Starwood Preferred Guest - Sheraton Utama Brunei [Master Thread]

Anyone stayed at the Sheraton Utama already? What to expect?

I booked for 3 nights in January a so called "Executive Deluxe" room - though there don't seem to be large differences between the room types? - Any upgrade to hope for as a Gold?

Just following up on Chris26WI's enquiry, there doesn't seem to be a lot of information around about the Sheraton Utama on this board. Happy to hear about anyone's previous experiences (unfortunately the budget doesn't stretch to staying at The Empire this time in town :D ).

I was quite happy with the Sheraton Utama, especially the food was great! (Try the Sheraton burger, or what it was called.. the best I ever ate... yepp, in Brunei.. sounds strange :-) )

Rooms should be renovated now, I assume... when I stayed there, they were already renovating the top floor.

I've posted some photos here (http://www.trivago.co.uk/bandar-seri-begawan-83675/hotel/sheraton-utama-brunei-darussalam-93629/pictures).

Thanks for the quick response on that - certainly hope rooms have been renovated as well then, though it looks more than decent enough for the price even with those pics (I can't seem to find the sub BD$200 rates at The Empire any more unfortunately - otherwise I'd be heading there again, status or not :D ).

I can believe the burgers would be good at the Sheraton though, I know last time I was in Brunei my friends took me to the Sheraton for cake and it was amongst the best tasting cake I've eaten as well (certainly in South-East Asia anyway ^ ).

Just booked an award for this property early next year.
I was almost 600 points short when I called to make my reservation.
The agent noted this, and comped me 1000 points so I could book the room.^
For the record I was more than willing to pay the $35 for the 1000 points, but she made the first offer.

Just to update, I had a pleasant stay here, would certainly return if I was in Brunei again. As a SPG Gold it was the SPG floor for me, nothing much in the way of upgrades, though there was water and a fruit platter there which was nice. Rooms are nicely renovated, slightly unusual with the partition between the bed and the couch, but I liked the layout personally.

Staff were friendly, the front desk was generally thinly staffed but there wasn't much in the way of traffic through the lobby either. Pool was decent enough and the gym had a reasonable selection of equipment, some a little worn, but still servicable.

If you've got the money I'd still recommend the Empire if you're in Brunei, but the Sheraton's not too bad, and if you needed to be located in BSB itself instead of out at Jerudong then the Sheraton's definitely the best pick in town.

Just to update, I had a pleasant stay here, would certainly return if I was in Brunei again. As a SPG Gold it was the SPG floor for me, nothing much in the way of upgrades, though there was water and a fruit platter there which was nice. Rooms are nicely renovated, slightly unusual with the partition between the bed and the couch, but I liked the layout personally.

Staff were friendly, the front desk was generally thinly staffed but there wasn't much in the way of traffic through the lobby either. Pool was decent enough and the gym had a reasonable selection of equipment, some a little worn, but still servicable.

If you've got the money I'd still recommend the Empire if you're in Brunei, but the Sheraton's not too bad, and if you needed to be located in BSB itself instead of out at Jerudong then the Sheraton's definitely the best pick in town.

Thanks for the update. Apparently you did have an upgrade (in case you had booked a standard room only). The rooms with the partition are (or used to be) the Executive Deluxe Rooms or something like that. Standard rooms didn't have (or still don't have) the partition.

We stayed at the Brunei Sheraton last month on points+cash rate. I'm no-status with SPG so we just got a regular floor, but still had the bottled water/fruit in our room. The room was nice enough, we didn't notice it much as we crashed on arriving having just flown in from the US. Breakfast buffet was BND24 ($17) each. We also went out to the Empire hotel the next afternoon, they were offering a Dorchester High Tea service for BND20, quite nice!

Has anyone stayed here recently? What is the condition of the hotel?

What sorts of things did you do in the city/country?

Has anyone stayed here recently? What is the condition of the hotel?

What sorts of things did you do in the city/country?

The standard rooms are decent, but not as polished compared to newer properties in the region like LM Sentral. I did not get the upgrade even though I am gold and they have lots of empty suites.

It's Brunei, do not expect buzz, just enjoy the tranquility. :D

... was there last summer with my wife and daughter. There is breathtakingly little on offer for the tourist in this tiny nation. It's clean with good infrastructure and most local residents are friendly. And of course the mosques are stunning.

Otherwise there is really no 'there' there, very little to recommend this country in terms of sightseeing - it's not Singapore, Hong Kong or central Tokyo, though about the same size. AND ... wine, beer - alcohol of any description in completely unavailable for purchase ANYWHERE (including hotels) in Brunei.
Kind of puts a damper on vacation lunch and dinner times, especially when it's 95 degrees and very humid outside.

