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St. Regis is one of my favorite Marriott brands. I am excited about upcoming stays at the St. Regis Rome and St. Regis Bal Harbour. One nice thing about the brand is that Platinum, Titanium, and Ambassador Elite members can select breakfast as a welcome amenity. This always made St. Regis stand out from The Ritz-Carlton and EDITION hotels that do not offer breakfast. These meals are generally pricey at the hotels and this benefit makes for a truly great start to the day. The St. Regis Macao is apparently telling guests that complimentary breakfast is no longer an option and it seems like this might be okay with Marriott.
The message is not hidden and the hotel is openly telling elite members that this benefit is being cut: Starting March 1, 2025, welcome gifts for Platinum, Titanium and Ambassador Marriott Bonvoy® Elite Members have a choice of bonus points or a local amenity. Platinum and above Elite Members can also enjoy a discounted price for breakfast at the Manor.
This was first flagged by FlyerTalk member @sy7217. They shared:
So I call the hotel and speak with the duty manager, he advised it will be a worldwide change, and St. Regis Macao is the first hotel to put it on trial. The new welcome gift will be 3000 points or local amenity, and also a 20% discount of breakfast. While asking if it will breach the elite benefits guarantee, he advised flexibility will be provided at the starting stage and breakfast will still be honored if members insist.”
Marriott has been contacted and it claims that this is not a new brand standard, but something that this individual hotel is trialing. That in and of itself is troubling. Brand standards are there to keep hotels from cutting corners and to give guests a consistent experience. This is far from the first time that a St. Regis property has tried to skirt the rules.
I was the first to report that the St. Regis Chicago tried to deny members breakfast. After I wrote about it, tons of other blogs and travel sites picked it up and the hotel’s TripAdvisor page became flooded with negative reviews. The hotel relented and changed its policy to offer breakfast as it should have been for eligible elite members.
The St. Regis Macao is a lovely hotel. I stayed there a few years back and had a nice time. Elite members were treated great and it’s in a good location for exploring Macao. That said, I don’t like when hotels play games. I find it even less acceptable when Marriott allows them to do so. This should have been cut off as soon as Marriott got wind of it. Instead, as usual, Marriott is trying to appease a hotel owner at the expense of its guests.
Anthony’s Take: There is nothing to say other than this is unacceptable. If Marriott allows one hotel to do this than others will surely look to cut costs and follow. While it’s not goodbye breakfast at all St. Regis hotels yet, I have a feeling we could see this happen.
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
