Sheraton Orlando North, Maitland, FL [Master Thread]
Oct 6, 2011, 11:51 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 2
Sheraton Orlando North, Maitland, FL [Master Thread]
Hello,
I did not see a master thread for this property, so if this is in the wrong place, I apologize and would be happy to move it.
My husband and I just completed a 2 night weekend stay (Fri & Sat nights) at the Sheraton Orlando North in Maitland. We picked this hotel because we were visiting some friends who lived within 10 minutes of the hotel. As a bit of background, I am new to the SPG program—and new to FlyerTalk! I do not have elite status with SPG. I’m only a Preferred Plus thanks to my Amex.
Location: The hotel is located off Interstate 4 and Maitland Blvd. You can see it from the highway, so it’s very easy to find. It’s located across the street from the Maitland Business Park, so I would imagine this hotel attracts a lot of business travelers. The hotel is only a couple of exits away from the village of Winter Park and about 10 minutes on the highway from downtown Orlando. I would not recommend this hotel for leisure travelers who want to go to the theme parks. I’d guess it’s about 30-40 minutes away from the International Drive area (Universal) and Disney World. I would recommend a car for getting around the area, since there is not much of anything within walking distance other than the business park. There is a Lynx (public bus) stop right outside the hotel, but I do not know how often the bus runs.
Parking: complimentary self parking in a large parking lot.
Check In: Only one check in counter was manned when I arrived, and it was the one for elite SPG members. Regardless, the clerk checked me in quickly and pointed the direction to the elevators.
Room: I booked a Traditional Room with a King Bed preference. We were placed on the fifth floor which is the SPG floor. The carpets in the corridor were very well worn and did not look clean. However, the room itself was clean. There was one complimentary bottle of water in the room along with one bathrobe. The one bathrobe struck me as strange since there were 2 of us in the room, but I didn’t call anyone about it since we weren’t in the room much. Room had your typical amenities: 3 packets of Starbucks coffee, creamer, paper cups, etc; coffemaker, ice bucket, bathroom amenities included shampoo, conditioner, lotion, 2 bars of soap, shower gel and a shower pouf. Temperature control for the A/C was mounted on the wall. Flat screen television, no HD though.
Our room overlooked the parking lot and the highway. Because of where the hotel is situated, I don’t think you’re going to get much of a view here. In room, wireless, high speed internet access is included at no extra charge.
Green Choice: This hotel participates in the Making a Green Choice program. I opted for the points instead of the food voucher, and my points posted without a problem.
Property: There is an onsite fitness area and a game room. Both of these areas require key card access. There is also an onsite pool and Jacuzzi which is designed quite nicely with landscaping and rocks. It almost makes you forget that you are at a pool in the middle of a parking lot! There is also an onsite rental car office. I believe it was Avis.
Restaurants: The hotel advertises on their website and in the in room information binder that the Grande Café is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and that the Connection Café is open from the morning until early afternoon. The Connection Café was never open while we were there. The Grande Café was open for breakfast and lunch, but not for dinner. For dinner, you could sit in the Celestial Lounge bar area and order off the Grande Café menu. We opted to go out for dinner since the menu did not appeal to us, and also, since we found it to be overpriced for what you got. (Entrees in the $25 and up range). We did eat breakfast there one morning. The buffet is $12.95 and includes eggs/omelets cooked to order in the kitchen and served to you, a hot beverage, assorted fruit, yogurt, pastries, cereals, bacon, sausage, waffles or pancakes, home fries, spinach and tomatoes. With my reservation email from the hotel, I received an offer to get the breakfast buffet for $10. We both opted for that since it was a much better deal than ordering off the menu where everything started at $12 and up. Breakfast was just okay, and we decided to go out the next morning.
Service: I didn’t interact with the staff too much, but I found everyone to be friendly. Hotel staff would smile and say hello when they passed you in the hall. Our waitress at breakfast—Nor—was an absolute sweetheart. On the morning we left, we realized we were out of the in room coffee since we had done the green choice the previous day and it wasn’t refilled. Rather than call down and wait for room service, I walked downstairs to get some. Except, I forgot that the Connection Café wasn’t open! I then went to the Grande Café to ask if I could get 2 coffees to go. Nor was working the hostess station and recognized me. She brought the coffee, and when I attempted to pay, she waved me off and told me not to worry about it. I thought that was nice of her.
