Wait, Some Sheratons Are Actually Nice Now?!?

Personally I’ve never had any qualms about Sheraton properties (granted they’re not usually my first choice). Hilton is the one with the bad properties now, and it certainly doesn’t help that 25% shareholder HNA Group has filed for bankruptcy

I've stayed at a few Sheratons, mainly at airports on layovers and on trips to South America, notably in Argentina (Salta, Iguazu specifically). I've never found them to be bad or good, just a 'there you have it" hotel room. These photos show a remarkable turnaround. The brand and even the name does evoke something 1960s-1970s, but without applying the design aesthetic of that era, they could refresh it with that type of aura. Seems like they are doing something along those lines.

Definitely a much neglected brand long overdue for a revamp. One particularly bad property I stayed at in Roanoke in the final months before the merger quickly got booted and reflagged as an independent conference hotel and last time I was there it was being torn down. I will say some of the interior shots, especially the lobby and common areas remind me of the few AC Hotels I’ve stayed at and it looks quite nice.

I'm with @Ray. While there's a whole lot of variation and lack of standard, they're pretty good overall. I particularly like the Royal Orchid in Bangkok. The changes don't bother me though but I think they're trying a bit too hard to look modern.

This is just a PR spin. Most Sheratons won’t get anywhere as nice as this. Maybe fresh paint, new flooring, bathtubs removed, and a limited service lobby bar to replace a horrendous hotel restaurant. That’s about all. Marriott should have used this as an excuse to consolidate its brands. Keep the best Sheratons as Sheraton and deflag the rest or rebrand to Delta. This was the same problem with Marriott’s flagship Marriott brand. Many properties circa 2010-2014 were as bad or worse than the worst Sheratons. Marriott made a big deal they were updating the brand and renovating them. Flash forward 7 years and many Marriott properties have yet to receive the new look while the earliest ones to be renovated (say 2014-2016) are 5 to 7 years-old and starting to show wear-and-tear. The “new look” that all the big chains are going for these days pleases the eye but most of the decor’s elements are cheap and don’t seem to last nearly as long. I have seen plenty of properties that have just 4-5 years need a refresh.

One of the best traveling experiences I've ever had was in Sheraton Oman. Absolutely unbelievable from the start to finish and their breakfast was THE BEST of all hotels I ever stayed in including various Park Hyatts, Conrads and St Regis properties. It was so good I went back 6 months later, lol. If you ever have a chance, do NOT pass it up.

One other point. The coffee bar bar or whatever they are calling the new concept lobby bar is about reducing costs. Notice they don’t say anything about a restaurant. Sheratons have never had great restaurants (one of the few exceptions domestically is the Sheraton in Georgetown, Texas of all places) but it’s clear they want to cut costs by having a Courtyard or AC-style, limited-service bistro. The relaunched club lounge is part of that strategy. I doubt the food will improve. I also wouldn’t be surprised if the new lounges have self-service wine kiosks that charge the glass of wine to your room key. This would reduce their labor costs a lot. Especially in cities with high-cost hotel labor unions.

Are those photos or renderings? The bedding does NOT look real like a photo.

And where is the desk? Is Marriott really going to eliminate desks for a round table and fabric chair that will be covered in stains and torn after a year or two?

I don’t see any outlets by the bed. I also don’t see a clock or Bluetooth-capable speakers. Nor do I see any outlets by the table that is pretending to be a desk.

And why wouldn’t you have electronic blackout shades in a big downtown property like Denver with so much external light pollution at night?

Who are the idiots that design hotel rooms? Have they ever stayed in a hotel?

It’s a stodgy, tired brand with zero consistency (and consistency is just absolutely basic Marketing 101). I associate it with having vast and soulless Congress centres in the basement (Buenos Aires, Montevideo), all dusty and fly-blown — or that hideous hellhole in NY.

Then again, if their design spec says this:
“... balancing a sense of timelessness with a fresh and modern feel...”
... then they don’t have a clue what they want (“so, I want traditional and classical, but at the same time I want really modern and happening now...”).

