Hotel Review: The St. Regis Shenzhen (Deluxe Room) - Highest Hotel in Shenzhen
When I visited Hong Kong last month, I checked out the brand new Kerry Hotel, Hong Kong which is located in Hung Hom. After staying at the world's highest hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong last year, I was eager to check out the highest hotel in Shenzhen, The St. Regis Shenzhen which is located on the top floors of the KK100 (京基100). The hotel is possibly the city's most luxurious (and expensive) property and so I took the opportunity to travel down to Shenzhen from Hong Kong via the MTR.
Hotel Lobby
The St. Regis Shenzhen
Since the Kerry Hotel, Hong Kong is located near to the Hung Hom MTR Station (which is also where you should board the train to Shenzhen), I decided that it would be an excellent time to visit Shenzhen after falling in love with Beijing when I visited the city for the first time in July 2017. The train ride from Hung Hom to Lo Wu costs approximately HKD 80 (SGD 14) in the First Class Cabin but if you wish to save a little bit of money, you may consider the Standard Class for half the price (HKD 40 or SGD 7) - I would recommend going for the former cabin as it is a lot less crowded and really not that much more. Once I crossed over from Lo Wu (Hong Kong) to Luohu (China) on foot, getting to The St. Regis Shenzhen was really only a short 10-minute ride to the Grand Theatre Metro Station (Exit B).
Bedroom
Deluxe Room - The St. Regis Shenzhen
The St. Regis Shenzhen occupies the top floors of the KK100 (京基100), and while waiting for the lift up to the lobby, I was advised that photography was not allowed in the public areas - expect to see a lot less photos for this property! The lift took forever to get from ground level to Level 96 where the hotel lobby was located (honestly, the express lifts at The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong took me to the hotel lobby at Level 103 a whole lot faster). Due to how slow the lifts actually were, it is extremely likely that you will be sharing the lift with a bunch of strangers and probably have to spend a good 2 minutes in awkward silence.
Bedroom
Deluxe Room - The St. Regis Shenzhen
I stayed in a Deluxe Room here at The St. Regis Shenzhen which is basically the lead-in category room at this luxurious property. Room rates generally fluctuate around SGD 350 to SGD 400 for the basic room which may quite high for Shenzhen but definitely very reasonable when you are coming from a city like Singapore where luxury hotels are typically in the same price range.
Welcome Amenities
Deluxe Room - The St. Regis Shenzhen
My room was located on one of the higher floors (I believe it was between level 90 and level 95) and once I got out of the lift, I was quickly met with my butler who then showed me to my room. She then offered some snacks as well as to make me some tea while I settled into the room. The butler was also very detailed in explaining what kind of services are typically covered in the legendary butler service here at The St. Regis Shenzhen. Having stayed at the Singapore and the Bali properties previously, I was familiar with the offerings but it was nice to see how proactive they were at detailing this benefit.
Walk-in Wardrobe
Deluxe Room - The St. Regis Shenzhen
The butler then offered to help me unpack my suitcase which I politely decline since I was only here for one night - besides I probably need more help packing than unpacking. The Deluxe Room that I stayed in comes with 43-55sqm of space and it even comes with your very own walk-in wardrobe where there is plenty of space to hang up all your different outfits. Unlike St. Regis properties in Singapore and Bali where I have stayed at previously, an iron and ironing-board are both provided here in the room (though you could still ask your butler to iron your clothes for you). The safe (which is large enough to fit my 15" MacBook Pro easily) is also located here in the walk-in wardrobe area in case you are looking for it.
Bed
Deluxe Room - The St. Regis Shenzhen
The Deluxe Room features a dramatic floor-to-ceiling window which look out to the surrounding areas. Depending on which side your room is facing, you may end up with either views of Shenzhen or of Hong Kong. I really like the muted taupe palette that is accented with olive and red elements throughout the room. Sleeping on the signature St. Regis bed is also one of the things that I truly look forward to with every stay.
View from the Room
Deluxe Room - The St. Regis Shenzhen
There is also a small sitting area by the window where you can take in the beautiful sights from this amazing vantage point. I was lucky enough to be blessed with sunny and good weather during my stay so I managed to see this city in the most glorious light. I wish the hotel provided some kind of guide to help travellers identify key buildings but they did not - the only building I recognised was the Grand Hyatt Shenzhen (which I am definitely going back for).
