NOTICE: This is an OK hotel, as long as your room is in the north tower!!!
Stayed here with our biz group for a trade show in Balto, and got stuck in a badly worn room on the 19th floor of the dreaded south tower. Wallpaper in the bathroom was torn up, carpet was badly stained, there was something that resembled dried blood under the peephole on the door, as well as the back of the bathroom door (not to mention the long human hair that was painted into the back of the door). The tub & bathroom floor were dirty when I checked in, and never got any cleaner throughout my stay. I can deal with all of that, but the thing that really drove me nuts was the fact that the shower head was positioned at about neck-level (and I'm only 5-9) so I had to pull a modified Matrix move just to get my head wet. Not cool!
The one good thing the room had going on was the bed. When Sheraton took over (the hotel was recently purchased by Sheraton; used to be a Wyndam), they moved their signature beds into all the rooms, so at least I slept well.
The hotel staff were "Sheraton friendly" (if you've stayed at a few Sheratons, you know what I mean), and were helpful for the most part. I spoke with the GM for a few minutes one morning (he was down at the front door greeting people as they came through) and he was very cool. He explained that Sheraton had just recently taken over the hotel and they were working feverishly to get the rest of the hotel renovated. Needless to say, I had a few recommendations for him, so hopefully there will be a hot tub installed shortly. :>)
There are 2 "Shula's" (as in Miami Dolphins Don Shula) reataurants on the lobby level. One is more of a casual sports bar type place, and the other is a fine-dining steakhouse. We ate at the former several times, and the food was consistently good, however the service was horrible and the prices were very high (cheeseburger & fries - $13.95).
As is always my complaint with Sheraton's, they charge you 10 bucks a day for Internet access. This hotel has found even more ways to nickel & dime you, however, by charging you $10 to have a package delivered to you at the hotel. I ship boxes to hotels all over the country all the time, and this is the first time I've ever been charged for it. A bit rediculous in my opinion.
And finally, a word of warning...Use caution when walking around the neighborhood outside this hotel at night. A few of our staff were coming back to the hotel around 10PM from the inner harbor, and just outside the hotel they ran across an guy who had been robbed & stabbed several times in the neck. Thankfully, all of our guys are firefighters with medic training, so they were able to help him out until the paramedics got there, but had they shown up 5 minutes sooner, it could have been them laying there bleeding. If you're going out at night, drive or take a cab!!!
HELPFUL HINT: If you have a car in valet and need to leave, call down to the valet at least 15 minutes before you want to leave so they can get your car out. Otherwise, you'll be waiting a while.
hotel reviews