sbtinme

I stay here from time to time on business and am annoyed that this hotel still does not have down/feather pillows in the rooms despite having installed the rest of the 4Pts bed months ago. They are still using their old, crappy lumpy ones that we all hate!!!

Also, I pulled this from the official fourpoints.com website:


Four Points by Sheraton hotels cater to business and leisure travelers as well as meeting planners seeking a quality, mid-priced and value-oriented product. In addition to the high-speed Internet access services, key features include an on-premise restaurant serving cooked-to-order breakfast, complimentary bottled water, room service with a 30-minute delivery guarantee, swimming pools, fitness facilities, business services and meeting space with catering facilities.


Oops....looks like I skipped the part about the down pillows. Oh well, trust me, it's there someplace. However, note above the mention of swimming pools?? Well, this hotel just filled their with concrete and is in the process of adding topsoil over the whole enchilada once and for all. So much for the pool .....

Anyhoo -- I really don't understand why this place is still using the old lousy pillows? Isn't this outside of *wood compliance?

NBSPGMEMBER

I often stay at the Four Points by Sheraton Bangor Airport and all of my stays there were nice. The rates are great if you check often with SPG.com, I always get the room I want with early check-in. Everything is clean and the room is up to the recent Four Points standards (style, bed, amenities, etc...) Most of the hotel has been renovated, the rooms and the halls are now modern and fresh. Some rooms and hallways might not be all done, yet... They were still remodelling lower level hallways while I was there 2 weeks ago, however to my knowledge, all the rooms themselves have been redone. The rooms are nice and new, but the bathroom could use a new bath and floor tiles. The A/C is old, moldy and very noisy. The lobby, meetings rooms and the restaurant/bar is reminiscent of the "flowery" Marriott style of the 80s (this property was a Marriott is the 80s-90s), but everything is still clean and not too worn-out. Maybe since all the hallways and rooms are almost done, those old areas of the hotel will be redone next. The staff is nice and polite, they answered my requests. I'm a Gold member and I was always treated nice there, I was treated nicely as a regular member too... (Gold membership what's the point???) The location is good too, 5 minutes from downtown and 5-10 minutes from the Bangor Mall business area. The parking is free and there is a skywalk to the airport. There's a few bad things for this Four Points, which seems to be a frequent "" for most Four Points...Those awful noisy and inefficient A/C!
I would recommend this hotel and will return.

NBSPGMEMBER

It is stated on the website that not all 4Points have pools, but most 4Points hotels do. There used to be a pool there, but it was old and was not used by most guests. Who would enjoy a pool in the middle of an airport parking lot? I certainly don't care that it's gone. You have a point regarding pillows, those things are not comfortable at all, however the rest of the bed is fine.

bgriff

I can't imagine that it's often warm enough to drive demand for an (outdoor?) pool in central/eastern Maine . . .

NBSPGMEMBER

LOL
It's a bit much but almost true, we have 9 months of winter and 3 months of road repair!

NBSPGMEMBER

So the rooms were done 2 years ago and the outdoor pool was closed for good. I was recently told that they will now renovate the lobby, restaurant & meeting areas. Surprisingly I was also told that they are building a new indoor pool this time. I'm usually fine at this place, but other than the guestrooms, it's old & tired everywhere else. I think they are bit nervous about the new hotel going up downtown next to the new "Racino" (Casino-Racetrack) currently under construction. I was also told that a new Hilton Garden Inn is going up soon in the Bangor Mall business district area, not too far from the old & also tired Hampton Inn. A brand new Marriott Courtyard is also scheduled to open this summer on the former Osram Sylvania site off Hogan Road near the Volvo dealer.

