jmgriffin

If you're interested in the full review with pictures etc, please check it out here: Weekend Blitz - Sheraton Roanoke Hotel & Conference Center

Sheraton Roanoke Hotel & Conference Center - Starwood Category 2
2801 Hershberger Road, Roanoke,Virginia 24017
Award Redemption: 4,000 pts OR 2,000 pts +$35
Normal rate: $139 avg, ranging from $119 – $154
Average Starpoints return: 5.2 cents/point (cash & points) – EXCELLENT

Check-in/lobby:

1st Stay: Booked Traditional, 2 Queens and “upgraded” to Club Floor, 2 Queens which is really only an upgrade by name only. Other than free bottled water, it means nothing at all.

2nd Stay: Booked Traditional King and asked for a Suite at check-in and was initially told that they didn”t have any, but was then told that it was being cleaned and that I could try back around 4pm if I wanted to wait. I was in no hurry so I said that was fine. Received an”Accessible suite: King Bed, Non-smoking, 714 sq ft / 66 m².”

Room: Both rooms I’ve stayed in, one in older, main tower, and the other in the secondary tower, have been newly remodeled Sheraton rooms.

1st Stay: Traditional, 2 Queens: Room was in great shape, no complaints at all.

2nd Stay: Accessible Suite: The suite was huge, beds comfortable and all around a better than the average Sheraton experience. Large living room with wet bar, sofa bed, 2 balconies and view overlooking airport.

Bathroom: Bathrooms, like the rooms, were in great shape. Just like any newly constructed or newly renovated Sheraton.

Gym: Gym is very big and nice, it was clean & fresh feeling with lots of natural light from the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Property: Indoor and outdoor pools. Sprawling campus. Really can’t say enough how nice it is. Seems to be older Mountain Lodge/Conference center recently turned into a Starwood property.

Restaurant: Shula’s 347 Grill is new, too — built about 2 years ago. Great food, I had the Salmon Special and ordered it medium. It arrived perfectly cooked and seasoned. I chose asparagus as the side, and it came with a great balsamic glaze drizzle. Simply steamed veggies. The craft beer list is nothing short of phenomenal. VERY well done for a hotel lobby restaurant.


If you're interested in the full review with pictures etc, please check it out here: Weekend Blitz - Sheraton Roanoke Hotel & Conference Center

dcstudent

Anyone have an idea of what's going on at the Sheraton Roanoke June 19-21? I can't get a room unless I do a Platinum Force (which I won't do because there are rooms available at almost every other hotel in Roanoke).

Has anyone ever had luck getting a room at a full hotel (at less than full Rack) by calling the hotel directly?

Thanks!

wharvey

This is the host hotel for the 2015 Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church being held those days.

CIT85

The only time I did a Plat force was at Westin Fort Lauderdale. Not only did I pay full rack rate, but also received no upgrade of any kind.

Cathay Boy

This is one dated and old hotel, their website claimed their rooms are renovated, but I guess renovations don't include new carpets and leather sofa. Here is my total experience:

Stayed there last week

Check-in: quick and friendly, nothing spectacular. Did not recognize me as Plat.

Room: got a decent size room but the carpet is full of stains. It is so dirty I don't dare to take my shoes off. This hotel allows pets so it makes me wonder if some of the stains are from them. There is a leather sofa in there that looks like it's been used at least 30 years, the leather's color is worn out from age and lots of teared pieces. The website claimed the rooms are renovated, but I guess renovation doesn't include new carpets.

Sound: There are doors for BOTH sides of the walls, first time I've seem a hotel room that is dual-connected. And I can hear EVERYTHING next door (both sides). Talking in normal indoor voice, TV volume, and at night giggy-witty.... forget about a quiet night of sleep...

Internet: they have this iBahn connection that has one problem, doesn't work! Calling Guest Services they actually gave me iBahn's tech support number and tell ME to call them for help. I was on the phone with them for an hour to get internet WiFi working... ridiculous.

There are so many hotels in the area, even as loyal SPG Plat I would never stay at this place again next time I'm in town (which is this week), I'm staying at DoubleTree instead.

lonelycrowd

Stayed here recently and was offered club lounge access as a lowly gold member. Decent breakfast with a few hot items. Front desk clerk indicated that the club is a standard benefit for golds here, though I suspect that visiting on a slow weekend may have been a factor...

TRRed

Given the post just before yours, how did you find the cleanliness etc of the rooms?

Thanks.

some dude

Not sure if this helps, but I spent one night here passing through on a road trip.

Got in late, and left early.