Check Out: I stopped by the front desk as I was leaving to check out and turn in my Green Choice voucher. Again, only one counter was manned but no one was in line, so I didn’t have to wait. Check out was on Sunday, and my points/stay credit posted Monday afternoon.
Overall: Although I found it annoying that the restaurants were not open as advertised, I didn’t let it bother me since I had a car to get around. I found the rest of my stay to be enjoyable and the hotel served its purpose as a place for me to sleep while visiting a friend.
I did not see a master thread for this property, so if this is in the wrong place, I apologize and would be happy to move it.
My husband and I just completed a 2 night weekend stay (Fri & Sat nights) at the Sheraton Orlando North in Maitland. We picked this hotel because we were visiting some friends who lived within 10 minutes of the hotel. As a bit of background, I am new to the SPG program—and new to FlyerTalk! I do not have elite status with SPG. I’m only a Preferred Plus thanks to my Amex.
Location: The hotel is located off Interstate 4 and Maitland Blvd. You can see it from the highway, so it’s very easy to find. It’s located across the street from the Maitland Business Park, so I would imagine this hotel attracts a lot of business travelers. The hotel is only a couple of exits away from the village of Winter Park and about 10 minutes on the highway from downtown Orlando. I would not recommend this hotel for leisure travelers who want to go to the theme parks. I’d guess it’s about 30-40 minutes away from the International Drive area (Universal) and Disney World. I would recommend a car for getting around the area, since there is not much of anything within walking distance other than the business park. There is a Lynx (public bus) stop right outside the hotel, but I do not know how often the bus runs.
Parking: complimentary self parking in a large parking lot.
Check In: Only one check in counter was manned when I arrived, and it was the one for elite SPG members. Regardless, the clerk checked me in quickly and pointed the direction to the elevators.
Room: I booked a Traditional Room with a King Bed preference. We were placed on the fifth floor which is the SPG floor. The carpets in the corridor were very well worn and did not look clean. However, the room itself was clean. There was one complimentary bottle of water in the room along with one bathrobe. The one bathrobe struck me as strange since there were 2 of us in the room, but I didn’t call anyone about it since we weren’t in the room much. Room had your typical amenities: 3 packets of Starbucks coffee, creamer, paper cups, etc; coffemaker, ice bucket, bathroom amenities included shampoo, conditioner, lotion, 2 bars of soap, shower gel and a shower pouf. Temperature control for the A/C was mounted on the wall. Flat screen television, no HD though.
Our room overlooked the parking lot and the highway. Because of where the hotel is situated, I don’t think you’re going to get much of a view here. In room, wireless, high speed internet access is included at no extra charge. Green Choice: This hotel participates in the Making a Green Choice program. I opted for the points instead of the food voucher, and my points posted without a problem.
Property: There is an onsite fitness area and a game room. Both of these areas require key card access. There is also an onsite pool and Jacuzzi which is designed quite nicely with landscaping and rocks. It almost makes you forget that you are at a pool in the middle of a parking lot! There is also an onsite rental car office. I believe it was Avis.
Restaurants: The hotel advertises on their website and in the in room information binder that the Grande Café is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and that the Connection Café is open from the morning until early afternoon. The Connection Café was never open while we were there. The Grande Café was open for breakfast and lunch, but not for dinner. For dinner, you could sit in the Celestial Lounge bar area and order off the Grande Café menu. We opted to go out for dinner since the menu did not appeal to us, and also, since we found it to be overpriced for what you got. (Entrees in the $25 and up range). We did eat breakfast there one morning. The buffet is $12.95 and includes eggs/omelets cooked to order in the kitchen and served to you, a hot beverage, assorted fruit, yogurt, pastries, cereals, bacon, sausage, waffles or pancakes, home fries, spinach and tomatoes. With my reservation email from the hotel, I received an offer to get the breakfast buffet for $10. We both opted for that since it was a much better deal than ordering off the menu where everything started at $12 and up. Breakfast was just okay, and we decided to go out the next morning.
