Sheraton East Hartford - Leaving Starwood 31 MAR 2011 [Master Thread]
Nov 12, 2009, 9:00 pm
#31
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: los angeles, ca
Programs: SPG-Plat, AA-Plat
Posts: 52
Just checked in....
This hotel is a dump.... couple reason
1. popcorn ceilings with black marks and cracks
2. Rust on most medal pieces
3. OLD
4. Window air conditioners (yes the one's that sound like jet taking off)
5. NO Sweet sleeper bed!
6. Dirty
7. Did I say it was OLD and rundown.......
1. popcorn ceilings with black marks and cracks
2. Rust on most medal pieces
3. OLD
4. Window air conditioners (yes the one's that sound like jet taking off)
5. NO Sweet sleeper bed!
6. Dirty
7. Did I say it was OLD and rundown.......
Nov 14, 2009, 9:01 am
#32
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 413
You know, I am really hesitant to complain about this property to Starwood corporate (though it is deserved). Remember, it is the only SPG prop in town - I am not counting the airport Sheraton of course. Complain away and it will be forced to revert back to whatever roach motel brand it used to be affiliated with.
This dump has us by the 8alls.
This dump has us by the 8alls.
Jan 13, 2010, 5:41 am
#33
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Madison, NJ
Programs: DL PM, Marriot Platinum
Posts: 2,560
I am currently staying at the East Hartford Sheraton and while it has gone through some obvious "rennovations" to the lobby and club floor, this place is subpar compared to other hotels in the brand. My room had no heat last night and the rooms are clearly dated. Hoping for a real "club" room tonight after being placed on what they called the "lower club level" (i.e. the SPG level). Staff is very nice, and management was very attentive.
Last edited by GoCanes; Jan 13, 2010 at 8:53 pm
Jan 13, 2010, 7:37 am
#34
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: From: PWM
Programs: United GS, Fairmont Platinum,SPG LTPlat, Hilton Diamond, MarriottGold..like the rest of the world
Posts: 4,401
I drove past this place about 3 weeks ago and I'm still wondering how it has remained a *wood hotel for all these years. It was a marginal Sheraton when it joined the fold a decade ago and hasn't improved since.
Oct 6, 2010, 2:29 pm
#35
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Nashville, TN
Posts: 492
I'm guessing this is still a pretty bad SPG property? I'm coming to Hartford and was looking at this hotel, or the Hilton Hartford.
Oct 6, 2010, 7:11 pm
#36
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: From: PWM
Programs: United GS, Fairmont Platinum,SPG LTPlat, Hilton Diamond, MarriottGold..like the rest of the world
Posts: 4,401
Amazingly enough, the Hilton downtown is what was FORMERLY the Sheraton Hartford! That hotel reflagged over to Hilton maybe 12-15 years ago.
Oct 6, 2010, 8:51 pm
#38
Moderator, Marriott Bonvoy & FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: McKinney, TX, USA
Programs: United Silver; AA Plat/2MM; Marriott LT Titanium; Hilton Gold
Posts: 11,727
Feb 10, 2011, 8:06 am
#39
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 7
A black mark on the Sheraton franchise
I've had the unfortunate displeasure of being staffed on a project in downtown Hartford for the past 14 months. Over that time I've spent some of my time (around 40 stays, one to three nights each) at the East Hartford Sheraton. Had it not been the only SPG option in the near area (I don't consider a 25 minute drive to Bradley Airport a viable alternative, especially with Hartford AM traffic) I probably never would have returned after the first stay.
The hotel is aging and not particularly gracefully. The rooms are dark, look dated, and the bedding appears to be the sweet sleeper bed circa 1995 or so. It's difficult to get the heat/AC to play nice and give you the temperature anywhere near what you want. The internet is pathetically slow, albeit a small step up from the nicer downtown Marriott across the river. The gym is fairly small and the treadmills highly coveted. The lounge is alright I suppose, and the woman who works there friendly, although it's a bit of cramped experience. The front desk staff isn't anything special, other than the friendly girl who works there early weekday evenings. You'd think with the other deficiencies of the hotel, service would be a bigger priority.
