View source for St. Regis New York

{{Short description|Hotel in Manhattan, New York}}
{{About|the hotel in New York City|the Native American reservation in upstate New York, sometimes known as "St. Regis, New York"|St. Regis Mohawk Reservation}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox hotel
| hotel_name         = St. Regis New York
| image              = 5_Av_Mar_2021_43.jpg
| image_width        =
| caption            = The hotel's [[Fifth Avenue]] facade in 2021
| location           = 2 East 55th Street<br />[[Manhattan]], New York
| mapframe-wikidata  = yes
| coordinates        = {{Coord|40|45|41|N|73|58|29|W|type:landmark_region:US-NY|display=inline,title}}
| opened_date        = {{Start date and age|1904|9|4}}
| closing_date       =
| architectural_style = [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]]
| architect          = {{plainlist|
* [[Trowbridge & Livingston]] (original building)
* [[Sloan & Robertson]] (1927 addition)
}}
| developer          = [[John Jacob Astor IV]]
| operator           = [[Marriott International]] ([[St. Regis Hotels & Resorts]])
| owner              = [[Qatar Investment Authority]]
| number_of_restaurants = 2
| number_of_rooms    = 171
| number_of_suites   = 67
| floor_area         =
| floors             = 20
| parking            =
| website            = {{Official URL}}
| embedded           = {{Infobox historic site
|embed               = yes
|designation1        = NYCL
|designation1_date   = November 1, 1988
|designation1_number = [http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1552.pdf 1552]
 }}
}}
The '''St. Regis New York''' is a [[luxury hotel]] at 2 [[55th Street (Manhattan)|East 55th Street]], at the southeast corner with [[Fifth Avenue]], in the [[Midtown Manhattan]] neighborhood of New York City. The hotel was originally developed by [[John Jacob Astor IV]] and was completed in 1904 to designs by [[Trowbridge & Livingston]]. An annex to the east was designed by Sloan & Robertson and completed in 1927. The hotel is operated by [[Marriott International]] and holds [[Forbes (magazine)|Forbes]] five-star and [[American Automobile Association|AAA]] five-diamond ratings. In addition, it is a [[New York City designated landmark]].

The 18-story hotel was designed in the [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] style. The facade of the original hotel is made of limestone and is divided into three horizontal sections similar to the components of a [[column]], namely a base, shaft, and [[Capital (architecture)|capital]]. The St. Regis required a large amount of mechanical equipment, which was placed on three basement levels. When the St. Regis opened, the interior was extensively decorated in marble and bronze. The first floor contained a restaurant, café, palm court, and hotel office, while the second floor contained a banquet hall, ballroom, and private dining room.

Astor began constructing the hotel in 1901 and named it after [[Upper St. Regis Lake]] in the [[Adirondack Mountains]]. The hotel opened on September 4, 1904, and quickly became known as an upscale hostelry. Rudolph Haan operated the hotel from its opening until 1926. Astor's son [[Vincent Astor]] sold the St. Regis in 1927 to [[Benjamin Newton Duke]], who developed the annex. After an acrimonious dispute in 1934, Vincent Astor re-acquired the hotel the next year and continued to own it until his death in 1959. The hotel was sold several times in the early 1960s, and [[Cesar Balsa]] operated the hotel briefly before the St. Regis joined the [[Sheraton Hotels and Resorts]] chain in 1966. The St. Regis has been renovated several times over the years, and it became part of the Marriott chain in 2016. The [[Qatar Investment Authority]] bought the hotel building in 2019.

== Site ==
The St. Regis New York is at 2 East 55th Street in the [[Midtown Manhattan]] neighborhood of New York City.<ref name="aia5">{{cite aia5|pages=334}}</ref> It is on the southeast corner of [[Fifth Avenue]] to the west and [[55th Street (Manhattan)|55th Street]] to the north. The [[land lot]] is L-shaped and covers {{cvt|22,544|ft2}}, with a [[frontage]] of {{cvt|250|ft}} on 55th Street and a depth of {{cvt|100|ft}}.<ref name="ZoLa">{{Cite web |title=2 East 55 Street, 10022 |url=https://zola.planning.nyc.gov/l/lot/1/1290/7502 |access-date=March 20, 2020 |publisher=[[New York City Department of City Planning]] |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215015437/https://zola.planning.nyc.gov/l/lot/1/1290/7502 |url-status=live}}</ref> Nearby sites include the [[University Club of New York]] to the southwest; [[The Peninsula New York]] hotel to the west; the [[Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church]] and [[712 Fifth Avenue]] to the northwest; the [[550 Madison Avenue]] to the northeast; [[19 East 54th Street]] to the east; and [[689 Fifth Avenue]] and the [[William H. Moore House]] to the south.<ref name="ZoLa" />

When the St. Regis was announced in 1900, the L-shaped site measured {{cvt|150|ft}} wide on 55th Street to the north and {{cvt|75|ft}} wide on Fifth Avenue to the west. The eastern end of the site measured {{cvt|100|ft}} deep.<ref name="p570868612">{{cite news |date=December 30, 1900 |title=Col. Astor's New Venture: Sixteen Stories Will Make His Apartment House the Tallest in the City |page=9 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|570868612}}}}</ref> The L-shaped site spanned {{cvt|12,500|ft2}}, though the developers obtained an additional {{cvt|7,500|ft2}} by acquiring another site on 55th Street.<ref name="AR p. 553">{{harvnb|Architectural Record|1904|ps=.|p=553}}</ref> Before the St. Regis Hotel was developed, there had been proposals to develop a clubhouse for the New York Republican Club on the site.<ref name="nyt-1900-12-30">{{Cite news |date=December 30, 1900 |title=A New $2,000,000 Hotel: Col. Astor to Erect Building at 55th Street and 5Th Avenue. Property Already Leased for a Period of Twenty Years, With Privilege of Three Renewals. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1900/12/30/archives/a-new-2000000-hotel-col-astor-to-erect-building-at-55th-street-and.html |access-date=December 14, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214194002/https://www.nytimes.com/1900/12/30/archives/a-new-2000000-hotel-col-astor-to-erect-building-at-55th-street-and.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p570868612" /> The plot was expanded to {{cvt|25000|ft2}} in early 1927, with a frontage of 100 feet on Fifth Avenue and 250 feet on 55th Street.<ref name="p104208555">{{cite news |date=March 19, 1927 |title=Duke Adds to Corner.: Buys Parcel Adjoining the St. Regis Hotel. |page=31 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|104208555}}}}</ref><ref name="p1132765066">{{cite news |date=March 19, 1927 |title=Real Estate News in City and Suburbs: Duke Acquires Realty Next to St. Regis Hotel Enlarges Holdings at Fifth Ave. And 55th St. Corner; Five Dwelling Houses Figure in the Trading |page=26 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1132765066}}}}</ref>

==History==

=== Background ===
[[Fifth Avenue]] between 42nd Street and [[Central Park South]] (59th Street) was relatively undeveloped through the late 19th century,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bridges |first=William |title=Map of the City of New York and Island of Manhattan; With Explanatory Remarks and References |date=1811 |publisher=T&J Swords |hdl=2027/nnc2.ark:/13960/t6ww9pp9g |oclc=40023003}}</ref> and many row houses were developed on the avenue.<ref>{{cite report |date=January 29, 1985 |title=714 Fifth Avenue |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1534.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225120819/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1534.pdf |archive-date=February 25, 2021 |access-date=June 9, 2020 |publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] |page=5}}</ref> By the early 1900s, that section of Fifth Avenue was becoming a commercial area.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=April 6, 1907 |title=Mr. Edward Harriman... |url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_039_15.pdf |url-status=live |journal=The Real Estate Record: Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide |volume=79 |pages=296 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116152948/https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/pdf_files/ldpd_7031148_039_15.pdf |archive-date=January 16, 2021 |access-date=June 9, 2020 |via=[[Columbia University|columbia.edu]] |number=2038}}</ref> [[Lily Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough|Lily Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough]], owned the site at the southwest corner of Fifth Avenue and 55th Street until 1891, when she sold it to [[William Backhouse Astor Jr.]] for $55,000. After William Astor's death, the site passed first to his widow [[Caroline Schermerhorn Astor]],<ref name="TL p. 132">{{harvnb|Tauranac|1985|ps=.|page=132}}</ref> then to their son [[John Jacob Astor IV]].<ref name="p101204988">{{cite news |date=July 1, 1934 |title=The Astor and Duke Families Figure In Court Battle Over Hotel St. Regis: Control of Fifth Avenue Hostelry at Stake in Regal Fight Involving We!l-Known Names |page=RE1 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|101204988}}}}</ref>

John Jacob Astor IV was a co-owner of the original [[Waldorf–Astoria (1893–1929)|Waldorf-Astoria Hotel]] at Fifth Avenue and 34th Street; his great-grandfather [[John Jacob Astor]] had built one of the first modern hotels in the world, the [[Astor House]] in Lower Manhattan, in 1836.<ref name="NYCL p. 1">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1988|ps=.|p=1}}</ref> Although Astor had considered building a residence at Fifth Avenue and 55th Street in 1896, he ultimately decided to develop against it because of the area's increasingly commercial character.<ref name="TL p. 132" /><ref name="nyt-2005-05-29">{{Cite news |last=Gray |first=Christopher |date=May 29, 2005 |title=A Grand Hotel Recalls Its Roots |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/realestate/a-grand-hotel-recalls-its-roots.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216184027/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/29/realestate/a-grand-hotel-recalls-its-roots.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Astor announced plans for a three-story commercial structure on the site in 1899 but then changed his plans to those for a hotel.<ref name="TL p. 132" /> At his niece's suggestion, Astor named the new hotel after [[Upper St. Regis Lake]] in the [[Adirondacks]], which in turn was named for French Jesuit priest [[John Francis Regis|Jean-François Régis]].<ref name="stregisnewyork.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.stregisnewyork.com/experience/the-legacy/ |title=The St. Regis New York |website=Marriott International |access-date=June 15, 2023 |archive-date=May 30, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530012628/http://www.stregisnewyork.com/experience/the-legacy |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1930-03-09">{{Cite news |date=March 9, 1930 |title=Origin of Names of Hotels Here; Named for Interested Families or After Well-Known European Hostelries |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/03/09/archives/origin-of-names-of-hotels-here-named-for-interested-families-or.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215162047/https://www.nytimes.com/1930/03/09/archives/origin-of-names-of-hotels-here-named-for-interested-families-or.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Construction ===
At the end of December 1900, Astor leased the proposed Hotel St. Regis to hotelier Rudolph Haan for 20 years, with options for three 20-year extensions.<ref name="p570868612" /><ref name="nyt-1900-12-30" /> New York City police commissioner [[Theodore Roosevelt]] had introduced Haan to the Astor family shortly before the hotel's development.<ref name="p1221282949">{{cite news |date=July 6, 1932 |title=Rudolph Haan, Restaurant and Hotel Man, Dies: Former Proprietor of St. Regis Hostelry Passes in Vienna, Recent Home Owned Huge Wine Cellar Managed Wartime Relief Agency in Budapest |page=13 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1221282949}}}}</ref> The structure was budgeted at $1.25&nbsp;million, excluding the $600,000 cost of the land.<ref name="p571198741">{{cite news |date=April 19, 1902 |title=New Fifth-Ave. Hotels: One of the Costliest to Go Up on the Southwest Corner of Fifty-Fifth-St. |page=1 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|571198741}}}}</ref> Excavation of the site began immediately after Haan leased the hotel.<ref name="nyt-1900-12-30" /><ref name="p128395891">{{Cite magazine |date=January 5, 1901 |title=Hotels |magazine=The Construction News |volume=12 |issue=1 |page=13 |id={{ProQuest|128395891}}}}</ref> [[Trowbridge & Livingston]] had completed their designs for the project in early 1901.<ref name="p128394950">{{Cite magazine |date=February 23, 1901 |title=Hotels |magazine=The Construction News |volume=12 |issue=8 |page=126 |id={{ProQuest|128394950}}}}</ref> The original plans were similar to the final design, except that the roof had multiple chimneys.<ref name="nyt-2005-05-29" /> Astor acquired a row house at 6 East 55th Street, just east of the new hotel, in February 1901.<ref name="nyt-1901-02-02">{{Cite news |date=February 2, 1901 |title=In the Real Estate Field; Col. Astor Buys Property Adjoining His New Hotel – Active Dealing in Small Properties. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1901/02/02/archives/in-the-real-estate-field-col-astor-buys-property-adjoining-his-new.html |access-date=December 14, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214194003/https://www.nytimes.com/1901/02/02/archives/in-the-real-estate-field-col-astor-buys-property-adjoining-his-new.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Astor also acquired an option on the residence of Sarah Fox at 3 East 54th Street, next to [[William Rockefeller Jr.]]'s residence.<ref name="p1114579507">{{cite news |date=October 9, 1923 |title=Rockefeller Realty Sale Recalls Feud With Col. Astor: Blocked Latter's Efforts to Enlarge St. Regis by Buying Adjacent Realty; Operators Now Own Corner |page=C1 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1114579507}}}}</ref> By early 1902, the hotel's stonework was almost completed,<ref name="p910660795">{{cite magazine |date=March 1, 1902 |title=Unexampled Building Activity in New York |magazine=Stone |volume=24 |issue=3 |page=243 |id={{ProQuest|910660795}}}}</ref> and contractors were applying interior finishes.<ref name="r-7031148_029_00000993">{{cite magazine |date=May 10, 1902 |title=The Present Status of the Apartment Hotel Renting |url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_029&page=ldpd_7031148_029_00000993&no=3 |magazine=The Real Estate Record: Real estate record and builders' guide |volume=69 |pages=847 |via=[[Columbia University|columbia.edu]] |number=1782}}</ref> Haan acquired a second house at 8 East 55th Street in February 1902, which he planned to use for an annex to the hotel.<ref name="nyt-1902-02-25">{{Cite news |date=February 25, 1902 |title=In the Real Estate Field; Deal on Thirty-Fourth Street Near Seventh Avenue – Site Bought for New Building on Lower Broadway. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1902/02/25/archives/in-the-real-estate-field-deal-on-thirtyfourth-street-near-seventh.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215190121/https://www.nytimes.com/1902/02/25/archives/in-the-real-estate-field-deal-on-thirtyfourth-street-near-seventh.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p571049040">{{cite news |date=February 25, 1902 |title=May Enlarge Astor's New Hotel Annex |page=10 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|571049040}}}}</ref>

==== Controversies and delays ====
[[File:1910 Hotel St. Regis advertisement.png|thumb|1910 Hotel St. Regis advertisement]]
The hotel was next to numerous wealthy New Yorkers' homes and, as such, was controversial from the start.<ref name="p5716192192">{{cite news |date=June 5, 1904 |title=$3,000,000 Hotel Without a License Yet: The Eighteen Story St. Regis Is So Close to a Church That Many Complications Have Arisen |page=A1 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|571619219}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1904-07-24">{{Cite news |date=July 24, 1904 |title=Where Hotels Adjoin Millionaires' Mansions; Invasion of the Last of Fifth Avenue's Older Residential Districts – How Long Can the Transformation Be Deferred. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/07/24/archives/where-hotels-adjoin-millionaires-mansions-invasion-of-the-last-of.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216000004/https://www.nytimes.com/1904/07/24/archives/where-hotels-adjoin-millionaires-mansions-invasion-of-the-last-of.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Even as other commercial developments were being built along the midtown section of Fifth Avenue, concerned locals bought up nearby houses to prevent the construction of similar hotels in the area.<ref name="nyt-1904-07-24" /> Rockefeller, who opposed the project, bought Fox's house to prevent Astor from expanding the hotel to 54th Street.<ref name="p1114579507" /> Several nearby properties were also damaged during the hotel's construction. For instance, city officials found in late 1901 that the excavations had ruptured a sewage pipe and flooded nearby houses,<ref name="p571023041">{{cite news |date=December 15, 1901 |title=Says It Was Due to Contractors: City Officials Lay Break in Sewer at Fifty-Fifth-St. And Fifth-Ave. To Their Work in Erecting Astor Building |page=5 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|571023041}}}}</ref> and a construction accident in early 1902 caused a marble block to smash through the roof of a neighboring house.<ref name="nyt-1902-04-11">{{Cite news |date=April 11, 1902 |title=Carelessness in the Tunnel; Workmen Charged with Cutting Many Fire Telegraph Wires – Park Avenue Work Delayed. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1902/04/11/archives/carelessness-in-the-tunnel-workmen-charged-with-cutting-many-fire.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215190118/https://www.nytimes.com/1902/04/11/archives/carelessness-in-the-tunnel-workmen-charged-with-cutting-many-fire.html |url-status=live}}</ref> One neighbor sued the construction contractor, the [[Thompson–Starrett Company]], after his house was repeatedly damaged by debris, construction materials, and leaks.<ref name="p96598506">{{cite news |date=March 2, 1906 |title=Building the St. Regis Drove M'faddens Out: Cotton Operator Says His Home Was a Target for Debris. |page=16 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1906/03/02/archives/building-the-st-regis-drove-mfaddens-out-cotton-operator-says-his.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|96598506}} |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216184026/https://www.nytimes.com/1906/03/02/archives/building-the-st-regis-drove-mfaddens-out-cotton-operator-says-his.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Construction was temporarily halted in May 1902 after the Bureau of Buildings discovered that the hotel's yellow-pine wood decorations were not sufficiently fireproofed.<ref name="nyt-1902-05-15">{{Cite news |date=May 15, 1902 |title=Building Code Violation; Work Stopped on Parts of the New St. Regis Hotel as Fire-Proofed Wood Was Not Used. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1902/05/15/archives/building-code-violation-work-stopped-on-parts-of-the-new-st-regis.html |access-date=December 14, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214181647/https://www.nytimes.com/1902/05/15/archives/building-code-violation-work-stopped-on-parts-of-the-new-st-regis.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The contractors agreed to replace the yellow pine with another wood, and work resumed shortly afterward.<ref name="r-7031148_029_00001063">{{cite magazine |date=May 17, 1902 |title=Use of Yellow Pine in Fireproof Buildings |url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_029&page=ldpd_7031148_029_00001063&no=7 |magazine=The Real Estate Record: Real estate record and builders' guide |volume=69 |pages=911 |via=[[Columbia University|columbia.edu]] |number=1783}}</ref> Haan traveled for two years to procure furniture and furnishings from Europe.<ref name="TL p. 133" />