Service: I didn’t interact with the staff too much, but I found everyone to be friendly. Hotel staff would smile and say hello when they passed you in the hall. Our waitress at breakfast—Nor—was an absolute sweetheart. On the morning we left, we realized we were out of the in room coffee since we had done the green choice the previous day and it wasn’t refilled. Rather than call down and wait for room service, I walked downstairs to get some. Except, I forgot that the Connection Café wasn’t open! I then went to the Grande Café to ask if I could get 2 coffees to go. Nor was working the hostess station and recognized me. She brought the coffee, and when I attempted to pay, she waved me off and told me not to worry about it. I thought that was nice of her.
Check Out: I stopped by the front desk as I was leaving to check out and turn in my Green Choice voucher. Again, only one counter was manned but no one was in line, so I didn’t have to wait. Check out was on Sunday, and my points/stay credit posted Monday afternoon.
Overall: Although I found it annoying that the restaurants were not open as advertised, I didn’t let it bother me since I had a car to get around. I found the rest of my stay to be enjoyable and the hotel served its purpose as a place for me to sleep while visiting a friend.
Feb 17, 2012, 3:53 am
#2
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Programs: AA EXP(.96MM), AMEX Platinum, United Premier Silver, Delta Gold, SPG Platinum 50, Hilton Gold VIP
Posts: 1,744
great trip report.. i will be staying at this hotel this upcoming Tuesday and will report back.. im surprised you're the only one that reviewed this hotel .....has anyone else stayed here recently?
Feb 22, 2012, 10:49 pm
#3
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Programs: AA EXP(.96MM), AMEX Platinum, United Premier Silver, Delta Gold, SPG Platinum 50, Hilton Gold VIP
Posts: 1,744
had an awesome stay at this hotel as a Platinum guest!
Check in at 3pm
Received a HUGE suite upgrade on the 5th floor - 1 bedroom suite, marble bathroom, dining table, living room, jacuzzi whirlpool tub, outdoor balcony,
-500 points amenity
-Free wifi for Platinum guests - just charge it to your room and it will be taken off at checkout
-Given 4pm late checkout
-Given Club Lounge access (evening canapes start from 6pm-9pm with hot appetizers and water and coffee.. no complimentary soft drinks or liquor (for purchase) )
-Breakfast at the Club Lounge (starts 6am-9am ... steelcut oatmeal, egg bagel sandwiches, pastries, fruit)
-2 Free bottles of water in the room
i paid $30 + 1600 points for this property.. what a great value!
Check in at 3pm
Received a HUGE suite upgrade on the 5th floor - 1 bedroom suite, marble bathroom, dining table, living room, jacuzzi whirlpool tub, outdoor balcony,
-500 points amenity
-Free wifi for Platinum guests - just charge it to your room and it will be taken off at checkout
-Given 4pm late checkout
-Given Club Lounge access (evening canapes start from 6pm-9pm with hot appetizers and water and coffee.. no complimentary soft drinks or liquor (for purchase) )
-Breakfast at the Club Lounge (starts 6am-9am ... steelcut oatmeal, egg bagel sandwiches, pastries, fruit)
-2 Free bottles of water in the room
i paid $30 + 1600 points for this property.. what a great value!
May 19, 2012, 1:45 pm
#4
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: LAX
Programs: UA 1K MM, AS MVPG, SPG PLAT 100
Posts: 1,497
Surprised by lack of comments about this property. Echo what is posted above, a surprisingly nice Sheraton property with very responsive service and killer 2 bedroom suite Platinum upgrade. That's 2 bedroom with King sized beds and a dining room with seating for 6. I was working almost all night and had papers spread out all over desk and dining table and it was the perfect score of an upgrade.
Feb 23, 2013, 4:51 pm
#5
Join Date: May 2006
Programs: Starwood Lifetime Platinum; Hilton HHonors Gold; United Premier Gold
Posts: 263
I was here this past week and was upgraded to what is probably the same huge suite that jammanxc received a year ago, #553.