Over my 40 stays I have not been upgraded into anything other than a standard room once, despite having Plat status. I'm not even sure there are rooms to be upgraded into other than the Governor's Suite on the 7th floor.
What I have had happen to me twice now is that I've been walked from the hotel. Once during a golf tournament where I walked in after a long day of work at 11p to find I had no room, nor were there any rooms at the two hotels nearby that I could walk to (I had no car). The best solution offered was to buy me a cab to a hotel in Manchester without any provided transportation back to Hartford in the morning. I chose instead to sleep on the pull out couch of a coworker, with only 6 hours left before I had to be up again for work the next day. An email to the GM of the hotel netted me an offer of 5k points and better service in the future, an incredibly weak offer considering the circumstances.
I never saw any of that better service in the 16 stays I made after that incident. Last night, however, I was walked a second time, despite the GM telling me that they'd have new policies in place to make sure it didn't happen. I even called the front desk earlier in the evening to confirm I'd still have a room when I got there later and was told it would be okay. When I arrived a number of other guests were all getting walked as well. How in the world does this hotel overbook so badly anyway? The front desk girl attempted to put me in a lounge/meeting room with a rollaway bed - I declined this laughable option. At least this time the nearby Hampton Inn had rooms, and I enjoyed the stay there enough to consider it as an option for my future stays in lieu of the Sheraton. I haven't heard back from the GM yet but can't imagine him doing anything sufficient enough to earn my business back.
With great regret, I've canceled all my future stays at this hotel and in doing so might be jeopardizing my Platinum status for 2012 (unless I get moved to a project in a different city). As long as I'm working in Hartford I won't consider returning to this Sheraton. The hotel drags down the SPG brand to begin with, and on top of that is incapable of managing their capacity and treating their best customers well. Unless you like rolling the dice every time you check into a hotel (and winning the roll means you're still stuck at this crappy hotel), do your best to avoid this one as well. The downtown Marriott, Hampton Inn, and Hilton would all be better options in this poster's opinion.
The hotel is aging and not particularly gracefully. The rooms are dark, look dated, and the bedding appears to be the sweet sleeper bed circa 1995 or so. It's difficult to get the heat/AC to play nice and give you the temperature anywhere near what you want. The internet is pathetically slow, albeit a small step up from the nicer downtown Marriott across the river. The gym is fairly small and the treadmills highly coveted. The lounge is alright I suppose, and the woman who works there friendly, although it's a bit of cramped experience. The front desk staff isn't anything special, other than the friendly girl who works there early weekday evenings. You'd think with the other deficiencies of the hotel, service would be a bigger priority.
Over my 40 stays I have not been upgraded into anything other than a standard room once, despite having Plat status. I'm not even sure there are rooms to be upgraded into other than the Governor's Suite on the 7th floor.
What I have had happen to me twice now is that I've been walked from the hotel. Once during a golf tournament where I walked in after a long day of work at 11p to find I had no room, nor were there any rooms at the two hotels nearby that I could walk to (I had no car). The best solution offered was to buy me a cab to a hotel in Manchester without any provided transportation back to Hartford in the morning. I chose instead to sleep on the pull out couch of a coworker, with only 6 hours left before I had to be up again for work the next day. An email to the GM of the hotel netted me an offer of 5k points and better service in the future, an incredibly weak offer considering the circumstances.
I never saw any of that better service in the 16 stays I made after that incident. Last night, however, I was walked a second time, despite the GM telling me that they'd have new policies in place to make sure it didn't happen. I even called the front desk earlier in the evening to confirm I'd still have a room when I got there later and was told it would be okay. When I arrived a number of other guests were all getting walked as well. How in the world does this hotel overbook so badly anyway? The front desk girl attempted to put me in a lounge/meeting room with a rollaway bed - I declined this laughable option. At least this time the nearby Hampton Inn had rooms, and I enjoyed the stay there enough to consider it as an option for my future stays in lieu of the Sheraton. I haven't heard back from the GM yet but can't imagine him doing anything sufficient enough to earn my business back.
