Sheraton Mendoza Hotel, Argentina [Master Thread]
May 17, 2009, 4:52 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Programs: Bonvoy LTT, Hyatt Exp, AA 1MM, UA Silver, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 970
Sheraton Mendoza Hotel, Argentina [Master Thread]
My wife and I went to Argentina last month, and hit Mendoza for 3 nights to check out the nearby wine country. I had originally booked the Park Hyatt, but based on negative reviews switched over to the new Sheraton. The Sheraton was a little farther away from the Plaza Independencia, but I would chose the Sheraton again in a heartbeat.
Pre-arrival
I booked using points when the hotel was still level 3, but it has since gone up to level 4 (10,000/night). A few weeks prior to arrival I received a personalized email from one of the front desk clerks, confirming my stay and asking if I needed anything. I had booked an accessible room because that's all that was available, but the clerk was able to switch it to a standard room with no issues.
Check-in
No wait at check-in, and was told I had been upgraded to a club level suite. There is no concierge at the hotel, so the front desk helped me out with directions and reservations several times. They were always very friendly. There was a tours and excursions desk that wasn't always staffed, but I never made use of it.
The room
We were given a two-room suite on the 12th floor. It looked like there was a setup for club-level check-in on this floor, but it was never staffed. The room was very modern and comfortable.
Living room looking towards entrance
Living room sitting area, bedroom through door to the right
Translucent wall separating bathroom and bedroom. This was annoying, as turning on the bathroom light in the middle of the night illuminated the sleeping area.
Enclosed toilet (left) and shower areas
Sleeping area
Looking over the bed towards the bathroom. You can see the level of light that comes from the bathroom.
View of the city from the room
Club level
It was kind of hard to figure out how the lounge worked, as it doubled as a restaurant located on the top floor of the hotel. You get off the elevator and to the right is the restaurant with a view of the mountains, and to the left is the lounge. No signage, I had to ask, and usually sat where I could look at the mountains without an issue. Club level entitles you to a glass of wine each night between 6-8pm. Choice of red or white; the reds were nice local malbecs that changed nightly, not sure what the whites were. The attendant brought a plate of cheese and crackers, too, along with the wine.
Breakfast started at 6:30 or 7, and went until 10. It seemed to only be for club level guests, as there wasn't a menu or signage that the restaurant was open for breakfast. Buffet setup, with a few hot dishes (eggs, bacon), pastries, fruits, cereals, juices. The last day we got there right when they opened (we were headed to the airport) and found them unprepared; no attendant was there until 15 or 20 minutes after they opened, but since the non-hot food was out, we went ahead and ate.
Other
The hotel has a casino, but it's not obtrusive. We wandered through one night and it was very busy. Looked like there were lots of low-limit table games.
There's a nice fitness and pool area, although we didn't take advantage of any spa services.
We had purchased a bottle of wine, and were surprised not to find a corkscrew in the room. We called guest services, and they wound up sending us one from the restaurant. Nice!
Overall
Very nice hotel, new and modern. Friendly staff, decent location. I'd highly recommend it.
Pre-arrival
I booked using points when the hotel was still level 3, but it has since gone up to level 4 (10,000/night). A few weeks prior to arrival I received a personalized email from one of the front desk clerks, confirming my stay and asking if I needed anything. I had booked an accessible room because that's all that was available, but the clerk was able to switch it to a standard room with no issues.
Check-in
No wait at check-in, and was told I had been upgraded to a club level suite. There is no concierge at the hotel, so the front desk helped me out with directions and reservations several times. They were always very friendly. There was a tours and excursions desk that wasn't always staffed, but I never made use of it.
The room
We were given a two-room suite on the 12th floor. It looked like there was a setup for club-level check-in on this floor, but it was never staffed. The room was very modern and comfortable.
Living room looking towards entrance
Living room sitting area, bedroom through door to the right
Translucent wall separating bathroom and bedroom. This was annoying, as turning on the bathroom light in the middle of the night illuminated the sleeping area.
