the best in the world in multiple magazines. I will say, this check in experience was…rough. At all times during our stay, there appeared to be two people at the front desk, one doing the check in process and one supervisor…sort of, staring over their shoulder. They did not offer a welcome beverage of any kind, even water, or acknowledge our Marriott Gold status.

While this may have been a one time thing, I’m going to mention it here anyway because I find it hard to believe that we’d be the only ones to have this type of experience. When we were checking in, as I mentioned I could only book 1 night, and the supervisor said to us “oh you’re REALLY missing out” and “I can’t believe you’re only staying one night- you won’t have time to do anything” and similar statements. He kept persisting and harping on this idea that why would we even bother coming at all? Not only was I quite embarrassed by the situation, but I was also upset that a supervisor would make a guest feel so poor/sad/regretful of booking a stay at their property. I told him “what if one night is all we could afford?” and he laughed and kept talking. The hole he dug himself just kept getting deeper. It was all…very strange. Anyway, after walking away with our room keys and zero explanation of the amenities, property or facilities, we headed to the elevators, took a deep breath and moved on.

Rooms: 4.5/5

With our 90k points, we were able to book a Deluxe King room, one step up from the standard (or Superior) rooms. After we had brushed off the issue in the lobby, we felt immediate relief when we opened the gorgeous, heavy door to the room. It. is. beautiful. The style, elegance, luxuriousness of the room was, frankly, completely unexpected after our experience in the lobby. I will also say, the photos on the website do not do this property justice at all.

The creamy greys and whites, the stunning wallpaper, the Frette Linens and robes were just exceptional. In fact, the room reminded me a lot of The Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay. This property used to be a Ritz-Carlton for many years, so we weren’t surprised to see similarities.

The bathroom is always one of my favorite parts of a luxury hotel and this is no exception. The bathroom is beautiful with marble counters and walls, a free-standing bathtub with folding doors to the bedroom and a comfortable shower. The toiletries are from Remède and are incredibly luxurious feeling. The body wash, for example, is more like a light scrub. I may have stolen a couple off of the housekeeping cart ;).

The bedroom is spacious, comfortable and the bed frame is stunning. Linens and bedding can make or break a hotel in my opinion, and this bed looked incredibly inviting. The linens are soft, clean and so welcoming.

There is a desk and comfortable sitting area for those traveling for business and the coffee machine is located on the TV stand for easy access. Note that all rooms come with a complimentary daily coffee or tea service with the butler, so we did not end up using the coffee machine. We did not know this until I read through the binder in the room (as we say: always read the binder!)

Facilities: 5/5

The St. Regis has everything in terms of facilities that you need for a great vacation. The property is more of a resort than a standard city hotel and offers a year-round pool & hot tub with a towel warming hut, a full spa, full service restaurant, seasonal restaurant and lobby bar.

The spa is stunning. For $90 per person, you can access the spa facilities that include a co-ed hot tub as well as women’s and men’s cold plunge, hot tub, steam and sauna. We were able to access the facilities for free due to no upgrades being available as Gold members after asking at the front desk. It was an amazing experience. We were provided champagne and sent off to enjoy the amazing spa facilities. We absolutely loved it so if you book a spa treatment, don’t skip the facilities.

One of the many amenities that St. Regis offers is a butler service. It’s really more of just an elevated concierge, but it does come with its perks. The front desk told us nothing about what’s available, but we discovered in the binder that you can email the butler service and coordinate a complimentary tea and coffee service for the morning. We, of course, put in our order and were so excited when we had a fresh pot of coffee delivered to us at 8am the next day. The mugs were beautiful and branded and the experience was just really nice. We’re not too certain about what other tasks the butlers do for you, but I can say we were in a standard room and had this offering available. We noticed several TripAdvisor reviews where guests were very confused or were told they can’t take advantage of the coffee service by the front desk. However, in the binder in the room, it states clearly that all guests have this option.

Apparently, there is also a car service that will drive you within a few blocks of the hotel. We had no idea about this either until we checked out. I can’t blame facilities for this as, again, this was a fail on the front desk’s part. The car service would be wonderful on a cold or rainy day, so keep that in mind.

Dining: 4.5/5

There are three restaurants at the property, one of which is a seasonal restaurant that brings in chefs from around the world.

Velvet Buck is the main restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. While dinner looked pretty empty when we walked by, the breakfast is clearly the winner here. Guests can opt into a buffet or order a-la-carte. While it’s certainly on the pricier side, the food is exceptional.

The property does also offer room service. While we did not partake, it was extensive. Note though, that the complimentary tea and coffee service is different than order a pot of coffee through room service. You must order the complimentary service through the butler, otherwise, you’ll be charged $18++.

Service: 4/5

Apart from the negative experiences we had with the front desk, the service is great. Our waiter at Velvet Buck, the housekeepers and everyone we interacted with were so sweet, helpful and professional. The front desk agents and management seem poorly trained, given our check in experience and their complete lack of information provided at check in.

Housekeeping was 5 stars, through and through. Not only was the room spectacularly clean, but the turndown was exceptional! I had noted in my reservation that it was my husband’s birthday we were celebrating and while the front desk didn’t acknowledge it, our turndown included champagne and sweets from the butler organization. Our slippers were put by the bed, there was smooth jazz playing on the radio and the lighting was perfect when we returned from dinner. They had also put a small tube of sunscreen on the nightstand with a card from the resident dog, Kitty. Every touch was elegant, thoughtful and the notes were handwritten. This turndown is 100% in our top 3.

Style: 5/5

We fell in love with the style at the St. Regis Aspen. The modern, elegant and yet cozy mountain decor was the perfect look for this mountain town luxury resort. There is so much texture to everything at the hotel. The walls, furnishings and even the floors felt rich with texture and feel. The leather bed frame, the textured wallpaper, the smooth marble all blend together perfectly. The room elements tied in perfectly to the hallway furnishings and even the lobby. Nothing was out of place and the style was consistent across the entire hotel.

Even though every room has the same furnishings and decor, you feel like your room is unique and “one of a kind”. The St. Regis Aspen has done an exceptional job when it comes to style.

Overall: 4.5

Overall, we absolutely love this property. We were so bummed we couldn’t stay more than one night and we relished in every moment we spent in our room. Despite the lack of training and lack of service of the front desk, the rest of the hotel more than made up for the experience we had at check in. We wouldn’t hesitate to return to the St. Regis and hope that one day we can.