Starwood Preferred Guest - Any RECENT Sheraton JFK experiences

I'm curious whether anyone has stayed at this property in the last couple of months and could provide any insight into whether the customer service issues still exist.

I've read the old threads and already know the property is a dump... still, I need a base to work out of next week and since JFK seems to be the only reasonably priced commute for my 7 am starts and 8 pm finishes on Long Island, I figured I would rather do a suite at a ratty Sheraton than a shoebox room at a Hampton Inn or Courtyard.

Am I making a huge error in judgment?

I don't know about the judgement error, but I wouldn't stay there based on the reports I've read here.

Can't you stay in the city relatively near Penn Station and take the LIRR? Or do you have to visit multiple sites each day? Since it's a reverse commute, it may not even be that bad to rent a car each day and drive from the city.

-David


[This message has been edited by LIH Prem (edited 12-06-2002).]

Unfortunately I'm under a pretty stringent hotel per diem... any of the JFK hotels will fit the bill. Anything beyond this, I pay the difference.

And the biggest consideration is being on client site by 6:45 am each day ready to start... trust me, the 20 minute commute this is will already be will be horrid enough as it is!

IF you get a suite, it might be tolerable. That's a big if. My wife and I are both SPG Plat and did not get one. The standard room is smaller than a shoe box, one of the smallest hotel rooms I can remember.
On another trip, we stayed (Priceline) at the Courtyard and I remeber it was a pleasant experience, but can't remember much more.

May I ask where the site is?

-David

Stayed there about 6 weeks ago... the place is NOT very nice. Dont get your hopes and expectations up.. maybe you will score a suite upgrade and be happy... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

I was just there the Monday before last. The Hotel staff tries even given the bad product. As a P I was pre-assigned a "suite". It was on the "top" floor but was on the corner which faces onto the street. In short I am pretty much done with the Hotel unless I need to keep status. Rate was $99 per night and I ended up with 500 extra points based upon the Sheraton Promise. I made two room moves before settling on the "shoe" box next to the soda and ice machine. Elavator also. Hope that helps.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by LIH Prem:
May I ask where the site is?

-David</font>

David -

Site is in Oceanside. Per diem (with taxes) is $125. Trust me, the city is NOT an option not only because of cost but for how much I value my time.

I was just wondering if there was anything decent that was closer to the site. I can't find anything either, but there must be something nearby.

-David

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by LIH Prem:
I was just wondering if there was anything decent that was closer to the site. I can't find anything either, but there must be something nearby.
</font>

Thanks for looking for me... we spent a couple of hours working on this the other day as my colleague who was up here last complained about the same thing but we came up with a blank.

I'm pretty much looking at this as a crash pad for a week... I'll be leaving the hotel around 6:15 every morning and returning after 9 pm, so as long as the bed is comfortable, the room is quiet, and everything is in working order, I'm sure I will survive. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

If that is the case you should get a room on the left side of the Hotel. If facing and onto the "park". My shoe box faced the back and was noisey with the generator.

Why Jen, I stayed there on the way back from BRU last week. It really wasn't all that BAD.

I arrived at 10:30 pm. I had the Dan Hammer car service pick me up, so I didn't try the shuttle bus. However, I was given a room on the club level. It was clean, small, and quiet. The lobby and elevators and hallways have been upgraded, but the rooms have not. I think they had just replaced the faucets in my room, because they were much more bespoke than the rest of the fittings. The showers were nice and hot and after my bru-lhr-jfk day, I was happy to have one. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

My room rate was 105 USD. I received my 5 am wake up call and was on the 5:20 shuttle with no problems whatsoever.

It appears to have a few restaurants and other things associated with it, so it wouldn't be a bad place to be.

However, in saying that, the heating unit was loud, so if you are light sleeper, turn on the heat early and you'll sleep fine.

lala

Thanks for the advice everyone... things have turned out to my satisfaction.

Peaches and I got here from the city around 6 pm (she has an 8 am flight out of JFK to head north so I'm letting her crash here tonight since she doesn't go on per diem until tomorrow night).

I was a little disappointed that the valet/bell desk attendant didn't offer us any kind of help. He didn't venture outside despite the fact that there were two cars unloading in the circular drive. When we got inside and asked, he said he could valet our car for us once we were checked in... and that was the extent.

