We had been to the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel several years ago and, while it was OK, it was very dated. It has now been totally refurbished and both the public areas and the rooms are very nice and contemporary. Obviously, the location remains very good.
However, as nice as the location and the furnishings are, the hotel leaves something to be desired in terms of service. There was no major problem, just several nagging small problems that left a bad taste in our mouth:
1. For some inexplicable reason we were given a handicapped room. I felt bad about taking a room that might have been needed for someone with disabilities, especially since the hotel was full. The biggest annoyance with a handicapped room is that the shower is designed for someone to go into with a wheel chair or assisted into. This means there is no ledge at the shower and water leaks out into the bathroom.
2. We noted that a light bulb in the bathroom was burned out. One would think the housekeeper would notice this and report it to engineering. We called the desk and it took two calls and over an hour for someone to come up and replace the bulb.
3. While there was a coffee maker and Starbucks coffee, there was no creamer or sweetener. Again, a lapse by housekeeping. I saw a housekeeper in the hallway and asked for cream and sweetener. She said they were out of it and I would have to call the desk., I did and it was delivered. Again, one would think that if a housekeeper was out of such a basic commodity, she would have called her supervisor and asked for additional supplies rather than not place it in rooms.
4. On the second day, the TV would no longer access the Menu function leaving it difficult to watch (we learned that you could just enter a channel number, but had no idea what most of the available channels were). Again, it took two calls and a long wait to get a new TV--the only8 replacement.
5. Housekeeping failed to empty the grounds from the coffeemaker.
6. When checking in we were given a choice of bonuses because we were a Starwood Gold member. We chose the free WiFi. When we got the pre-check out invoice, I noted that not only were we charged for the WiFi, but we were charged four times in one day. When I called the front desk to have this corrected, I was told this could not be handled on the phone but only at the front desk. When I went to the desk I learned that I had been given bonus points instead of the WiFi. It was corrected, but there is no reason why this should have happened.
7. We met family members in the lobby bar and wanted to order drinks and appetizers. It took well over a half hour of trying to get the attention of a waitress--and finally walking over and asking her to come to the table--to place an order.
When checking out we were asked the pro-forma "how was everything. I told the clerk all of the above and received a seemingly insincere apology. She took no notes so it was clear that this was just a gesture.
All in all, for a hotel that charges premium rates and has remodeled into a top-notch facility, it is clear that management does not carefully monitor the level of service. These are all easily correctable lapses if there is a sincere attempt to do so.
As I said, none of these
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