Our hotel of choice this time was the St Regis, a hotel we've visited many times before. Hell, we even love it so much that we chose to spend our Valentine's Day evening here. But I don't think you can ever really know a hotel until you have stayed the night, can you?
It was another Friday evening and we'd booked ourselves in on a whim pretty last minute.
With ridiculously high expectations, we took the lift to our 'superior room' on the 11th floor...
And breathed a sigh of relief. No disappointment here. The room was spacious and perfectly appointed.
With a stunning marbled bathroom.
And the 'good' kind of hotel toiletries, from the Remede Spa downstairs.
(A very important feature to note as my blogging buddies Kelly, Angie, Anna and Lauren will testify).
I had mentioned on the phone that Rich's birthday was fast approaching (the big 3-0 folks...it's a major one!) and the staff had very kindly left a cake and a hand written note from our butler.
My favourite things about the room however were the gorgeous Arabic pointed arches (or 'Saracen arches') of the doorways and windows. And of course, the desk.
Combine this with a comfy sofa in the corner for an alternative editing spot and you have one happy blogger.
Rich's favourite feature was the electronic display on the wall which allowed us to change the ambience of the lighting from 'reading' to 'relaxing' and even 'movie'.
We selected the setting most befitting to 'staring at your devices until you're ready for bed' and then drifted off into a blissful slumber on the delicious feathered bed.
I woke the next morning with my stomach grumbling.
A peek through the curtains revealed that it was a glorious day outside.
And we were missing it.
We hurried down to breakfast. Now, after our super-awesome-best-breakfast-ever-in-our-lives experience at Raffles a couple of weeks ago, it was going to be difficult to impress us, so please take the next comments with a pinch of salt.
It was nearing the end of service and Vine, where breakfast is served was bustling and frantic.
Not quite the relaxing scene we were hoping for. We took ourselves outside to the gorgeous open air terrace instead where things were a little calmer.
And concerned that they might start taking the food away, I ordered two pots of tea and then spent the next ten minutes stocking up on breakfast items...
Until the table was full.
That's better. Apart from it wasn't. I was expecting an English Breakfast tea, but had been given a cold pot of Earl Grey instead. Never mind, we reordered and tucked in.
A while later, when no tea had materialised, we asked again, only to be brought a second pot of Earl Grey! What has a girl got to do to get a decent pot of English Breakfast (with milk) around here?! It was around this time that I gave up and made do with these rather interesting fruit and herb smoothie concoctions instead.
After breakfast, we went for a little wander. We had heard that Qatar would be celebrating a second 'British Festival' for the month of March, and the St Regis was getting ready for an afternoon of picnics on the lawn to celebrate (still gasping for a cuppa, I think I made a bad joke about remembering to serve tea...). Lovely bunting adorned the edge of the terrace overlooking the stunning view of the pool and sea below.
We enjoyed it for a while, before the pool started to look too enticing, and we headed down to a waiting lounger.
We wiled away several hours in the sun, as the reggae band played some sweet summer songs.
As the sun began to dip, there was just enough time for an amble along the beach.
Before we dragged ourselves back inside to check out.
Thank you for having us, St Regis, you were the dream. I have no doubt in my mind that we will be back very soon.
Have you ever stayed in a St Regis hotel? What makes a hotel stay 'the dream' for you?
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