Enclosed toilet (left) and shower areas
Sleeping area
Looking over the bed towards the bathroom. You can see the level of light that comes from the bathroom.
View of the city from the room
Club level
It was kind of hard to figure out how the lounge worked, as it doubled as a restaurant located on the top floor of the hotel. You get off the elevator and to the right is the restaurant with a view of the mountains, and to the left is the lounge. No signage, I had to ask, and usually sat where I could look at the mountains without an issue. Club level entitles you to a glass of wine each night between 6-8pm. Choice of red or white; the reds were nice local malbecs that changed nightly, not sure what the whites were. The attendant brought a plate of cheese and crackers, too, along with the wine.
Breakfast started at 6:30 or 7, and went until 10. It seemed to only be for club level guests, as there wasn't a menu or signage that the restaurant was open for breakfast. Buffet setup, with a few hot dishes (eggs, bacon), pastries, fruits, cereals, juices. The last day we got there right when they opened (we were headed to the airport) and found them unprepared; no attendant was there until 15 or 20 minutes after they opened, but since the non-hot food was out, we went ahead and ate.
Other
The hotel has a casino, but it's not obtrusive. We wandered through one night and it was very busy. Looked like there were lots of low-limit table games.
There's a nice fitness and pool area, although we didn't take advantage of any spa services.
We had purchased a bottle of wine, and were surprised not to find a corkscrew in the room. We called guest services, and they wound up sending us one from the restaurant. Nice!
Overall
Very nice hotel, new and modern. Friendly staff, decent location. I'd highly recommend it.
Feb 17, 2015, 1:17 pm
#2
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Miami, FL
Programs: UA 1MM, AA Plat, Marriott LT Titanium, Hyatt Glob, IHG ♢ Amb, Hilton ♢, Hertz Pres
Posts: 6,015
I just completed a nice stay here. The hotel is in a good location a few blocks away from the nearest walking street. However the better spots, Av Sarmiento for higher end restaurants and Av Villanueva Aristedes for a younger hipper crowd are a 20 minute walk away. So it's not totally central but certainly a great place to stay if in Mendoza.
Checkin was wonderful and English is spoken aplenty here. Even if you speak absolutely no Spanish you will get along just fine at this property. I was also provided a glass of wine while checking in. Very nice touch!
No need for me to post pictures since I was in the same room. Literally. Right on the 12th floor. So yes, I was also upgraded as a Platinum to this lovely suite, which looks identical to how it looked a five years ago, albeit a bit more worn.
Re the room:
1- The bathroom has a bad sewage smell to it. I discussed this with the front desk and he didn't appear shocked at all. He simply said, "ah yes, we can clean this". Appears this sort of complaint comes in all the time. It is definitely time for a refurbishment if so. The smell was terribly strong at checkin. However post cleaning it was down to a manageable level so long as I kept the bathroom door closed tight.
2- The curtains were in poor condition and would stick when trying to close. If you pulled too hard they would snap off as well.
3- One of the lights was out over the bed.
As you can seem this property has aged since the pics shown and they are not doing a great job keeping up with maintenance. The do offer Green Choice which is nice, but do not provide cards under the door for redemption. And the maids kept trying to clean my room each day even if the card was on the door. I was worried I wouldn't get my points, but I was provided them at the end of my stay regardless.
Re the hotel itself, there is a nice lobby with chairs, a bar and separate restaurant on the first floor. The bar has a pool table. There is a nice gym, swimming pool and spa. The internet in this hotel is very slow. Way too slow for a Sheraton. In fact, the day of my arrival it din't work at all. The elevators have two keycards in them where you must use your key to get to the customer floors. However in all 3 elevators only one (the one in front) works. But the elevator opens to the rear on the customer floors and sometimes people forget which keybox works. As such I watched as many guests missed their floor before they were able to get their key into the correct key box. Either make both key boxes work or remove one.