Midway during construction, Astor decided to lease only part of the hotel to families, rather than the entire hotel as originally planned.<ref name="p571198741" /> In addition, plans for the hotel were revised to include an annex at 6 and 8 East 55th Street.<ref name="Stephenson p. 1903">{{harvnb|Stephenson|1903|ps=.|p=258}}</ref> Construction of the annex began in February 1903,<ref name="Stephenson p. 1903" /> but work was temporarily delayed by a labor strike in June 1903.<ref name="nyt-1903-06-26">{{Cite news |date=June 26, 1903 |title=Building Unions Begin United War; Rival Union Boards to Come Together. General Declaration of Strikes Begun, And 25,000 More Men Will Soon Be Out. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/06/26/archives/building-unions-begin-united-war-rival-union-boards-to-come.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215195709/https://www.nytimes.com/1903/06/26/archives/building-unions-begin-united-war-rival-union-boards-to-come.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p571262926">{{cite news |date=June 25, 1903 |title=Unions Call All Out: To Extend the Strike Will Block Work of Organized Employers Throughout Country |page=3 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|571262926}}}}</ref> Astor also acquired a site at 10 East 55th Street from local residents who had bought it in an attempt to block a further annex to the hotel.<ref name="p571635483">{{cite news |date=April 26, 1905 |title=Fight St. Regis Annex: Householders Near the Hotel to Ask for an Injunction |page=16 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|571635483}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1905-11-22">{{Cite news |date=November 22, 1905 |title=In the Real Estate Field; Deal Closed for Schieffelin Estate's Million-Dollar Tract in the Bronx – Sale of Fine Residence Near Hotel St. Regis – Purchases of Business Property. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1905/11/22/archives/in-the-real-estate-field-deal-closed-for-schieffelin-estates.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216173440/https://www.nytimes.com/1905/11/22/archives/in-the-real-estate-field-deal-closed-for-schieffelin-estates.html |url-status=live}}</ref> A [[Covenant (law)|covenant]] required the site to be used as a private residence for 15 years, and Astor planned to erect a house for Haan on the site.<ref name="p571471915" /><ref name="nyt-1903-11-11" /> The sites at 6–10 East 55th Street were excavated simultaneously to save money, and workers built three basements on the site of Haan's house.<ref name="nyt-1903-11-15">{{Cite news |date=November 15, 1903 |title=Large House Below Ground; Some Further Facts About the Dwelling with Hotel Foundations. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/11/15/archives/large-house-below-ground-some-further-facts-about-the-dwelling-with.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215195711/https://www.nytimes.com/1903/11/15/archives/large-house-below-ground-some-further-facts-about-the-dwelling-with.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Several residents filed a lawsuit to halt the excavations, contending that the basements were being excavated for the hotel because no private residence would need such deep basements.<ref name="nyt-1905-11-22" /> A New York Supreme Court judge ruled against them in November 1903, saying that the covenant did not prevent multiple basements at 10 East 55th Street.<ref name="p571471915">{{cite news |date=November 11, 1903 |title=Won't Enjoin J. J. Astor |page=4 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|571471915}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1903-11-11">{{Cite news |date=November 11, 1903 |title=Liquor Dealers to Raise Defense Fund; Local Trade Approves National Scheme for Special Stamps. Proceeds to Be Used for Promoting Favorable Legislation – Fritz Lindinger Resigns Local Presidency. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1903/11/11/archives/liquor-dealers-to-raise-defense-fund-local-trade-approves-national.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215195710/https://www.nytimes.com/1903/11/11/archives/liquor-dealers-to-raise-defense-fund-local-trade-approves-national.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Astor and Haan wanted to obtain a liquor license to offset the high construction costs,<ref name="p555222683">{{cite news |date=May 12, 1904 |title=What! No License for Astor Hotel?: Millionaires Fight the St. Regis on 5Th Ave. Astor's New Hotel Within 200 Feet of Church |page=1 |work=The Hartford Courant |id={{ProQuest|555222683}}}}</ref> to the annoyance of local residents who already opposed the hotel's construction.<ref name="p5716192192" /> At the time, New York state law required that any establishment with a liquor license was required to gain the approval of the owners of two-thirds of all private property within {{cvt|200|ft}}, and was required to be at least 200 feet from any church. The [[Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church]], which objected to the liquor license, was diagonally across from the hotel.<ref name="TL p. 133" /><ref name="p173089166">{{cite news |date=May 12, 1904 |title=C. L. Fair Will Case Is Settled.: Mrs. Oerichs and Mrs. Vanderbilt Turn Over a "Substantial Sum." Astor's Hotel Blocked. New St. Regis Cannot Get a License Because Property Holders Object. Fair Will Case Is Settled |page=3 |work=Chicago Daily Tribune |id={{ProQuest|173089166}}}}</ref>{{Efn|Fifth Avenue is {{cvt|100|ft}} wide, while 55th Street is {{cvt|30|ft}} wide. As such, the distance between the church and the St. Regis is approximately {{cvt|104|ft}}.<ref>{{cite citygrid |pages=17–28}}</ref>}} A significant number of local residents also objected to the liquor license.<ref name="p173089166" /> In early 1904, the [[New York State Legislature]] passed a bill that only required any churches within a 200-foot radius to consent to the license. The sponsors of this legislation did not attempt to hide the fact that the law targeted the St. Regis, and they knew the church would never provide such consent.<ref name="p571480121">{{cite news |date=May 12, 1904 |title=Needs Only Church "Yes": St. Regis Bill Signed Dr. Stevenson Says Trustees Will Vote Against Liquor License |page=4 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|571480121}}}}</ref> Accordingly, Haan bought the house at 697 Fifth Avenue in June 1904,<ref name="p571436348">{{cite news |date=June 4, 1904 |title=Buys Next St. Regis: Haan Makes Purchase to Insure Light and Air |page=3 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|571436348}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1904-06-04">{{Cite news |date=June 4, 1904 |title=In the Real Estate Field; Buyers for West Side Dwellings – Deal for Famous Strip of Ground in the Bronx – Group of Houses Sold in West One Hundred and Forty-Sixth Street – Other Business Among Brokers and at Auction. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/06/04/archives/in-the-real-estate-field-buyers-for-west-side-dwellings-deal-for.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216012655/https://www.nytimes.com/1904/06/04/archives/in-the-real-estate-field-buyers-for-west-side-dwellings-deal-for.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and he relocated the hotel's main entrance from Fifth Avenue to 55th Street, which was more than 200 feet away from the church.<ref name="p5716192192" /><ref name="TL p. 133" /> Haan obtained a liquor license the next month,<ref name="p555233756">{{cite news |date=July 25, 1904 |title=St. Regis Gets a License: Astor Hotel Near Church Meets Requirements of Law |page=8 |work=The Hartford Courant |id={{ProQuest|555233756}}}}</ref> and the church dropped its formal opposition to the license.<ref name="p126881892">{{Cite magazine |date=September 17, 1904 |title=Travel and Resorts: Two Great New York Hotels the New Hotels, Astor and St. Regis the Manisses, Block Island, Rhode Island Hotel and Travel Notes |magazine=Town and Country |issue=3044 |page=30 |id={{ProQuest|126881892}}}}</ref>

=== Opening and early years ===
The Hotel St. Regis opened on September 4, 1904,<ref name="nyt-1904-09-04">{{Cite news |date=September 4, 1904 |title=Palatial St. Regis to Open Its Doors To-Day; Called the Most Richly Furnished Hotel in America |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/09/04/archives/palatial-st-regis-to-open-its-doors-today-called-the-most-richly.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215224642/https://www.nytimes.com/1904/09/04/archives/palatial-st-regis-to-open-its-doors-today-called-the-most-richly.html |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |access-date=December 15, 2022 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="p571619219">{{cite news |date=September 4, 1904 |title=Private View of the St. Regis: Hotel Costing $5,500,000 To Open for Guests This Morning |work=New-York Tribune |page=2 |id={{ProQuest|571619219}}}}</ref> almost simultaneously with the completion of the [[Hotel Astor (New York City)|Hotel Astor]], operated by John Jacob Astor's cousin and rival, [[William Waldorf Astor]].<ref name="nyt-2006-06-18">{{Cite news |last=Lowenstein |first=Roger |date=June 18, 2006 |title=An Age of Splendor, And Hotel One-Upmanship |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/18/business/yourmoney/an-age-of-splendor-and-hotel-oneupmanship.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219010928/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/18/business/yourmoney/an-age-of-splendor-and-hotel-oneupmanship.html |archive-date=December 19, 2022 |access-date=December 19, 2022 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Thousands of people had sought invitations to the hotel's opening-night dinner.<ref name="p571619219" /><ref name="p1498495485">{{cite news |date=October 14, 1904 |title=Millionaires' Hotel |work=South China Morning Post |page=5 |id={{ProQuest|1498495485}}}}</ref> Haan said the new hotel would serve guests on a "[[First-come first-served|first come, first served]]" basis.<ref name="p571619219" /> The hotel had cost $5.5&nbsp;million to develop; the building itself had cost $4&nbsp;million, while the furnishings had cost another $1.5&nbsp;million.{{efn-lr|The total cost is equivalent to ${{inflation|index=US|value=5.5|start_year=1904|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation year|US}}. The building cost the equivalent of ${{inflation|index=US|value=4|start_year=1904|fmt=c}} million, while the furnishings had cost the equivalent of ${{inflation|index=US|value=1.5|start_year=1904|fmt=c}} million.{{inflation/fn|index=US|group=lower-alpha}}}}<ref name="TL p. 133" /><ref name="nyt-1904-09-04" /><ref name="p536928001">{{cite news |date=September 4, 1904 |title=Like Living at Home: Lodging at New St. Regis From $8 to $125 Per Day This Is Astor's Latest Hotel If You Pay $125 You May Occupy a $10,000 Bed While Yon Sleep-An 18-Story Hostelry |work=The Sun |page=2 |id={{ProQuest|536928001}}}}</ref>

==== John Jacob Astor ownership ====
[[File:St. Regis Hotel, 5th Ave. & 55th St. LCCN2001697056.jpg|alt=Grayscale photograph of the St. Regis Hotel as seen from the ground level, circa 1905|thumb|The St. Regis as seen circa 1905]]

In the months after the St. Regis opened, there was much coverage of its costs and expenses; for instance, one of the beds cost $10,000{{efn-lr|This is {{inflation|index=US|value=10000|start_year=1904|r=-3|fmt=eq}}.{{inflation/fn|index=US|group=lower-alpha}}}}<ref name="p1221282949" /><ref name="p126881892" /> and a turkey cost $4.50.{{efn-lr|This is {{inflation|index=US|value=4.50|start_year=1904|fmt=eq}}.{{inflation/fn|index=US|group=lower-alpha}}}}<ref name="p1221282949" /><ref name="p2080724568">{{Cite magazine |last=Dix |first=W. F. |date=October 22, 1904 |title=Hotels of the New Era: Tokens of the Nation's Wealth and Progressiveness |magazine=Town and Country |volume=59 |issue=33 |page=15 |id={{ProQuest|2080724568}}}}</ref> Daily room rates ranged from $4 for the smallest suites to $125 for the state apartment.{{efn-lr|Equivalent to between ${{inflation|index=US|value=4|start_year=1904|fmt=c}} and ${{inflation|index=US|value=125|start_year=1904|fmt=c}} in {{Inflation year|US}}.{{inflation/fn|index=US|group=lower-alpha}}}} Haan disavowed claims that the hotel was expensive, saying: "We charge $14 a day for salon, bedchamber, and bath."<ref name="p536928001" /> Media reports still exaggerated the hotel's high prices. According to ''Town and Country'' magazine, the public was given the impression that guests had to spend "two or three figures" on food and "a small fortune" on the rooms.<ref name="TC p. 28">{{harvnb|Town and Country|1905|ps=.|p=28}}</ref> Another rumor circulated that the chambermaids' keys were attached to strings of pearls around their waists.<ref name="TL p. 135">{{harvnb|Tauranac|1985|ps=.|page=135}}</ref> These reports scared away all except the wealthiest guests.<ref name="nyt-1904-11-06">{{Cite news |date=November 6, 1904 |title=Too Well Advertised, St. Regis Man Laments; R.M. Haan Tells the Troubles of the House |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/11/06/archives/too-well-advertised-st-regis-man-laments-rm-haan-tells-the-troubles.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215224640/https://www.nytimes.com/1904/11/06/archives/too-well-advertised-st-regis-man-laments-rm-haan-tells-the-troubles.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p573466168">{{Cite news |date=November 7, 1904 |title=Hurt by Stories of High Prices: Manager of the St. Regis Says Guests Have Been Frightened Away by Newspapers |page=3 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |id={{ProQuest|573466168}}}}</ref> Haan described media coverage of the hotel as a "positive injury" to business, saying that the reports were "frightening away millionaires".<ref name="nyt-1904-11-06" /> Nonetheless, the St. Regis was still a luxury hotel; access to the public rooms and the guestrooms was restricted to those who could pay.<ref name="TC p. 29">{{harvnb|Town and Country|1905|ps=.|p=29}}</ref>

William Rockefeller bought an adjacent mansion at 7 East 54th Street in October 1904.<ref name="p536892212">{{Cite news |date=October 18, 1904 |title=Topics in New York: J. R. Platt, Of Hannah Elias Fame, Sells House to Rockefeller Tries to Thwart Col. Astor Children Throw Stones Through Ventilators at Subway Trains-Young Couple Agree on Suicide |page=10 |work=The Sun |id={{ProQuest|536892212}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1904-10-18">{{Cite news |date=October 18, 1904 |title=Woman Burned Another to Death, Police Say; Declare Mrs. Martin Threw Lamp at Her Visitor |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/10/18/archives/woman-burned-another-to-death-police-say-declare-mrs-martin-threw.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216161324/https://www.nytimes.com/1904/10/18/archives/woman-burned-another-to-death-police-say-declare-mrs-martin-threw.html |url-status=live}}</ref> This purchase may have been intended to prevent a southward expansion of the St. Regis<ref name="TL p. 133" /><ref name="p536892212" /> or to get the hotel's liquor license revoked.<ref name="nyt-1904-10-18" /> Early the next year, several of the hotel's opponents filed a lawsuit to request revocation of the St. Regis's liquor license;<ref name="nyt-1905-01-14">{{Cite news |date=January 14, 1905 |title=R.M. Haan Accused; False Statements in St. Regis License Application Alleged. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1905/01/14/archives/rm-haan-accused-false-statements-in-st-regis-license-application.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216173439/https://www.nytimes.com/1905/01/14/archives/rm-haan-accused-false-statements-in-st-regis-license-application.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p571527210">{{cite news |date=January 12, 1905 |title=That St. Regis License: Edward Lauterbach Asks State Excise Board to Revoke It |page=3 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|571527210}}}}</ref> they claimed that, in his license application, Haan had provided false statements about the number of local residents who consented to the license.<ref name="nyt-1905-01-14" /> A state judge rejected the suit in April 1905, saying that the plaintiffs had to file a lawsuit individually.<ref name="nyt-1905-04-01">{{Cite news |date=April 1, 1905 |title=Won't Act Against St. Regis; Property Owners Must Sue in Their Own Names, Says Mr. Cullinan. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1905/04/01/archives/wont-act-against-st-regis-property-owners-must-sue-in-their-own.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216173440/https://www.nytimes.com/1905/04/01/archives/wont-act-against-st-regis-property-owners-must-sue-in-their-own.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p571571255">{{cite news |date=April 1, 1905 |title=Won't Cancel License: Cullinan Refuses to Act in St. Regis Case—church Not Applicant |page=1 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|571571255}}}}</ref> Opponents then requested that a state judge enjoin Astor from developing an annex to the hotel at 10 East 55th Street.<ref name="p571635483" /> A further amendment to the liquor law, exempting all hotels with over 200 rooms from having to obtain permission from nearby churches, failed in 1905 and again in 1907.<ref name="nyt-1999-01-03">{{Cite news |last=Gray |first=Christopher |date=January 3, 1999 |title=Streetscapes / The Old Gotham Hotel, Now the Peninsula New York; A History Shaped, In Part, By State Liquor Laws |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/03/realestate/streetscapes-old-gotham-hotel-now-peninsula-new-york-history-shaped-part-state.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218230626/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/03/realestate/streetscapes-old-gotham-hotel-now-peninsula-new-york-history-shaped-part-state.html |url-status=live}}</ref> An outdoor restaurant opened at the St. Regis in 1906.<ref name="p126866229">{{Cite magazine |last=Robinson |first=W G |date=September 1, 1906 |title=New York's Open Air Restaurants: A Welcome Addition to the City's Places of Entertainment in Summer Time; Their History and Many Attractive Features |magazine=Town and Country |page=10 |id={{ProQuest|126866229}}}}</ref> The outdoor restaurant, placed along a terrace facing Fifth Avenue, quickly became popular during dinners.<ref name="p2086302321">{{Cite magazine |date=July 17, 1909 |title=Home Comfort in Hotel Life: A Striking Example in the Hotel St. Regis, New York |magazine=Town and Country |volume=64 |issue=18 |page=27 |id={{ProQuest|2086302321}}}}</ref>

According to one critic, the hotel was specifically intended for those "who were rich, and who were or wanted to be fashionable, but [who wanted a hotel] which would also be somewhat quieter and more exclusive".<ref name="Stern (1983) pp. 262–267">{{harvnb|Stern|Gilmartin|Massengale|1983|ps=.|pp=262, 267}}</ref> The hotel was relatively close to many theaters and stores, but the immediate vicinity was still largely composed of private residences.<ref name="Stern (1983) p. 267">{{harvnb|Stern|Gilmartin|Massengale|1983|ps=.|p=267}}</ref> Despite recurring reports about the hotel's exorbitant prices, the St. Regis's rates were no higher than those of similar upscale hotels in New York City.<ref name="p144618294">{{cite news |date=June 1, 1905 |title=Hotel Perfection: As Exemplified by the Hotel St. Regis, New York. The Bates Are Reasonable New York's Already Large Group of Fine Hotels Surpassed by One Still Finer. Novel Features of Pronounced Utility. An Ideally Comfortable Home |page=9 |newspaper=The Washington Post |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|144618294}}}}</ref><ref name="p126860043">{{Cite magazine |date=April 13, 1907 |title=The Hotel St. Regis: Society Taking Up This Hotel for Private Entertaining—figures Show That Prices Are Moderate—the Popularity of Its Restaurant |magazine=Town and Country |issue=3178 |page=37 |id={{ProQuest|126860043}}}}</ref> Many of the hotel's first patrons were upper-class but not ultra-wealthy.<ref name="TC p. 28" /> ''Town and Country'' reported in 1907 that many rooms were being rented at nightly rates of $5 to $10, while the more expensive suites rented for $14 to $20. By then, the hotel had become a popular venue for wealthy New Yorkers' dinner-dances, which had previously been hosted at the [[Delmonico's]] or [[Sherry's]] restaurants.<ref name="p126860043" /> In keeping with the St. Regis's upscale character, the hotel's operators trained the staff extensively and branded it as "The Best in America".<ref name="p126848286">{{Cite magazine |date=April 9, 1910 |title=The Hotel St. Regis: Fifth Avenue and Fifty-Fifth Street, New York. A Realized Ideal in Hotel Construction. Furnishing, Equipment and Operation |magazine=Town and Country |issue=3334 |page=33 |id={{ProQuest|126848286}}}}</ref> According to the [[1910 United States census]], many of the hotel's permanent residents were families who had relocated from townhouses in Midtown and lived with one or two servants.<ref name="nyt-2005-05-29" /> The St. Regis's terrace restaurant was demolished after Fifth Avenue was widened in 1911, since the terrace protruded {{cvt|14|ft}} into the street.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 13, 1911 |title=Upper Fifth Avenue in Wreckers' Hands; New York's Most Famous Mansions Have Their Facades Cut Back to Widen Thoroughfare. |language=en-US |page=35 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1911/08/13/100341098.pdf |url-status=live |url-access=limited |access-date=June 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717144832/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1911/08/13/100341098.pdf |archive-date=July 17, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==== Vincent Astor ownership ====
[[File:Dinner at the Hotel St. Regis, New York 1912.jpg|alt=Grayscale sketch of the St. Regis Hotel's dining room as seen in 1912|thumb|Dining room of the St. Regis, 1912]]

John Jacob Astor died when the [[RMS Titanic|RMS ''Titanic'']] sank in 1912.<ref name="stregisnewyork.com" /> His 20-year-old son [[Vincent Astor]] inherited $150&nbsp;million of real estate, including the St. Regis Hotel, which had been valued at $2.675&nbsp;million.<ref name="nyt-1912-05-08">{{Cite news |date=May 8, 1912 |title=Young Astor's Lands Worth $150,000,000; At 21 He Will Control More Millions Than Any Man of His Age in the Country. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/05/08/archives/young-astors-lands-worth-150000000-at-21-he-will-control-more.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216184026/https://www.nytimes.com/1912/05/08/archives/young-astors-lands-worth-150000000-at-21-he-will-control-more.html |url-status=live}}</ref> That year, amid rumors that Vincent was planning to expand the St. Regis, William Rockefeller bought the house at 12 East 55th Street, immediately east of the hotel.<ref name="p574942791">{{cite news |date=June 1, 1912 |title=Wm. Rockefeller Again Buys to Halt Business: Gets G. A. Cochran Place in 55th Street, Near Fifth Avenue, To Protect Home May Stop St. Regis Plans Property Adjoins Hotel in Rear—brother Has Also Spent Much to Keep Back Trade Invasion |page=1 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|574942791}}}}</ref> Rockefeller already owned the houses at 3–9 East 54th Street, preventing Vincent from expanding the hotel to the south, and the hotel's other two sides faced the street.<ref name="p1114579507" /> Haan announced in May 1921 that he would build an 18-story annex, with 150 rooms, to the east of the existing hotel, although this did not happen.<ref name="p576402518">{{cite news |date=May 12, 1921 |title=Addition for Hotel St. Regis |page=11 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|576402518}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1921-05-11">{{Cite news |date=May 11, 1921 |title=Addition to the St. Regis; Will Give Hotel 150 More Rooms in 18-Story Annex. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1921/05/11/archives/addition-to-the-st-regis-will-give-hotel-150-more-rooms-in-18story.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215163853/https://www.nytimes.com/1921/05/11/archives/addition-to-the-st-regis-will-give-hotel-150-more-rooms-in-18story.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Rockefeller's houses on 54th and 55th Streets, which had long prevented the hotel's expansion, were sold in 1924.<ref name="p103332815">{{cite news |date=July 2, 1924 |title=Big Fifth Avenue Sale.: Old Rockefeller Holdings Sold to Operators. |page=33 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|103332815}}}}</ref>

