A little over a month ago, we had an opportunity to stay at a hotel that has always fascinated me. A building that gracefully stands out from the rest on the Corniche, i.e St, Regis, Abu Dhabi. I had stayed at St. Regis Saadiyat Island sometime last year and loved everything about it. So, I was definitely looking forward to staying at this one. On the day of our staycation, Mr. D checked us in while I stood in awe staring at the Grand Staircase in the lobby. What a masterpiece! No matter how many times we visit St. Regis I have to take a million photos. Check in was swift, and once that was done we headed to our room. Our room faced the sea. We had a beautiful view of the Marina at one window and the city at the other. The room looked magnificent. The linen on the bed looked rich and fit for royalty. I knew that I was in for the best sleep that night. I loved how the hotel made us feel welcomed with a little welcome message on the TV. One of the hotel staff also took some time to explain to us more about our room, the hotel facilities and St. Regis signature butler service. Moving on to the bathroom. The first thing that caught my attention was the big, beautiful chandelier. Our bathroom was pretty big and it had all the essentials that you'd expect from a 5 star hotel. It had a bathtub as well as a rain shower. I simply love the brand of bathing products and creams that St. Regis uses - Laboratoire Remède. I remember using them at St. Regis Saadiyat Island. They smell divine. The best part of the bathroom was that the mirror operated as a TV as well. It had its own remote control and you could actually watch the TV from your tub. This was totally new to me. Everything about the hotel was beautiful. As we waited for the elevator, I couldn't help but admire the sheer elegance around me. Later that evening, we decided to explore the hotel's recreation facilities. There's a gym and pool in the same building as well as one across the road. To access Nation Riviera (which is just across the road), you would have to go through an underground tunnel. There's a private beach there in addition to a pool, gym and children's play area. Unfortunately, we didn't visit Nation Riviera, but we did explore the facilities within the hotel itself. They have a full fledged gym with a view of the pool. First, we hit the gym for a quick workout followed by a relaxing dip in the pool. The pool wasn't very big, but it was nice anyway. Personally, I loved their over water sunbeds! For dinner, we explored some of the restaurants in the adjoining tower. There are quite a few in the hotel itself and even at Nation Riviera. However, we had an event that evening and didn't have much time to visit. Villa Toscana, the authentic Italian restaurant is definitely worth a visit. . That night we wanted to avail St. Regis signature butler service but we were too exhausted from the events that day. All we could thing about was a nice warm bath and a good night's sleep. We had availed this service at St. Regis Saadiyat Island. Just for your information, the St. Regis butler is your personal in-house butler. If you're too lazy to make coffee or tea, just give them a call. If you need help with packing your bags, they're there to help you. Nothing is too big or too small for them. The real trouble here started the following morning. Mr. D had to head to work. He wanted to have a nice shave and shower before heading down for breakfast. To his bad luck, there was no water in the bathroom. We called up the reception and they said that they would send someone over in 10 minutes. Even after 10 minutes, there was no sign on anyone. After a second call, someone finally comes over. It seemed that there was no water on 10 floors, including ours. So the staff who came to help us out took Mr. D to another floor to have a shower. It was kind of a messy situation to be in on a working day. Atleast at the end everything went okay. Breakfast that day was at The Terrace on the Corniche. The setup of the restaurant was beautiful, just like the rest of the hotel. They had an outdoor area as well. Breakfast was a feast. You had everything - salads, cereals, cheese, cold cuts, yogurt, bread, pastries & other stuff. However, my favourites were the quiche and granola parfait. They had a pancake and waffle making station and a live egg counter. What surprised me most was that we had an option of ordering Eggs Benedict too. Not many restaurants have Eggs Benedict in their live egg counter menu. It's always either fried, poached, omelette, scrambled, etc. I opted for the one with ham instead of salmon. Gosh, it was fantastic! The staff were very friendly. Mr. D had to run to work so he left early. I sat back, relaxed and enjoyed. After breakfast, I got back to our room and relaxed for a bit before packing up. This time, I checked out as Mr. D was at work. Check out was quick. I had to tell the staff about the water issue and she seemed aware of it. Overall, we had a wonderful stay. We were treated very well from the moment we checked in until we left. I wish we had more time to explore some of the restaurants in the hotel and Nation Riviera too. I guess that would just have to wait.
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