Review: St. Regis Rome

After a year and a half of no international travel, my girlfriend and I visited Rome for 6 nights in February 2022. Rome was her number one travel destination and as omicron died down, we felt confident in making the trip across the Atlantic to Italy.

Since this was such a special trip for us, I wanted to splurge and burn a good chunk of my Marriott Bonvoy balance, so I booked the renown St. Regis Rome.

Let’s take a look at my review of the St. Regis Rome, one of the most luxurious properties in the city of Rome.

Booking

In hopes of making this an incredibly memorable trip, coupled with the upcoming Marriott Bonvoy devaluation, I booked the St. Regis Rome at 85,000 Bonvoy points per night for four nights, with the fifth night free. The whole stay cost a total of 340,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. Similar to other top-tier Marriott Bonvoy properties, like the Reykjavik EDITION in Iceland, the St. Regis has a specific allure to it for those of us who would normally not be able to afford to stay at these properties.

Marriott Bonvoy Platinum members and higher can choose to receive Nightly Upgrade Awards (NUAs) as part of their benefits package. These awards can be applied to a booking (if permitted by the property), for the opportunity of being upgraded to a suite. One SNA is consumed for each night of the stay.

Marriott Bonvoy members seem to have mixed results with SNAs depending on the property and length of stay. Some properties are great at fulfilling SNA requests, whereas at other properties it seems like a waste of time.

In advance of my stay, I had taken some time to research the St. Regis Rome on Flyertalk. Multiple members had noted that they had success with submitting a Nightly Upgrade Awards request for their stay, so I figured I would give it a shot as well. I was pleased to see my request clear two days in advance of my stay to the desired room type.

If the SNA request had not worked out, I would have reached out via the in-app chat option in advance of my stay in hopes of securing a suite. This method tends to have a strong success rate and I always recommend taking advantage of it if you have status with Marriott Bonvoy.

Location

The St. Regis Rome is located quite centrally and is within walking distance of many of the popular attractions, including the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and the Colosseum.

Room – St. Regis Suite

After a very exclusive check-in process, we were personally escorted up to the third floor to our St Regis Suite for the week: Room 308.

Before even entering the suite, the roominess and classiness of the hallways were striking. I found I’d gotten so used to the narrow hallways of most hotels that this caught me off guard since it felt more like a house than a hotel.

As we entered the suite, the entryway opened up to the living area. On the left-hand side are a coffee maker, express pods, and mini-fridge (filled with mini-bar drinks). Four complimentary glass bottles of water were provided and refilled daily: two still water bottles and two sparkling water bottles.

The living room is host to a couch, a small table, a desk, and a television. Of note, a miniature version of the lobby chandelier acts as the lighting fixture in the living room which is a nice touch. There is a set of double doors that separate the living room from the bedroom, which is nice for those couples where one prefers to sleep in or stay up a bit later.

The bedroom is gorgeously appointed with a king bed, bench, and television. Classically appointed art adorns the walls above the bed.

To the right of the bedroom is the bathroom. The double vanity is spacious enough for a couple to spread out. The St. Regis Rome uses Acqua Di Parma products which are of high quality and fantastic enough that I took a few extras home with me.

The bathtub is spacious and was a great way to relax after a day of walking. Above the bathtub is a heated towel rack – this is the first time I have ever seen something like this in a hotel and needless to say, I am in love.

Both the toilet/bidet and shower are separated by a small hallway within the bathroom. Of note is the shower which is equipped with a true rainfall shower head that is embedded into the ceiling. Great water pressure made for a relaxing way to start every morning.

Lobby & Property

The St. Regis Rome lobby is striking and catches you off-guard as soon as you walk in the door with a massive, gorgeous glass chandelier.

On both sides of the lobby is Lumen, the on-property restaurant. The seating, dressed in a gorgeous blue, brings together the lobby and simply oozes class and refinement.

If you continue on back through the lobby, you might be lucky enough to see the ballroom if it is open. This was the first ballroom that opened in Rome, continuing to build on the years of history that this property holds.

One thing that was apparent during our stay at the St. Regis is the attention to detail and care that has been put into all corners of this property. Endless art adorns the lobby, hallways, and restaurants. We found there was always something new to see which was far from the ordinary of the typical hotel experience.

Restaurants & Bars

Lumen Restaurant

Open for breakfast, afternoon drinks, and dinner, Lumen is the on-site restaurant at the St. Regis Rome.

On the first day of our stay, we stopped by in the afternoon for a cocktail. Lumen has a range of signature cocktails, in addition to a healthy collection of spirits if you fancy something more traditional.

The cocktails are expensive, starting at €22, but they are well made and very strong. Upon ordering our drinks, the waitress brought out a small tray of snacks consisting of chips, nuts, and olives. From a value perspective, we felt like our time spent at Lumen was well worth it for the cost.

Lumen also offers a bar bites menu at night, which contains reasonably priced food offerings to pair with your drinks. The bar does get quite busy at night and often has a DJ playing after 7:00 pm so it might not be the best place if you prefer a quiet venue.

Related: Top 5 Things to Do in Rome, Italy

We stopped here for drinks multiple times during our stay and always had an enjoyable experience with strong service. The menu for Lumen can be found here.

Lumen Garden is available during the summer months once the weather is warmer. Based on what we were able to see, it looks like a gorgeous experience and I would love to come back and experience this outdoor patio.

Complimentary Marriott Platinum Breakfast

A Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite member, myself and my girlfriend were entitled to daily complimentary breakfast for two. Breakfast is served between 7:00 am and 11:00 am in the Lumen restaurant.

Platinum Elite guests can order whatever they would like off of the menu. This includes unlimited cappuccinos and prosecco (or mimosas if that is more your style). While the items are ordered à la carte, it is essentially a breakfast buffet as there is no limit to what you can order.

We always felt welcome and received amazing service from all staff, always asking us if there was anything else we required. We never went hungry and found ourselves having a smaller lunch on most days as a result of the big breakfast. The complimentary breakfast perk at the St. Regis was well worth earning Platinum Elite status for.

Related: Fast Track to Marriott Platinum Elite Status

Halfway through our stay, we were heading out on a day excursion to Pompeii and Sorrento and had to meet the tour guide at 7:00 am. The day before, I reached out to the hotel via the Marriott app to request a small breakfast delivered to our room instead of the breakfast in the bar since we wouldn’t be able to attend.

They went above and beyond with this request. We received two cappuccinos, a basket of pastries and bread, yogurts, and fresh fruit delivered to the room at exactly the time we requested.

Finally, on our last morning, we needed to depart the hotel at 4:45 am to catch an early flight to Frankfurt to start the journey home. I had reached out to room service the evening before to arrange a “to-go bag” of cappuccinos and a few pastries. Once again, they went above and beyond in meeting our needs and this was the perfect way to get our day of travel started.

Conclusion

Our stay at the St. Regis Rome was nothing short of amazing and it is an outstanding property worth considering if you are in Rome. Between the excellent accommodations, a high level of service from all staff members, and strong Marriott Platinum benefits, this property is well worth checking out if you are looking for a great place to stay in Rome. As Rome was my girlfriend’s dream vacation, a stay at the St. Regis made it that much better.