The residences on the adjacent blocks of Fifth Avenue had been replaced with stores by the mid-1920s.<ref name="nyt-1924-06-19">{{Cite news |date=June 19, 1924 |title=Fifth Avenue Zone Rents; New Russell Estate Lease Reflects Advance. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/06/19/archives/fifth-avenue-zone-rents-new-russell-estate-lease-reflects-advance.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215163848/https://www.nytimes.com/1924/06/19/archives/fifth-avenue-zone-rents-new-russell-estate-lease-reflects-advance.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In July 1925, Vincent filed plans with the [[New York City Department of Buildings]] to construct six storefronts at ground level at a cost of $200,000.<ref name="nyt-1925-07-01">{{Cite news |date=July 1, 1925 |title=Vincent Astor to Build Stores in Hotel St. Regis And Make Lofts of Adjoining House in 5Th Av. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1925/07/01/archives/vincent-astor-to-build-stores-in-hotel-st-regis-and-make-lofts-of.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215154942/https://www.nytimes.com/1925/07/01/archives/vincent-astor-to-build-stores-in-hotel-st-regis-and-make-lofts-of.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1676977250">{{cite magazine |date=July 1, 1925 |title=Realty News: Hotel St. Regis To Have Stores On 5Th Ave. Side |magazine=Women's Wear |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=7 |id={{ProQuest|1676977250}}}}</ref> One of the storefronts would be placed in the ground-level dining room, and another storefront would be constructed within a structure that was used as an employee break room.<ref name="nyt-1925-07-01" /><ref name="p1112925138">{{cite news |date=July 1, 1925 |title=Five Stores to Replace Dining Room at St. Regis: Vincent Aslor Also to Convert Adjoining Property Into Loft Building |page=1 |work=The New York Herald, New York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1112925138}}}}</ref> C. A. Platt designed the alterations.<ref name="p1112925138" /> Over the next several months, the storefronts were leased to such tenants as jeweler E. M. Gattle,<ref name="p103500396">{{cite news |date=September 30, 1925 |title=St. Regis Hotel Store Leased to Jewelers: E. M. Gattle & Co. Take Space in Negotiations With Vincent Astor. |page=36 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|103500396}}}}</ref> haberdasher Joseph Holstein,<ref name="p1113127090">{{cite news |date=September 5, 1925 |title=Haberdasher Will Pay Astor $300,000 Rental for Store: Takes Shop in Building Now Being Erected at Fifth Ave. And 33d St.; Many Other Midtown Leases |page=29 |work=The New York Herald, New York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1113127090}}}}</ref> and menswear firm William A. McLaughlin & Co.<ref name="p1676873592">{{cite magazine |date=September 30, 1925 |title=McLaughlin To Move To Upper Avenue Store: Old Established Haberdasher Carrying Women's Sports Wear Will Occupy 697 Fifth Ave. In March—Business Is Incorporated |magazine=Women's Wear |volume=31 |issue=77 |pages=55 |id={{ProQuest|1676873592}}}}</ref> In May 1926, Vincent bought out the operating lease of Rudolph Haan, who had managed the hotel since it opened. Vincent then leased the hotel to Julius and William Manger of [[Manger Hotels]], who announced that they would retain the hotel's existing staff and policies.<ref name="p1112899567">{{cite news |date=May 1, 1926 |title=Vincent Aster Leases St. Regis To Manger Bros: Buys Haan's Interest in the Fifth Avenue Hostelry to Negotiate a New Deal for the Management Present Staff Remains Hotel Firm Plans to Make No Drastic Changes in the Policy Since Opening |page=12 |work=The New York Herald, New York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|1112899567}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1926-05-01">{{Cite news |date=May 1, 1926 |title=Vincent Astor Buys Back St. Regis Lease; Managers Will Operate the Hotel for Him |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/05/01/archives/vincent-astor-buys-back-st-regis-lease-managers-will-operate-the.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215154943/https://www.nytimes.com/1926/05/01/archives/vincent-astor-buys-back-st-regis-lease-managers-will-operate-the.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Duke ownership ===
Vincent sold the St. Regis to [[Benjamin Newton Duke]]'s Durham Realty Corporation in February 1927.<ref name="p1130486284">{{cite news |date=February 5, 1927 |title=Vincent Astor Sells St. Regis To B. N. Duke: 18-Story Addition Planned for Hotel at Fifth Avenue and 55th St., Which Is Assessed at $4,310,000 |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1130486284}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1927-02-05">{{Cite news |date=February 5, 1927 |title=Hotel St. Regis Is Sold by Vincent Astor To Duke Interests, Which Will Build Addition |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1927/02/05/archives/hotel-st-regis-is-sold-by-vincent-astor-to-duke-interests-which.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215023455/https://www.nytimes.com/1927/02/05/archives/hotel-st-regis-is-sold-by-vincent-astor-to-duke-interests-which.html |url-status=live}}</ref> It was the only hotel in New York City that the Astor family still owned, as the family had previously sold off its other hotels.<ref name="p149790076">{{cite news |date=February 5, 1927 |title=Last of Astor Hotels, The St. Regis, Is Sold |page=1 |newspaper=The Washington Post |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|149790076}}}}</ref> Architecture firm Sloan & Robertson immediately filed plans for an eastward annex to the hotel.<ref name="p104227520">{{cite news |date=February 15, 1927 |title=St. Regis Annex Plans |page=44 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|104227520}}}}</ref> Duke bought an adjacent row house at 12 East 55th Street the next month, extending the hotel's 55th Street frontage to {{cvt|250|ft}}.<ref name="p104208555" /><ref name="p1132765066" /> Duke planned to add 317 rooms, nearly doubling the hotel's size to 615 rooms. A new dining room, grill room, and rooftop garden were also planned as part of the project.<ref name="n114658503">{{Cite news |date=June 12, 1927 |title=18-Story Annex to St. Regis Hotel New Owner's Plan |pages=42 |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114658503/18-story-annex-to-st-regis-hotel-new/ |access-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215154957/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114658503/18-story-annex-to-st-regis-hotel-new/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p103943603">{{cite news |date=June 12, 1927 |title=To Double Capacity of Hotel St. Regis: Durham Realty Corporation Ltas Let Contract for Addition and Alterations. |page=RE1 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|103943603}}}}</ref> The work also included minor upgrades to the existing hotel, including elevators and bathrooms. Leddy & Moore Inc. was hired as the general contractor for the alterations in June 1927.<ref name="p103943603" /> To protect views from the annex, Duke leased Rockefeller's old row houses at 3–9 East 54th Street, for 63 years in October 1927.<ref name="p104057046">{{cite news |date=October 19, 1927 |title=To Protect St. Regis.: Duke Interests Acquire East 54th St. Plot to Assure Light. |page=46 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{ProQuest|104057046}}}}</ref><ref name="p1113758712">{{cite news |date=October 19, 1927 |title=Real Estate Transactions in the City and Suburban Fields: $6,000,000 Rent To Protect Light Of Hotel Regis Duke Interests Lease Former Wm. Rockefeller Property Abutting on 54th St.; Demand for Mid-Town Space |page=40 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1113758712}}}}</ref>

The roof garden atop the annex opened in early June 1928, and the annex itself was completed on July 1, 1928.<ref name="nyt-1928-06-10">{{Cite news |date=June 10, 1928 |title=St. Regis Addition; New Twenty-Two-Story Structure to Be Opened July 1. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/06/10/archives/st-regis-addition-new-twentytwostory-structure-to-be-opened-july-1.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215163848/https://www.nytimes.com/1928/06/10/archives/st-regis-addition-new-twentytwostory-structure-to-be-opened-july-1.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1113386748">{{cite news |date=June 10, 1928 |title=St. Regis Hotel Will Have 400 Rooms More July 1: Finishing Touches Being Given to 22-Story Addition |page=D2 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1113386748}}}}</ref> Prior to the opening of the annex, the St. Regis had never contained a roof garden.<ref name="p1475890889">{{cite magazine |date=July 18, 1928 |title=Night Clubs: Night Club Reviews – Hotel St. Regis |magazine=Variety |volume=92 |issue=1 |page=57 |id={{ProQuest|1475890889}}}}</ref> In January 1933, the Durham Realty Corporation transferred ownership of the hotel to the Hotel St. Regis Inc.; at the time, the hotel owed $1.2&nbsp;million to various creditors.<ref name="nyt-1934-06-09">{{Cite news |date=June 9, 1934 |title=Astor Is Attacked in St. Regis Suit; Accused of Seeking to Acquire Holdings Worth $10,000,000 For $5,100,000 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/06/09/archives/astor-is-attacked-in-st-regis-suit-accused-of-seeking-to-acquire.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215175647/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/06/09/archives/astor-is-attacked-in-st-regis-suit-accused-of-seeking-to-acquire.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The hotel's resident manager, Eugene T. Hartigan, died the same year.<ref name="p1240065422">{{cite news |date=March 20, 1933 |title=E. T. Hartigan Dies; St. Regis Hotel Manager: Succumbs to Heart Attack Suffered at the Dinner of Greeters' Association Hotel Manager |page=13 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1240065422}}}}</ref> The St. Regis Tropical Garden opened on the hotel's roof in November 1934.<ref name="p1242845133">{{cite news |date=November 1, 1934 |title=Humane Society Benefits as Hotel Opens a Garden: St. Regis Tropical Room Has Halloween Decorations Many Entertain at Dinner, Supper |page=17 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1242845133}}}}</ref> The bartender [[Fernand Petiot]], who invented the [[Bloody Mary (cocktail)|Bloody Mary]] cocktail, started working at the hotel that year.<ref name="Liberman 2011 p. 78">{{cite book |last=Liberman |first=S. |title=American Food by the Decades |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-313-37698-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sLSDQRV3XUMC&pg=PA78 |page=78}}</ref>

=== Re-acquisition by Astor ===
[[File:5 Av Dec 2022 90.jpg|thumb|Fifth Avenue facade seen in 2022]]

Vincent Astor foreclosed on the hotel's $5&nbsp;million mortgage in May 1934.<ref name="p1114827143">{{cite news |date=May 26, 1934 |title=Astor Sues to Foreclose On the Hotel St. Regis: Action Filed in Supreme Court Under $5,000,000 Mortgage |page=8 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1114827143}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1934-05-26">{{Cite news |date=May 26, 1934 |title=Vincent Astor Sues for St. Regis Debt; Would Foreclose a $5,000,000 Mortgage on Fifth Avenue Hotel Property. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/05/26/archives/vincent-astor-sues-for-st-regis-debt-would-foreclose-a-5000000.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215175649/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/05/26/archives/vincent-astor-sues-for-st-regis-debt-would-foreclose-a-5000000.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Astor retained the right to buy the St. Regis's furniture for $100,000 if he foreclosed on the hotel.<ref name="p1221656862">{{cite news |date=June 26, 1934 |title=Vincent Astor Gets Writ In Hotel St. Regis Case: Company Restrained From Removing Furnishings |page=18 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1221656862}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1934-06-26">{{Cite news |date=June 26, 1934 |title=Astor Gets Stay Against St. Regis; Court Grants an Injunction Restraining Hotel From Selling Furnishings |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/06/26/archives/astor-gets-stay-against-st-regis-court-grants-an-injunction.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215175650/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/06/26/archives/astor-gets-stay-against-st-regis-court-grants-an-injunction.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Accordingly, Astor sought and received a temporary injunction in early June 1934, preventing the Dukes from selling the furniture;<ref name="nyt-1934-06-02">{{Cite news |date=June 2, 1934 |title=St. Regis Closing Stopped by Court; Vincent Astor Gets Injunction to Halt Sale of Equipment, Pending Hearing Monday |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/06/02/archives/st-regis-closing-stopped-by-court-vincent-astor-gets-injunction-to.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215175657/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/06/02/archives/st-regis-closing-stopped-by-court-vincent-astor-gets-injunction-to.html |url-status=live}}</ref> a state court granted another injunction the same month.<ref name="p1221656862" /><ref name="nyt-1934-06-26" /> The dispute stemmed from the fact that the Dukes believed the furniture was severely undervalued.<ref name="nyt-1934-06-09" /><ref name="p1242976576">{{cite news |date=June 9, 1934 |title=2 Sides Charge Trickery in Suit Over St. Regis: Vincent Astor, Aiming to Foreclose, Finds Mortgage on All Furnishings Say S He's Being 'Held Up' Owners Reply in Court He's Looking for a Bargain |page=9 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1242976576}}}}</ref> [[Raymond Moley]] was appointed as the receiver for the hotel shortly afterward.<ref name="p1114833385">{{cite news |date=June 8, 1934 |title=Moley Named Receiver For St. Regis Furniture: Astor Wins Point in Foreclosure Action |page=12 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1114833385}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1934-06-08">{{Cite news |date=June 8, 1934 |title=Moley Appointed St. Regis Receiver; Selected on Eve of Hearing of Astor Writ to Halt Sale of Furnishings |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/06/08/archives/moley-appointed-st-regis-receiver-selected-on-eve-of-hearing-of.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215175649/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/06/08/archives/moley-appointed-st-regis-receiver-selected-on-eve-of-hearing-of.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The Dukes sued Moley in July 1934, as they wanted him to pay $16,000 per month for the right to use the hotel's furniture.<ref name="nyt-1934-07-27">{{Cite news |date=July 27, 1934 |title=Moley Defendant in Suit Over St. Regis; Asked as Receiver of Rents to Stop Using Furnishings of Hotel or Pay for Them. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/07/27/archives/moley-defendant-in-suit-over-st-regis-asked-as-receiver-of-rents-to.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215175648/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/07/27/archives/moley-defendant-in-suit-over-st-regis-asked-as-receiver-of-rents-to.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1796838433">{{cite magazine |date=August 4, 1934 |title=Moley: Pay Asked for Editor's Sleeping, Eating, And Washing |magazine=Newsweek |volume=4 |issue=5 |pages=26 |id={{ProQuest|1796838433}}}}</ref> A state judge ruled that a foreclosure auction for the hotel could not be hosted until the disputes over the furniture were resolved.<ref name="nyt-1934-07-28">{{Cite news |date=July 28, 1934 |title=Vincent Astor Plea Is Denied by Court; Request to Sell St. Regis Hotel Is Refused – Moley Accused Unjustly, He Says. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/07/28/archives/vincent-astor-plea-is-denied-by-court-request-to-sell-st-regis.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215175653/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/07/28/archives/vincent-astor-plea-is-denied-by-court-request-to-sell-st-regis.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[New York Supreme Court]] ruled the next month that Moley had to pay rent for the furniture.<ref name="nyt-1934-08-18">{{Cite news |date=August 18, 1934 |title=St. Regis Wins Rent on Its Furnishings; Court Orders Testimony Taken on Their Value as Estimates Differ Widely. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/08/18/archives/st-regis-wins-rent-on-its-furnishings-court-orders-testimony-taken.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215175650/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/08/18/archives/st-regis-wins-rent-on-its-furnishings-court-orders-testimony-taken.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The Supreme Court's [[New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division|Appellate Division]] ruled in December 1934 that Astor had the right to foreclose on the mortgage.<ref name="p1243816400">{{cite news |date=December 8, 1934 |title=Astor Gets Right To Foreclose on St. Regis Hotel: Appellate Division Rules He May Proceed to Take Over $5,000,000 Property Furnishings Issue Pends $100,000 Purchase Option Was Not Passed On by Court |page=13 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1243816400}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1934-12-08">{{Cite news |date=December 8, 1934 |title=Astor Foreclosure in Hotel Suit Upheld; Appellate Division Decides He Has Right to Judgment in $5,000,000 St. Regis Action. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/12/08/archives/astor-foreclosure-in-hotel-suit-upheld-appellate-division-decides.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215023457/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/12/08/archives/astor-foreclosure-in-hotel-suit-upheld-appellate-division-decides.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Dukes and Astor agreed to a settlement in May 1935. The St. Regis would be brought out of receivership, and Vincent would pay [[Mary Duke Biddle]] $300,000 for the hotel's furniture.{{efn-lr|The furniture is equivalent to ${{inflation|index=US|value=0.3|start_year=1935|r=2|fmt=c}} million in {{inflation/year|US}}.{{inflation/fn|index=US|group=lower-alpha}}}}<ref name="nyt-1935-05-09">{{Cite news |date=May 9, 1935 |title=Settlement Gives St. Regis to Astor: Agreement With Duke Interests Also Calls for Ending of Receivership. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/05/09/archives/settlement-gives-st-regis-to-astor-agreement-with-duke-interests.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215175649/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/05/09/archives/settlement-gives-st-regis-to-astor-agreement-with-duke-interests.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1221982812">{{cite news |date=May 9, 1935 |title=Vincent Astor Gets Control of St. Regis Hotel: Dispute With Duke Interests Ends as $300,000 Is Set as Price of Furnishings $100,000 Is Due May 15 6-Month And 1-Year Notes Will Cover Remainder |page=20 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1221982812}}}}</ref> Astor paid $5.09&nbsp;million for the hotel at a foreclosure auction on June 11, 1935.{{efn-lr|This is equivalent to ${{inflation|index=US|value=5.09|start_year=1935|r=2|fmt=c}} million in {{inflation/year|US}}.{{inflation/fn|index=US|group=lower-alpha}}}}<ref name="p12220493062">{{cite news |date=June 12, 1935 |title=Astor Pays $5,090,000 For Hotel St. Regis: Acquires 5Th Ave. Property at Foreclosure Sale |page=16A |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1222049306}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1935-06-12">{{Cite news |date=June 12, 1935 |title=Astor to Operate St. Regis Hotel; Long Battle for Full Control of 5Th Av. Structure Ends in a Foreclosure Auction. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/06/12/archives/astor-to-operate-st-regis-hotel-long-battle-for-full-control-of-5th.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215175645/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/06/12/archives/astor-to-operate-st-regis-hotel-long-battle-for-full-control-of-5th.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The hotel's staff praised Moley for his work as the hotel's receiver, saying that he helped the St. Regis turn a net profit at a time when many hotels were operating at a loss.<ref name="nyt-1935-06-13">{{Cite news |date=June 13, 1935 |title=Moley Wins Praise as Hotel Manager; ' Brain Trust' Held a Success in Business as He Gets Bust on Retiring as Receiver. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/06/13/archives/moley-wins-praise-as-hotel-manager-brain-trust-held-a-success-in.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215175651/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/06/13/archives/moley-wins-praise-as-hotel-manager-brain-trust-held-a-success-in.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Vincent began remodeling the St. Regis,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stregisnewyork.com/experience/the-legacy |title=The St. Regis New York |website=Marriott International |access-date=June 15, 2023 |archive-date=May 30, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530012628/http://www.stregisnewyork.com/experience/the-legacy |url-status=live}}</ref> and he appointed James Otto Stack as the hotel's general manager in September 1935.<ref name="nyt-1935-09-06">{{Cite news |date=September 6, 1935 |title=J.O. Stack in New Hotel Post. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/09/06/archives/jo-stack-in-new-hotel-post.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215175647/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/09/06/archives/jo-stack-in-new-hotel-post.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The Maisonette Russe restaurant, modeled on an eponymous restaurant in Paris, opened within the St. Regis in October 1935,<ref name="p1222049306">{{cite news |date=October 11, 1935 |title=Hotel St. Regis Opens Its Maisonette Russe: Copy of Paris Establishment Has Inaugural Here |page=29 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1222049306}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1935-10-10">{{Cite news |date=October 10, 1935 |title=Night Club Blessed by Russian Prelate; Employes of New Restaurant Are Also Included in Greek Catholic Ceremony. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/10/10/archives/night-club-blessed-by-russian-prelate-employes-of-new-restaurant.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215175655/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/10/10/archives/night-club-blessed-by-russian-prelate-employes-of-new-restaurant.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and the King Cole Room opened the same month.<ref name="nyt-1935-10-02">{{Cite news |date=October 2, 1935 |title=King Cole Room Ready; New Dining Place in Hotel St. Regis Will Open Tonight. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/10/02/archives/king-cole-room-ready-new-dining-place-in-hotel-st-regis-will-open.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215175652/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/10/02/archives/king-cole-room-ready-new-dining-place-in-hotel-st-regis-will-open.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In part because of the repeal of Prohibition, the hotel's restaurant business increased by 300 percent between 1935 and 1937.<ref name="p1322397044-">{{cite news |date=June 4, 1937 |title=Vincent Astor Visions Better Days in Realty: Shows Keen Interest in St. Regis Hotel Business Favorable He Says |page=42 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1322397044}}}}</ref> Astor also installed air conditioning in more than 250 rooms, reusing the hotel's original ventilation ducts.<ref name="nyt-1937-06-04">{{Cite news |date=June 4, 1937 |title=Astor Foresees East Side Growth; New Drive Will Bring Change in Residential Area, He Believes |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1937/06/04/archives/astor-foresees-east-side-growth-new-drive-will-bring-change-in.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410204714/https://www.nytimes.com/1937/06/04/archives/astor-foresees-east-side-growth-new-drive-will-bring-change-in.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The annex's roof garden reopened in May 1936 as a Viennese roof garden,<ref name="nyt-1936-05-20">{{Cite news |date=May 20, 1936 |title=Roof Garden Opens With Benefit Fete; Distinguished Gathering at the St. Regis Event to Help Musicians' Fund |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/05/20/archives/roof-garden-opens-with-benefit-fete-distinguished-gathering-at-the.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407063109/https://www.nytimes.com/1936/05/20/archives/roof-garden-opens-with-benefit-fete-distinguished-gathering-at-the.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1330087170">{{cite news |date=May 20, 1936 |title=Musicians' Fund Gains From Dinner Dance, Music Fete: New Viennese Roof Garden Setting for Benefit; Vincent Astors Entertain Guests |page=23 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1330087170}}}}</ref> and the King Cole Room became an event venue called the Iridium Room that October.<ref name="p1653446376">{{cite magazine |date=October 14, 1936 |title=Iridium Makes Debut In Decor At St. Regis: Room Of Elegance, Distinction |magazine=Women's Wear Daily |volume=53 |issue=75 |pages=3, 34 |id={{ProQuest|1653446376}}}}</ref><ref name="p1240473775">{{cite news |date=October 13, 1936 |title=Society Reserves Places for Opening To Aid Musician: Entertainment Is Arranged for Tomorrow Night in Iridium Room of the St. Regis |page=27A |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1240473775}}}}</ref>