As for Platinum recognition, it is very nice here. Upgrade to Suite, bottle of Champagne and chocolates as in-room welcome amenity, breakfast included in Club Lounge (although at check out they incorrectly tried to charge me for breakfast one day - but obviously waived it), and happy hour in Club Lounge with snacks and vino. That's the way to treat your most loyal customers, kudos!
Checkin was wonderful and English is spoken aplenty here. Even if you speak absolutely no Spanish you will get along just fine at this property. I was also provided a glass of wine while checking in. Very nice touch!
No need for me to post pictures since I was in the same room. Literally. Right on the 12th floor. So yes, I was also upgraded as a Platinum to this lovely suite, which looks identical to how it looked a five years ago, albeit a bit more worn.
Re the room:
1- The bathroom has a bad sewage smell to it. I discussed this with the front desk and he didn't appear shocked at all. He simply said, "ah yes, we can clean this". Appears this sort of complaint comes in all the time. It is definitely time for a refurbishment if so. The smell was terribly strong at checkin. However post cleaning it was down to a manageable level so long as I kept the bathroom door closed tight.
2- The curtains were in poor condition and would stick when trying to close. If you pulled too hard they would snap off as well.
3- One of the lights was out over the bed.
As you can seem this property has aged since the pics shown and they are not doing a great job keeping up with maintenance. The do offer Green Choice which is nice, but do not provide cards under the door for redemption. And the maids kept trying to clean my room each day even if the card was on the door. I was worried I wouldn't get my points, but I was provided them at the end of my stay regardless.
Re the hotel itself, there is a nice lobby with chairs, a bar and separate restaurant on the first floor. The bar has a pool table. There is a nice gym, swimming pool and spa. The internet in this hotel is very slow. Way too slow for a Sheraton. In fact, the day of my arrival it din't work at all. The elevators have two keycards in them where you must use your key to get to the customer floors. However in all 3 elevators only one (the one in front) works. But the elevator opens to the rear on the customer floors and sometimes people forget which keybox works. As such I watched as many guests missed their floor before they were able to get their key into the correct key box. Either make both key boxes work or remove one.
As for Platinum recognition, it is very nice here. Upgrade to Suite, bottle of Champagne and chocolates as in-room welcome amenity, breakfast included in Club Lounge (although at check out they incorrectly tried to charge me for breakfast one day - but obviously waived it), and happy hour in Club Lounge with snacks and vino. That's the way to treat your most loyal customers, kudos!
Jun 12, 2017, 2:09 pm
#3
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: LAX
Programs: AS MVP, Marriott Lifetime Plat, Hilton Diamond, Wyndham Diamond
Posts: 256
A Sheraton first: No breakfast provided in the Club Lounge
Just finished a 3-night stay here as a Lifetime Gold. Some things that stood out:
Good:
- Views from the 17th floor lounge & bar were nice
- Room size was fine
Bad:
- Internet was sometimes so slow that it was unusable (<500 kbps). Completely unacceptable for a Sheraton.
- Age of the hotel was starting to show: e.g., thin walls and a really hot shower
- Casino and other random shops were a bit tacky
- Club Lounge happy hour had minimal hot food choices (only 1 dish of empanadas each day)
- The worst part: unlike any Club Lounge I've ever been to, "breakfast" for this one apparently starts at 11AM. The breakfast set out next to the lounge in the morning (starting from ~6AM) costs ~225 ARS and is not included with Club Lounge access. The lounge attendant in the morning on the first day said that breakfast was included with Club Lounge access, so I was surprised that they tried to charge me for breakfast on the last day. Although the manager made an "exception" to comp breakfast due to the miscommunication, I wonder if this is even allowed by Sheraton's standards. Surely an 11AM opening meal can't be considered breakfast. As an SPG Business Amex cardholder, I choose Sheratons to get some kind of complimentary breakfast in the morning, which is explicitly advertised as a benefit on sheratonclubroom.com and on each hotel's website. I won't be returning to or recommending this hotel in the future.
