Marriott acquires SPG and my trip to Florence was born. I stayed up to date with their award chart changes and decided that I wanted to take advantage (or rather not lose out on current value) by booking a current category 8 hotel that was going to move to a category 9 under the newly branded and revised Bonvoy program. I selected about 5 properties around the world and my girlfriend and I landed on the St. Regis in Firenze, Italy. I booked the hotel first and figured out the rest of the travel later. The cost on their old chart was 60,000 points per night. Taking advantage of their 5th night free would bring the total of 5 nights to 240,000 points. Given the rate at booking, this was a redemption at just over $.02 per point. Category 9 moves this to 80,000. Marriott also introduced peak and off-peak pricing which would be 90,000 and 70,000 respectively for the St. Regis.
Flight To Milan – Alitalia
There are no direct flights from New York airports to Florence. The common choices were to fly through a European city (Paris, Frankfurt, Zurich, Rome) and connect to Florence or go direct to Rome or Milan and take a high-speed train from there.
I was open to miles or dollars and so began my research. I never gave up my search until about 12 hours before check-in. I had intentions on spoiling my girlfriend and flying in style, at least for the outbound red eye but it I did not have a lot of luck with getting good value out of my points. The closest I got which I would have been very happy with was leveraging Emirates’ fifth-freedom flight through Milan. I could have paid a reasonable price for two economy seats with a good miles requirement to upgrade to business. I would have been taking a risk, however, in that you couldn’t request the upgrade until after your ticket was purchased. I didn’t want to take the gamble but toyed with the idea for a while. It was an A380 so I was excited about being upstairs in business but not excited about sharing a 3 or 4 row seater with other passengers after paying cash should the upgrade not have been available. I took a last-minute stab at a first-class award ticket on Lufthansa and had a shot at booking it, but I decided against it because it required a 5-hour layover in Frankfurt and didn’t think it was worth it.
I ended up quite content with my choice. We flew Alitalia roundtrip direct from JFK to Milan. Albeit economy class I only used 50,000 Delta miles roundtrip per ticket. Based on the price at booking this gave me $.02 per mile which is a premium value for Delta miles. Keep in mind, with Platinum Delta status my ticket was cancellable with the points being redeposited at no additional charge, so it was an easy choice to make while I evaluated other options.
I had little to no expectations with this flight. I was just happy that they were still in business, operating and their local day strike across Italy did not impact us. Checking in at the Sky Priority counter was quick and easy. I did ask if any seats were available in Premium Economy for upgrade. The agent expressed that the cabin was fully sold out and if it was available it would cost $800 per seat to upgrade. When I inquired about the option to use miles to upgrade, he basically chuckled and said something about giving seats away for free; it was a weird exchange. Fast forward to boarding and premium economy was about half full.
Upon entering security, we were also shown our way to a shorter security line and the wait was probably 10-15 minutes. We then made our way to the KAL lounge using my priority pass membership. This was my second time in the lounge, so I did not expect much. It was quite disgusting. Most empty tables had dirty dishes still sitting on them. We grabbed a little food and wine to toast our upcoming vacation.
We were Zone 1 but by the time we made our way to the gate they were calling for final boarding (this was about 50 minutes before scheduled departure); there was still plenty of room in the overhead for our two carry-on duffle bags from BoardingPassNYC. On our seat was a blanket and neck pillow (a menu was provided on the return flight). They later handed out headsets for the seat back entertainment unit. We pulled back from the gate 15 minutes early, took off about 30 minutes late but after a 7-hour 10-minute flight, we landed about 15 minutes early. The food was bland and the movie selection sparse, but we spent most of the flight trying to get some shut eye anyway. They offered dinner and a snack before landing with two or three beverage services during the flight, including alcohol options. The flight attendants English speaking ability was good enough. As I had previously read, the armrest only goes up about 2/3 of the way; an interesting design choice. This was an A330 with a 2, 4, 2 configurations lay out in economy. We sat on the port side on the inbound and starboard side on the outbound to ensure great views of the Swiss Alps, which we were sure to see both ways thanks to the weather cooperating. The view did not disappoint.
Milan To Florence
Getting through customs and immigration in Milan was a breeze; about 30 minutes from landing to pick-up. I used a company called Welcome Pick Ups for the transfer from the airport to the train station. The ride was just under one hour and the cost was about $100 USD. The company proved reliable, the driver friendly with a good handle on the English language and a comfortable car. I had pre-booked a train with Italo in Prima (first) class whom I primarily chose because of their flexible change policy. Because we got through the airport so fast, we found the ticket counter when we reached Milano Centrale Station and were able (with no hassle and no charge) to rebook our first-class cabin ticket one hour earlier. The ride was about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Upon reaching Firenze SM station it was under a 10-minute walk to the hotel. I was pleasantly surprised with how close we were because google maps had indicated 17 minutes and the hotel did not give me the sense of how close it was considering they advised I either take a 10 minute taxi ride for 15-20 Euro or they could pick me up in a Mercedes for $80 Euro. Walking was a great choice; we even stopped to enjoy our first scoop of Gelato of the trip.