The front desk had a room reserved for me on the club floor. I asked if they had an upgrade available by chance and she responded that it was an upgrade. They offered to give me a rollaway for the night for Peaches which was nice since I booked the room for just myself. Based on my knowledge of the "small rooms", I asked whether the room would be large enough for the rollaway and the desk clerk raised an eyebrow and said "it might be tight... go look and let me know what you think". We headed up and opened the door and my thought was "no WAY is a rollaway fitting in this room let alone me for a week!".

So... I called down and explained that I would like to have a larger room if possible, even if that meant moving off the Club Floor. I commented that I could still get Club access with my Platinum status. The desk clerk paused and said "oh, you are a Platinum?" - that is when it dawned on me that I didn't get my amenity choice card either. She asked me to head back downstairs so we did.

After a couple of minutes on the computer she inquired if I would mind not staying on the Club Floor. I said that would be fine. She then gave me my Platinum amenity card, a Starwood holiday coupon packet, passes for breakfast and evening appetizers for the club lounge, and keys to a suite on the first floor.

This room is definitely liveable - large bathroom (which appears to be renovated), a bedroom sized like the previous room we looked at, and a living room with a sofa bed. The room appears to be on the quiet side of the hotel (i.e. away from the street) and away from ice machines, elevators, etc.

Two thumbs up. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

What DOES disturb me is that the hotel tells me that they didn't have any notice of my Platinum status.

I made the reservation on the SPG website on Friday... and they had my SPG number. She said that there was no status noted where they would normally receive notice of this.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/confused.gif

techgirl After you check-out please let us know what that suite number is on floor 1. Is it quiet? Would you recommend it? At least we could ask for something specific?
Thanks

I'm glad it all worked out for you and Peaches.

It's been a long time since I lived in that area, but I recall lots of motels on Sunrise Highway and right in the Oceanside area. But we're talking a lot of years since I lived there. I vaguely recall that there might have been a very nice hotel in Garden City, but, again, we're talking a long time ago and when I searched the travel and big 3 hotel web sites, I didn't see anything any better than staying at the airport.

have fun. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

-David

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by LIH Prem:
I'm glad it all worked out for you and Peaches.</font>

She has now informed me that she was less than thrilled with the room. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

Apparently the sofa bed was very uncomfortable and she didn't catch a single wink of sleep until I left for client site at 5:30 am at which time she grabbed my bed for the 90 minutes until she had to go to the airport. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

(Of course, I think that the "free" crash pad for the night begs the "beggars can't be choosers" question. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif )

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by RTWSTARALLIANCE:
techgirl After you check-out please let us know what that suite number is on floor 1. Is it quiet? Would you recommend it? At least we could ask for something specific?
Thanks</font>

After I check out, I will be glad to post a room number. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Okay... as promised, the one-bedroom suite where I stayed was room 102.

My stay was "good" overall and it appears that the front desk staff has been trained to be more customer responsive - they have a clipboard at the front desk that they use to call guests shortly after check in and ask about their satisfaction with the property so far.

In addition, I received a third-party satisfaction survey call that was supposedly separate from any Starwood corporate satsifaction surveys (when I asked, the surveyor said they were hired directly by the property manager).

The room I had was decent - a bit threadbare (the sofa cushions were stained on the undersides) but clean. The bathroom was a nice size and clean (although rooms should not have brass fixtures if they are going to be allowed to tarnish).

I still have a few specific complaints about this property:

- The valet parking service is horrid. There are really NO self-park options (except for street parking) so one is dependent on the valet for secure car parking. When you pull into the hotel, there is NO offer to park a car or help with luggage. I was told that they can park your car only after you check in. *sigh* It didn't get any better the rest of the week either. The valet button on the room telephone rings to a voice mail box and the front desk tries to transfer you back to that line when you call. I finally started asking the front desk to get the valet directly which usually resulted in them taking down the ticket number. My car was NEVER there waiting for me even after calling. The valet lot is next to the hotel (about a 40 yard walk) and yet it would take 15 to 20 minutes to get a car which made me late at least twice (and I heard other folks grumbling about the same thing). This is unacceptable and I would reconsider staying at this property in the future simply because of the inconvenience. (I will also note that I tested this at various peak and nonpeak times of the day - 5:30 am, 6:30 am, 9 am, noon, 3 pm - and my experiences were consistent.)