NBSPGMEMBER

This place is currently a big mess, (MARCH 08) but there's a good reason. They're in the middle of a $8M renovation project according to the Bangor Daily News. Not a bad amount for such a small hotel; 100 rooms. Outside & inside, everything will be new and will reflect the new 4Points look & brand standards. The renovations would include a new facade and exterior finishes, a renovated lobby, a new indoor swimming pool and upgraded fitness facilities, expanded meeting space, and new fixtures and furniture.

sbtinme

I can vouch for this! I was there just last week and it really is a mess. It seems that in the past 2 years, this hotel has aged ten years. It really has gone from okay to really unacceptable in the public areas. I had a chat with the GM who is very happy to be able to finally announce that they're about to kick off a fairly solid total property renovation.

The exterior of this place (built in the mid 1970s as the airport Hilton, btw) is literally crumbling. So much so that they had to install webbing all over the exterior two years ago so that cars and passersby wouldn't be hurt by the falling pieces. That all gets reworked with the renovation, thank God.

Most importantly, the guestroom bathrooms will FINALLY be gutted and completely rebuilt. I've seen the plans and they really do look sharp.

I'm glad this place is finally getting it together. In another few months, it wouldn't have been fit for anything.

NBSPGMEMBER

sbtinme...
was this property a Hilton, then a Marriott and finally a Four Points? I remember it being a Marriott in the late 80's & early 90's and maybe earlier (I was too young). But the Marriott vestige in these guestrooms can still be seen by looking inside the drawers of the furniture; property of Marriott corp.

sbtinme

That's exactly what happened. It was built as a Hilton then reflagged as the BGR Airport Marriott for many years before rebranding over to Four Points.
I have to say that in its final years as a Marriott, this place must've been at the absolute bottom of the Marriott lineup. I don't know how they kept the Marriott name on the front of this aging hotel.

I believe, but can't be sure, that this was one of the original hotels in the Four Points launch. I am sure that the old Sheraton White Mountains Inn in North Conway NH was, indeed, one of the original Four Points. That property has since gone independent.

BlissWorld

This is really interesting. I think every hotel still does their beds differently. I've stayed at Sheratons whose beddings are identical to Westins (including down comforter) and those who are identical to four points.

NBSPGMEMBER

Did anyone stay at this newly redone property? It's been a construction zone for the past year, but things are finally done.

Tinkerer

We've had two fantastic stays at the Four Points in Bangor in the past 4 months.

The hotel was renovated recently and it shows.

The lobby has a very fresh look and you are greeted by very friendly and efficient staff (if you drive up instead of fly in, you have to go up one level via stairs or elevator as the lobby is on the second floor right by the covered bridge that connects the hotel and airport).

Check-in was very efficient and the staff was very friendly during both our stays.

The rooms are comfortable and well decorated both in the SPG floor and the mainstream floors.

Breakfast was very good, made to order with ingredients that were clearly very fresh (even the potatoes on the side of the American Breakfast!). If you like blueberries, you must try the blueberry pancakes which are full of blueberries and bursting with flavor. Service was just right -- attentive to needs at just the right times. For those in a rush, they also have prepared box breakfasts (which we didn't try).

Housekeeping was very polite (asked us on the way to breakfast if there's anything else we needed) and didn't knock even once with two rooms having late checkout.

Parking at the adjacent hotel parking lot is complimentary with validation that the front desk provides.

Wireless internet was also complimentary.

If you want to see planes taking off and taxiing, ask for a room overlooking the Bangor airport. While you can hear what sounds like a faint fan noise when the jets are running the view is wonderful! If you prefer absolute silence, forgo the view and request a room that doesn't oversee the airport (these are on the elevator side of the hallway).

Having not stayed in a Four Points in years since having a horrid experience during our first stay at the PHL property, I must say this experience is going to make me actually consider them instead of the competition.

We look forward to staying there next time we're in the area!

SanDiego1K

I've just merged three threads into one, and will add this to the master thread. Tinkerer, thank you for our first report post-renovation.

A piece of trivia - I've just noticed this is the only Starwood property in Maine.

SanDiego1K
Starwood Moderator

iwc

Sheraton South Portland - RIP