Which is best, Four Seasons Vs. St. Regis? While the choice between these two hotel brands varies between individual hotels, Four Seasons hotels are generally more service-oriented and are often more individual.
St. Regis hotels are part of the Marriott brand and, although wonderful, can be less consistent in service than Four Seasons hotels which are reliably excellent. That said, there are exceptional properties in both portfolios, so let’s break the comparison down into the different parts of the hotel to compare the two brands.
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1. Four Seasons Vs. St. Regis: Style
Four Seasons offers a variety of styles across their hotels according to the destination and the property itself, as does St. Regis, so neither brand offers the best style. The best style comes down to the individual property. For example, Four Seasons Grand Hotel Du Cap Ferrat is a historic property, so it takes’s style accents from its classic and historic french architecture.
Check-in takes place on one of the plush white sofas in this magnificent foyer, which overlooks the sea across a cloud of soft treetops. Following check-in, it is worth taking a tour of the hotel to ensure you don’t miss out on the wine cellar packed full of almost priceless bottles of vintage wines; the route to the beach club; or the tunnels that lead to the spa, adorned with photos of past visitors like Roger Moore and Liza Minelli. Winston Churchill caught my eye (well-known for his penchant for champagne). It tickled me that he, too, had enjoyed a tipple on the terrace of this fabulous hotel.
Rooms are either in the main historic building with views out to sea or back inland towards the pine woods or in a newer building that must have been modeled on the Thunderbirds house. The latter, more modern rooms, offer marvelous large balconies but lack the history.
Another example of a Four Seasons hotel that embraces traditional architecture and mixes this with classic modern furnishings is The Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort, Bahamas. Others such as the Four Seasons resorts in Hawaii offer a more modern architecture and feel.
On the other hand, St. Regis offers an equally diverse style. We recently stayed at St. Regis Florence, pictured above, and this hotel was jaw-droppingly ornate and authentic.
This hotel is just charm and elegance personified. The typical Florentine architecture that you’ll fall head over heels with the minute you arrive in the city is at its very best in this chocolate-box of a building.
Inside think opulent furnishing, frescoed ceilings, and crystal chandeliers, and you have the St. Regis Florence. Interestingly, the hotel doesn’t feel overly fussy or dated. Everything you need to be modern and fresh is bang up to date. The feeling is of space and elegance rather than being ram-packed with antiques!
2. Location
Goodness, this is so dependent on the individual hotel and will usually dictate which brand to choose. If you want to stay in Florence, the St. Regis is far more centrally located than the Four Seasons, but this is not always the case.
3. Size
Although this is not always the case, generally, St. Regis hotels tend to be similar in size to Four Seasons hotels, and their sizes vary enormously.
4. Grounds
Taking Florence as an example, the Four Seasons here offers glorious grounds. The St. Regis has no grounds at all other than a terrace, but again, this feature is very property dependent.
5. Beach
Again, beaches are more property-specific than brand-specific.
6. Rooms
Both hotels offer luxurious rooms. As a general rule, I find the rooms at the Four Seasons to be more consistent in the quality of decor and larger in size, but again, this is very property-specific.
7. Food
Both brands offer excellent and not-so-excellent restaurants. You will need to review the specific property to determine whether a particular property has an award-winning restaurant.
8. Family Facilities
Both brands are family-friendly, but Four Seasons has a particularly amazing kids program with gifts and special touches in the rooms. I would say Four Seasons is the best child-friendly hotel brand in the world.
8. Nickel And Diming
There is no nickel and diming for extras at Four Seasons hotels, and there are never any resort fees. Some St. Regis hotels charge resort fees.
10. Conclusion
Both of these hotel brands offer magnificent hotels, and the merit of the hotel is very dependent on a specific property and varies hugely. Four Seasons has the edge as a general rule, but please do your research regarding where you specifically want to travel to, as St. Regis can sometimes offer a better overall package.
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