Merriweather Lakehouse, Autograph Collection, Columbia, MD [Master Thread]
 

Just wanted to report about this property and my stay there:

Great property, very nice near a lake of some sort (Didn't get a room with a view, so could not see it). Also near the Columbia Mall which is very nice and convenient. Rooms were nice and the hotel was very well kept, no surprise from *wood. However, there was a huge billing problem. Took forever for them to figure out that I deserved a refund, then even more time for them to determine they were able to give me a refund, but finally when all was said and done, the refund was given. Overall, the property was superb, and for the $75/night I paid, it was worth every penny.

Long Live the Sweet Sleeper!

Kudos to Sheraton Columbia (MD)
 

I'm posting from my room at the Sheraton Columbia (MD). While I'm one of those who in the past found something to complain about no matter what property I was at, I've been getting much better about only focusing on things that are real issues, and that something should be done about.

A minor issue popped up this morning in relation to a wake-up call rousting me 2 hours before I planned to wake up -- I'd never requested it. I let the front desk know that somehow I'd gotten a mistaken wake-up call, and asked them to just look into it to be sure I wouldn't get another one tomorrow, and to be sure they took care of whoever was *supposed* to get it.

When I returned to the hotel this evening, I checked at the front desk -- they had no knowledge of the problem, but again promised to look into it.

15 minutes later, I was visited (after a call to be sure I was open to visitors) by the hotel's Customer Relations Manager. He very politely apologized for the problem, discussed a solution that involves changing procedures to prevent other guests from being inconvenienced (which is, to me, the ultimate goal in reporting problems like these when at a hotel), and offered a token amount of points for the trouble. I obviously appreciate the points, but more importantly I appreciate him taking the time to address the issue the way he did.

Before he left, I also had him wait while I turned on all of the lights in the room in order to demonstrate that no matter how many lights were on, half the room would always be dark; There were no outlets anywhere on one side of the room, meaning no lamps could be plugged in, meaning it was dark (to the extent that were two people sharing the king bed, the person on one side would never be able to read in bed). He indicated that the owners were making plans for renovation within the next couple years, and that he would look into an intermediate solution until then and ensure that they were made aware of the need for additional lighting and outlets (I had to move the clock radio to the desk in order to plug the laptop in next to the bed) throughout the rooms.

Ultimately, where some might look at this situation and complain about the various issues and try to figure out how much compensation they ought to be looking for (yeah, I know, I got some compensation whether I asked for it or not), I'm pleased to recommend the property based on how they took care of the issues once they were aware of them.

Just thought I'd share the experience for anyone else staying in the area... I will be sharing the information with the hotel GM by letter as well.

Thumbs Down!!
 

Just completed a stay here. Definitely the poorest Sheraton I've stayed in. Brown stains on my shower curtain, shower rod was covered in rust. Toilet ran all night. Older HVAC units are very loud in the room.

New bed linens don't make a room "new" again.

I couldn't find an e-mail address for the hotel GM, so I wrote a note on SPG.com. As much as I'm trying to make a run for Plat, I doubt I'd stay here again.

Sheraton Columbia (MD) Renovations Underway
 

The Sheraton Columbia Hotel in Columbia, MD is currently undergoing a $12 Million Renovation. They are just completing the "Inn" area, and will start on the Tower shortly.

Highlights:

Guestrooms
- Renewed stylishly designed guestrooms and refurbished bathrooms
- Sweet Sleeper Beds
- 32" Flat Screen LCD TVs
- Go Green Air Conditioning with individual controls
- Shine by Bliss Bath Line
- Starbucks in-room coffee with one cup coffee maker

Corridors
- New carpet and lighting

Fitness Center
- New state-of-the-art Fitness Center

Club Lounge
- Enhanced Starwood Club Lounge

Lobby
- Comfortable and inviting location to unwind, network, and connect
- New cutting edge Microsoft Link @ Sheraton providing complimentary hi-speed WiFi access

Meeting Rooms
- Renewed Lakefront Ballrooms
- Executive Boardroom overlooking the lake

Restaurant
- Addition of private dining room
- Seasonal dining on lakefront patio with fire pits and casual seating

Lounge
- New Park Lounge theme with panoramic view of lake

Staying here tonight- so far so good.

