Starwood Lurker

Just confirming that The Dom Hotel has not been part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts since February 28, 2013.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

FD1971

That was really sad, especially after we lost the other property in Cologne as well. The renovated rooms at the Domhotel were among the best SPG hotel rooms in all of Europe, even without the view of the cathedral 100 metres away.

Hopefully, the Sheraton Essen will follow the example. The view of the Stadtpark in Essen is almost comparable to the cathedral in Cologne.

BTW, William, Thanks for the PM re. HHI @:-)

djohannw

Bringing this thread back to life...stayed here last night and am pretty disappointed by the stay. For starters I was not really welcomed when I arrived here for my first stay at this property - I was basically dropped my keys, and that's it. No mentioning on my SPG-number being on file, no question what amenity I would like, no directions to the elevators (not even a statement like "your room is on the sixth floor") and no guidance on where the Club lounge is and what hours it operates.

When I made it to the room I was immediately turned back by a strong tobacco-smell - and the fact the room had two single beds instead of the booked queen. Went back downstairs to change my room, explicitly mentioning the bed issue just to be given another room with two singles, yet at least non-smoking this time. Finally after speaking to a manager I received one of their suites that miraculously became available between my original arrival and that time.

Went to the lounge and found that to be tiny with very little room to sit down and actually work. Additionally I tried to sign on to the internet access but kept being rejected as the system claimed that room number and name did not match. Sadly that problem could not be solved, so I was given a code to access the net using a different method, however that again took about half an hour to get managed. In general I also think the lounge is not really up to what one would expect (or at least what I would expect) - food offerings during the day and in the evening are very slim, and I really fear that today's breakfast will not be any better. Also the presentation was not really nice, certainly not on par with what I have seen in other lounges (e.g. the desert being served in a large bowl instead of single portions and with no suitable dish to self-serve from that bowl).

Also some staff has problems with privacy and style - some young men obviously were in the lounge without proper access rights, and the lady working the lounge reprimanded them in front of the other guests, loudly stating their names, the name of the person that had given them the card, that they now must immediately see the front desk (for punishment?) and that she would not want to see them again. Also while speaking to them both her tone and the way she addressed them (with the informal "Du" instead of the appropriate "Sie") were not appropriate in my opinion - all in all this made for a rather uncomfortable situation for the other two guests during that time - should have been handled a lot more discreetly.

Finally someone mangled with my reservation between my check-in and the moment I got access to the Internet - suddenly my reservation was gone from the list of my reservations. As with previous times when this happened someone "accidentally" deleted my SPG-number from the reservation - this was reinstated, but again this is something that should not have happened in the first place.

Rooms and the suite are OK, but renovations seem somewhat incomplete - the bathrooms are nice, though. But to find really old-school 80's twin-dials to adjust the air-conditioning in my suite struck me as odd, and the carpet in the suite definitely is due for replacement.

All in all I will not go out of my way to stay here any more - not sure why the hotel is able to command a so much higher price than other hotels in the area. For me there is actually zero benefit from paying something like 30% extra for staying here - neither the lounge, the service or the room warrant that extra expense.

Greetings - Dirk

FD1971

To be honest, directions are not really needed at the Sheraton Essen, all ways lead to the elevators, if you are not going to the Philharmonie. And the opening hours of the Club and the Wellness area are stated throughout the property on various displays.

The property is still on the Watch list and is known for not giving automatic suite upgrades. Do not expect one from Monday to Thursday, but if you do not get one on weekends, it is recommended to ask for one again, X17 is the magic number, right next to the lift going down to the spa/gym.

I tend to say that giving you a 'twin bed join as king' room was their attempt of doing you a favour. AFAIK, they do not have real king bedded rooms and most of the queen bedded rooms are either connecting rooms or lead to the Huyssenallee and not to the park, hence tend to be more noisy.

Judging from dozens of stays including the ones of colleagues, they are doing their best (minus the suite upgrades...) but it does not always come across as such. More transparency could help all the parties involved.

This is one of the properties where the service on weekdays is significantly better than on weekends, so ymmv here.