As awesome as the suite itself is in terms of size, the suite had some issues, but worse, the hotel infrastructure and the staff left much to be desired. It was a very mixed bag of a stay. For instance:
- there were some huge, ugly stains on the rug and the couch
- the walls were marked by dozens of paint blotches where the hotel did "touch up", but the effect of so many paint touch-ups made it look like the room was way overdue for a full paint job
- the wifi for that floor had a signal, but no internet on it; I had to use a weak signal from another floor, and the speed was just a little bit better than dial-up, around 300kbps by my measurement
- the Guest Services woman insisted that the wifi problem was mine and tried to foist me off to to long-distance Tech Support; when I told her I knew the problem was the hotel's, she sent up a hotel engineer who admitted that the GS woman was wrong and that the wifi on that floor wasn't working properly
- the pool was closed for repairs, with "crime scene"-style yellow tape between two pool chairs blocking access
- when I asked the employee at the Front Desk if I could just sit outside next to the pool, or if there was any other place I could soak up some sun, he admitted he didn't know. Apparently, he must have been a new employee, but he assumed without checking that because the pool was shut down that no one was allowed out there. In fact, the hotel was continuing to provide towels and chairs/chaises for guests to sit outside, but didn't communicate that to the front desk.
It's easy to see that this is a decent property when maintained and staffed properly, but it looks like management currently is cutting corners to control costs. Be advised and lower your expectations a bit if you come here.
As awesome as the suite itself is in terms of size, the suite had some issues, but worse, the hotel infrastructure and the staff left much to be desired. It was a very mixed bag of a stay. For instance:
- there were some huge, ugly stains on the rug and the couch
- the walls were marked by dozens of paint blotches where the hotel did "touch up", but the effect of so many paint touch-ups made it look like the room was way overdue for a full paint job
- the wifi for that floor had a signal, but no internet on it; I had to use a weak signal from another floor, and the speed was just a little bit better than dial-up, around 300kbps by my measurement
- the Guest Services woman insisted that the wifi problem was mine and tried to foist me off to to long-distance Tech Support; when I told her I knew the problem was the hotel's, she sent up a hotel engineer who admitted that the GS woman was wrong and that the wifi on that floor wasn't working properly
- the pool was closed for repairs, with "crime scene"-style yellow tape between two pool chairs blocking access
- when I asked the employee at the Front Desk if I could just sit outside next to the pool, or if there was any other place I could soak up some sun, he admitted he didn't know. Apparently, he must have been a new employee, but he assumed without checking that because the pool was shut down that no one was allowed out there. In fact, the hotel was continuing to provide towels and chairs/chaises for guests to sit outside, but didn't communicate that to the front desk.
It's easy to see that this is a decent property when maintained and staffed properly, but it looks like management currently is cutting corners to control costs. Be advised and lower your expectations a bit if you come here.
Last edited by signothetimes53; Feb 23, 2013 at 5:05 pm
Mar 5, 2013, 6:32 am
#6
Join Date: Jan 2012
Programs: AC *E, SPG Plat, Hertz
Posts: 73
Sheraton Orlando North, Maitland, FL [Master Thread]
Staying here for two days on business
Property: middle of an office park, with limited food options nearby
Plat treatment: recognized, moved to club floor
Staff: friendly and efficient staff, the morning lounge attendant is very nice and courteous
Gym: one of the better Sheraton gyms I've seen in North America... Has the typical treadmills and ellipticals, free weights up to 50 lbs per dumbbell, the standard life fitness weight machines, and the life fitness cable machine with a pull up bar (the latter is the first time ive seen this in a North American sheraton)
Restaurant: decent selection of menu items, nothing spectacular but definitely edible
Internet: strong in my room and other places where I've tried
All in all, not a bad property
Property: middle of an office park, with limited food options nearby
Plat treatment: recognized, moved to club floor
Staff: friendly and efficient staff, the morning lounge attendant is very nice and courteous
Gym: one of the better Sheraton gyms I've seen in North America... Has the typical treadmills and ellipticals, free weights up to 50 lbs per dumbbell, the standard life fitness weight machines, and the life fitness cable machine with a pull up bar (the latter is the first time ive seen this in a North American sheraton)
Restaurant: decent selection of menu items, nothing spectacular but definitely edible
Internet: strong in my room and other places where I've tried
All in all, not a bad property
Nov 8, 2015, 10:47 pm
#7
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: New York, NY
Programs: AA ExPl, DL PM, UA Silver, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium, probably some others
Posts: 4,093
Not a frequently-reviewed hotel, so let me throw in my two cents on what was a very disappointing stay. Used SNAs to get upgraded to a two-bedroom suite, which would be good for families by virtue of the sheer amount of space, but wasn't super impressive in terms of room quality. Fixtures were old. Very old. Some light fixtures either didn't work or had painfully ugly artificial lights. New DirecTV service has been installed throughout the hotel, but didn't work in my room until I called down for maintenance to fix the issue.