The renovations were completed in June 1937 at a cost of $500,000.<ref name="p1322397044-" /><ref name="nyt-1937-06-04" /> Stack resigned as the hotel's general manager in 1938.<ref name="nyt-1939-12-27">{{Cite news |date=December 27, 1939 |title=Elected as President Of Ritz-Carlton Hotel |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1939/12/27/archives/elected-as-president-of-ritzcarlton-hotel.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216195816/https://www.nytimes.com/1939/12/27/archives/elected-as-president-of-ritzcarlton-hotel.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Jewelry company Brand-Chatillon moved to the hotel in 1940,<ref name="nyt-1940-11-10">{{Cite news |date=November 10, 1940 |title=Jewelry Firm Moves; Brand-Chatillon In Larger Space in St. Regis Hotel |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/11/10/archives/jewelry-firm-moves-brandchatillon-in-larger-space-in-st-regis-hotel.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216195813/https://www.nytimes.com/1940/11/10/archives/jewelry-firm-moves-brandchatillon-in-larger-space-in-st-regis-hotel.html |url-status=live}}</ref> occupying the basement and parts of the first and second stories.<ref name="nyt-1940-09-10">{{Cite news |date=September 10, 1940 |title=Jewelers Lease Store in St. Regis; Fifth Avenue Corner, Second Floor and Basement Will Be Altered for Tenant |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/09/10/archives/jewelers-lease-store-in-st-regis-fifth-avenue-corner-second-floor.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216195817/https://www.nytimes.com/1940/09/10/archives/jewelers-lease-store-in-st-regis-fifth-avenue-corner-second-floor.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The hotel's Iridium Room closed permanently in 1948.<ref name="p1039933815">{{cite magazine |date=September 17, 1949 |title=General News: Drive for Tax Cut Cites Drop In Hotel Biz |magazine=The Billboard |volume=61 |issue=38 |pages=4 |id={{ProQuest|1039933815}}}}</ref><ref name="p541944517">{{cite news |last=Perry |first=Lawrence |date=October 24, 1948 |title=Iridium Room Goes |page=FE21 |work=The Sun |id={{ProQuest|541944517}}}}</ref> The Iridium Room's closure was attributed to federal [[excise tax]]es on live entertainment in hotels,<ref name="p1039933815" /> as well as declining demand for live hotel entertainment.<ref name="p541944517" /> The annex's rooftop garden remained relatively popular through the late 1950s, but it was only open five days a week by 1959. At the time, it was the only remaining rooftop garden at a hotel in New York City.<ref name="p1017051089">{{cite magazine |date=July 8, 1959 |title=Night Club Reviews: New York's St. Regis Last Dine-&-Dancery Roof-Garden Operation |magazine=The Billboard |volume=215 |issue=6 |pages=86 |id={{ProQuest|1017051089}}}}</ref> [[Serge Obolensky]] designed the La Boite nightclub in the hotel's basement; in the late 1950s, the nightclub frequently hosted Russian royals during [[Russian New Year]] celebrations.<ref name="p219116627">{{cite magazine |last=Malanga |first=Steve |date=July 4, 1988 |title=The Mysterious Closing of the St. Regis |magazine=Crain's New York Business |volume=4 |issue=27 |page=11 |id={{ProQuest|219116627}}}}</ref>

===Post-Astor period===

Vincent Astor died in February 1959.<ref name="nyt-1959-02-04">{{Cite news |date=February 4, 1959 |title=Vincent Astor Dies In His Home at 67; Vincent Astor Dies Here at 67; Millionaire Real Estate Owner |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/02/04/archives/vincent-astor-dies-in-his-home-at-67-vincent-astor-dies-here-at-67.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216195816/https://www.nytimes.com/1959/02/04/archives/vincent-astor-dies-in-his-home-at-67-vincent-astor-dies-here-at-67.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Because he was the only person with access to the hotel's bank accounts, the hotel's assets were essentially frozen when Vincent died. The executors of his estate quickly filed his will for [[probate]], allowing the executors to continue paying the hotel's expenses.<ref name="nyt-1959-02-10">{{Cite news |date=February 10, 1959 |title=Quick Legal Moves Kept St. Regis Open After Astor's Death |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/02/10/archives/quick-legal-moves-kept-st-regis-open-after-astors-death.html |access-date=December 13, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213191640/https://www.nytimes.com/1959/02/10/archives/quick-legal-moves-kept-st-regis-open-after-astors-death.html |url-status=live}}</ref> [[William Zeckendorf]] of [[Webb and Knapp]] expressed interest in acquiring the St. Regis from Astor's estate.<ref name="p1014813632">{{cite magazine |date=February 11, 1959 |title=Zeckendorf Would Also Hang Flag On St. Regis & Roxy |magazine=Variety |volume=213 |issue=11 |pages=1, 24 |id={{ProQuest|1014813632}}}}</ref> By early 1960, Zeckendorf had beat out more than twenty other bidders for the rights to the hotel.<ref name="nyt-1960-01-29">{{Cite news |date=January 29, 1960 |title=Deal for St. Regis Hotel Is Reported Under Way |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/01/29/archives/deal-for-st-regis-hotel-is-reported-under-way.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216195819/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/01/29/archives/deal-for-st-regis-hotel-is-reported-under-way.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1325614217">{{cite news |date=January 29, 1960 |title=Report Sale Of St. Regis Hotel To Zeckendorf |page=1 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1325614217}}}}</ref> Zeckendorf and Obolensky, the latter of whom now worked at the Zeckendorf Corporation, agreed to buy the St. Regis that February for $14&nbsp;million.{{efn-lr|This is equivalent to ${{inflation|index=US|value=14|start_year=1960|r=2|fmt=c}} million in {{inflation/year|US}}.{{inflation/fn|index=US|group=lower-alpha}}}}<ref name="nyt-1960-02-12">{{Cite news |date=February 12, 1960 |title=Zeckendorf Corp. Buys the St. Regis; Price $14,000,000 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/02/12/archives/zeckendorf-corp-buys-the-st-regis-price-14000000.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216195814/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/02/12/archives/zeckendorf-corp-buys-the-st-regis-price-14000000.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p1327169805">{{cite news |date=February 12, 1960 |title=Zeckendorf Chain Buys The St. Regis: Hotel Price 'More Than $14,000,000 |page=4 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1327169805}}}}</ref> The buyers paid $5&nbsp;million in cash and assumed a $9&nbsp;million mortgage.<ref name="p132903866">{{cite news |date=November 20, 1964 |title=Balsa Hotels to Buy From Franchard Corp. New York's St. Regis: Change in Owner to Be Fourth Since 1960; Amount Involved In Latest Sale Undisclosed |page=10 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|132903866}}}}</ref> In April 1960, Webb and Knapp agreed to sell the hotel building to the Kratter Corporation.<ref name="nyt-1960-04-09">{{Cite news |date=April 9, 1960 |title=Webb & Knapp Sells St. Regis to Kratter |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/04/09/archives/webb-knapp-sells-st-regis-to-kratter.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216184026/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/04/09/archives/webb-knapp-sells-st-regis-to-kratter.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p13274357012">{{cite news |date=April 9, 1960 |title=Hotel St. Regis To Be Sold by Webb & Knapp |page=11 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1327435701}}}}</ref> Kratter took title to the hotel the next month and leased the St. Regis back to Webb and Knapp for 200 years.<ref name="nyt-1960-05-10">{{Cite news |date=May 10, 1960 |title=St. Regis Hotel Taken; Kratter Gets Title and Leases Building Back to Seller |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/05/10/archives/st-regis-hotel-taken-kratter-gets-title-and-leases-building-back-to.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216195818/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/05/10/archives/st-regis-hotel-taken-kratter-gets-title-and-leases-building-back-to.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p132607391">{{cite news |date=May 10, 1960 |title=St. Regis Hotel Sale Completed |page=6 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|132607391}}}}</ref> Webb and Knapp sold its leasehold that September to Mexican hotel mogul [[Cesar Balsa]],<ref name="nyt-1960-09-14">{{Cite news |last=Fowler |first=Glenn |date=September 14, 1960 |title=Mexican Acquires Lease of St. Regis; Zeckendorf Sells Operating Right for About 5 Million --No Policy Change Due |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1960/09/14/archives/mexican-acquires-lease-of-st-regis-zeckendorf-sells-operating-right.html |access-date=December 13, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213191641/https://www.nytimes.com/1960/09/14/archives/mexican-acquires-lease-of-st-regis-zeckendorf-sells-operating-right.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p132588906">{{cite news |date=September 14, 1960 |title=Webb & Knapp Unit Sells Its Leasehold On St. Regis Hotel |page=8 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|132588906}}}}</ref> who took over the hotel in December 1960.<ref name="p1324124136">{{cite news |last=Duggan |first=Dennis |date=September 14, 1960 |title=Mexican, A Former Bellhop, Buys Control of St. Regis for $5,000,000 |page=25 |work=New York Herald Tribune |issn=1941-0646 |id={{ProQuest|1324124136}}}}</ref>

The St. Regis had two restaurants at the time of Balsa's takeover: the Oak Room, open during the summer, and the King Cole Bar, open for lunch and dinner.<ref name="p116130451">{{Cite news |date=July 13, 1962 |title=Directory To Dining |page=26 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |id={{proQuest|116130451}}}}</ref> The St. Regis still provided highly personalized service,<ref name="nyt-1961-10-01">{{Cite news |last=Bracker |first=Milton |date=October 1, 1961 |title=Hotels and Motels in City Enter New Era of Luxury; Burgeoning Hotels and Motels Enter New Era of Luxury Here |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/10/01/archives/hotels-and-motels-in-city-enter-new-era-of-luxury-burgeoning-hotels.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216231937/https://www.nytimes.com/1961/10/01/archives/hotels-and-motels-in-city-enter-new-era-of-luxury-burgeoning-hotels.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and the hotel employed 700 staff members, more than one for each of the 600 rooms.<ref name="nyt-1961-10-01" /><ref name="Kuhn p. 137">{{harvnb|Kuhn|1962|ps=.|p=137}}</ref> The staff catered to a daily average of 500 guests; the kitchen alone employed 90 people.<ref name="Kuhn p. 137" /> Twenty percent of guests at the time were from Europe.<ref name="Kuhn p. 142">{{harvnb|Kuhn|1962|ps=.|p=142}}</ref> Balsa wished to make the hotel "like a private home", so he began giving flowers, scales, and hangers to female guests.<ref name="p141516138">{{cite news |last=Stix |first=Harriet |date=June 4, 1961 |title=Women Demand 'Homey' Elegance |page=F28 |work=The Washington Post, Times Herald |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|141516138}}}}</ref> Balsa began renovating the hotel again in early 1961, in advance of the [[1964 New York World's Fair]].<ref name="Kuhn p. 77">{{harvnb|Kuhn|1962|ps=.|p=77}}</ref> Balsa restored the original ballroom, which had long been used as a brokerage office, and reopened it as the Versailles Ballroom. The project also involved refurbishing all of the rooms, as well as restoring old furniture that had been stored in the basement.<ref name="Kuhn p. 137" />

The Glickman Corporation (later the Franchard Corporation<ref name="nyt-1963-04-27">{{Cite news |last=Vartan |first=Vartanig G. |date=April 27, 1963 |title=Glickman Corp. To Change Name; 'Franchard Corp.' Adopted at Stormy Meeting Loan to Glickman |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/04/27/archives/glickman-corp-to-change-name-franchard-corp-adopted-at-stormy.html |access-date=December 14, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214002937/https://www.nytimes.com/1963/04/27/archives/glickman-corp-to-change-name-franchard-corp-adopted-at-stormy.html |url-status=live}}</ref>) acquired the St. Regis Hotel from the Kratter Corporation in July 1961 for $22&nbsp;million;{{efn-lr|This is equivalent to ${{inflation|index=US|value=22|start_year=1961|r=2|fmt=c}} million in {{inflation/year|US}}.{{inflation/fn|index=US|group=lower-alpha}}}} this was the third time the hotel had been sold in less than two years.<ref name="nyt-1961-07-29">{{Cite news |date=July 29, 1961 |title=Glickman to Buy St. Regis Hotel; Deal for Property Made With Kratter Corporation |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1961/07/29/archives/glickman-to-buy-st-regis-hotel-deal-for-property-made-with-kratter.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216195820/https://www.nytimes.com/1961/07/29/archives/glickman-to-buy-st-regis-hotel-deal-for-property-made-with-kratter.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p132695938">{{cite news |date=July 31, 1961 |title=Glickman Corp. To Pay Kratter $22 Million For St. Regis Hotel |page=6 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|132695938}}}}</ref> Balsa received a $1.2&nbsp;million loan for the hotel the next year.<ref name="nyt-1962-01-16">{{Cite news |date=January 16, 1962 |title=Balsa Hotels Borrows; Receives Loan of $1,200,000 From Group in Brussels |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1962/01/16/archives/balsa-hotels-borrows-receives-loan-of-1200000-from-group-in.html |access-date=December 13, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213191640/https://www.nytimes.com/1962/01/16/archives/balsa-hotels-borrows-receives-loan-of-1200000-from-group-in.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Balsa bought the hotel's leasehold from the Kratter Corporation in April 1963 for $2.5&nbsp;million.<ref name="nyt-1963-05-01">{{Cite news |date=May 1, 1963 |title=Lease on St. Regis Bought |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/05/01/archives/lease-on-st-regis-bought.html |access-date=December 13, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213191643/https://www.nytimes.com/1963/05/01/archives/lease-on-st-regis-bought.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p132838744">{{cite news |date=April 29, 1963 |title=Kratter Sells New York Hotel Operating Lease For Total of $2.5 Million |page=24 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|132838744}}}}</ref> In November 1964, Balsa agreed to buy the building itself and the land under it from the Franchard Corporation for $6&nbsp;million.<ref name="p132903866" /><ref name="nyt-1964-11-20">{{Cite news |date=November 20, 1964 |title=Balsa Acquires St. Regis Hotel; Mexican Concern Buys Fee —Will Continue Operation |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/11/20/archives/balsa-acquires-st-regis-hotel-mexican-concern-buys-fee-will.html |access-date=December 13, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213191644/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/11/20/archives/balsa-acquires-st-regis-hotel-mexican-concern-buys-fee-will.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Balsa outbid two other buyers who both wanted to demolish the hotel and replace it with an office building.<ref name="nyt-1964-11-20" /> Balsa resold the hotel in May 1965 to Wellington Associates, led by [[Sol Goldman]] and [[Alex DiLorenzo Jr.]],<ref name="p179946932">{{cite news |date=May 3, 1965 |title=St. Regis Hotel Sold to Wellington Firm |page=E7 |work=Chicago Tribune |id={{ProQuest|179946932}}}}</ref> for between $14&nbsp;million and $16&nbsp;million.<ref name="nyt-1965-05-03">{{Cite news |last=Fowle |first=Farnsworth |date=May 3, 1965 |title=St. Regis Sold, But It Will Remain a Pillar of Elegance |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/05/03/archives/st-regis-sold-but-it-will-remain-a-pillar-of-elegance-st-regis.html |access-date=December 13, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213191645/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/05/03/archives/st-regis-sold-but-it-will-remain-a-pillar-of-elegance-st-regis.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Wellington appointed Frank C. Bromber as the St. Regis's executive director.<ref name="nyt-1965-05-11">{{Cite news |date=May 11, 1965 |title=New Executive Director Is Chosen for St. Regis |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/05/11/archives/new-executive-director-is-chosen-for-st-regis.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115124436/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/05/11/archives/new-executive-director-is-chosen-for-st-regis.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Sheraton operation ===

==== 1960s to mid-1980s ====
[[File:King Cole Bar HDR 2021 jeh.jpg|thumb|upright|Entrance to the King Cole bar in the 55th Street annex]]

[[Sheraton Hotels]] leased the St. Regis from Wellington in February 1966.<ref name="p133145662">{{cite news |date=February 23, 1966 |title=New York's St. Regis Hotel Is Leased to Sheraton Corp. |page=14 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|133145662}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1966-02-23" /> At the time, many old hotels in New York City were being demolished, including the Sheraton East (formerly Ambassador Hotel) on Park Avenue. However, a clause in Sheraton's lease prevented the chain from converting the hotel to offices or changing the hotel's character.<ref name="nyt-1966-02-23">{{Cite news |last=Ennis |first=Thomas W. |date=February 23, 1966 |title=Sheration Leases St. Regis Hotel; Owners Believe Deal Will Save Luxury Building |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/02/23/archives/sheration-leases-st-regis-hotel-owners-believe-deal-will-save.html |access-date=December 13, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213191638/https://www.nytimes.com/1966/02/23/archives/sheration-leases-st-regis-hotel-owners-believe-deal-will-save.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The next month, the hotel became the '''St. Regis-Sheraton'''.<ref name="nyt-1966-03-02">{{Cite news |date=March 2, 1966 |title=Now It's St. Regis-Sheraton |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/03/02/archives/now-its-st-regissheraton.html |access-date=December 13, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213191638/https://www.nytimes.com/1966/03/02/archives/now-its-st-regissheraton.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 3, 1966 |title=New St. Regis Look |pages=7 |work=The Kansas City Times |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115138997/new-st-regis-look/ |access-date=December 25, 2022 |archive-date=December 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221225022318/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115138997/new-st-regis-look/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Sheraton planned to renovate the hotel with French-style furnishings.<ref name="nyt-1967-11-12">{{Cite news |last=Whitehouse |first=Franklin |date=November 12, 1967 |title=Profits Help Luxury Hotels Defy Demolition; Plaza Returns 12% to Owners, Who Retain Clientele Huge Sums Devoted to Renovation to Maintain Image |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/11/12/archives/profits-help-luxury-hotels-defy-demolition-plaza-returns-12-to.html |access-date=December 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217015424/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/11/12/archives/profits-help-luxury-hotels-defy-demolition-plaza-returns-12-to.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p510814332">{{cite news |last=Hornaday |first=Mary |date=March 4, 1966 |title=Ups 'N' Downs of Hotels in New York: Profits Dwindle |page=5 |work=The Christian Science Monitor |id={{ProQuest|510814332}}}}</ref> The St. Regis-Sheraton's general manager, Charles Carey, relocated some of the Sheraton East's furnishings to the St. Regis.<ref name="nyt-1966-03-06">{{Cite news |last=Bellison |first=Lillian |date=March 6, 1966 |title=Big Ballrooms Getting Scarce in City; Loss of Two Hotels Prompts a Search by Benefit Aides |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/03/06/archives/big-ballrooms-getting-scarce-in-city-loss-of-two-hotels-prompts-a.html |access-date=December 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217015424/https://www.nytimes.com/1966/03/06/archives/big-ballrooms-getting-scarce-in-city-loss-of-two-hotels-prompts-a.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The chain reopened the roof garden in June 1966, renaming it the St. Regis-Sheraton Roof and Penthouse.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 23, 1966 |title=300 Attend Formal Opening Of St. Regis-Sheraton Roof |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/06/23/archives/300-attend-formal-opening-of-st-regissheraton-roof.html |access-date=December 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217012043/https://www.nytimes.com/1966/06/23/archives/300-attend-formal-opening-of-st-regissheraton-roof.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p366062491">{{cite news |last=Sherman |first=Marjorie |date=June 24, 1966 |title=A Radiant Mitzi Opens St. Regis Roof |page=26 |work=Boston Globe |id={{ProQuest|366062491}}}}</ref> By the end of 1967, Sheraton had spent over $1&nbsp;million on renovations, including a restoration of the King Cole mural.<ref name="nyt-1967-11-12" /> La Cave du St. Regis, a small dining room for private parties, opened at the hotel in early 1968.<ref name="nyt-1968-09-28">{{Cite news |last=Horsley |first=Carter B. |date=September 28, 1968 |title=Hotels Indulging in New Decors for New Social Season |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/09/28/archives/hotels-indulging-in-new-decors-for-new-social-season.html |access-date=December 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130015205/https://www.nytimes.com/1968/09/28/archives/hotels-indulging-in-new-decors-for-new-social-season.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Sheraton completely remodeled the hotel in 1977.<ref name="p169637224">{{cite news |last=Brown |first=Murray J. |date=September 11, 1977 |title=Old N.Y.C. Hotel Having Facelift |page=C2 |work=Chicago Tribune |id={{ProQuest|169637224}}}}</ref> The project included the restoration of the dining room in the annex, which was rebranded as the Old King Cole Restaurant.<ref name="nyt-1977-11-18">{{Cite news |last=Goldberger |first=Paul |date=November 18, 1977 |title=New King Cole Reigns at the St. Regis |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/11/18/archives/new-king-cole-reigns-at-the-st-regis.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=March 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314063314/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/11/18/archives/new-king-cole-reigns-at-the-st-regis.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1980, [[Equitable Holdings]] bought a 50 percent stake in the St. Regis-Sheraton.<ref name="p219116627" /><ref name="nyt-1988-11-09">{{Cite news |last=Lyons |first=Richard D. |date=November 9, 1988 |title=Real Estate; A Sheraton Restoration In Manhattan |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/09/business/real-estate-a-sheraton-restoration-in-manhattan.html |access-date=December 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218012935/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/09/business/real-estate-a-sheraton-restoration-in-manhattan.html |url-status=live}}</ref> By then, the hotel's stature had declined, and it was being compared to cheaper hotels that served business guests, such as the [[Drake Hotel (New York City)|Drake Swissotel]], [[InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel|InterContinental New York]], and the [[Thompson Central Park New York Hotel|Parker Meridien]].<ref name="p219116627" /> The St. Regis-Sheraton underwent a $25&nbsp;million renovation in the early 1980s.<ref name="p386668856">{{cite news |last=McArthur |first=Douglas |date=January 8, 1983 |title=Travelling on Business Room for Everyone Now in New York Hotel Boom |page=T8 |work=The Globe and Mail |id={{ProQuest|386668856}}}}</ref> The hotel's retail tenants in the 1980s included menswear shop [[Bijan (designer)|Bijan]] (which replaced a [[Gucci]] store at the same location) and jeweler [[FRED (jeweler)|Fred]].<ref name="nyt-1984-08-26">{{Cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Shawn G. |date=August 26, 1984 |title=New Signs of Old Glamour on Fifth Ave. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/26/realestate/new-signs-of-old-glamour-on-fifth-ave.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614200723/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/08/26/realestate/new-signs-of-old-glamour-on-fifth-ave.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The St. Regis hosted many weddings during that decade; the number of weddings at the hotel increased by 35 percent from 1985 to 1988.<ref name="nyt-1988-02-14">{{Cite news |last=Wells |first=Linda |date=February 14, 1988 |title=The Wedding |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/14/magazine/the-wedding.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218020303/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/14/magazine/the-wedding.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Late 1980s renovation and 1990s changes ====
At the beginning of June 1988, Sheraton announced that it would close the St. Regis's 521 rooms and 84 suites for renovations.<ref name="p277957957">{{cite news |last=Marinaccio |first=Paul |date=June 1, 1988 |title=360 Jobless As St. Regis Gets Repairs |page=4 |work=Newsday |id={{ProQuest|277957957}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1988-06-01">{{Cite news |last=Wolff |first=Craig |date=June 1, 1988 |title=St. Regis to Be Closed for at Least a Year |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/01/nyregion/st-regis-to-be-closed-for-at-least-a-year.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218012935/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/01/nyregion/st-regis-to-be-closed-for-at-least-a-year.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The hotel closed on June 30, 1988;<ref name="p219116627" /><ref name="nyt-1988-07-01">{{Cite news |last=Wolff |first=Craig |date=July 1, 1988 |title=St. Regis Checks Out For a Year |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/01/nyregion/st-regis-checks-out-for-a-year.html |access-date=December 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218012936/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/01/nyregion/st-regis-checks-out-for-a-year.html |url-status=live}}</ref> at the time, the renovation was expected to cost $50&nbsp;million.<ref name="p219116627" /> Sheraton announced in October 1988 that it had bought out Equitable's ownership stake<ref name="nyt-1988-11-09" /><ref name="p277993069">{{cite news |last=Berkowitz |first=Harry |date=October 27, 1988 |title=Sheraton to Renovate St. Regis |page=53 |work=Newsday |id={{ProQuest|277993069}}}}</ref> and that it would begin renovating the St. Regis.<ref name="p277993069" /><ref name="p2228398559">{{Cite news |date=October 26, 1988 |title=Sheraton to Restore St. Regis to Some of Its Former Splendors |page=48 |work=Boston Globe |id={{ProQuest|2228398559}}}}</ref> The hotel's closure prompted a dispute with Bijan, which refused to pay rent for several months because of the planned renovation.<ref name="nyt-1989-01-29">{{Cite news |last=McCain |first=Mark |date=January 29, 1989 |title=Commercial Property: Lease Feuds; Renovation Often Leads to Tenant-Owner Disputes |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/29/realestate/commercial-property-lease-feuds-renovation-often-leads-to-tenant-owner-disputes.html |access-date=December 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624220234/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/29/realestate/commercial-property-lease-feuds-renovation-often-leads-to-tenant-owner-disputes.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Architecture firm [[Brennan Beer Gorman Monk]] designed the renovation.<ref name="nyt-1990-07-29">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=July 29, 1990 |title=Commercial Property: Midtown Hotel Renovations; $52 Million Drake Project Adds 2 Elevator Shafts |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/29/realestate/commercial-property-midtown-hotel-renovations-52-million-drake-project-adds-2.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024021204/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/29/realestate/commercial-property-midtown-hotel-renovations-52-million-drake-project-adds-2.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The work included restoring the interior; adding a bar, cocktail lounge, and tea garden; and replacing mechanical systems.<ref name="p2316154632">{{cite news |last=Sherman |first=Beth |date=September 5, 1991 |title=The St. Regis as It Was Meant to Be |page=84 |work=Newsday |id={{ProQuest|2316154632}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1988-11-09" /> The King Cole restaurant was converted into the [[Lespinasse (restaurant)|Lespinasse]] restaurant, operated by [[Gray Kunz]],<ref name="nyt-1991-05-14">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=May 14, 1991 |title=New St. Regis: '04 Pomp, '91 Prices |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/14/nyregion/new-st-regis-04-pomp-91-prices.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218205757/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/14/nyregion/new-st-regis-04-pomp-91-prices.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p221491344">{{cite magazine |last=Reamy |first=Lois Madison |date=Apr 1994 |title=Fresh, And Freshly Lifted, Faces |magazine=Institutional Investor |volume=28 |issue=4 |page=125 |id={{ProQuest|221491344}}}}</ref> and the kitchen was overhauled for $1&nbsp;million.<ref name="nyt-1994-10-12">{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Bryan |date=October 12, 1994 |title=New Kitchen for a Cool Million |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/12/garden/new-kitchen-for-a-cool-million.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218205802/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/12/garden/new-kitchen-for-a-cool-million.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, mid-20th-century decor was removed,<ref name="nyt-1991-09-15">{{Cite news |last=Trucco |first=Terry |date=September 15, 1991 |title=New York Hotels, New and Renewed |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/15/travel/new-york-hotels-new-and-renewed.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025180559/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/15/travel/new-york-hotels-new-and-renewed.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and the original plasterwork, marble floors, and chandeliers were restored.<ref name="p2316154632" /> Most of the units were enlarged, so the average number of units on each story decreased from 16 to 10, but the facade remained intact and was restored.<ref name="nyt-1988-11-09" />

