More of the same
 

This is such a strange hotel. I've had several stays here in the past year or so, with the latest being last week.

The Hotel is similar to others in AC, as it has 600+ rooms. There are few if any suites and the SPG floor is the 14th,15th and 16th. The club access is only for people with room keys on Floor 15 or 16. The lounge is a open area (no room key required, there is not even a door) with sandwiches, drinks, a hot dish, and fruit/granola bars. I wasn't there for breakfast but would assume it be a assortment of basic cold cereals, granola/fruit bars, and a hot dish or 2. The way they keep the rifraf out is by requiring a room key in the elevator slot to get to the 15th and 16th floor. The Lounge is on 16.

The rooms are basic tired Sheraton rooms. I have always had a sweet sleeper bed, and the beds are comfortable. They carry a free US Today and WSJ, but only the US Today is in the stand near the elevators. You need to go to the front desk to get the WSJ (its in a pile on the side near the Valet).

I have never seen anyone complain about bed bugs although several ppl on TripAdvisor say they were bitten. The rooms were comfortable with a flat screen TV with good reception, 2 free bottles of water (sponsored by Poland Spring, although the actual bottled water was Nestle, which I found funny). There is a table with a lamp that is quite large if you need to work. Unfortunately, I am not SPG Plat so my internet was not free. They charge $10 a day for internet either via wire or wifi. The good news is that they have a "Link by Microsoft" on the second floor which has a wifi signal that is free for 1 hour a day that is available either through the 3 computers provided or your own device. Be warned that they do not tell you when the hour is up and they charge extra for additional time. You enter your last name and room number when you log in for the free hour. I found the internet connection fast enough for basic internet use. I didn't use the fitness center but it is open 24 hours a day.

They participate in the decline housekeeping for 500 points or a free $5 food/drink voucher. I was impressed in how they operate this program. In the morning, they take the sign you put on your door, and slip the sign and a $5 voucher under the door, no asking required. I would recommend going to the FD and exchanging the voucher if you want the points. I have had those points post promptly. The FD is usually helpful (I got access to club lounge as a SPG Gold when I asked for it for a 1 night stay last year).

There a few basic issues that can be incredibly annoying to a guest. The first is the thin walls. You can hear a person talking in the halls, in the room next door, room above you, etc. I heard the toilet from next door flush. Also if you have a room near the ice machine, it can get loud from both guests filling up and the basic machine noise. The second issue is parking/location. Parking in casinos is usually $5-10, at the sheraton its $14 self park and $20 valet. The hotel is located in a strange location, right outside the outlet shopping ("The Walk") and a 10 minute walk to the Boardwalk. The neighborhood is safe but very deserted at night. For a C&P stay on a weekend, this is a great hotel. For a midweek stay, I would look into the cheaper casino hotels. But beware that many casinos have a cheap rate for their older towers which are much worse than the Sheraton. Some Casinos also charge resort fees.

Stayed at this hotel last week for a one night stay and I agree with a lot of the points that littlemookie makes.

We booked a one night stay on their Shopping Package rate for $99 as it included free parking and was $40 cheaper than any of their other rates. I noticed prior to check-in that the room wasn't showing as upgraded, but was told at check-in in the evening that we had been upgraded to 'a great room with a superb view' as a Platinum guest. Had to ask for a new parking pass and for the shopping package information as it wasn't offered up. I was chatting with the check-in agent and she told me that the hotel was very quiet as it was a Thursday night, but it would be busy the day after with the start of the Memorial Day weekend.

We head up to the room and it is a standard Traditional room as we booked, but on the SPG 14th floor. The 'superb view' was a view of the convention centre. It's a large building, but I'm not sure I'd consider it to be something to stand and stare at from a hotel window!

There were 10 minutes of evening drinks and snacks to be had in the lounge, so we decided to force ourselves away from the view and head up to the lounge. Well we tried to, but the room keys hadn't been coded to access to the Club Floors. So down to reception we go, where the one agent was dealing with a guest wanting directions to various things. We had to wait 5 minutes before we were seen. I mentioned the issue with the key and was told that we didn't have access to the Club Lounge. I queried this and she headed to the back to speak to someone for a couple of minutes and told me that I did indeed have access. By this time we'd hit the end of drinks, so I asked if there would still be any drinks out and she called up and they confirmed that everything was packed away. I asked if they would be willing to let us have a soft drink in the bar instead. Again she headed to the back and came back to tell us that we couldn't, but there were vending machines we could use if we were thirsty. Great customer service in action :rolleyes:


