Starwood Preferred Guest - Key West Sheraton Suites [Master thread]

I am planning a stay in Key West and was wondering what to expect.

The Sheraton Suites?

It's not a resort hotel, but they charge a resort fee!

I asked what resort facilities they have. They answered 'Just the pool and the beach'.

Any two bit motel has a pool, without a resort fee. And the beach is the public beach, across A1A.

The cheek!

Also, they offer locals 10% discount on restaurant meals. To me, this says 'Hey, guys, we rip off the tourists'.

And they asked me for ID. My reservation, Starwood VIP card and credit card weren't enough. But as only one clerk was asking guests for ID and the others weren't, that policy appears to be flexible.

It's away from downtown, so you need a car, or use the hotel's shuttle bus.

Otherwise, average.

Stayed there last year on a Free Weekend award. Really liked the hotel. Had a great suite with a whirlpool. Hotel is located just across the street from the beach. The hotel is a fair distance away from Duval St. and most of the tourist spots, which makes the location a lot more quiet. However, there is a free shuttle that runs pretty frequently. Hotel staff was great, as well. Hope this helps.

Stayed there for MLK weekend and really enjoyed it. We used the free shuttle into town several times and found that the drivers were willing to drop us off at restaurants, etc. not on the scheduled route
with no problem. One plus of being "away from the action" is that you have peace and quiet when you want it. All of the staff were extremely friendly and helpful.
The only negative was being charged the "resort fee" and the lame list of "amenities" that it covered. I saw nothing on the Sheraton web site or on my printed confirmation that mentioned it and I think it should be illegal for them to shakedown unsuspecting guests at the last minute like this (When you check in and find out about it, what a choice: walk and forfeit your deposit of one night's rate or give in and pay the $7.50 per night. They deliberately put you over a barrel.). Since they are charging this for every stay they should just build it into the rate.

[This message has been edited by dogcanyon (edited 03-18-2002).]

I stayed there last year and didn't care much for the place. There are far better places to stay in Key West. When we arrived the general manager was involved in a debate with a guest who wanted to cancel with no penalty because the hotel advertised itself as being on the beach when it's actually across the street (highway?) from the beach. I was surprised the manager preferred to create a scene and insisted on charging him a cancellation fee when clearly their advertising was false. (The beach was open when I was there, but 100 yards down it was closed for health/sewage reasons.) The suites were shabby and in need of renovation. We checked out early and went to the Westin Key Largo ... that was even worse. Unfortunately, Starwood has crummy properties in the keys.

I was there about 3 or 4 years ago. I booked it through AMEX (cannot remember if Gold or Platinum by then) and had no problems or surprises at all with the rate. I found it a non-expensive hotel. As I remember, all rooms were suites. Not great suites, obviously, but quite nice and comfortable.
Quiet place, just across from the beach, and with free shuttle to the main streets. Don't expect a Luxury Collection or St. Regis Hotel, but it was OK for me.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by letiole:
The beach was open when I was there, but 100 yards down it was closed for health/sewage reasons.</font>

I was there three years ago and they close the whole area due to the very same reason. So it was not a good experience for me but not *wood fault. Maybe they should give me a call to let me know since all beaches were closed for about a week before my arrival. As other said, the hotel itself is OK but not luxury or resort like.

Hi all -

Anyone have any experience with this property? When Mrs Duxfan and I usually go to Key West, we stay closer to Old Town. But the great room rate and promise of a shuttle to Old Town clinched the deal. Any tips for us? thanks...

Nothing special. A little run down. The shuttle ends around 10pm. You will still need a cab ($10) to get back to the hotel. I would not stay there unless you want Sarpoints. Stay closer to Duval Street.

My frat had our formal at this hotel three years ago and we all spent the weekend there. The hotel is kind of small, but what you would expect from the key west. Otherwise, the rooms were nice as they are all suites. Get a room with a jacuzzi tub. Probably the only perk there. The beach is not so nice across the way, but the trans into town is free. Overall, I would rate it a B-. The grounds could be kept nice and the drinks at the bar could be cheaper. The lobby is nice when you get in and if the weather is good, for a moment you it feels quaint.

thanks for the info. we usually stay closer to town, but it's memorial day weekend. so i could stay at the heron house for $269/night or the sheraton suites for $59/night. smathers beach has never been worth a visit, we're much better off driving up to bahia honda anyway. but it sounds like i'm getting what i'm paying for here. nothing great, but i'm not getting gouged in town just because of the holiday.

How did you find such a great rate for Memorial Day weekend?

i don't know if it was an error or what, but i booked it thru the website, got the confirmation number, and even called the hotel to make sure they had the res as well. my hunch was that it was an error, 'cuz i haven't seen anything like it since!

for 59.00 dollars

u cant even stay at the super 8 for that cheap

have a great time...pat

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ITS BETTER TO GIVE THEN RECEIVE

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by fetchem:
Nothing special. A little run down. The shuttle ends around 10pm. You will still need a cab ($10) to get back to the hotel. I would not stay there unless you want Sarpoints. Stay closer to Duval Street.