The renovation was supposed to take 18 months,<ref name="p219116627" /> but the reopening date was postponed to late 1990,<ref name="p278259013">{{cite news |last1=Wechsler |first1=Pat |last2=Steinmetz |first2=Greg |date=October 30, 1990 |title=Sheraton's $190M Party Plans Firm Will Upgrade 2 Hotels in Time for '92 Dem Convention |page=33 |work=Newsday |id={{ProQuest|278259013}}}}</ref> then to early 1991.<ref name="p219124807">{{cite magazine |last=Schulz |first=David P. |date=February 26, 1990 |title=Newest City Hotel Faces Test |magazine=Crain's New York Business |volume=6 |issue=9 |page=17 |id={{ProQuest|219124807}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1990-07-29" /> Fashion house [[Dior]] opened a store at the base of the hotel in late 1990.<ref name="nyt-1991-03-03">{{Cite news |last=Oser |first=Alan S. |date=March 3, 1991 |title=Perspectives: Fifth Avenue; Retailers Place Heavy Chips on the 50's |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/03/realestate/perspectives-fifth-avenue-retailers-place-heavy-chips-on-the-50-s.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218205801/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/03/realestate/perspectives-fifth-avenue-retailers-place-heavy-chips-on-the-50-s.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The hotel reopened in September 1991 as '''The St. Regis'''.<ref name="p278403172">{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Liz |date=September 15, 1991 |title=Return of the St. Regis! |page=8 |work=Newsday |id={{ProQuest|278403172}}}}</ref> After the renovation, the hotel had about 360 units,<ref name="nyt-1991-09-15" /><ref name="p278403172" /><ref name="p283210158">{{cite news |last=Stanley |first=Alessandra |date=October 6, 1991 |title=The 'New' St. Regis Finally Opens in New York |page=2N |work=Chicago Tribune |id={{ProQuest|283210158}}}}</ref> including a suite themed to Tiffany & Co.<ref name="p307409122">{{cite news |last=Rogers |first=Patricia Dane |date=August 22, 1991 |title=Astor's St. Regis Returns to Glory |page=T05 |newspaper=The Washington Post |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|307409122}}}}</ref> The project's reported cost was over $100&nbsp;million,<ref name="p283210158" /><ref name="p307409122" /> although hospitality-industry experts estimated that the project actually cost twice that amount.<ref name="p219168260">{{cite magazine |last=Gault |first=Ylonda |date=April 27, 1992 |title=Sheraton Remakes Stody N.Y. Image |magazine=Crain's New York Business |volume=8 |issue=17 |page=1 |id={{ProQuest|219168260}}}}</ref> The hotel industry in New York City was in decline at the time, but officials of Sheraton (which by then had been renamed ITT Sheraton) expressed optimism that the St. Regis would be profitable.<ref name="p283210158" /><ref name="p278392005">{{cite news |last=O'Brien |first=Timothy L. |date=July 22, 1991 |title=Staying Power Overbuilt and Underbooked, New York City's Hotels Scramble to Attract Travelers and Ride out Recession |page=27 |work=Newsday |id={{ProQuest|278392005}}}}</ref> The St. Regis's managers planned to cater to businesspeople, but they did not wish to host conventions.<ref name="p283210158" /> Room rates at the time ranged between $350 and $3,000;<ref name="p278392005" /><ref name="p432303971">{{cite news |last=Rea |first=Steven |date=July 11, 1992 |title=Luxury at $350 a Night; New York's St. Regis Hotel Has a Chandelier in Every Room |page=I13 |work=The Gazette |id={{ProQuest|432303971}}}}</ref> in exchange, guests received such amenities as a minibar, a health club, and butler service.<ref name="p221491344" /><ref name="p432303971" />

In January 1992, ITT Sheraton designated 28 of its premier hotels as the ITT Sheraton Luxury Collection, with the St. Regis in New York as the division's flagship.<ref name="itt1992">{{cite press release |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/ITT+SHERATON+CORPORATION+EXTENDS+SEGMENTATION+BY+PREMIERING+THE+ITT...-a014695306 |title=ITT Sheraton Corporation Extends Segmentation By Premiering The ITT Sheraton Luxury Collection |via=Free Online Library |publisher=ITT Sheraton |date=January 13, 1994 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101231953/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/ITT+SHERATON+CORPORATION+EXTENDS+SEGMENTATION+BY+PREMIERING+THE+ITT...-a014695306 |archive-date=January 1, 2017}}</ref> The hotel's Lespinasse restaurant remained popular through the 1990s.<ref name="p208261100">{{Cite magazine |last=Sutton |first=Larry |date=January 15, 1997 |title=Debut at the Palace |magazine=Restaurants & Institutions |volume=107 |issue=2 |pages=28–38 |id={{ProQuest|208261100}}}}</ref> [[Starwood Hotels and Resorts|Starwood]] acquired Sheraton from [[ITT Corporation]] in 1997<ref name="nyt-1997-10-21">{{Cite news |last=Gilpin |first=Kenneth N. |date=October 21, 1997 |title=ITT Accepts $9.8 Billion Bid, Forming Biggest Hotel Chain |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/21/business/itt-accepts-9.8-billion-bid-forming-biggest-hotel-chain.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218230626/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/21/business/itt-accepts-9.8-billion-bid-forming-biggest-hotel-chain.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and decided to create the [[St. Regis Hotels & Resorts]] luxury hotel chain, with the New York City hotel as the chain's flagship.<ref name="p219190797">{{cite magazine |last=Sanders |first=Lisa |date=February 2, 1998 |title=Starwood Has Suite Spot for St. Regis |magazine=Crain's New York Business |volume=14 |issue=5 |page=13 |id={{ProQuest|219190797}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1998-05-17">{{Cite news |last=Holusha |first=John |date=May 17, 1998 |title=Commercial Property/Hotels; Will the Former Ritz-Carlton Thrive as a Westin? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/17/realestate/commercial-property-hotels-will-the-former-ritz-carlton-thrive-as-a-westin.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218230625/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/17/realestate/commercial-property-hotels-will-the-former-ritz-carlton-thrive-as-a-westin.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The New York hotel was renamed '''The St. Regis New York''' to differentiate it from the numerous other St. Regis hotels in the new chain.<ref name="p219190797" /> The other St. Regis hotels provided butler service for all guests, similar to the New York hotel.<ref name="p1843884034">{{Cite news |last=Woestendiek |first=John |date=November 23, 1999 |title=Civil Service: On Two Floors of the St. Regis Hotel, Guests Get Pampered the Old-Fashioned Way. Butlers Perform a Surprising Variety of Tasks – All With Dignity and Discretion |page=F.1 |work=Philadelphia Inquirer |id={{ProQuest|1843884034}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-2000-08-20">{{Cite news |last=Witchel |first=Alex |date=August 20, 2000 |title=Counterintelligence; At Hotels, The Butlers Are Doing It |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/20/style/counterintelligence-at-hotels-the-butlers-are-doing-it.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219000703/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/20/style/counterintelligence-at-hotels-the-butlers-are-doing-it.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p2230188658">{{Cite news |last=Witchel |first=Alex |date=August 22, 2000 |title=Room Service, There's a Butler in My Suite |page=B1 |work=National Post |id={{ProQuest|2230188658}}}}</ref> Starwood appointed Richard Cotter as the St. Regis New York's managing director,<ref name="nyt-2000-08-20" /><ref name="p219137674">{{cite magazine |last=Sanders |first=Lisa |date=September 7, 1998 |title=Hotelier's Bed of Roses |magazine=Crain's New York Business |volume=14 |issue=36 |page=13 |id={{ProQuest|219137674}}}}</ref> in which capacity he served until 2001.<ref name="p447525010">{{cite press release |title=Herbert Pliessnig Appointed New General Manager of the St. Regis, New York |agency=PR Newswire |date=March 19, 2001 |page=1 |id={{ProQuest|447525010}}}}</ref>

==== Early 21st century ====
[[File:The St. Regis Hotel 02.JPG|thumb|upright|Seen in 2005]]

