I'm a regular at the Four Seasons in San Francisco and my company has an excellent rate there. The Four Seasons was fully booked, so I decided to see if I could get in at the new St. Regis in San Francisco, using an SP50 certificate. It worked! And I stayed for five days. (The SP50 rate was around the same price as my corporate Four Seasons rate.)

In short, the St. Regis San Francisco is a very good hotel, but the Four Seasons is superior considering the value for money. Here's my comparison.

Rooms: Room sizes are about the same and the views are similiar--the hotels are only one block away from each other. I much prefer the look and feel of the Four Seasons. The bathroom in the St. Regis is "open-style" with shutters to the bath tub like many of the new Park Hyatts, e.g. Zurich and Melbourne.

Bar: No brainer. The Four Seasons is one of the best bars in the world in my opinion. It has amazing drinks and the friendliest waitstaff this side of the Orient. Unlike the St. Regis bar, the Four Seasons bar is located upstairs away from the hustle and bustle of the street. The St. Regis Bar is right on street level with uncomfortable seating. It just doesn't measure up.

Service: Despite the much ballyhooed "butler service" offered by the St. Regis, I only saw the butler once, when arriving. Service was provided by various staff members. Don't get me wrong, the service was good. But again, the Four Seasons just is a step above.

Food: Room service and restaurant are about at par.

Overall: I'd choose the Four Seasons everytime. At the same price, the Four Seasons is superior. At normal prices (i.e. when comparing corporate rate to corporate rate) the Four Seasons is the winner all the way again. The one plus factor? I received 3x Starwood Points during the promotion.

Review submitted by weatherhill

Posted at February 13, 2006 5:40 PM