The property is obviously dated with a very strange layout, but for the purposes of a one-night stay on a road trip, it was certainly reasonable, and was certainly not the worst hotel of the trip.

abk

I have stayed here a number of times and I find the hotel perfectly pleasant. The lounge is fine and as long as they put you in that tower it is very convenient.
I really like the Shula' 347 Grill in the hotel and I'm not really a steakhouse guy.

NDDomer86

Currently staying here as I write this and the hotel continues to decline every single time that I am here. Tonight unfortunately will likely be my last until major changes are made by management.

Housekeeping just doesn't even try. I can overlook tired and worn rooms if they are kept clean, but that isn't the case here. There are pills, food, candy, and trash underneath the sofa (including right at the edge where it is clearly visible without even pulling the sofabed out. Additionally there is hair all over the bathroom floor and goop/smears all over furniture and the hardwood floor at the entryway.

I opened the balcony door to help cool the room down as the A/C here is pretty weak and could not get it back shut. I was able to use leg force to force it about halfway closed, but called for security to come help to see if we could get it to close completely (this is the last suite available or I would simply have asked to be moved).

He arrived at my door and banged loudly (instead of knocking). I opened it to a stumbling guy in security clothes eating a bag of SunChips and barely able to hold his eyes open. I explained the situation to him and he suggested that I stand on a chair (?!?). Between he and I giving a huge push to the door, we were able to get it to close to about a two inch gap and I put the security bar in place and pulled the drapes over it, but when assisting him in forcing the door shut, it was obvious that he was drunk as he reeked of alcohol. Any employee being drunk on the job is unacceptable, but particularly for a security guard.

Starwood Lurker IV

Hi NDDomer86

Thank you for sharing your stay experience with us.
Feel free to send us an email with your stay details if you wish to have any for follow-up on this matter.

We are here to help, always.


Kamal Taufiq
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Customer Contact Centre (AP) Pte Ltd
[email protected]

hts

Unfortunately I too had a negative experience with this property the first week of May. My first time to Roanoke and this is the only SPG game in town (yes, there are two Marriott properties as well). In my first room, the TV didn't work very well. Called down, maintenance was sent right up, fiddled with it for 10 mins before determining that he couldn't fix it and recommended I change rooms. I really just watch Fox News when I'm on the road (he couldn't get that channel to come in) but the Caps playoff game was on NBCSN that evening and that channel was also out.

Changed rooms and I couldn't get the AC to cool off. I sucked it up and spent the night in that room anyways thinking that maybe it just took awhile given the age of the property. Woke up the next morning in a sweat. Called down to the front desk and asked them to have someone look at the AC while I was out of the hotel at client mtgs. Got back to the room around 5p and it still wasn't cool in the room, so I called down again. Front desk clerk apologized that I hadn't been notified but yes, they had come by to look at it and determined that it couldn't be repaired (they had to order parts) and she suggested I change rooms again. So I did.

2 nights--3 rooms.

I will give them another shot as their management dealt fairly with me and my complaints. I expect to be back in Roanoke again in June and this is the only full-service Marriott/Starwood property that I'm aware of, but if we have a repeat performance, I won't hesitate to go to one of the lower tier Marriott options in town.

cs102

Stayed here last year while in Roanoke for a conference. Was definitely tired, the lounge amounted to little more than an empty room (I believe there was a fridge, but it was barely stocked), and the walk from the lobby to B elevators always smelled of some pretty heavy-duty cleaning chemicals. But, the coupons to Shula’s in lieu of the lounge made up for a lot of that, because they proved a great benefit.

This year, came back because it’s not exactly an area full of competition (a FF and CY in the SPG/Marriott category at this point). Lounge is re-operational, but it’s easily the chinciest attempt I’ve seen in a few years. One chicken/rice entree (that didn’t actually look that bad in evening hours)—and nothing else, though the fridge is actually stocked this year. Breakfast first featured getting chased down for a room number/last name, then a lecture on how to properly remove, then replace, the plastic wrap from the fruit/breads. The eggs (with the...bacon(?) completed the breakfast spread) were a special variety, with a good chance of being reheated from yesterday and definitely no effort put into minimizing the crystal-smooth surface of “poured out of the bag.”

And, no coupons, as a result, which means there’s little to find redeeming this year. For a bonus, the room 100% has had a recent dog stay, and I’m realizing the slightly-damp carpet was probably their effort at hiding that. It didn’t work.

I guess it’s the Courtyard next year.

chix

This property is so old & tired. They are about to changeover to another brand hotel in a few weeks as future bookings beyond November do not show. There’s white tape over all the Sheraton logos in the building. Everywhere from signage and phones in all the rooms.

My guess is that they do not meet standards for Marriott / SPG anymore.

Shula’s restaurant on site is changing names too.

dc2005b

No longer Marriott, now known as Blue Ridge Hotel & Conference Center