That was all before the room issues. During the second night of my two-night stay, I looked down to see a huge cockroach crawling on the floor. My windows hadn't been open, so not sure how it got in there, but it was obviously not great. I killed the bug and asked for a new room. Was sent three floors down to the same suite, where I was woken up at 7 AM by a dying smoke detector. I called down to have the smoke detector replaced and it was ... only for it to promptly go off again a couple of hours later. I called down again and had it replaced a second time, at which point it stopped chirping.
I should note that service in general at this hotel was very good. Everyone went out of their way to help when there were issues in a genuine, unforced way. When I reported the issues at checkout, the hotel did offer a fair number of Starpoints without being prompted as a goodwill gesture. (Albeit not as many as the person I spoke to actually said would post, and the hotel furthermore failed to post the MAGC points, either.) But whether it's just an aging property or a property which is in need of investment/attention (even in the common areas - the elevator certificates expired in August), I can't recommend this hotel.
That was all before the room issues. During the second night of my two-night stay, I looked down to see a huge cockroach crawling on the floor. My windows hadn't been open, so not sure how it got in there, but it was obviously not great. I killed the bug and asked for a new room. Was sent three floors down to the same suite, where I was woken up at 7 AM by a dying smoke detector. I called down to have the smoke detector replaced and it was ... only for it to promptly go off again a couple of hours later. I called down again and had it replaced a second time, at which point it stopped chirping.
I should note that service in general at this hotel was very good. Everyone went out of their way to help when there were issues in a genuine, unforced way. When I reported the issues at checkout, the hotel did offer a fair number of Starpoints without being prompted as a goodwill gesture. (Albeit not as many as the person I spoke to actually said would post, and the hotel furthermore failed to post the MAGC points, either.) But whether it's just an aging property or a property which is in need of investment/attention (even in the common areas - the elevator certificates expired in August), I can't recommend this hotel.
Dec 22, 2015, 2:34 pm
#8
Join Date: Sep 2005
Programs: AC MM E50 , Former SPG, now Marriott LT Plat
Posts: 6,261
Stayed here for 2 nights. My general comment: bad start, good recovery.
I arrived late at night with my 8 year old son, main concern was getting him to
bed quickly. On check-in, no question about plat amenity, no mention of upgrade,
no offer of MAGC.
We were given a room on the club floor. On arrival, TV did not work, and no-one
answered the phone when I called about it.
I put my son to sleep, then a while later tried to go to sleep myself. Could not due
to traffic noise from outside; and from party noise 2 rooms down. After about
30 minutes I called to the desk about the party noise; by the time I fell asleep
45 minutes later nothing had been done about it.
The next morning went to lounge for breakfast - nothing there. No food, no coffee,
just a few cookies left over from the previous evening. I went down to the front desk
and spoke to the manager - he arranged to switch rooms to the opposite side of
the hotel with less traffic noise; and gave me coupons for breakfast for both mornings
in the restaurant. He also offered me 3000 SPG points for the inconvenience; I told
him that was not necessary - I was not complaining to get points, but rather to get
the issues resolved.
Second room was much better for sleep, and on arrival home I saw that he had
given me the 3000 points.
So, bad start to the stay; good service recovery by the manager.
I arrived late at night with my 8 year old son, main concern was getting him to
bed quickly. On check-in, no question about plat amenity, no mention of upgrade,
no offer of MAGC.
We were given a room on the club floor. On arrival, TV did not work, and no-one
answered the phone when I called about it.
I put my son to sleep, then a while later tried to go to sleep myself. Could not due
to traffic noise from outside; and from party noise 2 rooms down. After about
30 minutes I called to the desk about the party noise; by the time I fell asleep
45 minutes later nothing had been done about it.
The next morning went to lounge for breakfast - nothing there. No food, no coffee,
just a few cookies left over from the previous evening. I went down to the front desk
and spoke to the manager - he arranged to switch rooms to the opposite side of
the hotel with less traffic noise; and gave me coupons for breakfast for both mornings
in the restaurant. He also offered me 3000 SPG points for the inconvenience; I told
him that was not necessary - I was not complaining to get points, but rather to get
the issues resolved.
Second room was much better for sleep, and on arrival home I saw that he had
given me the 3000 points.
So, bad start to the stay; good service recovery by the manager.