And was it a mistake that their coffee shop will be called “Coffee Bar Bar”, or will it have some sort of sheep theme?

The nice lobbies look exactly like the newish Hilton Corferias in Bogota. Which is nice, so that’s ok.

Oh, oh. I’m on moderation again! Or did I pick a magic word?!

I was surprised at the Sheraton in Redding, CA recently. There were few options there so I tried it. Rooms were modern, great location on the river, and they had a local favorite restaurant attached that was really fantastic. I was surprised by the entire stay given how awful most of them are.

I went to Sheraton Grand Dubai today, to be honest not impressed. Yes, the lobby is redone, but the rest remains quite bland and generic. Have to see more evidence to believe in this rebranding exercise.

Some of these look like digital renderings.

I actually like the Sheraton brand. As a Bonvoy Platinum, I particularly like how many of the Sheraton's had club lounges, thus the perks were pretty good for being elite. Sure some of the properties were showing some age, but found them to often be decent value in the Marriott program.

Regarding Sheraton in Muscat, didn't it take 10 years to open it? And wasn't it recently refurbished?

I stayed in nice and tired Sheratons. The most tired one was in Anchorage, but it had great views from corner suite.

Outside of TVs and wall art, the Sheraton at Detroit’s airport hasn’t been substantively updated in 10 years. Sheraton in Guam is another one, despite amazing views and some great pools. Sheraton in Novi, a Detroit suburb, was renovated about two years and basically has this new Sheraton decor, which aesthetically is pretty similar to renovated Marriott properties. The restaurant is pretty bad at the Novi property. Especially the breakfast. The club lounge breakfast is a higher quality than the restaurant buffet. I would say the amenities are marginally better at most Sheratons because they still stock mouthwash, robes and, at some properties, slippers. Some Sheratons also have nail files. Many domestic Marriott properties don’t have any of these things, even in suites.

@Ray HNA sold there share over 2 years ago. They made some money but they had sell a lot of stuff and most of has been long sold.

You should check out Sheraton San Gabriel. It's actually quite nice and the renderings you show actually made me think you're referring to that particular hotel.

Sheratons have a difficult time because it's a somewhat old brand. In contrast, Hilton Garden Inns are newer and very consistent.

As for Le Meridien's faux French, they used to be really French and the hotel brand owned by Air France up until around the early 1990's. Those were the days....Pan Am/Intercontinenal, Air France/Le Meridien, Swissair/Swissotel, United/Westin, Japan Air Lines/Hotel Nikko, etc.

There have always been some Sheratons that were fantastic. The Sheraton Sydney Hyde Park and the Sheraton Grand Dubai come to mind - they were definitely on par with St. Regis or Ritz Carlton properties in the US, perhaps even better. The Sheraton Edinburgh had one of the best Club Lounges I've come across outside of Asia. Even domestically, I've had great experiences with Sheraton Seattle, Sheraton Denver, Sheraton Boston, and Sheraton Salt Lake City. I would often choose Sheraton over Westin, which I think has gotten very inconsistent over the last decade -- for example, in Toronto and Vancouver, I preferred the Sheraton to the Westin.

Sure, some Sheratons are not as good but I don't find it is that much more variable than other brands. I think Renaissance is the Marriott brand with the most variation. Just before COVID started, I stayed at the Renaissance Glendale, which was pretty high end and at the Renaissance Oklahoma City, which is one of the most disgusting hotels I've ever stayed at (subsequently reflagged as a Wyndham).

So, while there was certainly variation within the Sheraton brand, there were some really terrific hotels even before the refresh, so I think you were mistaken to totally avoid them.

@Daniel +1 and the attached steakhouse was phenomenal. Hope it comes back post-pandemic!

