oneduhy

is there any word yet on when this may be opening next year or any idea what it will look like

Starwood Lurker II

As per hotel's site, opening date for the property is tentatively set for Feb 26 2014.

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holtju2

Now March 31, 2014, and they have assigned an award category 5 for this property.

margarita girl

I have made a tentative reservation for a 2 night stay in mid-April. Disappointed that there doesn't appear to be a Club Lounge.

BonViveur

I inspected the hotel, recently, but they requested I not take pics.

First impression of the hotel, before opening:

- the hotel covers, I think, 14 floors - above is residential.
- entrance looks very Chinese - obviously the owner's influence. The hotel name is in shiny signage in English and Chinese, which either indicates the expected market, or is inappropriate. There is room for a greeter/commissionaire station and not much else other than the lift bank.
- rooms are tiny...TINY, like 28sqm. The smallest room at Westin is 35% larger and most are 50% larger. There's nothing wrong with the rooms, but they are too small for a new build, and the decor, especially the carpeting, is a mistake. I visited with an interior designer who had nothing positive to say, but guests will make there own observations, I'm sure.
- The corner suite I saw, on the 4th floor, had a view over what will be an open bar area, and a multi-storey car park. It didn't really feel like a suite though, as it has a small living area, joined by a corridor to a small bedroom. Great if you get it as an upgrade, but not if it's sold at suite prices.
- there is no exec lounge (DOS was a bit defensive about this)

If I didn't know it was a Sheraton, I would have guessed Four Points.

I guess it's unfair to make a judgement before opening and experiencing service, so I'll revert after a stay. The price will need to be keen, though. I note that on opening night - 31Mar, it's only $5 less than Westin. Maybe it'll bring Westin pricing down a bit, for a while.

I must offer a compliment - it started to rain on the way out and one of the staff ran to the next street to wait for a cab and bring it down for us. Great service! GM and DOS are recently ex St Regis Doha, so I expect great service!

mahasamatman

Gotta love those "brand standards".

yvr76

The Experience Sheraton rate is a pretty good deal right now, especially if you're not Platinum.

mahasamatman

It's good even if you are. Platinum may just get you continental breakfast (and at the expense of your 500 point amenity).

yerffej201

Anyone else check out the property?

steveholt

Just completed a three-night stay here. Some thoughts:

- Hotel is readily staffed with plenty of people, all of whom were extremely friendly, but still some rough spots in terms of knowledge. I checked in with a BRG rate and it required three people to figure out how to adjust my rate accordingly. I actually stayed an additional night on another BRG rate, and that one went smoother. With that being said, points just posted to my account and I'm missing both of the BRG credits and my second points amenity for Plat, probably because they combined the bills. They also asked me repeatedly whether I wanted to donate to Unicef as part of the bill, I repeatedly declined (even checking no on the bill I initially signed), and yet they managed to add two $1 charges to Unicef on the bill.

- Hotel isn't offering Make a Green Choice. Was told they might offer it in the future, but not at the moment.

- I was upgraded using SNAs for all three of my nights to a Terrace Suite. Room was listed as a smoking room in the SNA description, but whether it was because the room was brand new or because the room was listed as smoking improperly, there was no smoke smell. The first room is a small room with two couches and access to the terrace, which it would probably be fairer to describe as a balcony with (rather uncomfortable) chairs. My view was of the terraced bar of the fourth floor below and of a parking garage.

- Bed was harder than most of the Sheratons I've stayed in, although I suspect that might just be the product of a brand new bed in the room. About half of the pillows were rock hard, borderline unusable. Bathroom had a modestly-sized tub, blinds to close off the bathroom from the room, and an unenclosed shower in the space next to the tub.

- No lounge. Had breakfast included in my rate, which is normally, if I remember correctly, an absurd $40. Buffet was small but items were fresh. Small pots for individual orders of scrambled eggs were a nice touch. One annoyance: no toaster available, so you have to ask the chef to prepare toast for you. They were happy to do so, but during busier times, that might be a nuisance. Small lap pool. Gym had maybe 10-12 cardio machines, all brand new, with various hookups and even wi-fi built in.

I'm not really sure where my opinion on the property lands. The Park Hyatt is two blocks away and, despite being 15 years older, is a pretty significant upgrade on this property. I suspect that this is designed to compete with the Grand Hyatt, and certainly, the GH having a lounge (and a slightly better location) is a pretty significant advantage. I would stay here while the hotel is new, but as service levels invariably drop, the lack of MAGC, a lounge for Plats, and the relatively high prices would probably lead me to stay somewhere else.

margarita girl

Have you ever stayed at the Westin Melbourne, and if yes, how would you rate the 2 properties relative to each other?

steveholt

Have not stayed at the Westin. I would rate this hotel as a clear step down from the Park Hyatt and probably a tiny step down from the Grand Hyatt. No experience elsewhere in Melbourne for me.

margarita girl

I'm currently at the Westin but decided to walk over to Sheraton to check it out since I will be back in May and was holding reservations at both properties.

• Location of the Westin is far better than the Sheraton. Close to all the action, restaurants and bars.
• Both hotels offer full breakfast buffet as a Platinum amenity.
• Westin offers green choice, Sheraton doesn't.
• As Bon Viveur mentions, I didn't like the cramped entrance (1st floor) or lobby area (2nd floor). Did not find the decor attractive or the atmosphere the least bit welcoming. Much prefer the Westin entrance with the grand staircase.
• Was not able to see a room, so can't comment there.

Bottom line is without the advantage of a Club Lounge and with both properties being cat 5, I see no reason to stay at the Sheraton. Canceled my reservation for May.

jaejaez

Didn't know you could open Sheratons without a club lounge. thought it was a brand standard? even to the point where even those old sheratons without a lounge had to build one in for sake of compliance.

Maybe I thought wrong.

DawgmanOH

I just finished a three night stay so happy to any questions. My initial thoughts:

* Yes, I could have Googled it but I am stunned there is no Exec Lounge. Just never occurred to me that there wouldn't be one.
* They are trying for an "upscale" Sheraton experience. Doorman there to open cab. Concierge, etc. Just not quite sure why check in isn't on the 1st floor. Probably because of the building footprint.
* Check in was ok. As Platinum, told I was upgraded to a "Premium" room. And if I wanted internet, I could pay for wireless in my room. Another employee came over and gently corrected him that as a Platinum, wireless is complimentary. Imagine this will take some time to train.
* Room itself is very nice (with a big "but" coming up). The actual decor, furniture, layout is good and the room is definitely not tiny. It's not a suite, but certainly large enough with lots of room. And drawers are everywhere, which is awesome.
* BUT, I see this hotel experience as being vastly different depending on your floor and the room you have. There are 14 floors and 14 rooms on each floor (196 total). Of those, roughly 5 rooms on each floor are looking DIRECTLY into an office building next to it. And when I say directly, I mean eye-to-eye with roughly 20-25 feet between your windows and the windows of the office building. The building is not across the street. It is across a narrow divider. Not even an alley. This means shades need to be closed constantly as the Sheraton windows are not one way. Doing the math, over 1/3 of all their rooms look immediately into an office building. This is definitely not on the web site nor in their room description. I am not even counting my room in one of the 5 but the office building can look into my room so my curtains are closed. I think this is the biggest reason I would think twice about booking here again.
* Again, the room itself is fantastic. The service is top notch. But the lack of an Executive Lounge and the huge disparity in room location would not make this my first choice.