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Recently I had a short stay in the Sheraton Essen. We were pleasantly surprised to be welcomed by the manager and assistant to the manager. Mrs. Kittel and a receptionist escorted us to our suite. It was a very large suite and could have been a kind of conference room.
The suite offered a bedroom, with flatsquare tv (Philips) a desk, a minibar and espresso coffeemaker. I did not notice the Sheraton Sweet Sleeper. However the bed appeared to be very romantic since, above the bed was a canopy with stars.
I was told within three months the suites would offer the Sheraton Sweet Sleeper. It’s a favorite Starwood bed of mine.
Next to the bedroom was a bathroom with bathtub. It offered a large tub and the standard Sheraton bathamenities. A lot marble here and according to the manager the bathroom would be renovated. I always prefer upgraded bathamenities in a suite.

The livingroom was very large, with a couch, two chairs, a very large Philips flatsquare tv with an incredible sound, a diningtable. In the former tv cabinet an espresso coffeemaker was placed, this location is practical but not very fancy.
The suite offered a desk, one extra bathroom with bathtub and a extra bathroom with toilet.

We felt welcome by the generous and friendly attitude of the personnel. Everywhere we noticed beautiful flowers and flowerarrangements in the suite. From this suite one has a nice view of the park, located behind the hotel.

We were escorted to the Clublounge. Though the lounge is large, the visual impression is a feeling of smallness as a result of the many different small rooms: a small modern kitchen with a delicious buffet, with high tables and seats, another room with comfy low seating, high seating and a large flatsquare tv, and even another room with some pc’s. We did enjoy the Club in the evening, with a wide selection of cold&hot snacks, alcoholic drinks, wine, cold soft drinks and even delicious soup! The butler in the Club was very friendly and came frequently to the Clublounge to see if everything was all right.

We had a coffee and Schwartzwalder Kirsch torte ( Blackberrie cake) in the afternoon, while sitting on the terrace. We enjoyed the view of the park and the friendly and professional service.
Since the weather was really nice we took the dinner and breakfast on the terrace. I always like to eat outside if possible.
For dinner we had a small barbecue with only one choice of meat or fish. It was served with delicious sidedishes. I was pleased to have my favorite wine, the Marques de Riscal with my dinner. Service was ok and very friendly.
Our breakfast experience was nice, what can you wish for when having this on a terrace with such a beautiful view. Service was friendly and professional.
It was very refreshing we were offered a mangojuice instead of the usual orangejuice, for me a feast since I am allergic to orangejuice and love mango. The mangojuice appeared too sweet for me and when mixed with some water it was delicious.
The buffet itself was rather limited and my friend noticed a lack of information in English of the breakfastproducts. Since the waiter could not explain her in English it became for her a difficult situation since she cannot eat different kind of food.

I did not notice a menu for hot dishes, like scrumbled eggs. I did ask and I was served a plate with delicious eggs. It was well prepared. When my friend ordered her scrambled eggs since she liked mine, the eggs were not well prepared and she was rather disappointed, it was not well baked. So this dish may be variable in taste.

The restaurant offers only one door on the wrong side of the buffet / kitchen, the waiters have to walk far from the terrace to the kitchen. But it’s the same for the guests. It would be more practical to make a door on the other side of the restaurant with entrance to the terrace.

We noticed a waitress with “two faces”, after I asked for something to change. My friend arrived passed by from the buffet and heard the woman complain concerning my question. I guess its better to do this behind closed doors and not when facing other guest. The best is ofcourse to tell the guest himself , so me(!) if personnel does not like the question asked.

We liked the modern and warm interior of the restaurant very much. It seemed different from the overall interior of the hotel.

The fitnessroom was a big disappointment, much too small and it felt cramped. We had planned to do some workout but refrained when we noticed this room. The painted wall did not fit in the interior of a 5*hotel in our opinion.

We did have a look in a regular room and a different kind of suite. The regular room was cozy and offered a “homy’feeling, despite it looked a little outdated. The suite was smaller compared to our suite and was very, very classic. It seemed all the suites did not have a view of the park, which I regret.

Overall we experienced the personnel and staff, especially the reception, as friendly, warm, professional and ready to take the extra step to meet the expectations of the guest. We felt at home in this Starwood hotel. Sheraton is more or less “our” brand since our first stay in a Starwoodhotel was many years ago in the Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur.

Will we come back? No doubt about it. Even more when the hotel is offering the Sweet Sleeper beds and has renovated the rooms/suites!

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