Briefly:

Check In-
Very fast with status recognition and offering of points. I booked a Club Level room; was pre-booked into a corner room (see below) not on the Club Level (great room, fulfilled my location request even though not on the Club floor). Friendly front desk staff.

Room-
My room ends in x07 and is on a high floor. The x07 rooms seem to be largest based on the fire escape plan and also have a very nice curved wall of windows overlooking the small lake adjacent to the property. The TV is in an inconvenient position relative to the bed but this is because the bed is close to the curved wall of windows (its about 1/4 of a circle). The room has two in-wall AC units, which are ok. The bathroom is very small for a room of this size, and in general. Usual Bliss amenities. Had the pleasant experience of some large flying beetle-like insects in the room.

Club Lounge-
Hors d'oeuvres served 6p-8p; on my night they had baked brie, spring rolls, and some sort of chicken wrapped in pastry. Also had a cheese/vegetable plate and a plate of cookies. The drinks were very limited- coke/diet, ginger ale, and bottled water. Apparently Tuesday night is the 'manager's reception' which has free beer/wine. The lounge attendant is a very interesting character- had lots of visitors who seemed to know him well and it sounded like he was setting up SPG reservations for a good deal of people at other properties (he did have chef's shirt that had his name and the title 'concierge' on it).

Restaurant- TBD
Gym-TBD

Seeking updated reviews of Sheraton Columbia
 

Any reviews of this property in the last year?

how's the club lounge?
gym?
anything else?

I'll be there in 2 weeks

and I am looking at it for 4/18, 1 night

and

5/2 2 nights

From reading the earlier posts, it sounds like you should get ready for some Baked Brie!

see you there ;)

Me too (4/18 for a couple of nights)

Drinks next week anyone???

5/16/2011...

As I write this, I am sitting in the Club Lounge chuckling at the comment made by a previous poster in relation to the club lounge attendant. The same guy is here. He's a character... singing the disco song "I'm Coming Out" under his breath. He is carrying a decent tune and seems to keep the place in ship shape.

For food in the club lounge are chicken tenders, cheese sticks, and burger sliders. Also, cereal bars, cheeses, veggies, cookies, etc. I would not call the club lounge huge and luxurious but rather cozy and comfy.

As for other notes.

1. Checkin was flawless, recognized, and got points.

2. Put on 9th floor in a normal room. There does not seems to be suites here. Just a few larger corner rooms. However, the room is fine. Nice, clean, well appointed, and comfy.

3. Lobby looks good, comfy, have a bar and a restaurant. Cant comment on either as I always eat out when staying at hotels.

4. Area looks good. Parking was good. I plan to take a long walk tonight and seems like a nice area to do it.

5. Breakfast was good in Club Lounge. Fruit, a hot item, oat meal, the usual.

6. I took a long walk and was pleasantly surprised with the area. There's a cool walking trail around the lake. There's also quite a few restaurants on the water right next to the hotel. It's a little board walk. There's a big mall across the street with lots of outdoor cafes near by.

7. The Tower part of the hotel is pretty small. Maybe 15 rooms a floor. But there is this big annex part of the hotel that seems to go on for 1/4 mile. Looks like an older section but the gym and pool are in there and they look fine.

Overall... I will stay here again. Great location. Good service. Rooms are not huge but the hotel is in good shape.

any recent updates to report on this property after May 2011?

Yes.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/17066924-post280.html

Hotel is switching brands within Marriott's umbrella:

Was: Sheraton Columbia Town Center

Will be: Merriweather Lakehouse, Autograph Collection

Spent a few minutes and found a few shots of this property from a stay in October 2019 - room that I had in the tower was ok, tower itself had a number of features that were literally falling apart. And don't get me started on how poorly other parts of the property were being maintained - or really let to rot.

Let's see what this hotel offers after it opens after the remodel and rebranding - Marriott's website is currently saying August 2021.

David