All bathrooms were done in 2013/2014 and they are really nice and upscale. New Sheraton Sweet Sleeper beds were introduced in mid 2014 after extending the lease for another 30 year period, so right now the property is scheduled for major renovations starting in 2015.

At this point, this is one of the properties where I refuse a suite upgrade (the only other one in Germany was the LM Dom) because the club floor rooms are more modern and face the park instead of the Huyssenallee.

This is pretty easy to answer, major corporations in walking distance, so the usual amount of corporate travel. Additionally, the location cannot be better, right above the Metro, directly connected to the music hall, two blocks away from Folkwang. Not to mention the Messe Essen and Dus...

And certainly also hardly any real upscale competition in Essen...

On the plus side as well, very good staff, very good food downstairs, very very clean hotel all around and free parking available around the property in the evening unless there is a concert at the Phil.

FD1971

The property introduced a new food concept for the Club Lounge and upgraded the food in the process.

Breakfast is still what it used to be (Limited Continental Breakfast Buffet)

Food offered throughout the day was upgraded with fruit and cheese aside from the usual nibbles.

In the evening, they offer one hot dish (slightly downgraded on weekend days, often a soup) as well as several salads (in small glasses) and a limited selection of Desserts incl. chocolate bars.

Under the bottom line, still a good option in Essen with a very nice spa and small gym.

All rooms have new beds and bathrooms, as pointed out before, unfortunately the suites are still not not fully renovated.

dchesterp

I booked this hotel for a Friday night stay while driving from Amsterdam to Frankfurt. It is convenient to Autobahns and just a small detour off the A3. The hotel offers low weekend rates with a very good Club lounge that is one of the better ones I've used recently. Due to the low number of weekend guests with autos I was permitted to park for free on the hotel's forecourt. I highly recommend this hotel - very comfortable beds and firm great pillows (not soft lumps of pillows).

seawolf

Currently at the property. WiFi is fast.



Street parking is metered Monday to Friday 10 to 19 and Saturday 10 to 16. Overnight free parking on street should be readily available. I know some meters (in Dusseldorf) allow pre-feeding the night before. Not sure if the ones here operate the same way.

Pre-upgraded to suite as a Platinum.

thomas199023

Any update on the situation with the suites? Staying here on Friday. I have a Suite Night Award pending, but if the club rooms are nicer then I'd rather have a club room to be honest.

Thanks!

skrosvik

Any updates?

Staying there this weekend, and I can see through the app that they have already upgraded me to a suite. It says "Complimentary minibar". Any experiences with this? Replentished every day?

seawolf

I would confirm that "complimentary minibar" apply to upgrades.

Most items in the complimentary minibar should be available in the lounge.

skrosvik

I am here for the weekend

Yes, it is complimentary for sure. There is a price list on top of the minibar, but the front desk confirmed that the minibars in all suites are complimentary, regardless if you're upgraded or booked a suite. You're right - the same items as in the lounge - no sparkling wine in the lounge though. The minibar has a small bottle. The minibar was not replentished on the second day.

Overall a nice hotel. Nice staff. Nice bar. Great breakfast. Large corner suite. It is not renovated. The suite is old and outdated, bathroom is new though. No bathtub, just a shower. Heated floor. No more Bliss products here, they have introduced the Le Grand Bain toiletries, which is quite nice IMO. Separate living and sleeping areas, but quite old and outdated....large desk, tv and sitting group (with an awful sofa) in the living room. The A/C is useless, I am happy I am not here during summer, I suppose the room would be awfully hot! There was a welcome note from the GM along with some grapes and bananas.

Club lounge a couple of doors down. It is very small and in dire need of total renovation. However, it is a good lounge. Large frigde with soft drinks, beer and wine - all day. Nice food as well - today they served curry wurst with potatoes, cheesecake, tomato and mozzarella, meatballs, cabbage and cheese. Fruits and snacks are also available. No spirits though. The lounge remind me of older Sheratons in UAE and China (think Great Wall Sheraton - but much smaller). Lounge close at 22:30.

Plats also receive complimentary breakfast in the restaurant, in addition to the points.

I wouldn't hesitate to stay here again

seawolf

This is good news.