I'll see you at the St. Regis!

From a hostel for prostitutes to luxury hotels for the wealthy . . .

Upper St. Regis Lake is a part of the St. Regis River in the Adirondacks in northern New York State.   Along with Lower St. Regis Lake and Spitfire Lake, it became famous in the late 19th century as a summer playground of America's power elite, drawn to the area by its scenic beauty and by the rustic charms.

The St. Regis Hotel in New York was built by one of the wealthiest men in America, John Jacob Astor IV, as a companion to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, of which he owned half.   At the suggestion of his niece, Astor named the new hotel after Upper St. Regis Lake in the Adirondacks. The lake had been named for a French Jesuit priest, John Francis Regis, known for his hospitality to travelers (and prostitutes).

There are several luxury hotels around the world that are called St. Regis in honor of this saint of hospitality:

            St. Regis, Aspen, Colorado

St. Regis Princeville, Island of Kauai, Hawaii

            St. Regis Bora Bora

            St. Regis Deer Valley, Park City, UT

            St. Regis, Venice, Italy

            St. Regis, Vancouver, Canada

            St. Regis, Bal Harbour