Entertainment System
Deluxe Room - The St. Regis Shenzhen
The Deluxe Room here at The St. Regis Shenzhen comes with a Bang & Olufsen Sound System as well as a massive 46-inch 3D LCD TV which is stocked with a range of cable and satellite channels. There is also a DVD Player (which I am not sure who uses to be honest) here and complimentary WiFi is provided for hotel guests. If you do intend to access Facebook, Instagram, Google or other banned sites during your stay, make sure you check out my guide on accessing blocked sites in China easily. There is also a large work desk here in the bedroom where you will also find an iPad which allows you to control everything in the room - the lights, the curtains, the TV and possibly even room service (which did not seem to work during my stay).
Bathroom and Bathtub
Deluxe Room - The St. Regis Shenzhen
While I notice the automatic privacy button on the iPad (which did not seem to trigger the mist), I could not seem to find it in the room at all. More importantly, the button did not seem to do anything for my privacy - the glass was still clear as day despite me pushing the button multiple times. It was probably a technological malfunction but not having a physical button to trigger it seems a little odd. The bathroom in the Deluxe Room that I was in did however come with a beautiful and elegant free-standing bathtub. As you would expect, bath amenities are Remède-branded and only one set was provided in the bathroom.
Bathroom
Deluxe Room - The St. Regis Shenzhen
There is also a mirror-integrated television that is in front of the bathtub but I was more interested in the spa music that is integrated with the bathroom. Seriously, there were buttons that allowed me to toggle between different spa music and lighting here in this room - this is not even something that The St. Regis Shenzhen advertises on their website which made it extra strange (shouldn't you mention a feature like that?!). By pushing this spa button, the lights in the bathroom and the bedroom were all automatically dimmed and it also triggers some light music in the bathroom - very peculiar!
Toilet and Shower
Deluxe Room - The St. Regis Shenzhen
There is a separate shower area in the bathroom which comes with a rainshower and plush bathrobes (even though they were not accented with the St. Regis logo like the ones I had in the Caroline Astor Suite at The St. Regis Singapore) are also provided here at The St. Regis Shenzhen. The toilet did not come with a heated toilet seat which I thought they would incorporate but hey maybe I have been spoilt by all the nice hotels in Tokyo.
I did not spend much time in the room or at the hotel since I was only here in Shenzhen for one night. As mentioned earlier, The St. Regis Shenzhen is directly connected to the KK100 (京基100) and the mall - if you stay here, be sure to check out Grandma's (外婆家) in the KK Mall which serves Hangzhou cuisine at an extremely affordable price. It may not look very good since I took them in a hurry (I was hungry!) but trust me, it is delicious! Also, watch the eyes of the waitstaff widen as you tell them you wish to settle the bill using cash - everything seems to be cashless now in China!
View from the Room
Deluxe Room - The St. Regis Shenzhen
Similar to my experience at the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, you will have to go up to the hotel lobby first on Level 96 before taking the elevator down to your room. I returned to my room after feasting out at the KK Mall next door (where you will also find a fancy supermarket that stocks up a lot of local and international snacks) and was blown away by the view in the evening - it looks beautiful when the lights are all lit up but the hotel probably needs to do a better job at cleaning the watermarks off the glass though.
Bedroom (Blinds Down)
Deluxe Room - The St. Regis Shenzhen
I did not book a breakfast-inclusive package and was advised by my Butler Service Desk Agent (whom I contacted via email during my stay) that it would be at a supplement of CNY 198++ (SGD 41++) per adult. While it certainly was not expensive at all, I decided to walk around the hotel the next morning to find some local breakfast from a nondescript store instead. The St. Regis Shenzhen definitely reminds me a little bit of The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong - both hotels are the highest in the city and they are both drenched in opulence - but I did not managed to fully experience the property during my short stay here. Shenzhen is definitely a city that I will be returning to and I can certainly see myself wanting to spend a couple of nights here at The St. Regis Shenzhen again.
The St. Regis Shenzhen
No. 5016 Shennan Road East, Luohu District Shenzhen, Guangdong 518001 China
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The Park Hyatt Auckland is quite possibly the nicest luxury hotel in Auckland with stunning rooms and suites, but the soft product needs some work.