I visited Denver for 5 days and stayed in the Sheraton Downtown Denver. Since it is the venue of the conference, I naturally stayed in this hotel for the sake of convenience. The staff I encountered during my stay is overall very nice and helpful, up to my expectation of the “Sheraton Hotel” standard. Since my room reservation does not include breakfast, I could not comment on this item.
After coming out from the lift, the corridor quickly reminded me that I entered a 1980s style hotel. My room is in the plaza, facing the busy street. It is generally spacious and clean. However, there are many areas require further improvement. Below are some key issues which made my stay very uncomfortable :
(i) While there is a coffee machine in the room (with Starbucks Coffee packs), the room does not have a separated electric kettle for boiling water. When I asked the room service and front desk for assistance, both suggested I using the coffee machine for making hot water. By common sense, everyone knows that making hot water by coffee machine must leave behind a strong smell of coffee in the hot water. Although I am not very annoyed with Starbucks Coffee, this is really a very inconsiderate arrangement for those could not stand the “caffeinated” hot water, especially those who travel with infant.
(ii) There is no complimentary bottled water in the room. You need to pay for the bottles on the table at a noticeably higher price. I need to buy my own from a nearby convenient store during my stay. Really ridiculous.
(iii) The bathroom is another key area losing marks. The bath provision is really interesting. There is body lotion and shampoo, but without body wash. Also, standard stuff like shaving stuff, comb, showing cap, toothbrush/paste, etc. are not provided in this four-star hotel, please bring your own if you want to stay there. Another disappointing issue is the control knob of the bath, without clear instructions, it is very difficult to master how to obtain hot water with suitable temperature for shower. May be I am not smart enough to figure out the behind magic, I need to ask a helpful technician to teach me the technique in controlling the knob (also fixing my room’s TV). Moreover, you need to be very patient as it takes a few minutes for the warm/hot water to come out.
(iv) The lighting control of the room is rather inconvenient. Apart from the 1980s control knob, there is no central control for the lighting. You need to go around the room to do so.
(v) The fan of the ventilation is very noisy. I have to switch it off before I sleep.
(vi) Behinds the “Starbucks Coffee” paper cups and two glasses in the bathroom, there is no mini refrigerator and other basic utensils (e.g. ceramic cup, dish, spoon, knife, forks, etc.) in the room. The room also lacks of slippers, shoe cleaning kit, and umbrella. All these make your living very inconvenient.
(vii) Another below par issue is the internet. Nowadays, while many other three-star hotels can provide WiFi / internet for free in their room, I really don’t understand why a four-star hotel still requires an additional charge for using internet. Their excuse is of course asking their “poor guest” to use the WiFi in the lobby. Is it a good gesture for a comfortable and considerate hotel ?
In gist, the hotel is in a very good location along the 16th Street Mall. However, there are many issues require the Sheraton management to look into for this hotel. The tired and below par facilities together with old fashioned and inconsiderate management style are the key weaknesses of this hotel. Setting the price lower by deleting some commonly free provision for a comfortable stay is never a good option for hotel management. Remember that a comfortable hotel relies on many nice touches in the arrangements, personal service, considerate room design, etc. A brand name with free Starbucks Coffee is not good enough. For me, this is just at most a three-star hotel at a four-star price level, you may wish to shop around for other options in Denver downtown.
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