Good:
- Views from the 17th floor lounge & bar were nice
- Room size was fine
Bad:
- Internet was sometimes so slow that it was unusable (<500 kbps). Completely unacceptable for a Sheraton.
- Age of the hotel was starting to show: e.g., thin walls and a really hot shower
- Casino and other random shops were a bit tacky
- Club Lounge happy hour had minimal hot food choices (only 1 dish of empanadas each day)
- The worst part: unlike any Club Lounge I've ever been to, "breakfast" for this one apparently starts at 11AM. The breakfast set out next to the lounge in the morning (starting from ~6AM) costs ~225 ARS and is not included with Club Lounge access. The lounge attendant in the morning on the first day said that breakfast was included with Club Lounge access, so I was surprised that they tried to charge me for breakfast on the last day. Although the manager made an "exception" to comp breakfast due to the miscommunication, I wonder if this is even allowed by Sheraton's standards. Surely an 11AM opening meal can't be considered breakfast. As an SPG Business Amex cardholder, I choose Sheratons to get some kind of complimentary breakfast in the morning, which is explicitly advertised as a benefit on sheratonclubroom.com and on each hotel's website. I won't be returning to or recommending this hotel in the future.
Feb 15, 2018, 1:13 pm
#4
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: GVA
Programs: BA Silver (OW Sapphire), A3 Gold (*G), Bonvoy LTTE, HHonors Diamond, LeClubAccor Silver, UA Silver
Posts: 1,777
Just completed two separate 1-night stays here (2 rooms each time) and was very impressed with Plat treatment. However, the policies are a bit confusing and not understood by all staff:
Was upgraded to suite (xx14) which looked exactly like the one on first post in this thread. Very comfortable. In one instances both rooms got the upgrade.
Club Lounge access is granted to both Gold and Plat guests (per signage inside lounge). Both rooms in the booking were granted access. Lounge opens at 11am to 11pm. Happy hour is 5 – 9pm and includes free pour of wines (Malbec and Sauvignon Blanc – Hotel, by Huentala Wines), soft drinks, as well as a good spread of sandwiches, cold cuts, empanadas and cakes. Selection rotates daily. The lounge is spacious but doesn’t offer a lot of seating (6 – 7 tables for 2 and a couch).
Plats get breakfast at the restaurant on the 17th floor. The buffet is very similar to the one served downstairs at the lobby with the exception of sparkling wines and a couple more cakes. Breakfast hours are 7 - 11am.
I was very impressed with the treatment and general level of this place, considering it’s a Cat. 2 property, which puts the Sheraton in Buenos Aires (Retiro) to shame at a Cat. 4 (previously Cat. 5).
Was upgraded to suite (xx14) which looked exactly like the one on first post in this thread. Very comfortable. In one instances both rooms got the upgrade.
Club Lounge access is granted to both Gold and Plat guests (per signage inside lounge). Both rooms in the booking were granted access. Lounge opens at 11am to 11pm. Happy hour is 5 – 9pm and includes free pour of wines (Malbec and Sauvignon Blanc – Hotel, by Huentala Wines), soft drinks, as well as a good spread of sandwiches, cold cuts, empanadas and cakes. Selection rotates daily. The lounge is spacious but doesn’t offer a lot of seating (6 – 7 tables for 2 and a couch).
Plats get breakfast at the restaurant on the 17th floor. The buffet is very similar to the one served downstairs at the lobby with the exception of sparkling wines and a couple more cakes. Breakfast hours are 7 - 11am.
I was very impressed with the treatment and general level of this place, considering it’s a Cat. 2 property, which puts the Sheraton in Buenos Aires (Retiro) to shame at a Cat. 4 (previously Cat. 5).
Jul 10, 2022, 7:23 pm
#5
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: CEB - primary/YVR -secondary
Programs: AC*Super Elite (100K) / PR*Elite / AY*Platinum (OWE) / SPG*Bonvoy Titanium (LTT)
Posts: 2,270
Pleasant Stay
Stayed here for a couple of nights last June, 2022. Arrived early from LIM/SCL and didn't have to wait for my room til check in time.