Sheraton HK was one of my favourites stays

Sheraton Muscat @Lukas. This was undoubtedly the worst upscale hotel in town, prior to ‘top to bottom’ renovation, so it depends on ‘when’.
I don’t mind Sheratons : for all the bad-mouthing of them in recent times, there were still a good many very nice properties, even prior to this revamp ( and often lower-priced, better-located than some of the much-touted competitors, including those in SPG/Marriott)

NOTHING of all those posts from the "new" Denver Sheraton design has any 5* feeling to it!
It could be Lufthansa, they also claim to be a 5* airline, but far from it in recent years.
Unless the price is right, but we all know US hotel prices are far from OK in 75% of the properties you stay at and what you get for as most have no class, style and made for masses only.
Same feels like the new wannabe 5* style on new Sheraton.
Start with the Cleveland Airport Sheraton . . . Atlantic City . . . my personal most horrible stays ever of any Sheraton property in the US.
New design does NOT fit for a 5* property!
TRUMP properties have more to offer at the same price range.
Maybe it's just the missing class and culture on a brand that's missing, but that is a US problem since ages ?!

.... even the modern and young EDITION Bodrum has more 5* feeling than this new Sheraton look.
It's mostly not just the look, but the people too, who make a whole lot of a difference to a property.
Just by the photos . . . to me, 5* look different!

I don’t think the Sheraton in Niagara Falls, New York will ever get this treatment. Or the Sheraton Ann Arbor, Michigan. Same for the Sheraton in Memphis. By the time all of the horrendously outdated Sheratons or $90 a night airport Sheratons are renovated to this style, all the now-newly renovated Sheratons (about 6 or 400-500 properties) will be 10 years into this style.

Le Meridien is also an odd, out-of-place Marriot brand. Like newer or newly renovated Renaissance properties, it’s what I call corporate boutique.

I like the Sheraton feather pillows better than Westin pillows, but the Westin
bedding better than Sheraton.

@Steffl - Service and staff are a problem at most US hotels regardless of brand. US doesn’t have good service, despite high wages and a tipping culture. Moreover, many of the hotel workers few it as a “job” and not a “career” like in foreign countries where working at a international hotel is quite prestigious and staff speak a couple languages. Good luck getting that at the Sheraton Denver, except for the Spanish-speaking housekeepers.

There’s a reason most of the new hotels in the US are limited-service branded. Owners can make almost or as much money as a full-service property without the shitty service and high labor costs. Why have a mediocre restaurant when guests will accept a frozen meal (with a much higher profit margin) warmed up at a lobby bar or bistro?

The other problem is something few people understand. Marriott International does NOT own nor operate (manage) the vast majority of its properties across ALL brands in North America. That’s why there are so many inconsistencies. Most hotels are managed by the franchisee or their contracted management company. These companies charge less than Marriott does to manage, which is why owners employ them. I can almost universally tell the difference between a Marriott-managed hotel and a hotel managed by a third-party like Aimbridge, which is by far one of the worst operators.

These comments are quite funny. Having worked on this, I would just say that most people’s beliefs that they presume to be the prevailing opinion about the Sheraton brand are not entirely true. Yes it has its issues but Sheraton is actually one of the most popular brands globally in terms of recognition and respect. It is no Park Hyatt but Sheraton was the first international hotel in many countries and raised the bar for many of those markets. That said the brand has been bleeding money which is why Marriott cares about this redesign and refresh.

It’s been 3-4 years, but I thought the Sheraton Suites in downtown Calgary was very nice when I stayed there a few times compared to a typical Sheraton, though maybe I had low expectations.

I saw some of these renovations at Sheraton TLV before Israel closed (eg the elevator hallway)- still a total dump and overall disappointing. Pick DAN hotels instead.

Loved the Denver Sheraton and it's downtown location. Also like the Sheraton in San Diego Little Italy because of its outstanding staff with best ever personalized and energetic welcome.

I stayed for 8 nights (in two stints) at the Sheraton Tel Aviv in November 2019. As a Platinum member I had access to the lounge. The rooms had a fantastic view of the beach and the Mediterranean Sea. The service in the lounge was outstanding . While the lobby was outdated and the rooms needed a refresh, I was pleasantly surprised at the overall service level (soft product) in the hotel.

If the hard product receives any kind of upgrade , I believe that this will be a terrific hotel to stay in Tel Aviv.