At the beginning of the 21st century, the average guest was in their late 50s, and four-fifths of guests were American.<ref name="wsj20131106">{{Cite web |last=Petersen |first=Andrea |date=November 6, 2013 |title=St. Regis New York Hits the ($90 Million) Refresh Button |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/st-regis-new-york-hits-the-90-million-refresh-button-1383695729 |access-date=December 18, 2022 |work=The Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=December 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218222949/https://www.wsj.com/articles/st-regis-new-york-hits-the-90-million-refresh-button-1383695729 |url-status=live}}</ref> The hotel's marketing director said in 2000 that, in part because of the hotel's butler service, 65 percent of guests were repeat visitors.<ref name="p2230188658" /> In addition, the hotel employed 600 staff members, almost twice the 315 guests that stayed at the hotel on an average night.<ref name="p408954496">{{cite news |last=Sloan |first=Gene |date=October 1, 2004 |title=For Century, St. Regis Stands for Elite Society; No Detail Is Too Small for Attention |page=D7 |work=USA Today |id={{ProQuest|408954496}}}}</ref> The Lespinasse restaurant at the St. Regis closed in 2003,<ref name="nyt-2003-04-11">{{Cite news |last=Collins |first=Glenn |date=April 11, 2003 |title=A Gilded Age of Sumptuous Dining Comes to a Close in the St. Regis Hotel |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/11/nyregion/a-gilded-age-of-sumptuous-dining-comes-to-a-close-in-the-st-regis-hotel.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216000002/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/11/nyregion/a-gilded-age-of-sumptuous-dining-comes-to-a-close-in-the-st-regis-hotel.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Archives 2003">{{cite web |date=April 12, 2003 |title=Tough Times Close Doors of Top N.Y. Eatery |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-apr-12-na-close12-story.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |website=Los Angeles Times |archive-date=December 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219000703/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-apr-12-na-close12-story.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and a large [[De Beers]] store opened in the hotel the next year.<ref name="nyt-2004-02-04">{{Cite news |last=Holusha |first=John |date=February 4, 2004 |title=Commercial Real Estate: Regional Market – Manhattan; A Less-Chic Section of Fifth Avenue Is Attracting More Glamorous Stores |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/04/business/commercial-real-estate-regional-market-manhattan-less-chic-section-fifth-avenue.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219000702/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/04/business/commercial-real-estate-regional-market-manhattan-less-chic-section-fifth-avenue.html |url-status=live}}</ref> By 2005, there were plans to convert 59 rooms<ref name="nyt-2005-03-06">{{Cite news |last=Bagli |first=Charles V. |date=March 6, 2005 |title=If the Tourists Come to Manhattan, Where Will They Sleep? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/nyregion/if-the-tourists-come-to-manhattan-where-will-they-sleep.html |access-date=December 19, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219010928/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/nyregion/if-the-tourists-come-to-manhattan-where-will-they-sleep.html |url-status=live}}</ref> into up to 33 condominium apartments,<ref name="nyt-2005-05-29" /><ref name="p219153594">{{cite magazine |last=Fickenscher |first=Lisa |date=June 6, 2005 |title=Grande Dame Hotels Feel Age, Retouch Gray |magazine=Crain's New York Business |volume=21 |issue=23 |page=A88 |id={{ProQuest|219153594}}}}</ref> which would be rented to guests seasonally and occupied by their owners at other times.<ref name="nyt-2004-12-22">{{Cite news |last=Holusha |first=John |date=December 22, 2004 |title=More Luxury Apartments From Hotels as Money and Demand Flow Freely |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/22/business/more-luxury-apartments-from-hotels-as-money-and-demand-flow-freely.html |access-date=December 19, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219000703/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/22/business/more-luxury-apartments-from-hotels-as-money-and-demand-flow-freely.html |url-status=live}}</ref> St. Regis Hotels and Resorts started offering the full-ownership condominiums for $1.5&nbsp;million to $7&nbsp;million at the end of 2005,<ref name="nyt-2005-05-29" /> and it started selling memberships for the timeshare condominiums in February 2006.<ref name="nyt-2006-08-06">{{Cite news |last=Gregor |first=Alison |date=August 6, 2006 |title=A High-Priced Sliver of Hotel Luxury |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/06/business/yourmoney/06sqft.html |access-date=December 19, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219010937/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/06/business/yourmoney/06sqft.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Additionally, to celebrate the hotel's centennial, [[Stephen Sills]] and [[James Huniford]] renovated all of the guestrooms,<ref name="p2161733484">{{cite magazine |last=Mclaughlin |first=Chantal M. |date=Nov 2005 |title=A Refreshed St. Regis |magazine=Town and Country |volume=159 |issue=5306 |page=216 |id={{ProQuest|2161733484}}}}</ref> redecorating the units with new furniture.<ref name="p219153594" /> The hotel's 8th to 11th floors reopened as the St. Regis Residences in 2006.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Hughes |first=C. J. |date=February 12, 2006 |title=What You Get in a Hotel Condo |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/realestate/what-you-get-in-a-hotel-condo.html |access-date=December 13, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213191641/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/realestate/what-you-get-in-a-hotel-condo.html |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Alain Ducasse]] opened the Adour restaurant at the St. Regis in 2008,<ref name="nyt-2008-04-16">{{Cite news |last=Bruni |first=Frank |date=April 16, 2008 |title=A New Humility, At Least for Ducasse |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/dining/16rest.html |access-date=December 19, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219010931/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/dining/16rest.html |url-status=live}}</ref> but the restaurant closed after four years.<ref name="Morabito 2012">{{cite web |last=Morabito |first=Greg |date=October 16, 2012 |title=Adour and Gilt to Shutter; Richard Opening New Project |url=https://ny.eater.com/2012/10/16/6534375/adour-and-gilt-to-shutter-richard-opening-new-project |access-date=December 19, 2022 |website=Eater NY |archive-date=December 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219010925/https://ny.eater.com/2012/10/16/6534375/adour-and-gilt-to-shutter-richard-opening-new-project |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Fabricant 2012">{{cite web |last=Fabricant |first=Florence |date=October 20, 2012 |title=Alain Ducasse to Close Adour in New York |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/16/alain-ducasse-to-close-adour-in-new-york/ |access-date=December 19, 2022 |website=Diner's Journal Blog |archive-date=December 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219010930/https://archive.nytimes.com/dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/16/alain-ducasse-to-close-adour-in-new-york/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The St. Regis New York added two designer suites in the early 2010s: the Dior Suite in 2011<ref name="Kritzer 2011">{{cite web |last=Kritzer |first=Lexi Holzberg |date=October 14, 2011 |title=Dior Creates a Couture Suite for The St. Regis New York |url=https://hauteliving.com/2011/10/dior-creates-a-couture-suite-for-the-st-regis-new-york/211425/ |access-date=December 17, 2022 |website=Haute Living |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217191514/https://hauteliving.com/2011/10/dior-creates-a-couture-suite-for-the-st-regis-new-york/211425/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and the Bentley Suite in 2012.<ref name="Nast 2012">{{cite web |last=Friedman |first=Amanda |date=September 30, 2012 |title=The St. Regis New York Bentley Suite |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/st-regis-hotel-bentley-suite-new-york |access-date=December 17, 2022 |website=Architectural Digest |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217193012/https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/st-regis-hotel-bentley-suite-new-york |url-status=live}}</ref> The entire hotel was renovated in 2013 at a cost of $90&nbsp;million.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite news |last=Levere |first=Jane L. |date=October 7, 2013 |title=A St. Regis New York Face-Lift Spurs a Glamour Campaign |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/07/business/media/a-st-regis-new-york-face-lift-spurs-a-glamour-campaign.html |access-date=December 13, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407063203/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/07/business/media/a-st-regis-new-york-face-lift-spurs-a-glamour-campaign.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="trd-2013-11-24">{{Cite web |last=Cameron |first=Christopher |date=November 24, 2013 |title=The St. Regis Wants All Eyes on Its $90-Million Makeover |url=https://therealdeal.com/2013/11/24/the-st-regis-wants-all-eyes-on-its-90-million-makeover/ |access-date=December 13, 2022 |website=The Real Deal New York |language=en-US |archive-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213184352/https://therealdeal.com/2013/11/24/the-st-regis-wants-all-eyes-on-its-90-million-makeover/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The work, designed by HDC Design<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hdc-srl.com/projects/st-regis-ny.html |title=Farina Hom Stelea – Hospitality and Residential Interior Design |website=hdc-srl.com |access-date=June 15, 2023 |archive-date=July 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160709052449/http://www.hdc-srl.com/projects/st-regis-ny.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Stonehill Taylor Architects]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.hrcg.com/my-product/st-regis-new-york/ |title=St. Regis New York |access-date=June 15, 2023 |archive-date=January 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124190136/https://www.hrcg.com/my-product/st-regis-new-york/ |url-status=live}}</ref> involved restoring all hotel rooms and most public spaces, and it added a new restaurant and gym.<ref name="auto1" /> In addition, the little-used Astor Court was converted into the King Cole Bar and Salon.<ref name="wsj20131106" /><ref name="nyt-2013-12-19">{{Cite news |last=Stein |first=Joshua David |date=December 19, 2013 |title=King Cole Bar and Salon at the St. Regis Hotel |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/19/fashion/King-Cole-Bar-and-Salon-at-the-St-Regis-Hotel.html |access-date=December 13, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017100740/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/19/fashion/King-Cole-Bar-and-Salon-at-the-St-Regis-Hotel.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The hotel catered to a younger and more diverse clientele; about half of the guests were foreign nationals, and the median guest was 45 years old.<ref name="wsj20131106" /> Most of the work was completed in October 2013,<ref name="auto1" /><ref name="LODGING Magazine 2013">{{cite web |title=St. Regis New York Unveils Renovation |website=LODGING Magazine |date=December 4, 2013 |url=https://lodgingmagazine.com/st-regis-new-york-renovation/ |access-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213184358/https://lodgingmagazine.com/st-regis-new-york-renovation/ |url-status=live}}</ref> but the spa and health club were not finished until early 2014.<ref name="trd-2013-11-24" /> The St. Regis New York's operators ran a yearlong advertising campaign, "Introducing a New Era of Glamour", to advertise the renovated hotel.<ref name="trd-2013-11-24" /><ref name="Schlesinger 2013">{{cite web |last=Schlesinger |first=Jennifer |title=St. Regis Wants All Eyes on Its $90 Million Makeover |publisher=CNBC |date=November 23, 2013 |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2013/11/22/st-regis-wants-all-eyes-on-its-90-million-makeover.html |access-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213184352/https://www.cnbc.com/2013/11/22/st-regis-wants-all-eyes-on-its-90-million-makeover.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Meanwhile, [[Richemont]] had bought the hotel's ground-level retail condominium in 2012 for $380&nbsp;million.<ref name="trd-2012-10-29">{{Cite web |last=Clarke |first=Katherine |date=October 29, 2012 |title=Swiss Buyer Closes on St. Regis Retail for $380M |url=https://therealdeal.com/2012/10/29/swiss-buyer-closes-on-st-regis-retail-for-380m/ |access-date=December 19, 2022 |website=The Real Deal New York |language=en-US |archive-date=December 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219021148/https://therealdeal.com/2012/10/29/swiss-buyer-closes-on-st-regis-retail-for-380m/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Edelson Edelson 2012">{{cite web |last=Edelson |first=Sharon |date=October 17, 2012 |title=Richemont Buys Retail Condominium in St. Regis Hotel |url=https://wwd.com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/richemont-buys-retail-property-in-st-regis-hotel-6427700/ |access-date=December 19, 2022 |website=Women's Wear Daily |archive-date=December 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219021149/https://wwd.com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/richemont-buys-retail-property-in-st-regis-hotel-6427700/ |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Vornado Realty Trust]] and [[Crown Acquisitions]] bought the retail condominium, as well as the adjacent house at 697 Fifth Avenue, in 2014 for $700&nbsp;million.<ref name="Crain's New York Business 2014">{{cite web |date=July 9, 2014 |title=St. Regis Hotel Retail Space Sells to Vornado for $700M |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140709/REAL_ESTATE/140709868/st-regis-hotel-retail-space-sells-to-vornado-for-700m |access-date=December 19, 2022 |website=Crain's New York Business |archive-date=December 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219021148/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140709/REAL_ESTATE/140709868/st-regis-hotel-retail-space-sells-to-vornado-for-700m |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="trd-2014-07-10">{{Cite web |last=Bockmann |first=Rich |date=July 10, 2014 |title=Vornado, Crown Buying St. Regis Retail Condo for $700M |url=https://therealdeal.com/2014/07/09/retail-at-the-st-regis-nabbed-for-700-million/ |access-date=December 19, 2022 |website=The Real Deal New York |language=en-US |archive-date=December 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219021148/https://therealdeal.com/2014/07/09/retail-at-the-st-regis-nabbed-for-700-million/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The St. Regis New York launched a luxury car service in 2015, with two cars manufactured by [[Bentley]],<ref name="wsj-2015-03-08">{{Cite web |last=Gardner |first=Ralph Jr |date=March 8, 2015 |title=Ralph Gardner Jr. Is Driven Around New York City in a Bentley |url=http://www.wsj.com/articles/ralph-gardner-jr-is-driven-around-new-york-city-in-a-bentley-1425861264 |access-date=December 19, 2022 |work=The Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=December 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219021152/https://www.wsj.com/articles/ralph-gardner-jr-is-driven-around-new-york-city-in-a-bentley-1425861264 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Caminiti 2015">{{cite web |last=Caminiti |first=Kasey |date=February 20, 2015 |title=St. Regis New York's Bentley Car Fleet |url=https://dujour.com/life/st-regis-new-york-bentley-cars/ |access-date=December 16, 2022 |website=DuJour |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216165831/https://dujour.com/life/st-regis-new-york-bentley-cars/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and the hotel began lending guests [[Amazon Kindle]]s with titles from the hotel's library.<ref name="Nast 2015">{{cite web |last=Martin |first=Hannah |date=October 1, 2015 |title=The St. Regis Hotel Revives John Jacob Astor's Famed Library |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/st-regis-library-on-kindle |access-date=December 17, 2022 |website=Architectural Digest |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217003205/https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/st-regis-library-on-kindle |url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2016, news media reported that Starwood was in talks with the [[Qatar Investment Authority]] to sell the St. Regis New York, along with the [[St. Regis Museum Tower|St. Regis San Francisco]], for up to $1&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mashayekhi |first=Rey |date=May 5, 2016 |title=QIA in Talks for Starwood's St. Regis Hotels: Report |url=https://therealdeal.com/2016/05/05/qia-in-talks-for-starwoods-st-regis-hotels-report/ |access-date=December 13, 2022 |website=The Real Deal New York |language=en-US |archive-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213191609/https://therealdeal.com/2016/05/05/qia-in-talks-for-starwoods-st-regis-hotels-report/ |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Efn|The QIA bought the San Francisco property in December 2016.<ref>{{cite web |first=Riley |last=McDermid |website=San Francisco Business Journal |title=St. Regis San Francisco Hotel Sells to Qatar Wealth Fund for $175 Million |date=December 2, 2016 |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2016/12/02/st-regis-san-francisco-hotel-sells-to-qatar-wealth.html |access-date=December 22, 2022 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807124945/https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2016/12/02/st-regis-san-francisco-hotel-sells-to-qatar-wealth.html |url-status=live}}</ref>}} [[Marriott International]] acquired Starwood the same year, including the St. Regis New York.<ref name="Hamdi 2019">{{cite web |last=Hamdi |first=Raini |date=November 1, 2019 |title=Marriott Sells St. Regis New York to Qatar for $310 Million |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-31/marriott-sells-st-regis-new-york-to-qatar-investment-authority |access-date=December 15, 2022 |website=Skift |archive-date=January 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109035338/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-31/marriott-sells-st-regis-new-york-to-qatar-investment-authority |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Bloomberg 2019">{{cite web |last1=Clark |first1=Patrick |last2=Tan |first2=Gillian |date=October 31, 2019 |title=Qatar Wealth Fund Buys St. Regis Hotel That Invented Bloody Mary |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-31/marriott-sells-st-regis-new-york-to-qatar-investment-authority |access-date=December 13, 2022 |publisher=Bloomberg L.P. |archive-date=January 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109035338/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-31/marriott-sells-st-regis-new-york-to-qatar-investment-authority |url-status=live}}</ref> In November 2019, the QIA bought the St. Regis New York for $310&nbsp;million.<ref name="Bloomberg 2019" /><ref name="Real Estate Weekly 2019">{{cite web |title=Qatari Fund Pays $310M for St. Regis |website=Real Estate Weekly |date=November 6, 2019 |url=https://rew-online.com/qatari-fund-pays-310m-for-st-regis/ |access-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-date=December 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213184358/https://rew-online.com/qatari-fund-pays-310m-for-st-regis/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Under the agreement, Marriott would lease the St. Regis from the QIA and would continue to operate the hotel.<ref name="Bloomberg 2019" /> The hotel was temporarily closed to the public in 2020 due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in New York City]], and the space was instead used by hospital patients who were not undergoing [[Critical care medicine|critical care]].<ref name="Kromrei u156">{{cite web |last=Kromrei |first=Georgia |date=March 26, 2020 |title=St. Regis, Wythe Hotel Open Rooms to Medical Staff, Patients as Occupancy Plummets |url=https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2020/03/26/st-regis-wythe-hotel-open-rooms-to-medical-staff-patients-as-occupancy-plummets/ |access-date=May 17, 2024 |website=The Real Deal}}</ref> The St. Regis began offering a "champagne butler" service in 2024,<ref name="Haute Living c610">{{cite web |last=Schreffler |first=Laura |date=May 17, 2024 |title=From NY to The Hamptons: The St. Regis Mobile Champagne Butler |url=https://hauteliving.com/2024/05/glamour-on-the-go-st-regis-debuts-mobile-champagne-butler/751168/ |access-date=May 17, 2024 |website=Haute Living}}</ref> and the King Cole Bar was renovated from January to September 2024.<ref name="Lucero s907">{{cite web |last=Lucero |first=Louis II |title=Manhattan’s King Cole Bar Reopens After a Renovation |website=The New York Times |date=September 18, 2024 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/18/style/king-cole-bar-reopens.html |access-date=September 19, 2024}}</ref>

== Architecture ==
The 18-story French [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] style hotel, the tallest in the city when completed, was designed by Trowbridge & Livingston,<ref name="NYCL p. 1" /> with interiors by [[Arnold Constable & Company]].<ref name="nyt-1904-09-04" /><ref name="p571619219" /><ref name="TL p. 133">{{harvnb|Tauranac|1985|ps=.|page=133}}</ref> Trowbridge & Livingston's original structure occupies the corner of Fifth Avenue and 55th Street.<ref name="NYCL p. 4">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1988|ps=.|p=4}}</ref><ref name="aia5" />  Sloan & Robertson designed the hotel's eastern annex on 55th Street, which was completed in 1927.<ref name="aia5" /> The Thompson–Starrett Company was the general contractor,<ref name="p910660795" /> and John H. Shipway & Bros. was responsible for the marble work.<ref name="r-7031148_029_00001382">{{cite magazine |date=June 28, 1902 |title=Of Interest to the Building Trades |url=https://rerecord.library.columbia.edu/document.php?vol=ldpd_7031148_029&page=ldpd_7031148_029_00001382&no=5 |magazine=The Real Estate Record: Real estate record and builders' guide |volume=69 |pages=1190 |via=[[Columbia University|columbia.edu]] |number=1789}}</ref>

=== Facade ===
The facade of the original hotel is made of limestone and is divided vertically into five [[Bay (architecture)|bays]] on Fifth Avenue and ten bays on 55th Street. Similar to other Beaux-Arts buildings, the facade is divided into three horizontal sections similar to the components of a [[column]], namely a base, shaft, and [[Capital (architecture)|capital]].<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /> When the hotel was built in the early 1900s, New York City construction codes forbade developers from placing any decorative elements outside their property's [[lot line]]. Additionally, the hotel's developers wished to maximize the amount of interior space by placing the facade as close to the lot line as possible.<ref name="Arch p. 82">{{harvnb|Architecture|1904|ps=.|p=82}}</ref> The corner of Fifth Avenue and 55th Street is curved, similar to at 689 Fifth Avenue just to the south.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Horsley |first=Carter B. |date=January 14, 1979 |title=Places: The Aeolian Building: A Bit of Paris on 5Th Ave. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/01/14/archives/places-the-aeolian-building-a-bit-of-paris-on-5th-ave.html |access-date=December 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217201110/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/01/14/archives/places-the-aeolian-building-a-bit-of-paris-on-5th-ave.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Sloan and Robertson's annex on 55th Street is similarly divided into three horizontal sections.<ref name="NYCL p. 6">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1988|ps=.|p=6}}</ref>

According to ''[[Architecture (magazine, 1900–1936)|Architecture]]'' magazine, Trowbridge & Livingston had "a great deal of freedom in designing the ornament".<ref name="Arch p. 83">{{harvnb|Architecture|1904|ps=.|p=83}}</ref> The hotel's decorations were heavily inspired by natural forms, although the St. Regis's facade contains custom [[baluster]]s, [[Console (architecture)|consoles]], [[Keystone (architecture)|keystones]], and other ornaments. The ornamentation is concentrated at selected locations throughout the facade; at the time of construction, the facade could only be seen from a distance or from immediately outside the hotel. The largest windows are placed on the lower stories, which contained the largest suites in the hotel.<ref name="Arch p. 83" /><ref name="AR p. 556">{{harvnb|Architectural Record|1904|ps=.|p=556}}</ref> Most of the hotel's windows are of the same design, with two movable [[Casement window|casements]] topped by a [[Transom window|transom]]. The outermost bays contain more ornate windows, which consist of sidelights on either side of each casement, as well as curving brackets and ovals in each transom.<ref name="NYCL p. 5">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1988|ps=.|p=5}}</ref>

==== Original hotel ====
[[File:St. Regis New York (51395760708).jpg|alt=Main entrance to the St. Regis New York Hotel on East 55th Street|thumb|Main entrance to the St. Regis on East 55th Street]]

The base consists of the ground through 5th stories.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /> The lowest two stories are clad with deeply [[Rustication (architecture)|rusticated]] masonry blocks.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /><ref name="Arch p. 82" /><ref name="AR pp. 555–556">{{harvnb|Architectural Record|1904|ps=.|pp=555–556}}</ref> The 55th Street elevation was constructed with three arched entrance portals with glass and metal doors; two of the portals remain.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /> The portals originally contained revolving doors with bronze [[baldachin]]os.<ref name="Stern (1983) p. 267" /> Between the two remaining entrance portals is an elliptical, brass-and-copper doorman's booth with curved windows and a rounded door;<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /> it is sometimes described as a "sentry box".<ref name="Stern (1983) p. 267" /> The remainder of the ground story contains round-arched windows, while the 2nd story contains rectangular windows. Above the 2nd story are large console brackets ornamented with garlands.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" />

Still within the base, the 3rd story contains a balcony, which wraps across the Fifth Avenue and 55th Street elevations.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /><ref name="Arch p. 82" /><ref name="AR pp. 555–556" /> Above the 3rd story, the facade is clad in rusticated blocks that extend to three-fourths of the height of the 5th-story windows; a horizontal [[band course]] runs above the rusticated portions of the facade. The 3rd and 4th stories contain a rusticated facade and square-headed windows, and the 4th story also includes [[balconet]]tes with ornate iron railings. The 5th story contains segmentally arched windows, as well as projecting balconies with iron railings. Each bay is separated by large garlands and contains its own balconies on the 4th and 5th stories, except for the three middle bays on Fifth Avenue, which have no garlands and a shared balcony.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" />

The original facade's central section comprises the 6th through 12th stories. There are segmentally arched windows in each bay, which contain balconettes with iron railings; the windows are surrounded by moldings and topped by keystones. The center bays on these stories are clad in smooth stone.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /> The two outer bays on the Fifth Avenue and 55th Street elevations are flanked by rusticated [[Pier (architecture)|piers]];<ref name="Arch p. 82" /><ref name="NYCL p. 5" /><ref name="AR pp. 555–556" /> this was done to "limit and define the design", according to ''Architecture'' magazine.<ref name="Arch p. 82" /> The thirteenth story is designed as a "transitional story", with square-headed windows in each bay, as well as ornate [[pilaster]]s flanking the outer bays. The eight center windows on 55th Street, and the three center windows on Fifth Avenue, each share a balcony with an iron railing, which is supported by brackets.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" />

The top section rises above the 13th story. The 14th story contains segmentally arched windows, which are flanked by console brackets. These brackets support a balcony with a balustrade, which curves slightly outward in the outermost bays.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /> This balcony visually separates the roof from the lower stories. Trowbridge & Livingston chose to use a balcony instead of a [[cornice]], as they believed that a cornice would be visually jarring.<ref name="Arch p. 82" /><ref name="AR p. 555">{{harvnb|Architectural Record|1904|ps=.|p=555}}</ref> On the 15th and 16th stories, the windows in each bay are connected to each other. In the outermost bays, there are smooth pilasters on either side of the 15th- and 16th-story windows, as well as a [[broken pediment]] above the 16th story. The other bays contain paneled pilasters and rounded pediments.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /> The [[mansard roof]], which is made of slate and copper, encompasses the 17th and 18th stories. On the 17th story, the outermost bays contain oval windows, flanked by brackets that support a rounded pediment. The center bays contain simple eared frames and triangular pediments; there are urns with garlands between each of the center bays. The 18th story originally contained oval windows with frames; on the Fifth Avenue elevation, all except one of these windows has been replaced with a simple [[dormer window]]. Above the 18th story, the mansard roof contains a copper crest with shell designs.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" />

==== 55th Street annex ====
[[File:5 Av Dec 2022 73.jpg|thumb|55th Street annex]]

The annex on 55th Street contains a limestone facade similar to that of the original hotel. The facade of the annex lacks ornamentation and has recessed rectangular windows. The ground story, first mezzanine, and second story contain deeply rusticated blocks, above which is a simple molding. The annex's 2nd mezzanine corresponds to the cornice above the original hotel's second story. There is a projecting band course above the 2nd mezzanine, which corresponds to the balcony above the original 2nd story. The annex's 3rd to 5th stories are clad with lightly rusticated limestone and serve as a transitional section for the facade, similar to in the original hotel. On the 3rd and 4th stories, each bay is flanked by smooth double-height pilasters.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" />{{efn|{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1988|p=7}}, describes the annex's first mezzanine as the 2nd story and the annex's second mezzanine as the 4th story. As a result, the third through 16th stories of the annex are respectively characterized as the fifth through 18th stories.|name=annex-floors}}

The annex's central section comprises the 6th through 12th stories and is clad in smooth stone. The 13th story of the annex is rusticated and contains band courses both below and above it. The annex's 14th story has a simple design and is topped by a cornice with a balustrade. On the 15th and 16th stories of the annex, each bay is flanked by double-height pilasters; in addition, there is a parapet with urns above the 15th story. The top two stories of the annex are within a double-height mansard window. The annex's eastern elevation is made of buff brick and contains rectangular windows.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" />{{efn|name=annex-floors}}

Placed atop the annex was a roof garden,<ref name="nyt-1928-06-10" /> designed by [[Joseph Urban]].<ref name="p1475890889" /> The roof garden was redesigned in 1936 as a Viennese-style roof garden, with a ballroom painted pink, gold, and gray.<ref name="nyt-1936-05-20" /> There was also a dance floor with an ice-skating platform underneath.<ref name="p2316154632" /> By the 1990s, the ballroom on the roof was known as the St. Regis Roof.<ref name="nyt-1991-05-14" />

=== Structural and mechanical features ===
[[File:St. Regis Hotel, Manhattan, New York City.jpg|alt=The narrow Fifth Avenue facade of the St. Regis, seen from 54th Street|thumb|The narrow Fifth Avenue facade of the St. Regis]]The St. Regis required a large amount of mechanical equipment, which was spread across three basement levels because of the relatively small site.<ref name="AR p. 560">{{harvnb|Architectural Record|1904|ps=.|p=560}}</ref><ref name="Arch p. 81">{{harvnb|Architecture|1904|ps=.|p=81}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1904-10-16">{{Cite news |last=Griffith |first=William |date=October 16, 1904 |title=A Barrel of Dust Collected by the St. Regis Hotel $300,000 Air Filter Every Day – How Chief Engineer Jurgensen Controls the Lungs of the Big Astor Hostelry – Bacteriological Examination of New York Breath Supply. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/10/16/archives/a-barrel-of-dust-collected-by-the-st-regis-hotel-300000-air-filter.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216161325/https://www.nytimes.com/1904/10/16/archives/a-barrel-of-dust-collected-by-the-st-regis-hotel-300000-air-filter.html |url-status=live}}</ref> When the hotel opened, a team of 36 engineers maintained its mechanical systems; the engineering team had a bathhouse in the subbasement.<ref name="AR p. 566">{{harvnb|Architectural Record|1904|ps=.|p=566}}</ref>