- Housekeeping messed with my climate control in my room each day. I understand turning off the heat (I'm a Texan so I need a warm room) but three of four days, they actually switched the AIR CONDITIONING on. Unacceptable. I came in late (8 or 9 pm) to a freezing cold room that didn't warm up until the middle of the night.

- Inconsistent housekeeping. Toiletry items were not replaced at all during the week. Peaches took the lotion with her on Monday morning and I never got another bottle through four days of housekeeping. Different numbers of clean towels were left each day (one day I had four on the stack, one day two, two days three).

- Lack of room prep. Our living room tv was unplugged which required moving the armoire to plug it back in. The windows on our first floor room were unlocked (I actually heard a guest request to change rooms because her first floor windows would NOT lock - the front desk seemed to give her a lot of hassle about this).

- No newspaper. I didn't get a paper by my door any morning while I was there. Other rooms had them... perhaps this was because I was at the end of the hall but it was annoying to have to walk to the front desk (which was further than the walk to the front door) to get a paper.

I think this property IS trying hard to make sure their guests are satisfied. What they don't realize, however, is that they are missing the opportunities to make the experience right. If I had been a one night stay and experienced poor check-in followed by inadequate room prep, no newspaper, and poor valet service, I would be fuming.

Members of my family overnighted here on a $99 prepaid rate (through SPG.com). They (as GLD) were given a one bedroom suite, complimentary hors d'oeuvres (got in too late) and left too early for the complimentary breakfast. Still a crummy hotel but at least they're making an effort on the amenities.

[This message has been edited by terenz (edited 02-13-2003).]

Well, I can state with some comfort that the Sheraton JFK is NOT the most rundown Starwood property in the NYC metro area...

... that distinction would go to the Four Points Newark.

My hallway smelled like someone had been cooking curry on a hot plate and my nonsmoking room REEKED of cigar smoke. As it was midnight when I checked in and I had to get back on the shuttle at 5 am, I dragged my jetlagged body to bed and I tried to bury my nose in my pillow which smelled like dirty socks.

The staff was friendly, but I will avoid this property at all costs in the future. Since it is in New Jersey, however, I will let the previous "worst in NY" title still stand for the Four Points Rochester. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

Here's my own report of my one-night stay at the JFK Sheraton this past week. Keeping in mind that I was fully aware of the bad rep this property has and that my normal place to stay at JFK is the Courtyard by Marriott. FYI, I'm an SPG Platinum.

Upon arrival at JFK 9:30pm I called the hotel and asked for the shuttle. Operator was nice and said about 10 minutes. Shuttle arrived about 16 minutes later. Acceptable wait, IMHO.

Arrived front desk and an envelope had already been prepared for me in advance that contained my room key, a separate key to the Club Lounge on the 5th floor, Platinum Amenity Choice card, and 2 coupons. One for complimentary Continental breakfast buffet, or the Full breakfast buffet for a $4 supplement. The other coupon was for a free Hors d'Oeuvre and non-alcoholic beverage from 5pm to 7pm in the bar. As it was now about 10pm, the bartender accepted the coupon for a free cocktail. Platinum status acknowledged at front desk and mention of Sheraton Promise given. So far so good.

I did not inquire about a Suite upgrade and went to my pre-assigned room to find it was a Suite (#416 facing the park) which basically was the size of 2 of the small standard rooms here (I did later look at a standard room and they are a bit on the small side, but so is the whole hotel). My Suite was a bit smaller than a Sheraton Suites room, but the furnishings, carpet, drapes and fabrics appeared to be pretty new. The bathroom seemed to be new. A nice full selection of bathroom amenities including Scope mouthwash. Robe and slippers. Iron and ironing board. No hi-speed ethernet, but the phone's dataport acheived an acceptable 52k. The bed was a "Full" which is bigger than a Double bed but slightly smaller than a Queen. Would be "cozy" for 2 people. All areas very clean. 4 mini bottles of water were in the room. A smallish Suite but better than a standard at the Courtyard, IMHO. It was not on the Club Floor, but as I said, they gave me a Club Lounge key.

