James Luckard

currently the Crowne Plaza, formerly the Holiday Inn
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/crownep...ss/hoteldetail
http://www.cpdcsilverspring.com/

8777 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 United States
T: (301) 563-3723

jdawg

Nice to see another SPG property in the DC area (especially excited to see the Hotel Palomar in Arlington switch to the Le Meriden) - as far as this property, of all the hotels in downtown Silver Spring, I feel this one has the worst location (maybe other than the Days Inn on the shady side of town that keeps getting drug busts). It's a few very long blocks from the Silver Spring metro station & shops/restaurants in the downtown Silver Spring area. If you're in DTSS on travel, I would recommend the Courtyard by Marriott - (though I am cringing advising others to stay at a Marriott).

money_opp

I am surprise to be flagged as Sheraton.. it's more like a Four Points quality.. the bathtub is extra-small size and window is very small.

stephem

Anyone stay here yet? Am considering for an upcoming visit...

EkekoBWI

I stayed here July 2012 (newly branded as Sheraton). I stayed under PAYAGE and for the summer promo bonus points while on business in Maryland.

To be honest, unless you have business at NIH / Walter Reed or a conference in the hotel, I would suggest going elsewhere. It's not too convenient to/from any airport and, frankly, not by anything exciting. These facts are reflected in its economical price, but still does not make it worthwhile with so many other (incl. Starwood) properties in/around DC. (FWIW, I'm a huge fan of Westin Arlington Gateway under PAYAGE.)

Granted, the hotel was ~2 weeks after its official transition to Starwood, but, considering 90% of the staff was retained (read: only new managers), I would have thought things would have been smoother.

Some examples, which, admittedly, may have subsequently been corrected in the interim:

--Valet and Managers absent: no one could find / locate them. It was comic. I ended up calling Starwood CSR, and they couldn't locate staff either.

--Front desk was having computer issues (finding bookings, associating bookings with SPG accounts, etc.) They were severely understaffed, making matters worse and check-in a 45-minute affair.

--No MAGC promo, or at least no one was aware of it. (OK, small point, but if you're chasing SPG points, you're giving away 500 points a night here. Picky, picky, I know...)

--Club Lounge: one of those long, narrow, hallway-type ones. Feels cramped like a CRJ. Hot food is fried, greasy, and repetitive. Staff working lounge, though, is friendly...and bored. I was one of only 3-4 people I saw there during my stay. Standard drinks in fridge. Rot gut wine available.

--There's an LA Fitness across the street, so I went to there vice the small hotel gym.

--Self-parking garage is tight and expensive. (Not the place to bring your Thrifty Crown Vic.)

So, I look forward to this place turning itself around, but you may want to give it some time to do so unless the bargain price is too much of a pull for you.

onlyforleisure

Be wary I posted this in a new thread but this hotel oversold and deleted my reservation to avoid having to walk me. They lied about the whole thing and claimed I never made a reservation, then when I gave them the confirmation number they said I cancelled it then when I told them that wasn't true they said it was a non guaranteed reservation because I didn't use a credit card. Bottom line Starwood confirmed they went into the system that afternoon and deleted my credit card information. The hotel still claims it was a simple mistake. Please avoid at all costs.

jb3t

Anyone got any updates?

jb3t

Stayed here 5 nights on business and the bottom line is I would definitely stay here again. Here's some details.

- Check-in... More than perfect. I had booked two rooms and received two upgrades to an executive and jr suite. Check in staff were very friendly and accommodating. I had 10 large boxes FedEx'ed to the hotel and woman checking me in knew about them. Then her and what looked to be the manager personally brought them out, had me look them over, and had them sent to my room. To my surprise, the guy was there with the boxes when I made it to my room 2 min later. Now that's service.

- Room... I had an executive suite which had a separate living area, large bedroom, and small bathroom. Though the layout was funky, it fit my needs perfectly. The TVs were bigger than most hotels. The bathroom in the suite was definitely a little tight.

I peeked in on the Jr Suite and it looked like an extra long room with bed, couch, and more room.

- Club Lounge... Was average but with a little work, could be well above average. Mornings had two hot plates (oatmeal & eggs), a few dry cereals, yogurt, a few bagels. Needed fruit, bread, more cereal. Evening had a hot plate (burger sliders, chx tenders, fried shrimp) and lots of fruit and cheese. It was missing crackers. Overall, not bad but could be better.