As designed, the hotel contained both an indirect heating system and a forced-ventilation system.<ref name="Arch p. 81" /><ref name="AR p. 561">{{harvnb|Architectural Record|1904|ps=.|p=561}}</ref><ref name="p2316154632" /> There were fresh-air intakes on the southern elevation of the facade<ref name="nyt-1904-10-16" /> at the 3rd, 7th, and 12th stories.<ref name="TL p. 132" /><ref name="Arch p. 81" /> These stories contained chambers where the fresh air was filtered, warmed by steam coils, and moistened.<ref name="nyt-1904-09-04" /><ref name="Arch p. 81" /> Electric blowers in each chamber supplied fresh air to four or five stories each.<ref name="Arch p. 81" /><ref name="AR p. 564">{{harvnb|Architectural Record|1904|ps=.|p=564}}</ref> Additional filters, coils, and electric fans were placed in the third basement, supplying air to the other basements and the first three above-ground stories.<ref name="nyt-1904-10-16" /> Dirty air was exhausted through chimney flues in each room and collected at the top of the building, where large exhaust fans discharged the air.<ref name="Arch p. 81" /><ref name="AR p. 564" /> This obviated the need for guests to open their windows to exhaust dirty air.<ref name="AR p. 561" /> Each room and corridor had its own thermostat.<ref name="AR p. 564" /><ref name="Arch pp. 81–82">{{harvnb|Architecture|1904|ps=.|pp=81–82}}</ref><ref name="p1498495485" /> There was also a pneumatic vacuum cleaning system, with ten ducts on each floor,<ref name="Arch pp. 81–82" /><ref name="AR pp. 564–565">{{harvnb|Architectural Record|1904|ps=.|pp=564–565}}</ref> which blew dust into the basement.<ref name="AR pp. 564–565" /><ref name="nyt-1904-10-16" /> Ventilation openings and air intakes were concealed behind ornamental panels or bronze decorations.<ref name="nyt-1904-10-16" /><ref name="p144618294" />

[[Otis Worldwide|Otis Elevator]] manufactured the elevators, and [[Hecla Iron Works]] created grilles for the elevators.<ref name="TL p. 133" /> There were two passenger elevators, as well as a service elevator, which provided access to a pantry in each apartment.<ref name="p570868612" /><ref name="nyt-1900-12-30" /> According to a contemporary ''New York Times'' article, the service elevators could deliver food from the basement kitchen to the top story within 90 seconds.<ref name="nyt-1900-12-30" /> Two more elevators were added in the early 1990s, serving the second floor and the roof.<ref name="nyt-1991-05-14" /> Each room contained an electric clock;<ref name="p2316154632" /><ref name="AR p. 568">{{harvnb|Architectural Record|1904|ps=.|p=568}}</ref> they were synchronized with a master clock in the basement, which in turn received the exact time once a day from [[Western Union]].<ref name="AR p. 568" /> This was a novel feature when the St. Regis opened, as there was no standard timekeeping in New York City at the time.<ref name="AR p. 568" /> The basement also had a large wine cellar,<ref name="Kuhn p. 142" /> and the hotel also included numerous [[mail chute]]s.<ref name="p2316154632" />

The hotel's kitchen, on the second basement,<ref name="nyt-1904-10-16" /> was decorated with marble floors, tiled walls, and white marble tables.<ref name="p5716192192" /><ref name="Stephenson pp. 258–259">{{harvnb|Stephenson|1903|ps=.|pp=258–259}}</ref> The kitchen alone cost $200,000 in 1904 dollars, while the refrigerating plant cost another $50,000.{{efn-lr|The kitchen is equivalent to ${{inflation|index=US|value=0.2|start_year=1904|r=3|fmt=c}} million, and the refrigeration plant is equivalent to ${{inflation|index=US|value=0.05|start_year=1904|r=3|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation year|US}}.{{inflation/fn|index=US|group=lower-alpha}}}}<ref name="Stephenson pp. 258–259" /> This kitchen, covering {{cvt|1400|ft2}}, was restored in the early 1990s.<ref name="nyt-1994-10-12" />

Because of the presence of massive column-free spaces on the lower stories, the hotel building's steel framework contains large girders and trusses.<ref name="Arch p. 81" /> The foundations extend {{cvt|40|ft}} deep to the underlying bedrock.<ref name="nyt-1903-11-15" /> To protect the hotel from fires, the contractors used large amounts of concrete and steel, in addition to marble, bronze, and wire glass.<ref name="p944189237">{{Cite news |date=March 17, 1908 |title=The Safest of Hotels: The St. Regis, New York, The Highest Type of Fireproof Construction Comfort Combined With Safety |page=6 |work=The Nashville American |id={{ProQuest|944189237}}}}</ref> The fireproofing material was manufactured by the Roebling Company.<ref name="TL p. 133" />

=== Interior ===
When the St. Regis opened, the interior was extensively decorated in marble and bronze.<ref name="Arch p. 82" /><ref name="AR pp. 565–566">{{harvnb|Architectural Record|1904|ps=.|pp=565–566}}</ref><ref name="TC pp. 28–29">{{harvnb|Town and Country|1905|ps=.|pp=28–29}}</ref> Marble was used extensively in the corridors on each story;<ref name="Arch p. 82" /><ref name="p536471074">{{Cite news |date=June 23, 1902 |title=Topics in New York: Luxurious Furnishings of Mr. Astor's New Hotel Watermelon Kills Children Young Society Girl Left-Estate Of $750,000—Wife Brings Suit to See Her Children |page=9 |work=The Sun |id={{ProQuest|536471074}}}}</ref><ref name="AR p. 566" /> in the trim around the doors;<ref name="AR p. 566" /> and on all stairways, including those to the basement.<ref name="nyt-1904-10-16" /> John Jacob Astor had opted to use French marble in the St. Regis because he considered Italian marble to be too common a material.<ref name="p398636737">{{cite news |last=Martinez |first=Andres |date=April 24, 1998 |title=Trading Places: Hoteliers Rate Each Other |page=W7 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|398636737}}}}</ref> The hotel also used large amounts of fireproof wood,<ref name="AR p. 565">{{harvnb|Architectural Record|1904|ps=.|p=565}}</ref> which was used for some decorative moldings, in contrast to many buildings of the time.<ref name="AR pp. 565–566" /> The doors to each guestroom were made of white or red mahogany or Circassian walnut.<ref name="Arch p. 82" /> The public rooms were paneled in imported English oak and illuminated by massive chandeliers.<ref name="nyt-1964-09-25">{{Cite news |last=Curtis |first=Charlotte |author-link=Charlotte Curtis |date=September 25, 1964 |title=Hundreds Celebrate at St Regis as Social Season Opens |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/09/25/hundreds-celebrate-at-st-regis-as-social-season-opens.html |access-date=December 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217003202/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/09/25/hundreds-celebrate-at-st-regis-as-social-season-opens.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="p169637224" /> The sash windows and window frames were made of metal.<ref name="AR p. 565" />

Generally, exposed floor surfaces were made of tile or marble, except in some of the suites on the second and third floors. The bedrooms had cement floors covered with carpets.<ref name="AR p. 566" /> Many of the interior spaces had white-tile wainscoting, while elevator cabs and balustrades were made of bronze.<ref name="AR p. 566" /><ref name="TC pp. 28–29" />

==== Public rooms ====

===== First floor =====
The first floor contained a lobby, restaurant, café, palm court, and hotel office; all were decorated with ornate marble paneling.<ref name="p536471074" /> The public rooms' ornate materials compensated for their small size compared with New York City's other luxury hotels.<ref name="Stern (1983) p. 267" /> The restaurant occupied the western side of the ground floor and could fit 350 people.<ref name="p571619219" /> A large mirror, evoking the [[Hall of Mirrors]] at [[Palace of Versailles|Versailles]], gave the appearance that the restaurant was larger than it actually was.<ref name="Stern (1983) p. 267" /> The palm court was placed at the center of the southern side<ref name="p570868612" /><ref name="AR p. 571">{{harvnb|Architectural Record|1904|ps=.|p=571}}</ref> and was furnished in a Persian style, with Turkish tapestries.<ref name="p536471074" /> The palm court also contained six murals by Robert V. V. Sewell, depicting the story of Cupid and Psyche;<ref name="p571305657">{{cite news |date=June 19, 1902 |title=Rich Mural Paintings Are Only One Item of a Three Million Dollar Hotel Building for New Yorkers: "Court of Psyche." Beautiful Story Retold on Walls of a New Hotel |page=B3 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|571305657}}}}</ref><ref name="p144618294" /> the central panel measured {{cvt|19|by|8.5|ft}}, while the others measured {{cvt|13|by|7.5|ft}}.<ref name="p571305657" /> The palm court also contained three stained-glass skylights,<ref name="Stern (1983) p. 267" /> supported by marble arches.<ref name="nyt-1904-09-04" /> At the southeast corner of the ground story was a café.<ref name="AR p. 571" /> There was a private reception room at the northeast corner.<ref name="p570868612" /><ref name="AR p. 571" /> The original dining room was closed in 1925, when six storefronts were constructed along Fifth Avenue.<ref name="nyt-1925-07-01" /><ref name="p1112925138" />

The 1928 annex contained a main dining room and a ballroom at ground level, as well as storefronts on 55th Street. The annex also included a large entrance to a grill room in the basement.<ref name="nyt-1928-06-10" /> In the early 1990s, three new public rooms were created.<ref name="nyt-1991-05-14" /> These included a restaurant named [[Lespinasse (restaurant)|Lespinasse]], decorated in white and gold; the Astor Court, a double-height tea room; and Le Petit Salon, a large lounge.<ref name="nyt-1991-05-14" /><ref name="p398636737" />

[[File:Interior of Old King Cole Bar - St. Regis Hotel - Midtown - Manhattan - New York City - USA (24737072610).jpg|thumb|The King Cole Bar, seen in 2016]]

{{anchor|King Cole Bar}}The King Cole Room was constructed at ground level in 1935.<ref name="nyt-1935-10-02" /> The bar contained the iconic "Old King Cole" painting by [[Maxfield Parrish]], originally created for [[the Knickerbocker Hotel]];<ref name="nyt20070117">{{Cite news |last=Collins |first=Glenn |date=January 17, 2007 |title=King Cole, A Grimy Old Soul, Heads for a Cleaning |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/17/nyregion/17painting.html |access-date=March 9, 2021 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226130042/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/17/nyregion/17painting.html |url-status=live}}</ref> the painting was hung on the north wall of the King Cole Room.<ref name="nyt-1935-10-02" /> The painting was restored in 1957<ref name="nyt-1957-07-09">{{Cite news |last=James |first=Michael |date=July 9, 1957 |title=Noted Bar Mural to Gleam Again; Parrish's 'Old King Cole' at the St. Regis to Be Merry Soul in Bright Colors |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/07/09/archives/noted-bar-mural-to-gleam-again-parrishs-old-king-cole-at-the-st.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216195813/https://www.nytimes.com/1957/07/09/archives/noted-bar-mural-to-gleam-again-parrishs-old-king-cole-at-the-st.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and again in 2007.<ref name="nyt-2007-03-27">{{Cite news |last=Collins |first=Glenn |date=March 27, 2007 |title=King Cole Gets a Cleaning; Pipe and Bowl Are Next |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/nyregion/27cole.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218222948/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/nyregion/27cole.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The space itself is a wood-paneled room adjacent to the lobby; the Old King Cole mural is placed on one wall. {{as of|2013}}, the King Cole Bar was part of the King Cole Bar and Salon, which occupies part of the old Astor Court.<ref name="wsj20131106" /><ref name="nyt-2013-12-19" /><!-- The bar has been the setting for scenes in ''[[The Devil Wears Prada (film)|The Devil Wears Prada]]'', ''[[Hannah and Her Sisters]]'', ''[[The First Wives Club]]'',<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 9, 2017 |title=St. Regis Bar Booted Me for My Makeup and Swanky Outfit |language=en-US |work=[[New York Post]] |url=https://nypost.com/2017/09/09/st-regis-bar-booted-me-for-my-makeup-and-swanky-outfit/ |access-date=June 15, 2018}}</ref> and ''[[Gossip Girl]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 16, 2018 |title=The Gossip Girl Guide to New York City |work=[[Vogue UK]] |url=https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/the-gossip-girl-guide-to-new-york-city |access-date=September 17, 2018}}</ref>-->

===== Second floor =====
On the second floor, the Fifth Avenue frontage was occupied by a banquet hall and ballroom.<ref name="nyt-1904-09-04" /><ref name="AR p. 571" /> The banquet hall could fit 150 people.<ref name="p571619219" /> The ballroom had marble-paneled walls<ref name="nyt-1904-09-04" /><ref name="p5716192192" /> and ornate yellow-and-white velvet tapestries;<ref name="nyt-1904-09-04" /><ref name="TC p. 31">{{harvnb|Town and Country|1905|ps=.|p=31}}</ref> it was known as the Versailles Ballroom by 1962.<ref name="Kuhn p. 137" />

A library occupied the north side of the second level;<ref name="nyt-1904-09-04" /><ref name="AR p. 571" /> it was originally staffed by its own librarian.<ref name="p169637224" /><ref name="Nast 2015" /> The library could fit 2,150<ref name="p1498495485" /><ref name="p536928001" /> or 3,000 books,<ref name="TL p. 133" /><ref name="nyt-1904-09-04" /><ref name="Kuhn p. 143">{{harvnb|Kuhn|1962|ps=.|p=143}}</ref> with titles cataloged and selected by publishing firm [[Charles Scribner's Sons]].<ref name="Nast 2015" /><ref name="Kuhn p. 143" /> It was frequented by many of the same literary personalities that patronized the King Cole Room.<ref name="Kuhn p. 143" /> Also on the north side of the second story were two reception rooms; one of the reception rooms was paneled in mahogany, while the other was decorated with oak paneling.<ref name="nyt-1904-09-04" /> In the early 1990s, the library and reception rooms became a business center.<ref name="p432303971" /> A private dining room suite with three rooms was on the southeast corner of the same floor.<ref name="nyt-1904-09-04" /><ref name="AR p. 571" />

==== Guestrooms ====
The St. Regis originally had 350 units starting at the third floor.<ref name="p536580031">{{Cite news |date=November 3, 1902 |title=Topics in New York: $15,000,000 Being Spent in New Transient Hotels Man Tried to See Miss Gould Supposed the Queer Visitor Is Insane--$100,000 Worth of Gloves Burned—zelie De Lussan Returns |page=9 |work=The Sun |id={{ProQuest|536580031}}}}</ref> The St. Regis was originally planned as an [[apartment hotel]], with apartments that contained as many as 15 to 20 rooms;<ref name="p570868612" /> there were to be nine apartments per floor.<ref name="nyt-2005-05-29" /> Plans for the large apartments were scrapped before the hotel opened,<ref name="AR p. 569">{{harvnb|Architectural Record|1904|ps=.|p=569}}</ref> and the interior was divided into suites with up to three rooms.<ref name="nyt-1904-09-04" /><ref name="AR p. 569" /> Excluding the first and second floors, the furnishings were originally planned to cost $700,000.{{efn-lr|This is equivalent to ${{inflation|index=US|value=0.7|start_year=1902|r=2|fmt=c}} million in {{inflation/year|US}}.{{inflation/fn|index=US|group=lower-alpha}}}}<ref name="p536580031" /> It reportedly cost between $1,500 and $3,000 to furnish each of the rooms.{{efn-lr|This is equivalent to between ${{inflation|index=US|value=1500|start_year=1904|r=2|fmt=c}} and ${{inflation|index=US|value=3000|start_year=1904|r=2|fmt=c}} in {{inflation/year|US}}.{{inflation/fn|index=US|group=lower-alpha}}}}<ref name="p2080724568" /> Each salon originally contained a [[Steinway & Sons|Steinway]] grand piano,<ref name="p144618294" /> and there were 47 such pianos in the hotel.<ref name="TL p. 133" /> All units had large bathrooms and closets,<ref name="AR p. 570">{{harvnb|Architectural Record|1904|ps=.|p=570}}</ref> and every bedroom had an attached bathroom.<ref name="p571619219" /><ref name="TC p. 32">{{harvnb|Town and Country|1905|ps=.|p=32}}</ref> Many of the most popular rooms were furnished with 16th-century European tapestries.<ref name="p1354798565">{{cite news |date=April 28, 1908 |title=Rare Old Tapestries: Flemish and Aubusson Handiwork in Hotel St. Regis, New York a Brief Description |page=2 |work=The Globe |id={{ProQuest|1354798565}}}}</ref> When the annex opened in 1928, it had 200 suites, each consisting of two rooms.<ref name="nyt-1928-06-10" /><ref name="p1113386748" />

The third through 16th floors were devoted to rooms and suites.<ref name="p570868612" /> On the third floor was the state apartment (or state suite<ref name="TL p. 135" />), which faced Fifth Avenue.<ref name="p536471074" /><ref name="AR p. 572">{{harvnb|Architectural Record|1904|ps=.|p=572}}</ref> Designed in the [[Louis XV style]],<ref name="p536471074" /> the state apartment included two bedrooms, a bathroom, a dining room, sitting room, library, and reception room.<ref name="TL p. 135" /><ref name="TC p. 31" /><ref name="AR p. 572" /> The state apartment's main bedroom cost $8,000 to furnish, while the other five rooms cost $25,000.{{efn-lr|The main bedroom is equivalent to ${{inflation|index=US|value=8000|start_year=1902|fmt=c}}, and the other five rooms are equivalent to ${{inflation|index=US|value=25000|start_year=1902|fmt=c}} in {{Inflation year|US}}.{{inflation/fn|index=US|group=lower-alpha}}}}<ref name="p536471074" /> Each suite had an antechamber and drawing room, and some of the suites also had private dining room. Smaller units contained a fireplace, closet, desk, and other furnishings arranged in an [[open plan]].<ref name="TC p. 32" /> Three units on each floor faced an interior [[light court]], while the remaining units faced the street.<ref name="AR pp. 569–570">{{harvnb|Architectural Record|1904|ps=.|pp=569–570}}</ref> The rooms at the southwest, northwest, and northeast corners of the original hotel were generally the largest on each floor, measuring {{cvt|17|by|20|ft}} each.<ref name="AR p. 570" /> Each guestroom floor was served by its own waiter; by 1962, the [[The Newbury Boston|Ritz Hotel in Boston]] was the only other hotel in the U.S. that provided such a service.<ref name="Kuhn p. 142" />

After the 1990s renovation, the hotel had approximately 360 units, compared with more than 550 before the renovation.<ref name="nyt-1991-09-15" /><ref name="p278403172" /><ref name="p283210158" /> The average room spanned {{cvt|450|ft2}}.<ref name="nyt-1991-05-14" /> Each of the renovated rooms contained a multilingual computer system and three phones.<ref name="p2316154632" /> The rooms had replicas of [[Louis XVI style|Louis XVI-style]] and Louis XV-style furniture.<ref name="p432303971" /> The bathrooms were decorated in gray marble and had European bathtubs.<ref name="p2316154632" /><ref name="p432303971" /> Since 2006, the 8th through 11th floors have operated as a set of [[Condominium (living space)|condominium]]s known as the St. Regis Residences.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/argus-hospitality-hosts-vips-at-st-regis-residences-new-york-58337497.html |title=Argus Hospitality Hosts VIPS at St. Regis Residences New York |last=Argus Hospitality Group |agency=PR Newswire}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> The residences consist of 24 full-ownership condos and 22 fractional-ownership [[timeshare]] condos, a part of "The Residence Club".<ref name=":0" /> Memberships for the fractional-ownership condos are sold in 28-day increments; members are only required to use their condo for seven days, and the condo could be rented out for the remaining time.<ref name="nyt-2007-04-10">{{Cite news |last=Selingo |first=Jeffrey |date=April 10, 2007 |title=Hotels Shake Up Time-Share Act |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/business/retirement/10share.html |access-date=December 19, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219010924/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/business/retirement/10share.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

===== Branded suites =====
The modern hotel contains several branded suites created in partnership with [[Tiffany & Co.]], [[Dior]], and [[Bentley]].<ref name="Nast 2012" /> The Tiffany Suite, which was created in the late 20th century,<ref name="Goldman 2011">{{cite web |last=Goldman |first=Leah |date=June 18, 2011 |title=Tour The Glamorous New Tiffany's Hotel Suite That Costs $8,500 A Night |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/tiffanys-suite-st-regis-nyc-2011-6 |access-date=December 17, 2022 |website=Business Insider |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217191509/https://www.businessinsider.com/tiffanys-suite-st-regis-nyc-2011-6 |url-status=live}}</ref> measures {{cvt|1700|ft2}} and contains [[Tiffany Blue]] decorations.<ref name="Luxury Travel Magazine 2011">{{cite web |date=June 30, 2011 |title=Suite Dreams: The St. Regis New York Unveils Tiffany Suite |url=https://www.luxurytravelmagazine.com/news-articles/suite-dreams-the-st-regis-new-york-unveils-tiffany-suite |access-date=December 17, 2022 |website=Luxury Travel Magazine |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217191510/https://www.luxurytravelmagazine.com/news-articles/suite-dreams-the-st-regis-new-york-unveils-tiffany-suite |url-status=live}}</ref> It includes an entrance foyer; a living room with a fireplace; a dining room; a bedroom; and two bathrooms.<ref name="Goldman 2011" /><ref name="Luxury Travel Magazine 2011" /> The Dior Suite, completed in 2011,<ref name="Kritzer 2011" /><ref name="ELLE 2022">{{cite web |date=August 24, 2022 |title=The St. Regis To Open An $8,500 Dior Suite |url=https://www.elle.com/fashion/shopping/news/a7414/the-st-regis-to-open-an-8500-dior-suite-29821/ |access-date=December 17, 2022 |website=ELLE |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217193021/https://www.elle.com/fashion/shopping/news/a7414/the-st-regis-to-open-an-8500-dior-suite-29821/ |url-status=live}}</ref> also covers 1,700 square feet and replaces an earlier Dior suite that opened in 1991.<ref name="Kritzer 2011" /> The current Dior Suite includes gray-and-cream [[Louis XVI style]] furnishings,<ref name="Halberg 2021">{{cite web |last=Halberg |first=Morgan |date=October 20, 2021 |title=The St. Regis Just Debuted a Lavish J'adore New York Experience Inspired by the Dior Exhibit |url=https://observer.com/2021/10/st-regis-dior-suite-christian-dior-exhibit-brooklyn-museum-exclusive-stay/ |access-date=December 17, 2022 |website=Observer |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217191510/https://observer.com/2021/10/st-regis-dior-suite-christian-dior-exhibit-brooklyn-museum-exclusive-stay/ |url-status=live}}</ref> spread across a dining room, a bedroom, and one-and-a-half bathrooms.<ref name="ELLE 2022" /> The Bentley Suite on the 15th floor was completed in 2012<ref name="Nast 2012" /><ref name="Galante 2012">{{cite web |last=Galante |first=Meredith |date=September 20, 2012 |title=Tour The Brand New Bentley Hotel Suite That Costs $9,500 A Night |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/the-bentley-suite-at-the-st-regis-hotel-2012-9 |access-date=December 17, 2022 |website=Business Insider |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217191510/https://www.businessinsider.com/the-bentley-suite-at-the-st-regis-hotel-2012-9 |url-status=live}}</ref> and contains wooden and leather furnishings, as well as items depicting the luxury carmaker's products.<ref name="Galante 2012" /><ref name="Fox 2012">{{cite news |last=Fox |first=Jena |date=September 19, 2012 |title=St. Regis New York to Debut Bentley Mulsanne Suite |website=Luxury Travel Advisor |url=https://www.luxurytraveladvisor.com/hotels/st-regis-new-york-to-debut-bentley-mulsanne-suite |access-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217191512/https://www.luxurytraveladvisor.com/hotels/st-regis-new-york-to-debut-bentley-mulsanne-suite |url-status=live}}</ref> It includes an entrance foyer; a living room; a dining room; a bedroom; and one-and-a-half bathrooms.<ref name="Fox 2012" />