</font>

I stayed during Easter break and the rooms are still run down. They did provide an ocean view room as an upgrade instead of garden view. However, you can't beat the $59 rate.The shuttle ends at 11:00, so you will need a taxi to crawl home in.

I usually stay at the Dewey House which is closer to the action.

I am going to be staying in Key West for a week in 11/03 and getting married there. Does anyone have experience at the Sheraton property there? We will have a wedding party with both singles and families in attendence. Thank you,

I've stayed there and enjoyed the stay. Located across the street from the beach, the all suite feature is nice, although it is a ways from the action in town. I beleive they had a free shuttle, we had a car. Parking was free. Pool area is really good, 9/10.

Marc

I would agree with mtacci's assessment. Hotel and pool are fine. Our family wished we had been closer to the rest of the downtown, even with the shuttle, but for a wedding, it should be fine.

Perhaps the hotel has been renovated since, but I was there a year or so ago and wasn't impressed. We checked out early and moved to a different hotel. The rooms (suites) were pretty shabby, badly in need of renovation. The pool area is a little small, but nice. Staff was so-so. When we walked in the manager and a guest were engaged in a rather loud argument. The guest wanted to cancel his reservation because the hotel was advertised as being on the beach, when it is across a busy road from the beach. The manager refused to cancel it without charging him a night's lodging. I was pretty surprised that the manager would be so insistent, as their advertising was clearly misleading, and so loud. While not related to the hotel, the beach was open, but a several feet down it was closed due to a sewage spill or some sort of contamination. Not sure how they decided one area was safe and not the other when they were so close, but we opted to stay out of the water there. Assuming things haven't changed - and I hope they have - there are much nicer places to stay in Key West.

The sheraton is not in the best location in Key West. Rooms are a little beat up. The rates are usually good. The hotel does give the entertainment card 50% off rack rate. Here is a list of the in the prime area:
1)Hilton
2)Pier house
3)Ocean Key House
4)Hyatt

good hotel, excellent pool area, but far from town,

I'd go back.

Any comments on staying here....only Starwood hotel I could find in Key West. Never been...looking for a nice place to stay for a few days.

Hi all, been doing some research about properties in the S. Florida area.

A lot of discussion around Westin Diplomat and the Sheraton Bal Harbour.

I'll be spending a few days (3 days) in the area and want to check out Ft Lauderdale/Miami area and Key West.

Thinking of splitting between Diplomat/Bal Harbour and the Sheraton in Key West.

Does anyone have an opinion on this hotel?

Or is Key West sufficiently small enough to finish in a day and can just drive back up to either the Diplomat / Bal Harbour.

Any ideas/opinions?

Thxs!

-MF

Hi,

I did just the same thing a few months back. Unfortunately, I picked Spring Break for the Key West portion of the trip.

Key West is something that I really enjoyed. It's a very laid back, fun place. Not a lot to do but drink and play at the beach, etc. but that was exactly what I was looking for.

The Key West Sheraton (I think its a Sheraton Suites) was acceptable, but not what I'd call great. Thinking back about things, not sure if I got any amentities associated with being Platinum. I also had to wear a tag that indicated that I "belonged" to the hotel (spring break).

So, if you enjoy beach and sun, then I'd probably do the night in teh Sheraton in Key West.

William

Friends and I stayed there last year over MLK weekend and our room seemed a little frayed around the edges. The beds had torn bedskirts that had just been "tucked in" to hide the tears and the furniture seemed pretty worn. If I had gotten the room on Priceline for $55, no problem, but when paying upwards of $200 a night (including a "resort fee" that was not advertised in the rate) I expect better. The staff was just OK at best (not particularly helpful and friendly, but at least not hostile).
The location is away from the nightlife and restaurants (which does have some positive points: easy parking and away from noisy clubs), but the hotel operates a a free hourly shuttle that runs into town (although
the drivers were not particularly friendly and seemed to expect tips).




[This message has been edited by dogcanyon (edited 07-11-2003).]

I have stayed at the Key West property 6-7 times in the last 2 years. I have always been given an ocean front suite (platinum upgrade I presume) and I have always gotten great service. There is no concierge lounge nor free breakfast amenity but most resorts (Marriotts or Starwood) do not offer this at resort locations. The fact that it is located away from the craziness of downtown Key West is a plus in my book.

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former EASTERN ET,AA Gold,US Gold. Current DL PM-MM,Marriott PL, SPG PLT, Hilton Gold

[This message has been edited by MM/PM widget (edited 07-11-2003).]

My stay here was quite nice, although the previous posts are correct that the rooms are a little rough around the edges. The wear and tear of the beach seems to be creeping in a little. Still, the room was clean, lots of space, and very nice staff in my opinion. The pool area was immaculate and the beach is right across the road. And, parking is not a problem. All in all, we had a very nice stay.

I stayed at the Sheraton Key West about a year ago on points. The hotel is nice and I had no complaints. I got upgraded to a suite and was happy with the room.

The hotel is located right across the street from the beach. This beach is a quieter than some on the island. The hotel is less than 10 minutes from Duvall street (the main street in KW).