Overall, any kind of hard product upgrade to the Sheraton will cause me to consider the brand if I find (based upon reviews) that the soft product is above average.

Just saying!

@DC-PHL flyer, I was going to say the same thing. Sheraton was and continues to be a luxury brand in many countries. I was actually surprised how shabby Sheratons in the US were.

FYI - Sheraton Phoenix Downtown is on the verge of completing its refresh, if not done already. Phoenix Club Lounge, alongside Denver, is promoted to owners as their new US flagship.

FWIW, I worked with an ownership group in 2019-2020 on a suburban US Sheraton refresh and I will say the Sheraton folks were VERY flexible in waiving a lot of these new concepts / "requirements" since the rate there didn't warrant the investment, so I'd only expect this product in "class A" Sheraton locations. Also, Sheraton can only mandate casegoods refresh every 14 years, so expect it to take over a decade for this product offering to become uniform across the domestic portfolio.

I wanted to add the Sheraton Redding Hotel at the Sundial Bridge in Redding, CA to this list! Fantastic property!

Personally, I always found Sheraton one of the more consistent brands, together with LeMeridien. They always had a reasonable renovation cycle for a four star hotel (remember, in most countries they are 4 star not 5 star). Also Lounge and Link services were rolled out consistently. Really the only exception I experienced, was Sheraton Penang about 15 years ago - but that property got unflagged shortly thereafter.

As I am usually staying in 4 star properties (in particular on work trips, due to travel policy) Sheraton is usually quite high up the list of hotels I do consider.

I find most chain hotels terribly generic. Apart from the brand of toiletries, it’s difficult to tell them all apart. Same breakfast, same white linens, same room layout, similar uniforms. I’m talking about the mass market brands (Hilton, Marriott, Holiday Inn etc). Some are terrible - Holiday Inn Basildon for instance, but most are fine. For me, cleanliness & location are the two main criteria. If I want a hotel with soul and/personality, I choose independent hotels. Which is what I do most of the time.

@Matt: Almost all US big brands are considered "luxury" internationally. I've even seen Ramada and Howard Johnson properties internationally called 4-star or 4 1/2-star.

@Echo 14 years? Are you serious? That's crazy. Is a TV considered a casegood? No wonder so many hotels have phones that look 20 years old. They're 14 years old! Isn't the standard for Marriott's Marriott brand every 7 years?

@Andreas: I don't think that's necessarily true. I think that is a stereotype. Even at a Marriott's Marriott brand, which historically has been called vanilla for its consistency, varies greatly these days. Internationally, Marriott hotels seem to be the Marriott hotels I remember domestically from 10-15 years ago. Definitely a good star or two higher than their counterparts in the US. It's very rare internationally not to have a concierge, doorman, bellmen, newspapers, robes, slippers, turndown service, mouthwash, etc. Marriott even carries a different line of toiletries for some regions of the world. I've even noticed the linens to be higher quality internationally. Domestically, even at a JW Marriott property this higher standard is far from universal. This is especially true at non-Marriott managed properties. A general manager told me that Marriott has a higher staff to guest ratio, including managers like guest relations or operations director, at Marriott-managed properties than a property managed by a franchisee, who often combine a front office manager, guest relations manager or operations manager into one role.

I’m Always glad for a refresh, but hate that so many properties — now including remodeled Sheratons — don’t have bathtubs, anymore. Having the option to soak and reset (and in colder climates, get fully warm) is often primal to my sense of wellbeing. When I make a reservation, I always check to see if the room has a tub, and if it doesn’t, I stay someplace else.

Haven't they been revamping Sheratons for years? I remember ~10 years ago when Sheraton announced a partnership with Microsoft ( https://www.hotelbusiness.com/sheraton-enhances-new-lobby-tech-hub-via-microsoft-partnership). And in ~2013, the New York Sheraton was completely revamped. So this doesn't seem new, just another example of Sheraton being directionless.