Another branded suite, themed to the film [[Chevalier (2022 film)|''Chevalier'']], opened at the St. Regis in May 2023. It is decorated with 18th-century Parisian memorabilia inspired by the film, as well as artwork from the film.<ref name="DiGuiseppe 2023 l487">{{cite web |last=DiGuiseppe |first=Stephanie |date=May 14, 2023 |title=The St. Regis New York Unveils The New "Chevalier" Suite |url=https://hauteliving.com/2023/05/the-st-regis-new-york-chevalier-suite/729034/ |access-date=July 24, 2023 |website=Haute Living}}</ref><ref name="DuJour 2023 f466">{{cite web |date=April 29, 2023 |title=The St. Regis New York Debuts a "Chevalier" Suite |url=https://dujour.com/gallery/st-regis-new-york-chevalier-suite/ |access-date=July 24, 2023 |website=DuJour}}</ref>

==Notable people and events==
[[File:Dinner_in_honor_of_Signor_Jiulio_Gatti_Casazza_and_Signor_Arturo_Toscanini,_Nov._22,_1908,_Hotel_St._Regis_LCCN2007663932.tif|alt=Grayscale print depicting a banquet in honor of composer Arturo Toscanini at the St. Regis Hotel in 1908|thumb|Banquet in honor of [[Arturo Toscanini]] at the St. Regis, 1908]]

Among the earliest events at the St. Regis Hotel was a 1904 banquet for Japanese [[Prince Fushimi Sadanaru]],<ref name="p571571552">{{cite news |date=December 1, 1904 |title=Prince Fushimi Here: Cordially Welcomed by Japanese-- Entertainments in His Honor |page=7 |work=New-York Tribune |id={{ProQuest|571571552}}}}</ref><ref name="nyt-1904-12-01">{{Cite news |date=December 1, 1904 |title=Royal Welcome Here for Japanese Prince; Hearty "Banzais" at Railroad Station for Fushimi |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/12/01/archives/royal-welcome-here-for-japanese-prince-hearty-banzais-at-railroad.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216161323/https://www.nytimes.com/1904/12/01/archives/royal-welcome-here-for-japanese-prince-hearty-banzais-at-railroad.html |url-status=live}}</ref> as well as a dinner dance in honor of then-U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt's niece [[Corinne Alsop Cole|Corinne Robinson]].<ref name="nyt-1904-12-18">{{Cite news |date=December 18, 1904 |title=Society at Home and Abroad |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/12/18/archives/article-8-no-title.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216161325/https://www.nytimes.com/1904/12/18/archives/article-8-no-title.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The King Cole Room hosted literary personalities such as [[Michael Arlen]], [[Lucius Beebe]], [[John McClain]], and [[Quentin Reynolds]].<ref name="Kuhn p. 143"/> By the 1960s, the hotel was frequented by film and theatrical personalities such as [[Marlene Dietrich]], [[Mary Martin]], [[Joan Fontaine]], [[Leland Hayward]], [[Rex Harrison]], and [[Alfred Hitchcock]],<ref name="Kuhn p. 142" /> as well as [[Marilyn Monroe]].<ref name="nyt-2011-01-06">{{Cite news |last=Ryan |first=Pat |date=January 6, 2011 |title=Marilyn's Manhattan, Both Public and Private |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/nyregion/07monroe.html |access-date=December 19, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170120030622/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/nyregion/07monroe.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Guests also included noble families and heads of state, such as former Belgian king [[Leopold III of Belgium|Leopold III]] and his wife [[Lilian, Princess of Réthy|Lilian]]; Italian countess [[Marina Cicogna]]; and former Swiss president [[Max Petitpierre]]. In addition, it hosted "society regulars" such as the [[Astor family|Astor]], Gould, and [[Whitney family|Whitney]] families.<ref name="Kuhn p. 142" /> In the 1980s, ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' said the hotel had hosted "every U.S. president since its opening".<ref name="p386668856" />

The hotel has had a number of permanent residents. The hotel's residents in the early 20th century included mining magnate [[Daniel Guggenheim]]<ref name="nyt-2005-05-29" /> and inventor [[Nikola Tesla]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 26, 1956 |title=Tesla Memorial Is Unveiled Here; Inventor in Electrical Field Honored as Centenary of His Birth Approaches |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/06/26/archives/tesla-memorial-is-unveiled-here-inventor-in-electrical-field.html |access-date=December 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217201111/https://www.nytimes.com/1956/06/26/archives/tesla-memorial-is-unveiled-here-inventor-in-electrical-field.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Regulars at the St. Regis's residents in the 1960s included television executive [[William S. Paley|William Paley]] and his wife [[Babe Paley|Babe]],<ref name="Kuhn p. 142" /><ref name="nyt-1990-11-04">{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Sally Bedell |date=November 4, 1990 |title=Television; The Wizard Who Spun Black Rock Into Gold |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/04/arts/television-the-wizard-who-spun-black-rock-into-gold.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218185829/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/04/arts/television-the-wizard-who-spun-black-rock-into-gold.html |url-status=live}}</ref> as well as [[O. O. McIntyre]]'s wife.<ref name="Kuhn p. 142" /> The artist [[Salvador Dalí]] and his wife Gala lived at the hotel every fall and winter from 1966 to 1973.<ref name="Buffalo News 1988">{{cite web |title=Historic St. Regis Hotel Will Get Facelift |website=Buffalo News |date=October 27, 1988 |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/historic-st-regis-hotel-will-get-facelift/article_5a9bbe9b-2e36-592a-a20f-5f1d7a372889.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215225208/https://buffalonews.com/news/historic-st-regis-hotel-will-get-facelift/article_5a9bbe9b-2e36-592a-a20f-5f1d7a372889.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, by the 1970s, the hotel's guests included [[Gerald Ford]], [[Bob Hope]], [[Elizabeth Taylor]], and several American astronauts.<ref name="p169637224" /> [[John Lennon]] recorded a demo of "[[Happy Xmas (War Is Over)]]" in his room.<ref name="Williams 2011">{{cite web |last=Williams |first=Richard |date=December 13, 2011 |title=John Lennon: 'I Was Sick of White Christmas' – a Classic Interview from the Vaults |url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2011/dec/13/john-lennon-christmas-rocks-backpages |access-date=December 15, 2022 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=December 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215224645/https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2011/dec/13/john-lennon-christmas-rocks-backpages |url-status=live}}</ref>

The St. Regis Roof has hosted performers such as the [[Count Basie Orchestra]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=John S. |date=July 14, 1972 |title=Count Basie Band Rises to Occasion On St. Regis. Roof |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/14/archives/count-basie-band-rises-to-occasion-on-st-regis-roof.html |access-date=December 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217201112/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/07/14/archives/count-basie-band-rises-to-occasion-on-st-regis-roof.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Edie Adams]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=John S. |date=November 12, 1982 |title=Pop Jazz |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/12/theater/pop-jazz.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218020310/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/11/12/theater/pop-jazz.html |url-status=live}}</ref> ''The New York Times'' wrote in 1967: "A sure sign that summer has arrived in the city, socially at least, is the opening of the St. Regis-Sheraton Roof."<ref name="nyt-1967-06-28">{{Cite news |date=June 28, 1967 |title=St. Regis Roof Is Open for Season |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/06/28/archives/st-regis-roof-is-open-for-season.html |access-date=December 17, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217201110/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/06/28/archives/st-regis-roof-is-open-for-season.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, the St. Regis New York first served [[Abrau-Durso (winery)|Abrau-Durso]]'s ''Nazdorovya'' champagne during [[détente]] in 1975, the first Soviet champagne exported to the United States.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Prial |first=Frank J. |date=June 4, 1975 |title=WINE TALK |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/06/04/archives/wine-talk-the-champagne-and-caviar-can-now-both-be-russian.html |access-date=April 25, 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250425172444/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/06/04/archives/wine-talk-the-champagne-and-caviar-can-now-both-be-russian.html |archive-date=April 25, 2025}}</ref>

== Impact ==

=== Critical reception ===

==== Contemporary reviews ====
When the hotel opened, the ''New-York Tribune'' wrote: "In spite of the luxury everywhere, the handsome tapestries, the great bronze doors and marble mantels, the hotel does not seem gaudy or garish."<ref name="p571619219" /> ''The New York Times'' wrote that "one has but to enter the place to be impressed with its magnificence",<ref name="nyt-1904-09-04" /> while ''[[The Washington Post]]'' called the St. Regis an "admirable hotel, admirably situated".<ref name="p144618294" /> ''[[The Atlanta Constitution]]'' said the St. Regis "establishes a new and higher standard for the construction and decoration of hotels in a city that, in this department of building, establishes the standard for the whole country".<ref name="p495913738">{{Cite news |date=July 17, 1904 |title=The New Type of Metropolitan Hotel |page=a8 |work=The Atlanta Constitution |id={{ProQuest|495913738}}}}</ref>

A month after the hotel opened, W. F. Dix of ''[[Town & Country (magazine)|Town and Country]]'' magazine wrote that the St. Regis was "an extraordinary token of the wealth, good taste and prosperity of the nation".<ref name="p2080724568" /> American architect [[George W. Maher]] was critical of the design, saying "it destroys Americanism in the Americans who stop there", but Russian writer [[Maxim Gorky]] said that "neither the Grand Dukes, nor even the Czar, have anything like this".<ref name="nyt-2005-05-29" />

==== Later reviews ====
The St. Regis remained popular in the late 20th century. In 1962, Irene Corbally Kuhn wrote for ''Town and Country'': "When hotels everywhere are going in for plastic longevity and jealously measuring every foot of space for its commercial return, the St. Regis is still selling elegance."<ref name="Kuhn p. 77" /> Upon the hotel's 60th anniversary in 1964, the ''Times'' wrote that the hotel was known as the "grand dame of East 55th Street".<ref name="nyt-1964-09-05">{{Cite news |date=September 5, 1964 |title=St. Regis, Now 60 Years Old, Mirrors Era of Gracious Living |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/09/05/archives/st-regis-now-60-years-old-mirrors-era-of-gracious-living.html |access-date=December 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219152645/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/09/05/archives/st-regis-now-60-years-old-mirrors-era-of-gracious-living.html |url-status=live}}</ref> After the 1991 renovation, a ''Times'' critic wrote, "On the one hand, there is sure-handed preservation of what has always had something of the quality of a grand Parisian apartment building. [...] On the other hand, late-20th-century technology is quietly ubiquitous."<ref name="nyt-1992-03-27">{{Cite news |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=March 27, 1992 |title=Sampling the St. Regis: Exaltation at a Price |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/27/arts/sampling-the-st-regis-exaltation-at-a-price.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216000003/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/27/arts/sampling-the-st-regis-exaltation-at-a-price.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The ''Times'' also described the King Cole Bar as among the "Parises and Romes of hotel bars".<ref name="nyt-1994-01-14">{{Cite news |last=Hoffman |first=Jan |date=January 14, 1994 |title=Wanderlust for a Cozy New York Hotel Bar |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/14/arts/wanderlust-for-a-cozy-new-york-hotel-bar.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218230628/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/14/arts/wanderlust-for-a-cozy-new-york-hotel-bar.html |url-status=live}}</ref> A writer for the ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'' wrote: "Maxfield Parrish's King Cole mural in the bar looks fresher than ever; and the Watteau rooms on the second floor are worth a snoop."<ref name="p432445462">{{cite news |last=Kaptainis |first=Arthur |date=June 19, 1993 |title=The Art of Loitering; Lobby-Dawdling In New York's Grand Hotels Is a Game With Rules |page=J1 |work=The Gazette |id={{ProQuest|432445462}}}}</ref> A reporter for ''[[USA Today]]'' called the first floor "an explosion of marble" and said that "even the little things at the St. Regis are high class".<ref name="p408954496" />

Describing the hotel's service, Terry Trucco of the ''Times'' wrote in 1991 that the St. Regis was, "in short, a wonderful blend of landmark preservation and late-20th-century technology, with dozens of delightful details. Among the best: the St. Regis initials embossed on every door knob, brass window handle and carved on every air vent."<ref name="nyt-1991-09-15" /> A ''Wall Street Journal'' critic wrote in 2000 that "the St. Regis positively gleams with marble, gilt and crystal" and that the "heavily international clientele has an elegant look, but when enough of the elite set pack in, the popular lobby lounge can be uncomfortable, noisy and smoky."<ref name="p398741699">{{cite news |last=Landro |first=Laura |date=October 13, 2000 |title=The Finicky Traveler: Manhattan Hotels – on $850 a Day --- We Test New York's St. Regis, Four Seasons for Best Style; Fawning Butler, Stale Air |page=W4 |work=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|398741699}}}}</ref> Similarly, ''USA Today'' wrote in 2003: "A hipster's palace this isn't. Some might even call it stuffy."<ref name="p408954496" /> Another ''Times'' critic said: "It struck me that for people of a certain age, and I am one, it is an exquisite representation of grand hotels imagined as a child."<ref name="nyt-2002-12-01">{{Cite news |last=Ward |first=Alex |date=December 1, 2002 |title=Hotel Check-In; A Buffet Of Luxury In New York |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/01/travel/hotel-check-in-a-buffet-of-luxury-in-new-york.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219000703/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/01/travel/hotel-check-in-a-buffet-of-luxury-in-new-york.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Architectural writer [[Christopher Gray (architectural historian)|Christopher Gray]] said the St. Regis was "opulent, even showy" when compared with the neighboring Gotham (now Peninsula) Hotel.<ref name="nyt-1999-01-03" /> The ''Times'' said the St. Regis and Gotham hotels, along with the University Club Building, "formed the core of a new elegant precinct of Fifth Avenue before the building of the [[Plaza Hotel]] to the north and [[Rockefeller Center]] to the south".<ref name="nyt-1981-01-11">{{Cite news |last=Horsley |first=Carter B. |date=January 11, 1981 |title=Swiss Hotelman and Innovator Comes to Gotham |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/11/realestate/swiss-hotelman-and-innovator-comes-to-gotham.html |access-date=December 18, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218020313/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/11/realestate/swiss-hotelman-and-innovator-comes-to-gotham.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The hotel ranked 16th among 150 buildings in the [[American Institute of Architects]]' 2007 survey ''[[America's Favorite Architecture|List of America's Favorite Architecture]]''.<ref>{{cite web |website=FavoriteArchitecture.org |publisher=AIA |url=http://favoritearchitecture.org/afa150.php |title=List of America's Favorite Architecture |year=2007 |access-date=September 27, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510113118/http://favoritearchitecture.org/afa150.php |archive-date=May 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="nyt-2007-05-27">{{Cite news |last=Kugel |first=Seth |date=May 27, 2007 |title=The List: 33 Architectural Favorites in New York |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/travel/27Bweekend.html |access-date=January 20, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=January 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120163218/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/travel/27Bweekend.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Landmark designations ===
The [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] (LPC) had considered designating the St. Regis Hotel as an official city landmark in 1966.<ref name=nyt-1966-04-28>{{Cite news |date=April 28, 1966 |title=31 Buildings Urged as City Landmarks |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/04/28/archives/31-buildings-urged-as-city-landmarks.html |access-date=December 21, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221195211/https://www.nytimes.com/1966/04/28/archives/31-buildings-urged-as-city-landmarks.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The LPC again considered designating the St. Regis as a landmark in 1985.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Negron |first=Edna |date=September 5, 1985 |title=3 City Sites Eyed for Landmark Status |pages=26 |work=Newsday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/111925231/3-city-sites-eyed-for-landmark/ |access-date=October 24, 2022 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Schmalz |first=Jeffrey |date=September 18, 1985 |title=The Essence of a Landmark: Beauty, History or Character?: What Makes a Landmark? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/18/nyregion/the-essence-of-a-landmark-beauty-history-or-character.html |access-date=October 24, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006000509/https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/18/nyregion/the-essence-of-a-landmark-beauty-history-or-character.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Although Sheraton did not express an opinion on whether the hotel should be landmarked,<ref name="p2319776365">{{cite news |last=Shepard |first=Joan |date=October 19, 1988 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115138950/no-action-on-st-regis/ |title=No Action on St. Regis |page=39 |work=New York Daily News |access-date=December 25, 2022 |id={{ProQuest|2319776365}} |archive-date=December 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221225022319/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115138950/no-action-on-st-regis/ |url-status=live}}</ref> the LPC designated the St. Regis as a New York City landmark on November 1, 1988.<ref name="nyt-1988-11-07">{{Cite news |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |date=November 7, 1988 |title=5th Avenue's St. Regis Is Declared a Landmark |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/07/nyregion/5th-avenue-s-st-regis-is-declared-a-landmark.html |access-date=December 15, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114210205/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/07/nyregion/5th-avenue-s-st-regis-is-declared-a-landmark.html |url-status=live}}</ref> During that decade, preservationists had proposed designating the St. Regis as a contributing property to a planned historic district along the midtown section of Fifth Avenue. The historic district was never created.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Shepard |first=Joan |date=February 13, 1985 |title=Developers' Lust Decried |pages=119 |work=New York Daily News |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/79056117/developers-lust-decried/ |access-date=June 6, 2021 |archive-date=June 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606171341/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/79056117/developers-lust-decried/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of hotels in New York City]]
* [[List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets]]

==References==

===Notes===
'''Explanatory notes'''
{{Notelist}}

'''Inflation figures'''
{{notelist-lr}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
* {{Cite magazine |date=June 15, 1904 |title=The Hotel St. Regis, New York |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015036009291&view=1up&format=plaintext&seq=176 |magazine=Architecture |volume=9 |issue=54 |id={{ProQuest|910599884}} |ref={{harvid|Architecture|1904}}}} {{PD-notice}}
* {{Cite magazine |last=Kuhn |first=Irene Corbally |date=Mar 1962 |title=An Aristocrat Among American Hotels: Under the St. Regis Glass Canopy |magazine=Town and Country |volume=116 |issue=4472 |pages=376–83, 137, 142, 166 |id={{ProQuest|2130737161}}}}
* {{Cite magazine |last=Stephenson |first=Walter T. |date=Oct 1903 |title=Hotels and Hotel Life in New York |magazine=The Pall Mall Magazine |volume=31 |issue=126 |pages=250–260 |id={{ProQuest|6573113}}}}
* {{cite magazine |year=1904 |title=The St. Regis—the Best Type of Metropolitan Hotel |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=gri.ark:/13960/t6355fg2m&view=1up&format=plaintext&seq=569 |magazine=Architectural Record |volume=15 |ref={{harvid|Architectural Record|1904}}}} {{PD-notice}}
* {{cite report |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1552.pdf |title=St. Regis Hotel |date=November 1, 1988 |publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] |archive-url= |archive-date= |ref={{harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1988}}}}
* {{Cite New York 1900}}
* {{Sfn whitelist|CITEREFTauranac1985}}{{Cite Elegant New York}}
* {{Cite magazine |date=May 13, 1905 |title=The Truth About the Hotel St. Regis: Perfect Comfort to Be Had Within Its Beautiful Walls Without Exorbitant Prices |magazine=Town and Country |issue=3078 |id={{ProQuest|126866229}} |ref={{harvid|Town and Country|1905}}}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/nycxr-the-st-regis-new-york/overview/ The St. Regis New York official website]

{{Midtown North, Manhattan}}
{{St. Regis Hotels & Resorts|state=autocollapse}}
{{Hotels in New York City}}
{{Fifth Avenue}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Regis Hotel}}
[[Category:1904 establishments in New York City]]
[[Category:Hotels established in 1904]]
[[Category:Hotel buildings completed in 1904]]
[[Category:Hotels in Manhattan]]
[[Category:St. Regis hotels]]
[[Category:New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Fifth Avenue]]
[[Category:Midtown Manhattan]]
[[Category:Sheraton hotels]]
[[Category:Manger hotels]]
[[Category:Qatar Investment Authority]]