The St. Regis – Florence, Italy
Welcome to the St. Regis; for the rich in points or cash; along with elegance and high expectations. Let’s see how things played out. My entire trip was centered around this hotel and we planned to spend most of our time in Florence so that we could also take advantage of spending time at the St. Regis. Earlier in the year, I selected the 5 suite night awards as my Platinum gift with full anticipation of using it at this hotel. Sure enough about 4 nights before check-in the upgrade to a Junior Arno Suite cleared. This meant I’d get a view of the river, but the rest was uncertain; the pictures on-line sure suggested something spectacular. We were ushered to the check-in tables and offered a seat. We provided our passports and received our room assignment – floor 1. I asked for other options and was told that the hotel was sold out. Upon further discussion with me and then some Italian with her colleagues, she offered to show us our assigned suite and a Premium room on the 4th floor. Our overall impression of both lead us to choose our original suite; what the Premium room had was a balcony; It appeared that all rooms facing the Arno river on the 4th floor had a balcony and some on the 2nd floor as well as those facing the front of the hotel. It’s unknown to me if there was another suite available to us with a balcony but I had to take her word; I’ll write more about my observations and opinion on this topic another time. I also asked that breakfast be my platinum gift instead of the points. Mind you that this was not offered to me. Seemed to me that throughout the stay if you weren’t somewhat prepared with your questions, you were not going to get everything they had to offer.
We were greeted with a small bottle of some type of wine or such in our room. When asking about the butler services available to us, the lady that checked us in was vague and said that she would send someone up to discuss this with us further. We waited a bit, got frustrated and called down for some coffee. It was unclear if we could get this for free and were told that they would send someone up. This time someone showed up at our room. In my opinion, the butler should always come up upon check-in to introduce themselves and their services. Elena was very pleasant; she had a printed card that outlined their services, she unlocked our windows (didn’t know that they were locked), brought us two cappuccinos for free and took three of my button-down shirts for pressing. Also, thanks to Elena we tracked down the mysterious sound coming from our bathroom. Turned out there is a TV in the mirror, and it had gone blank, so it blended with the mirror, but the sound was still on.
We took advantage of the complimentary breakfast each morning. Though the room itself was very nice and overlooked the main dining room and bar, I wouldn’t say it was anything spectacular. When we were seated our first morning, we were uncertain if it was buffet only, a la carte and what, in fact was included in our stay. After the waiter brought our American coffees, he had to send the maître d’ back over to explain. When we sat down the next day, she explained it (not that we needed to be reminded). Fast forward to morning 4 and we were asked if this was the first time that we were dining with them for breakfast. On day 5, the same lady asked the same question. I think she can tell from our facial expressions that it was not our first morning there. I expect the staff at the St. Regis by the end of our stay to make us feel a bit more welcome than they did. It’s a reasonably small hotel and I’m sure the basics of systems/processes, training can account for this.
The food was reasonable and not unlike buffet breakfasts at other luxury type hotels. They were 0 – 5 on getting my eggs cooked to my preference. They do have some granola bar type items that we took every day for late day snacks. We noticed a Bloody Mary table the first morning and had read something about the St. Regis take on the drink so we asked if we could have one. Again, we had to ask. This was not offered. The drink was fine, and we only had it that first morning.
It’s a nicely renovated historic building. We had a very nice looking and appointed suite. Our bathroom had a tub, double sinks, separate shower and separate area for the toilet. The drainage in the shower was poor and the bathtub is on the smaller side. The location, however, I’m not sure could have been better. We had access to umbrellas as we walked outside which came in handy for the first half of the trip. Coming back, however, was hit or miss if a doorman was there and if so, if they would help you through the revolving door. The hotel has some special Champagne ritual. One night we went to the bar to inquire about it. At 18 Euro’s for a drink and some sort of appetizer, we skipped on it. It actually seemed uncomfortable to approach the bar to ask. It felt the same way with the concierge desk. Always a few people there and sometimes trainees (that just stared at you) so they didn’t feel too approachable.
Overall, however, I felt that they were accommodating and helpful when it came to restaurant recommendations and reservations. They assisted with three nights and we went discovering on the other two nights. It didn’t seem like you could go too wrong with food. We enjoyed all our dinners and the restaurants accommodated us after 10 pm. Across the courtyard is the Westin. They have a nice lobby, good looking bar, some sidewalk seating and an awesome roof top bar and restaurant. I can’t comment on the food but it’s worth a trip up there to grab a drink, enjoy the sunset views and get some good photos.
Florence To Rome Via Train
One day we escaped the peaceful city of Florence and booked a train ticket down to Rome. We booked our roundtrip tickets again via Italo’s website the night before. Last minute seemed a bit pricier. I noticed later that I had received a 50% offer for a same day roundtrip ticket that required 3 days’ notice. I also found some expired coupons on-line so pay attention. I’d also recommend first class over their regular cabin. It seemed quieter, more comfortable and they come by with a complimentary drink cart with a snack and another cart offering some sandwiches for a small fee. Once again on our return we were a little earlier than our ticketed reservation and we had no issue getting on the train prior. All announcements are in Italian and English. There is also room for your reasonably sized checked luggage on the racks above your seat. We traveled the same way back to Milan.
Back To The United States
So, we left the St. Regis with no regrets, but we felt leaving just ho hum. For the top of the Marriott brand it fell short.
As our last day happened upon us, we ventured out on the subway in Milan a few stops to catch the Express train to the airport. That total cost was 14.50 Euro per person. Note the line for tax refunds for goods in your checked bag was long so plan accordingly. Luckily ours was in our carry-on luggage so when we found the tax-free desk after security it was practically empty. My Delta Platinum status gets me lounge access when flying internationally (abroad, not in the US). We made our way to the Casa Alitalia Lounge. This was a pleasantly surprising positive way to end our journey. We got there as they were breaking down breakfast and preparing lunch. The service was excellent. We were served cappuccinos at our seats and later order a Prosecco and Bloody Mary (I’d stick with the Prosecco). We enjoyed our last Italian meal of the trip (unless you count the chicken meatballs on the flight which were half day decent) and were encouraged not to leave too early for boarding. Despite the 10+ minute walk over to the gate, they suggested we stay until they let us know when to go. They were spot-on and we walked right on when we got to the gate via the Sky Priority lane.