The Club Lounge on the 5th floor is basically the exact same room as my suite was with a small kitchen type set-up where the bedroom would be and some furnishings and a chess board. Unattended and you just help yourself to coffee, soda and waters...the only amenities up there. Fax machine. Any more than 6 people in there would be tight, though nobody was in there when I visited. But I appreciated it being there and it would be a fine place to hold a small pow-wow with the troops.

Public areas are small but nice (restaurant, bar, lobby, etc.). There's one of those automated Grand Pianos cranking out tunes.

Room Service was prompt and the food was good. They didn't forget any of my special requests on the tray. Staff was friendly and treated me very well, IMHO.

I was pleasantly surprised considering what I had read about the place and I would stay there again. Maybe they've recently renovated? Or at least had a major pep-talk? But no big deal. I'd say with the Suite upgrade and being a single, I thought it was better than the Courtyard JFK where I have been hanging my hat up until now.

Rate paid: spg.com $99 pre-paid non-refundable.

Edited to add that my stay, points and amenity bonus posted promptly.

[This message has been edited by PremEx (edited 04-09-2003).]

Wondering if I should change my booking from the Hampton inn at 115+ tax.
What do you al think.Prepaid Sheraton is $109.
Early departure next day.

Hi All and Tink
I would like to chime in that the Sheraton staff did a good job here at the JFK airport
After the horror story threads here on FT
I expected a war zone property
Was surprised it was a satisfactory can do again experience
They were most kind helpful/friendly at check in
At the time of booking direct with the hotel they promised they would upgrade and block me in a suite upon arrival as a Platinum.
Never asked they offered .A great first sign
They also promised Club floor lounge access We forgot to ask at check in and they forgot to remind us and we ended up buying our breakfast the next morning (sigh)
Taking into consideration the lack of good choices in the area I would say go with the Sheraton by all means in this market.
The Courtyard JFK has dreary rooms
Even after 75 plus nites as a Platinum with Marriott one had to buy their breafast.
The staff was noticeably weaker too.
And the Courtyard check in agent went searching for my res
He then started looking for a room in their available inventory late at nite upon my arrival from Lax/Australia.
He then said to me as a Platinum would I mind a smoking Twin bedded room as thats all we have left .
I said I am a Plat Marriott member you got to be joking

Ok heres a non smoking room Sir I found one
Your right I can see you are a Plat
At that moment I accepted my prison block grumbled and moved on http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gifAt least it was non smoking
Location of the Court Yard JFK as I remember was dreadful as well
More in the way the driver from the airport had to drive through back streets of a bad neighborhood to get there.
The Sheraton is also in a rough around the edges neighborhood
Please no after dark strolls by yourself in either
Or you will be clearly at your own risk
I also thought the lobby of the Sheraton was far more attractive
The Courtyard is over priced at 115 based on the quality of property and the neighborhood
Not that the Sheraton will win any grand prize awards either
However at 99 it offers value based on our loyalty and program/ treatment benefits from Starwood
The Sheraton hotel has evidently been making an effort.
Whatever the reason may be it has been taking care of its guests more recently
Who knows mabe they started reading FT
Its better for Starwood and the property
And its good for us !
Have a great stay where ever you end up
Cheers


------------------
AA & Starwood,Marriott Platinum
Hyatt, Hilton Diamond
Swissotel Club Gold
U/A 1K

[This message has been edited by 777 global mile hound (edited 04-09-2003).]

I was at the Sheraton JFK one night last week. Very comparable experience to that of PremEx. Upgraded to a "Suite" - a "small" suite but never the less a suite. I would use the property again as an airport hotel for one night when transiting JFK.

------------------
Have passport, will travel...
CLD, LAX, LHR, CDG, et.al.

Back for another stay tonight... (and probably another one next Thursday night, too).

Someone from SPG might want to check out the computer systems for the property. The strangest thing happened to me (again). Apparently this particular property does not always receive SPG numbers or status even when reservations are made on the SPG website.

This is two different occasions now that the staff has told me that they either had my SPG number but not my status or didn't have either. The strange thing this time was that they offered me my platinum amenity choice card after giving me my key. Then AFTER giving me the choice card she commented that my SPG number and status were not in the system. I thought it was odd as I had not mentioned my status or SPG or anything before she offered me the card... the comment about not knowing my status was made as she volunteered that no suite would be available. She then "chided" me for not giving my number in advance.

