I attended a convention at the Sheraton Hotel New York last week. We arrived at the hotel at 2:30PM and were greeted by a check-in line that extended through the lobby to the revolving door. The hotel was completely booked, largely due to our convention of over 2,000 teachers, and they only had 4 people working the front desk! We finally made it to the reception desk an hour later (3:30) and were told our room was not ready- though check-in time is 3PM. The desk clerk explained that their housekeeping staff was having trouble cleaning all the rooms and we should check back in about an hour or two. At least he gave us a slip allowing us to check our luggage at the check room so we could go get something to eat while we waited. Unfortunately, there was another line at the luggage check room and the check room employee was quite surly. I tried calling the hotel several times after an hour of waiting, as directed by the desk clerk, but could get no answer after the hotel operator transferred the call to the front desk. We went back to the hotel, got in line again, and finally got our room at 5:30. (We ran into the group that had been in the check-inline behind us after the convention's opening meeting later that night and they told us they did not get their room until 10PM!) The room was nice and clean. However, housekeeping was slow. We'd stop back in the room after the meetings, around 1PM or so, and the room was not cleaned. One day I called the front desk because it was after the 3PM and the room had not been cleaned. The room would finally be cleaned by 5 or 6PM. Often the trash cans weren't emptied or we didn't get hand towels or a bath mat. The real fun was early Sunday morning- after midnight. We were told by the desk clerk at check-in that they could not put two credit cards on the room account. (I was sharing the room with another teacher and we wanted to split the bill between our credit cards, which has never been a problem at other hotels.) The check-in desk clerk told us we'd have to come back Saturday night, the night before we were to check out, to put the other credit card on the account. Talking with other convention attendees staying at the hotel, we found that some were told the same thing but others had been allowed to put two or more credit cards on their room accounts at check-in (seems there was little consistency at this hotel). We got in line for the front desk (there was ALWAYS a line at this front desk) before our convention's closing banquet on Saturday night only to be told be told by a desk clerk that they couldn't split the bill on two credit cards until the day of check-out. With an early flight the next day, that meant we'd have to return after midnight to split the bill. So, I got in line for the front desk, again, at 11:55 that night. I was in good company because everyone else in that line were teachers from the convention doing the same thing. Only two desk clerks were working so it took over an hour to get to the desk! Some of the ladies waiting in line with me were in their 70s and 80s- very difficult for them to stand for that amount of time. It's completely unacceptable for a hotel to treat customers this way! I gave the desk clerk my credit card and asked her to split the bill between my card and the credit card that was already on the account. When she handed me the bill and I turned to leave, I noticed that she had placed the entire amount on my credit card. I turned back to her quickly and showed her the error she'd made. She insisted she'd done what I asked. I told her that she had not split the bill as I'd requested. She rather rudely said she needed my credit card again and finally correctly split the bill. It was after 1AM when I finally left the front desk. Also, there was a cocktail reception before the convention's closing banquet. The bartenders were charging different prices for the same glasses of wine: some of us paid $8 per glass, some paid $10 and some paid $12! I'm not sure what was going on, but it makes one wonder if the bartenders were charging more and pocketing the extra $??? In short, the hotel staff was rude, discourteous, and downright surly. I've stayed at other hotels in the Times Square area in the past and was treated much better. I will not return to and will tell my friends not to stay at the Sheraton New York.
hotel reviews