Was also upgraded to their club suite. It now looks quite dated but at least clean. They also provided a bottle of wine as a Lifetime Titanium.
The suite is standard size suite but sparsely decorated.
Club lounge is still closed. But complimentary breakfast is served on top floor for Plat & up guests and had some fantastic views of the city. But their offerings were the same every single day. They also have some sparkling wine to make mimosa for breakfast.
One really positive note of this property is that it's ver, very close to currency exchange black market. About 4 minutes walk. Obviously you save a lot about 30%-50% savings changing your USD to Blue $, instead of using your credit card or taking money out of the ATM. BTW, taxi from airport to hotel is fixed priced 1000 ARS. So that's about 5USD.
There are a few negatives though. You only get compli water 2 bottles a day. Anything more than that, you have to pay.
Also, they have a weird restaurant setup for dinner. And they only have 1 restaurant open for guests on weekdays. First night, I decided to have dinner in the hotel. It was very, very empty. But when I went in, I was stopped by this server who said I cannot eat here. Everything is reserved because of a "concert".
I asked her then so where am I supposed to eat as a hotel guest? She said "I don't know". Obviously I complained to front desk and they immediately called the restaurant and apologized for the misunderstanding.
When I was in the the restaurant, that same server allowed local Argentines in. It just felt weird and off putting as a Non-white/Latin minority.
Finished my dinner and had 3 more alcoholic drinks (which were fantastic btw), and the place was still dead.
The "supposed" concert/live band after dinner
The "supposed" live band after dinner and 3 drinks
This was very off putting by that one waitress to an otherwise excellent stay. Anyways, if there was really a live band later that evening, they shouldn't have closed the entire night starting early evening. The rooftop restaurant is obviously by reservation only due to high demand (and is only open on weekends) . So where else are guests supposed to eat if they don't want room service.
Anyways... Everybody else here were great especially the front desk staff. They were all helpful and happy to come back.
Was also upgraded to their club suite. It now looks quite dated but at least clean. They also provided a bottle of wine as a Lifetime Titanium.
The suite is standard size suite but sparsely decorated.
Club lounge is still closed. But complimentary breakfast is served on top floor for Plat & up guests and had some fantastic views of the city. But their offerings were the same every single day. They also have some sparkling wine to make mimosa for breakfast.
One really positive note of this property is that it's ver, very close to currency exchange black market. About 4 minutes walk. Obviously you save a lot about 30%-50% savings changing your USD to Blue $, instead of using your credit card or taking money out of the ATM. BTW, taxi from airport to hotel is fixed priced 1000 ARS. So that's about 5USD.
There are a few negatives though. You only get compli water 2 bottles a day. Anything more than that, you have to pay.
Also, they have a weird restaurant setup for dinner. And they only have 1 restaurant open for guests on weekdays. First night, I decided to have dinner in the hotel. It was very, very empty. But when I went in, I was stopped by this server who said I cannot eat here. Everything is reserved because of a "concert".
I asked her then so where am I supposed to eat as a hotel guest? She said "I don't know". Obviously I complained to front desk and they immediately called the restaurant and apologized for the misunderstanding.
When I was in the the restaurant, that same server allowed local Argentines in. It just felt weird and off putting as a Non-white/Latin minority.
Finished my dinner and had 3 more alcoholic drinks (which were fantastic btw), and the place was still dead.
The "supposed" concert/live band after dinner
The "supposed" live band after dinner and 3 drinks
This was very off putting by that one waitress to an otherwise excellent stay. Anyways, if there was really a live band later that evening, they shouldn't have closed the entire night starting early evening. The rooftop restaurant is obviously by reservation only due to high demand (and is only open on weekends) . So where else are guests supposed to eat if they don't want room service.
Anyways... Everybody else here were great especially the front desk staff. They were all helpful and happy to come back.
Last edited by supatight80; Jul 10, 2022 at 7:34 pm