We had a two night award stay at Key West last weekend to celebrate my wife's birthday. I did my regular searches about the property at flyertalk and most comments seemed quite positive, so we were expecting a nice stay.

All the comments were from sometime ago and didn't mention anything about the extensive renovations going due to hurricane damage. The SPG web site had no warning about this either.

We arrived Sat afternoon after 4 PM and it was obvious that the whole place was undergoing major work -- even the sign by the entrance was broken, most of the buildings were wrapped in scaffolding, piles of supplies were allover the drive way.

Trying to stay upbeat we went to check in and asked for a non-smoking room away from the work. It was very hard to find our room due to the walkways blocked construction crews and equipment etc. and it took a while to realize that our room was in the building that was totally covered by scaffolding and where crews were using their nailguns to put up new siding.

Got to the room, which didn't get any day light due to the work being done outside, it smelled little damp. Nailgun and other sound from the construction were clearly audible.

I called the front desk and asked to be moved away from the construction -- they said nothing can be done as all and any rooms away from the work are full. After bit more back and forth they offered to return the points (7000 points) for one of the two nights or we could have cancelled our entire reservation.

After discussing this with my wife we decided to take the offer as we didn't want to start looking for a new place Sat evening and make our short vacation even shorter. When I informed front desk that we are staying as we really didn't have any other options they offered us $50 food/ beverage vouncher. When I went to pick-up the voucher they upped it to $100 without me asking for anything more.

When it was time for our baby to go bed we noticed that this Sheraton has the worst beddings and sheets of any Starwood property we've ever stayed. Both the blankets and sheets were very old and lumpy. My wife also suspects that she got bedbug bites from the bedding there.

We didn't let the room/ hotel issue ruin our vacation, but I would stay away from this property atleast until the renovations have been done. Personally I don't think that I will ever return to this hotel.

I don't blame the front desk or the staff in general, but it's dishonest for a place not to warn their customers before hand about major renovations. They should either close the hotel for the renovations or warn everyone and lower the category/ price.

even the sign by the entrance was broken, most of the buildings were wrapped in scaffolding, piles of supplies were allover the drive way.
Just got back today - sign still broken, construction trailers still on site. Rest of property seemingly back together.

Staff was pleasant, no complaints from the stay.

Checked in 7/8. Checked out 7/10. Celebrated my fiance's b'day in Key West. Spent 20K points for two nights. No upgrade offered for a gold. Our room was on the second floor in an attached building that was connected by an open-air walkway. Our room was nice, just a little worn (frayed carpet at the bathroom door entrance, pencil marks on the floor where they had cut the tile). Nice flat-screen LG TV, although it could have been a little higher off the ground. Free order hors d'oeuvres during happy hour (4-6?) consisting of fried mushrooms and zucchini.

Walked across the street to the beach. Lots of seaweed along the water's edge and in the ocean. Probably what keeps the crowd away.

Went to the Hilton Sunset Island for dinner and to view the sunset, however mother nature provided a cloud cover. Maybe next year. The meal was unbelievable (and yes expensive).

During check-in, I asked the clerk if they could show us on the map where the Hilton Sunset was, and she replied, "Oh yes, that is our sister resort".

And yes, the sign was still broken.

I would stay here again. :)

Traveling with my family of five and considering the comfort factor. I realize that I'm not gonna get a "Sweet Sleeper Lite", but I was recently at Tampa Suites and the pullout sofas were literally unbearable. Three nights might kill me! Any and all feedback would be appreciated.

they are your very typical slightly comfortable pullout, nothing great but fine,

You may want to check with the hotel so that there aren't any surprises when you arrive. 5 people in a room may exceed the maximum number permitted.

True. I'm assuming that I'm good with two doubles and a pullout in the suites, but I guess you never know.

Any new updates for this property? I am planning on staying there later this month.

We stayed there for two nights 11/16 through 18 had booked two suites one on points and the other paid and by all appearances that was what we got (though I believe the front desk said we were upgraded ;))
Sort of unremarkable stay and didnt use much of the facilties though one night returning fom dinner (elsewhere) stopped at the poolside bar the only one which would have been open at time and found if was already closed at 1015 pm.
Property was in decent shape and the suites were OK plus free internet.. thats about it.

It was pretty cool for Florida so not at ton of activity on the beach.
Plat amenity, points, for both rooms posted OK.

mike

My wife and I have stayed here 3 times in the past year and a half. We love it there. They treat platinums great! They've always given us a third floor room with an ocean / beach view. The breakfast stinks, but it's a typical Sheraton breakfast buffet. The AAA rate is a very good rate. We love the hotel because of it's location, but it's not great for everyone. The hotel is more than a walking distance to Duvall Street, but they have a shuttle that will take you there and bring you back for free. It's nice because you can get down to the action quickly and free, but be back to the beach and relaxation. The pool is pretty nice and never has been "packed". It's a true tropics relaxing hotel. Rooms are like any other Sheraton suites with a fridge and microwave. That's always a plus on Key West, because it isn't exactly cheap drinking!