The Sheraton Utama is small but nice enough and suite upgrades are no problem for Plats. What was weird, however, was management's suprise that I was actually in Brunei - with family - on holiday. 'Why', one staff member inquired, 'did you come here'? Evidently most Platinum guests are solo males in country on business ... which makes sense as Brunei is not anything like Hawaii for families on tour.

And one more thing : Sheraton Utama GM should really introduce himself to guests. He runs a very good show but, though we ran into him in the lobby numerous times, he never once 'made our aquaintance' ... even though I'm certain he knew our name, we of the sole child resident in this modest property.

Well I will be there next week. Also spending a night at the Empire. Know anything about it? Think it might be the best property in Brunei. I am going on holiday. Will go to Kuching too and will be one of the first guest at the new Four Points.

when it comes to the Empire, you will not be disappointed. The beauty - and sheer imposing scale - of this property must be seen to be believed. Aside from the mosques, a tour of this hotel was the highlight of our time in Brunei ... and evidently it's at the very top of tourist attractions in the country - everyone we met and talked with in Brunei insisted we see the Empire.

choco, I really appreciate the info you are providing. How did you get to the hotel? Taxi? Hotel car?

Nevsky, I'm thinking about a night at the Empire as well. I'd love your report on it. What level room did you book? Rates appear to be heavily discounted.

We went to the Utama by a taxi arranged by the hotel ... very reasonable fare.

And with regards to this Sheraton property, they have an excellent breakfast buffet and truly outstanding French-style cakes on offer, which are conveniently available for take-out (and certainly a better value than comparable ones sold here in Tokyo.)

Tourism is not a very developed sector in Brunei, they do not need tourism revenue.

For nature lovers, Brunei offers a breath taking nature tour, and Brunei does not cut down too much of their jungle. There are river. tours on small motorized boats to the thick tropical rain forest. But I did not notice if they have nice luxurious cruise though

How far away is the rain forest? How many hours long is a boat tour? Some of my best trips in remote parts of the world have been by boat, seeing hidden passageways.

How far away is the rain forest? How many hours long is a boat tour? Some of my best trips in remote parts of the world have been by boat, seeing hidden passageways.

http://www.bruneibay.net/eco-adventure/mangrove.htm

Try this site, typically it's a few hours, as it is a small country. I am sure there are other tours available.

If anyone has an email address for the hotel, would you please PM me?

Also, does the hotel have a club floor? I see several posters on TripAdvisor who say so, but haven't seen reports of it on this thread.

If anyone has an email address for the hotel, would you please PM me?

Also, does the hotel have a club floor? I see several posters on TripAdvisor who say so, but haven't seen reports of it on this thread.

their email address is published in their webseite (see "contact").

for the club floor, well, when I was there several years ago, they had "executive deluxe rooms" for sale, but no club floor. However, they were busy renovating the top floor at that time, probably installing a club floor. Their hp states now also "Discover another level of comfort on our Club floor, which offers access to the exclusive Signature City Club Lounge." However, as Brunei is a dry country, don't expect alcohol on offer there.

Thanks for the tip on the email address. Unfortunately, it is embedded, and whatever software is required to use it is not installed on my computer. Perhaps it is Outlook, which I do not use.

Here it is: reservation.brunei@sheraton.com

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

We contacted the hotel a day before arrival to book a hotel transfer. Avis handles this for them. A fellow with my name on a sign was awaiting us once we had cleared customs. The cost for the car was 23BND which was put on our hotel bill. It would have been 29BND if we had arrived between 5pm and 8am.

The hotel is a free standing six story building on the edge of the downtown area. It is a block from the Royal Regalia Museum. Otherwise, there doesn't appear to be any shops or restaurants within easy walking.

The hotel treats platinums well. Benefits include:

1. Complimentary upgrade to Suite Room (subject to availability)
2. Breakfast in Tasek Brasserie served between 6.30am to 10.00am
3. Complimentary 24 hours in room high speed broadband internet access
4. Complimentary access to Signature City Club Lounge from 9 am to 12.00 midnight daily
- Evening Hors d’oeuvres and non-alcoholic beverages in the Club Lounge from 6.30pm to 7.30pm
- All day non-alcoholic beverages
- All day Coffee and Tea

Mind you, the lounge is unstaffed and unremarkable. Further, evening snacks were put out at 7pm not 6:30pm and were sparse.

We were given a suite, which is made from two regular rooms with an unlocked door between. The one room is the living room, with comfortable seating and a small table. The other is the bedroom. Both have small bathrooms.

The hotel lobby is fresh and recently renovated. The suite looks like 80s era decor.

Taxis are spare, expensive, and must be booked in advance. The hotel offers free shuttle service to three shopping areas. We went to one, which looked like a 70s era shopping center. Every teen in town must have been walking around it.

There's not a lot to do and see in Brunei. A four hour sightseeing tour and afternoon tea at the Empire Hotel is about the sum total.