Now something was odd... she somehow KNEW that I was a Platinum without me telling her even though the system would not show my status (how else would she would know to offer me the amenity choice card?) I asked about this and she said "oh, well I looked you up in the system".

Anyone else find this strange? Either their computer system is bizarre (doesn't show my status or SPG number yet allows for speedy stealth look up of the information out of the goodness of the check-in clerk's heart) OR someone is a liar....

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

On other notes... the room service menu here has been updated and includes several new items. The prices are very reasonable and the food is actually very good for room service food. The Club Lounge is unattended but clean... and the minifridge was fully stocked with free sodas and water bottles.

The standard rooms are still the size of my walk in closet at home. I can't walk in the room because I have my rollaboard open right now. These rooms make the W NY rooms seem gigantic.

I'm crossing my fingers that the valet service has improved since my last visit... but the fact that the valet ticket number I was given was "666" (I KID you not) I don't harbor much hope.

Sounds to me like you might have been shoveled a small pile of poop, from this Front Desk clerk.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">
I'm crossing my fingers that the valet service has improved since my last visit... but the fact that the valet ticket number I was given was "666" (I KID you not) I don't harbor much hope.</font>

Hope you weren't holding your breath. I checked in on Tuesday for one night, after a 26 hour flight fom SYD. Almost a complete nightmare from the word go.

- Called from pay phone at airport for the shuttle. Halfway through, desk clerk cut the line.
- Called back 8 times (pay phones automatically cut off after 10 unanswered rings) before finally got the hotel again. Desk clerk's response to complaint: "we're very busy here sir".
- On arrival, shuttle driver called in via radio requesting valet service. Response - over the radio - "Tell him he's on his own. We're busy."
- At check-in was upgraded to a suite. When I opened the door of the room, I discovered that a suite entails having two arm chairs side by side in front of a low coffee table, plus an extra TV. Bit of a joke, really. Room very run down.
- No room service menu in the room anywhere. When I tried to call down to get one, found out that the phone didn't work - apparently pulled out of the wall by a previous tenant. Was later handed a badly xeroxed 1 page sheet with dining options.

Only saving grace was the room service people themsleves - somewhere along the line they received some sort of customer service training. They were the only shining spot in the "Sheraton promise" that I ran across.

Fairly underwhelmed by the stay, and the complete lack of professionalism by most of the staff. Hope you had better luck.

Well, the valet was "slightly" speedier than the last time I was here. This time I only waited ten minutes for my car. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

One thing about the property that impressed me... the room service check came with a nice red "gratuity has been included" stamp across the bill AND the delivery person said "could you please sign this... a tip has already been included". I wish all properties would do this as I HATE the feeling of giving back the little folder with a zero in the tip line even though I know I've paid a delivery charge AND a precalculated gratuity.

I'll be back to stay at the Sheraton JFK next week probably. As for the Sheraton San Jose (where I am tonight), Starwood will be getting a Monday morning phone call from me about my scheduled stay here again next week... can you say "No Way, San Jose?!". This property is on a downhill slide. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

I'm pretty much looking at this as a crash pad for a week... I'll be leaving the hotel around 6:15 every morning and returning after 9 pm, so as long as the bed is comfortable, the room is quiet, and everything is in working order, I'm sure I will survive. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif[/B][/QUOTE]

QUIET!!!!!!hahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahhhhhaaaaa !!!!!!\
DONT DO IT
I Had one night in this DUMP!
I love Sheratons.
This is your worst nightmare.
I arrived at 10pm the room was a dump.
I was given a 2nd floor room.
-as Platinum.
I tried to sleep at 5AM the expresswasy outside was like MONTECARLO FORMULA 1 TRACK at 4pm!!!!!!
I was getting up for my once only CONCORDE flight at 9am/.
let me tell U ---it ruined my trip.
I was so tired and sleepy at 9am I needed a drink!!
I understand that the Hampton Inn is a lot better I wish I had stayed there.

[This message has been edited by tinkybelle (edited 06-07-2003).]

I'll bury this tidbit here, rather than start a new thread.

If you make a reservation at this property and stay 1 night, you can park for free for 14 days.

Dan