As the hotel were being pretty unhelpful, I thought I'd push them on the lack of upgrade. They confirmed it was the best room available. I asked why there were Deluxe Rooms, Club Rooms and Studio Suites showing on SPG.com. I wasn't particular bothered about an upgrade as it was a short stay, but as they were being unhelpful and there was nobody waiting for service, I figured I'd push them to see what they said. The agent again headed to the back room for another conversation. It was beginning to feel like I was dealing with the banker on Deal or No Deal, but without the clarity of information :p

2 minutes later the agent was back again and told me that my rate wasn't eligible for an upgrade as it was a promotional rate, but they would do me a favour and put us in a Club Room. I asked her to show me where it mentions that the rate was ineligible for an upgrade as it wasn't in the rate description. She couldn't answer that, so changed the conversation to ask if we needed help with directions anywhere. It wasn't worth taking it any further, but it was disappointing that the hotel was deciding on the fly that a rate wasn't eligible for an upgrade, even when it is.

As for the room itself, this had a decent view over the Boardwalk Hotels and the sea, but it was pretty tired. The bed was comfortable and the aircon worked well. It was noisy though with thin walls and gaps under the door meaning that you could any noise from the corridor. The free internet was quick, but this may have been more of a result of the lack of guests at the hotel rather than the quality of the service.

We found the location to be ok as we visited the shops at the Outlet the following morning. The walk to the Boardwalk was a nice enough stroll for us as well. Parking was easy as the car park had only a handful of spaces in use during our stay. I wouldn't have been happy to pay $14 for parking though as the prices are out of line with other hotels in the area.

We quite enjoyed Atlantic City, but if we came back I think we would definitely look to stay elsewhere as the hotel needs to renovate the rooms and I didn't appreciate their game playing with the upgrades.

We stayed at Sheraton in Atlantic City almost two months ago. When we first checked in, it smelled a little mold in the bathroom and the rest of the room. It's not the smell you would expect when you walk into the room. I was surprised then we went back to the front desk to complain about the smell. They assigned us to another room. We stayed there two nights and we didn't know the walls were thin when you could hear someone else laughing and TV sound next door. The front desk were very nice when they gave us a four small glass of wine and 3,000 points. Bottom line is we will not stay there again when we visit Atlantic City later this summer. The front desk said it's common to hear loud people during the weekends. I have been told don't walk to the casinos at night from Sheraton or on the way back.

Really a lame hotel overall.

Was "upgraded" to a Conference Suite, which is really a single-room oversized corner with a MURPHY! queen bed and a huge conference table. The hilarity of a murphy bed and the awkward layout were enough for us to go back to the front desk and ask for a standard king room, instead.

Rooms are tired, with dirty, patchy carpet, peeling wallpaper in the bathrooms, and as others have mentioned, paper thin walls. It's a shame, because it could be a standout in a city of such crappy hotels (most of the casinos), but in reality, it's yet another bottom of the barrel Sheraton long overdue for a remodel.

Does anyone have any updates for this hotel? Thinking of spending 7,000 points instead of $300/night for AC during Memorial Day weekend, just planning to spend 1 night, will be there for a music show.

Thank you,

PedroNY

I got this same thing and we couldn't stop laughing. Like you, we rejected it and switched to a regular King room.

Seriously, this hotel does NOT belong in the Starwood line, period. It's an embarrassment.

No updates except I don't think you'll find a better deal in AC than 7,000 points on a holiday weekend.

Sheraton AC worth 7000 points? (instead of $300)
 

So is it worth the 7000?
Do Gold's get upgrade to the Club rooms? I thought I saw one Gold say that they did but I think it was a while ago.

PS Any tips for staying at this hotel would be welcome!!! I don't have points to use, but it seems the best option for my November stay in AC due to location and amenities.

We stay at this hotel 3-4 times a year. Staff is nice, concierges are great, club lounge is more than adequate. It is a seashore property and the salt air takes its toll, but is generally well maintained. Lots of complaints about this property, but IMO I do not feel they are warranted. Only tip is to ask for a high floor as the AC Expy is right below and sometimes traffic is noisy. Also nice ocean views from high floors.

Going this weekend, any idea what the plat breakfast is?

Can you use points for one weekend night? It looks you can't (2 night minimum?), but I'm wondering if anyone has had luck?

It depends on the weekend and occupancy...in my experience, they usually have 2-night minimums for peak season weekends but sometimes drop them closer to the date if they aren't close to full.

I've stayed a Saturday night just on points. Last month, I was upgraded to an enormous, recently remodeled suite. I think it was the presidential. The breakfast is standard fare for a Sheraton club lounge. The hotel is very close to the casinos and shopping.

Any updates since Sandy? Everything in working order?