- Vibe... The hotel was pretty full. Lots of buzz in the lobby and people at the bar. I like that vibe.

- Location... It's in downtown Silver Springs. Surprisingly, SS's downtown is a hopping place. There's tons of restaurants, theaters, shopping, and bars. Ate downtown every night. Tons if choices and many people walking around.

- Parking... Included in my AAA rate. In a garage under the hotel. Not sure the regular price but there was plenty of street/municipal parking lot parking right by the hotel.

- Green Choice... They do participate.

- Overall... I liked it. Staff was great, location was good for me, surroundings were good. If I had to be to the north part of DC again, I would definitely stay here again. Good stay.

pewpew

Stayed here a few weeks ago; never got around to posting.

It straddles the line between a Sheraton and 4P. The rooms are quite large, although you have to be careful to pull the door closed behind you. My room had this musty smell to it. Lighting was a bit meh, and the shower only had one setting: hot.

The club lounge had some sliced fruits + fried chicken wontons (no sauce?) in the evening. Breakfast had oatmeal with brown sugar/sliced almonds/raisins/pecans, sliced fruit, croissants (one type), danishes (one type), and some other bread thing I can't recall. The mini-fridge in the lounge had milk (incl. soy milk), greek yogurt, regular yogurt.

On Saturdays after 6pm until Mondays at 9am, street parking is free. I parked overnight across the Street on Sat and didn't get ticketed

Overall, it's a decent property if you're looking for a cheap SPG option near DC, but I think I'd pick the Fairfax or Westin DC in the future if willing to fork out an extra $20-30 (and forgo a rental car).

moulder3

Totally agree with previous posters comments. In my mind, in no way is this hotel a Sheraton. In fact, I was shocked to read this thread and discover it has been a Sheraton for 3 years! Everything about this hotel screams Holiday Inn. There's only one tiny window in each room that rivals the size of what's offered in prisons. Each room has a loud to extremely loud (& old) window HVAC unit and the desk & light are 100% Holiday Inn (SPG never made them swap it out?!?). The club lounge is also a joke. A large plate of cheese, one slightly-above-room-temperature food & a mini dessert on plates are the 'apps' they have at night. For breakfast, it's a large plate of fruit, one hot offering & coffee. Oh, and the internet is terrible. Only one speed available (which is apparently throttled to a ridiculously-slow 1.5 meg/sec) and it costs $10.95 per day.

This hotel really drags down the Sheraton brand name...and the crazy thing is they allowed the hotel come into SPG like this (without significant renovations)--it's not like this is a legacy Sheraton hotel.

The only real advantage to this hotel is that on-street parking is free from 6pm-9am on weekdays, so guests can park there overnight for free. Unless this place has a $100+ difference from other hotels though, stay elsewhere!

factory81

So Hyatt Regency in Bethesda remains a better option than the Sheraton Silver Springs? Would you forego the MAGC + SPG Take Two points bonus - just to get qualifying nights at Hyatt?

I am debating on more points vs. what seems like a better hotel.

(I have stayed at the Hyatt Regency Bethesda before, it is okay, feels like it is straight out of the 80s/90s, but it is comfortable and works okay).

dcstudent

Are you wedded to staying in Montgomery County? My wife and I LOVE LOVE! the LeMeridien in Arlington. It's our go-to if we have a late dinner or symphony/show tickets and don't feel like driving home. It was a Kimpton and I've always been upgraded to either a Washington Monument or Georgetown View. Hotel Staff has always been excellent and it's only a block from the Rosslyn Metro (Silver, Orange, Blue lines). Rooms are comfortable and a good size. We have always booked revenue stays there but it goes for the same amount of points as the Silver Spring Sheraton - 10,000.

Sheraton Pentagon City is 7K points and we've never had a bad experience there. (We use it when we can't get into the LeM at a reasonable price) BUT, be warned, it requires a car or use of the hotel shuttle to get to the mall or subway (Blue, Yellow lines) as it is on the other side of I-395 from the mall and subway.

factory81

I need to be in Bethesda, so the Hyatt is more convenient, but the SPG double points are lucrative.

This is the next closest SPG hotel it seems

dcstudent

There's a new build (well not so new anymore but it was built as a Sheraton in the last decade) Sheraton in Rockville but you'll need a car to do anything as there is nothing near the hotel.

factory81

Yeah, I saw that one out there too.

I could almost pull off the Le Meridian DC, but it is such a drive out of DC.