Darren Preston

Review of St. Regis Venice San Clemente ...

The Hotel location is absolutely amazing. It is s...

The Hotel location is absolutely amazing. It is set on a beautiful private island and it is without doubt one of the most beautiful hotels I have stayed in.

Every view is a photo, especially sitting out on the small bar in the evening watching the lights and water from the mainland.

From the moment you arrive the staff are attentive and incredibly polite without becoming too invasive.

We upgraded our room to a suit for a very reasonable amount and it was a seriously good choice. The view from our room (258) wasn't good, facing over a court yard and without much of a waterside view but the room itself was luxurious and spacious.

Breakfast was a highlight, there was a fantastic selection and eating in the stunning courtyard was a treat. I would advise getting there early - 7.30-7.45 as it was much quieter.

Services were at a decent level. The pool was nice but mainly because it was quiet. The boat shuttle to the main land was great but be aware that coming back around lunch time can be a matter of good timing as I believe it drops to one boat per hour around 1-3pm (ish could be wrong please check the timetable!)

The gym was OK, nice and spacious and quiet with great air conditioning. There is a jogging trail around the island but it's a stretch to make it about half a mile per loop and it passes and crossed some well used paths. Better suited to walking than running.

Staff again were stand out. The reception staff particularly were amazing, this is truly a 5 star experience.

The only let downs we found - one very small issue that was annoying was that the coffee capsules in the room for the machine that was provided were not replenished. We like a coffee first thing! We did chase services for this but were never replaced. It's a very small issue but surprising really as it was fairly obvious when it was gone that we would like more!

The main problem with the hotel was the evening food. You are much better off going to the main land to eat. The fine dining restaurant - Acquerello was not good at all. The setting is beautiful outside the historic church but the food was incredibly over priced for what it wasn't cooked particularly well (IMHO). The restaurant was fairly quiet and the staff seemed a bit awkward, the tables were a bit too close together for a romantic meal. I wouldn't say it was terrible, there are just better potions at that price range in my opinion.