I had one of the dumbest travel mistakes of my life recently.
I was rushing to book a hotel in Detroit for a business conference and came across a place called “Hotel St. Regis Detroit” on Expedia. I originally planned to stay at a Marriott downtown, but when I saw “St. Regis” for around $150, I thought I had found an unbelievable deal.
The lobby looked fairly upscale, although the rooms didn’t really match what you’d expect from an actual St. Regis property. I assumed maybe it was just an older location and didn’t think much of it.
After booking a non-refundable room and arriving at the hotel, I noticed the Google reviews were only around 3 stars. During check-in, I asked if they could attach my Bonvoy number, and the receptionist started laughing and explained that this was not Marriott’s St. Regis brand. It was simply a hotel named “Hotel St. Regis.”
At that point it finally clicked.
The stay itself was okay overall. The room was clean and the bathroom was surprisingly nice, but a lot of amenities were closed and the property clearly wasn’t the luxury experience I had imagined.
Definitely my most embarrassing travel booking mistake so far.
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