"This is our second time staying at this property, and we stayed at the grand deluxe suite for 3 nights, across Valentine's Day.
The hotel itself lives up to the St. Regis reputation; beautiful lobby, service overall was attentive, the WhatsApp butler team was responsive and polite, our suite was beautiful, spacious and clean. The bathroom tub took about 15 minutes to fill up, and the glass bottles of water in the room were screwed on surprisingly tight, which was to my husband's standard (who works out). Breakfast and the pool are both located on the 3rd floor. Breakfast was great, with a good selection of buffet food, the area was big and very well lit. The pool faces west, so it does not get sun all day, depending on the season. St. Regis partners with Kyma beach club, which requires advanced reservations with the concierge team. It gives hotel guests access to the beach as their in-house pool is more of a "rooftop pool". As it was also my birthday during our stay, my husband arranged for a birthday package with the hotel and on the day of, when I returned from outside activities, I was pleasantly surprised by the decorations and sweets provided.
The hotel is located on Palm Island, which has a unique road structure, for Uber drivers who are not familiar with either the island or the hotel, it is quite easy for them to miss the entrance, and once that happens, it takes about another 10 minutes or so just to get back around. The hotel is also part of the St. Regis Garden complex, which gives guests direct access to the Palm Mall, the restaurant Sushi Samba, and the famous Aura Skypool. We also visited these places during our stay. While it was extremely convenient, it also didn't give hotel guests any privacy because it was constantly packed with people due to these extremely popular destinations, a lot of people coming in and out, and the hotel entrance was constantly chaotic, traffic was terrible in and out of the hotel, with cars jammed up. I recommend that anybody allow extra time if you wish to collect your car from the valet, grabbing a cab or Uber.
Unfortunately, our stay was pleasant until the morning of our check-out. We were planning to use the pool after breakfast. My husband finished breakfast first and went out to grab sun loungers. He saw there were 2 loungers on the first row facing the sun and sat down. He was then told by a pool staff (whose name I have) that one of the loungers was "reserved", and there was only one lounger left; if the two of us wanted to sit together, we had to move somewhere else. My husband initially questioned the "reserved lounger", and was apparently told that this hotel seems to allow guests to reserve loungers, as long as they return within 10 minutes. Without wanting to make a fuss, my husband moved and grabbed 2 loungers somewhere else. In the meantime, another couple asked about the same 2 loungers my husband had inquired about earlier, and were told the same by the same staff, and they decided to split, where the girlfriend took the remaining lounger, while the boyfriend had to relocate somewhere else. When I arrived shortly after, I asked for the umbrella to be closed as I wanted to get some sun. The same staff showed reluctance. I then asked what the problem was, he said the guests sitting next to my husband wanted shade. I then realised the "reserved lounger" situation, and by that point, my husband grew frustrated and told the staff that it had been way past 10 minutes and the lounger was still empty. The staff then left saying he had to deal with something and would be right back to assist us further. I was observing as time passed, and no one had returned to the lounger. I later found out that the person had gone to have breakfast. They went to the pool early in the morning to reserve the best lounger first, so they can have that lounger even after relaxingly enjoying breakfast. A lot happened over this lounger situation, which I won't dive in here, but the craziest part was that I observed the staff was actually upholding the reservation and actively turning down other guests who asked about the lounger, resulting in some late arrivals to not having a lounger at all. It is common knowledge and courtesy practice that no one reserves a sun lounger by putting their belongings there, then leaving for breakfast. What was appalling was the staff encouraging this selfish behavior and actively securing the lounger for that person. I strongly believe this should not be allowed, and the staff should be reprimanded. Should management wish to discuss this further, I will provide the name in private.
As nice as St. Regis the Palm is, given all the aforementioned, I don't think it was a 5-star experience. Given there are plenty of stunning hotels in Dubai, I won't be highly recommending this property."
A Tripadvisor traveler review
Apr 08, 2026