Which are the Most Exceptional Starwood Hotels?

Another vote for Grand Hotel Florence - AMAZING service and was upgraded to a very nice, large corner room with a great view. Can't imagine the Westin across the street being any better.

Hotel Bretagne, Athens for same reasons as above.

Great service at the Westin, Dublin as well.

The St. Regis Punta Mita is beautiful and there's almost no one ever there. You should consider putting it on your list of places to visit.

I have to add this one to the string. Though not the most upscale of properties / rooms, the Iguassu Falls Sheraton is towards the top of my list for location. The only hotel actually in the park (on the Argentine side.) Though you must get a room that faces the falls. Stunning.

My vote goes to St Regis, Bali (for resort) and St Regis San Francisco and Le Meridien Bangkok (for city).

Both hotels are very, very nice-I would say pretty much the same overall.

Westin Auckland Lighter Quay

View from balcony

What I enjoy most about *wood is the vast range of experiences it offers.

From quaint former residences like the Hotel Fuerstenhof in Leipzig, to beautiful old palaces like the Excelsior in Rome, to slick modern hotels like Le Royal Méridien Hamburg, to funky upscale dorm rooms like the Alofts anywhere, it is all fun and interesting enough to keep me Platinum on Starwood.

One of our favorite experiences was staying in an amazing suite at Prince de Galles, Paris, on a free weekend nights promotion.

Two that pop to my mind...

Blue Palace - A bit big for my tastes, but good food, nice rooms, and a great location.
Marques de Riscal - Beautiful rooms, nice staff, and the wow factor of the architecture.

Liked the Hotel Eden, but it didn't blow me over. Thought the Westin Madrid was just average. Then again, I'm not a grand dame hotel kind of guy.

I suspect that several of the St Regis hotels would quickly top my list, but I never seem to pull the trigger. VERY eager to try the W Istanbul and W Hong Kong. Have also heard great things about the Starwood properties in Australia, and may have a chance to try them out in April.

Tambo del Inka in Urubamba, Peru- part of the Luxury Collection. Amazing.

That beautiful photo reminds me of the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver. Great views of the bay, Stanley Park, Grouse mountain, etc. Especially nice when the seaplanes come in for a landing nearby. This is one of those hotels I love to leave the window open to hear the noise. (Hotel itself could use a revamp, but the servie is good and the location is spectacular)

I'll add Le Meridien Dead Sea to a list of "exceptional" *wood properties.

LM Dead Sea is SO bad, it's in a class of it's own!

Cheers,

I think they revamped the hotel just prior to the Olympics. I like the tower- the little balcony has to be a beautiful place to work. It is still a shame they got rid of Trader Vics- that was a fun place to end work on Fridays.

I was thinking the same thing!

Of the SPG properties I've stayed, I like Le Meridien BKK the most

One of the best values for me is definitely the Swan/Dolphin at WDW. Cheaper than Disney rooms and with almost all the same benefits (including early park admission). Got a great rate last summer and it's walking distance to Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios!

I would greatly appreciate any commentary that any members have to update this thread. I would also try to add an extra dimension to this thread by including which of these premier locations are most generous to premium members as well as honor them for points/free stays. Member input greatly appreciated.

Greece has a bunch of interesting properties. For a low key and relaxing honeymoon (not six weeks!) one could go first to Athens itself, then s couple different islands (Rhodes and Mykonis (google spelling doesn't know it) stand out) and then the resort complex along the coast to make the trip to ATH easier than fighting city traffic, or alternatively go here first for the relaxation and to recover from jet lag. However, a lot depends on dates as most of the island resorts close off season.

The majority of the ex-CIGA (an Italian luxury chain which Starwood acquired at one point) properties in Italy are really nice.

Here is another +1 for the St. Regis Grand Rome. I'll also highlight St. Regis Princeville.

In the spring I plan to be at the St. Regis Lhasa...glad to see it made the list!

Jslo,
Thanks! Please come back to this thread with your impressions of the St Regis Lhasa and where you would place it on the list in relationship to these other hotels.

The Lagoon Villa at St. Regis Bali was truly unbelievable. I should probably do a trip report for that one. We took a peek and had dinner at the W in Seminyak and was impressed by that one (vastly different properties though, obviously).

As others have mentioned, one of the best things about SPG is the huge diversity of properties.
We've had all-around wonderful experiences at:

• Grand Bretagne (Athens)
• Westin Paris
• Westin Grand Cape Town (best. lounge. ever.)
• Grand Mauritian
• US Grant (San Diego)

I would have to the say this hotel measures up:

• The astor, a Luxury Collection hotel, in Tianjin, China qualifies.

Here is a link to my review on TA. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g311293-d307470-r118057118-The_Astor_Hotel-Tianjin.html

This surprises me as I had bad experiences in CIGA hotels, although part of the problem was the Italian chain staff attitude, such as never allowing check in before the official check in time, when all rooms became simultaneously ready. Disgusting!