@Nate nate: Here are more examples:

2015: Starwood Plans to Improve Sheraton, Add 150 Hotels by 2020
"Starwood has a lot of fantastic properties around the world, but for every gorgeous new W or industry-leading St. Regis, there’s a Sheraton that’s in desperate need of a refresh — and as of today, this appears to be a top priority for Starwood. As part of its 10-point Sheraton 2020 plan, the chain plans to revitalize the brand through a series of marketing and design improvements (10, in fact!)."
https://thepointsguy.com/2015/06/sheraton-2020-plan/

2011: Sheraton Launches Campaign to Spotlight Refresh
"With its three-year, US$6-billion revitalization plan complete, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts has now launched a US$20-million ad campaign to be sure consumers are aware of the new look and feel."
https://www.costar.com/article/1936444457

The reality is Marriott can push whatever spin it wants, but the owners have to fund the changes. Marriott needs to follow Best Western and IHG's examples when they deflagged hundreds of properties that refused to invest.

I've stayed at some nice Sheratons and some really beat up Sheratons (Hey, Pasadena and Dallas, the 90's called and they want their polished brass and dusty rose back). The difference between the good and bad is really glaring, probably more so than any other brand. Since the 00's I've shied away from Sheratons because when they're bad, they're really bad and if I don't know the property, I'm not willing to chance it. I realized I can't say anything about the brand because it's so inconsistent and lacking in identity, you can't really judge them all other than to say it's a crap-shoot.

Usually, I like Sheratons. I don't think I'll enjoy this new concept. As a single female traveler, I'm very uncomfortable in hotel bars, and will eat and drink nothing rather than having to go to the bar to get a cup of coffee or purchase food. I'll never sit on any of those fabric couches and chairs because they seem dirty.

What I'm looking for in a hotel that I rarely find is polite staff, good lighting, conveniently placed electrical outlets, space on the bathroom counter, a non-lumpy bed and a way to darken the room for sleep.

As someone who has often stayed in Marriott brands around the world, this is hardly surprising. It is only the upper brands that have most consistency unless it's a special situation - I mean Ritz or St. Regis and even in a special situation, the hotels are very nice but perhaps they were formally used for a different purpose or they acquired it from others. When you start going down then there lacks consistency. Most JW's for example are consistent. Usually middle range lacks like Sheraton or Marriott. Some are decent. Others need improvement as they are not well maintained. Some brands are much nicer overseas such as Courtyards which may include gyms, bars, lounge, etc. Interestingly enough lower end is relatively consistent given what you would expect. For example, internationally, Fairfield properties. And this is direct competition to Holiday Inn Express. Also, we need to be reasonable as to our expectations. One Marriott brand in a small city somewhere outside the US is likely to be just okay, but nothing special.

I don't care about brands because they never tell you the whole story, and are designed to just give you a perception. I go straight to Tripadvisor and look for the properties where far more people give it a 5 rather than a 1. Then I look at the budget and the most recent reviews and determine that if there is an issue, does it apply to me? Some do, some don't.

@Kevin L: just because something is old doesn’t make it out of date. The issue is the quality of the decor and furnishings. The quality just isn’t there given the tremendous wear-and-tear that some hotels face. If true as someone else posted, Sheraton owners can go a maximum of 14 years between investing in the bones (furniture) of a room. That explains a lot. I’ve stayed at hotels opened brand-new or fully renovated four years ago and the carpet, furniture, etc. already needs some replacing.

The Sheraton in downtown Vancouver is quite nice - two tall all glass towers in a central location with nice rooms and public spaces (had my wedding there so I'm partial). Based on feedback from others in the comments however, seems like this aligns with the inconsistency of the overall Sheraton brand.

I stayed at the Sheraton Gateway LAX a few years back and thought that it was actually pretty nice. If all US properties could be brought up to that level then I would certainly give them more consideration in the future.

When Shertorn was a Starwood hotel, they were generally pretty nice and I always tried to say there Usually had a decent executive lounge. Had some in interesting places like Lake Como, Italy, and Iguazu Falls in Argentina. I think the Sheraton brand got swallowed up by all of the many Marriott brands and maybe got a little lost in the shuffle.

This!!!!