Situated on a nondescript block of Canal Street between Tribeca and Soho, this brand-new hotel is shiny and bright, literally: Indoor lighting is blinding everywhere, in the lobby and hallways (except for the restaurant, which is lit like a nightclub). This is unfortunate, since the decor -- a kind of heavy modernist/wood retro thing -- would benefit from a bit softer atmosphere. The current low room rates ($250 is the least expensive rate offered on the hotel's web site) are tempting, but as I discovered, that rate will only get you an extremely small room that's barely big enough to accommodate the king-size bed, too small for two people to do anything other than sleep and jostle to get by each other while en route to the bathroom or the tiny armoire which is the hotel's version of a closet in that size of room. So I opted to upgrade to their "studio suite", which was nothing more than a normal sized room -- and for that was forced to pay over $500, a rate that could have gotten us into a dozen other far more comfortable and appealing hotels in Manhattan which don't feel like a chain hotel. Oddly Sheraton has put the "studio suite" on each floor not in a corner but in the middle of the main hallway right next to the Coke machine + ice machine, enabling one to hear hallway conversations through the relatively thin door. Once in the "studio suite", I discovered that the bathroom fan was so noisy, and triggered by the bathroom light, that it might awaken your companion if you visited the bathroom while he/she was sleeping, and that using the internet cost another $25 per day. The windows were double-glazed, but traffic noise was still noticeable. The overly active HVAC unit was too efficient, streaming out cool air if you wanted only to lower the temperature a degree or two, or hot air if you wanted just to slightly warm it up. But somehow that went along with the clunky room furniture, which was upholstered to look like it was designed to withstand annual conventions of professional wrestlers. This isn't a hotel with any subtlety. Its use of space and choice of decor is tolerable only for short stays by those who don't plan to do anything in their room except sleep. The only saving grace is a faultlessly gracious and helpful staff, from the bellmen to the front desk to the restaurant.
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