With great regret, I've canceled all my future stays at this hotel and in doing so might be jeopardizing my Platinum status for 2012 (unless I get moved to a project in a different city). As long as I'm working in Hartford I won't consider returning to this Sheraton. The hotel drags down the SPG brand to begin with, and on top of that is incapable of managing their capacity and treating their best customers well. Unless you like rolling the dice every time you check into a hotel (and winning the roll means you're still stuck at this crappy hotel), do your best to avoid this one as well. The downtown Marriott, Hampton Inn, and Hilton would all be better options in this poster's opinion.
Feb 10, 2011, 9:44 am
#40
Join Date: Dec 2010
Programs: spg gold, CO Platinum, MR Gold
Posts: 619
I've had the unfortunate displeasure of being staffed on a project in downtown Hartford for the past 14 months. Over that time I've spent some of my time (around 40 stays, one to three nights each) at the East Hartford Sheraton. Had it not been the only SPG option in the near area (I don't consider a 25 minute drive to Bradley Airport a viable alternative, especially with Hartford AM traffic) I probably never would have returned after the first stay.
The hotel is aging and not particularly gracefully. The rooms are dark, look dated, and the bedding appears to be the sweet sleeper bed circa 1995 or so. It's difficult to get the heat/AC to play nice and give you the temperature anywhere near what you want. The internet is pathetically slow, albeit a small step up from the nicer downtown Marriott across the river. The gym is fairly small and the treadmills highly coveted. The lounge is alright I suppose, and the woman who works there friendly, although it's a bit of cramped experience. The front desk staff isn't anything special, other than the friendly girl who works there early weekday evenings. You'd think with the other deficiencies of the hotel, service would be a bigger priority.
Over my 40 stays I have not been upgraded into anything other than a standard room once, despite having Plat status. I'm not even sure there are rooms to be upgraded into other than the Governor's Suite on the 7th floor.
What I have had happen to me twice now is that I've been walked from the hotel. Once during a golf tournament where I walked in after a long day of work at 11p to find I had no room, nor were there any rooms at the two hotels nearby that I could walk to (I had no car). The best solution offered was to buy me a cab to a hotel in Manchester without any provided transportation back to Hartford in the morning. I chose instead to sleep on the pull out couch of a coworker, with only 6 hours left before I had to be up again for work the next day. An email to the GM of the hotel netted me an offer of 5k points and better service in the future, an incredibly weak offer considering the circumstances.
I never saw any of that better service in the 16 stays I made after that incident. Last night, however, I was walked a second time, despite the GM telling me that they'd have new policies in place to make sure it didn't happen. I even called the front desk earlier in the evening to confirm I'd still have a room when I got there later and was told it would be okay. When I arrived a number of other guests were all getting walked as well. How in the world does this hotel overbook so badly anyway? The front desk girl attempted to put me in a lounge/meeting room with a rollaway bed - I declined this laughable option. At least this time the nearby Hampton Inn had rooms, and I enjoyed the stay there enough to consider it as an option for my future stays in lieu of the Sheraton. I haven't heard back from the GM yet but can't imagine him doing anything sufficient enough to earn my business back.
With great regret, I've canceled all my future stays at this hotel and in doing so might be jeopardizing my Platinum status for 2012 (unless I get moved to a project in a different city). As long as I'm working in Hartford I won't consider returning to this Sheraton. The hotel drags down the SPG brand to begin with, and on top of that is incapable of managing their capacity and treating their best customers well. Unless you like rolling the dice every time you check into a hotel (and winning the roll means you're still stuck at this crappy hotel), do your best to avoid this one as well. The downtown Marriott, Hampton Inn, and Hilton would all be better options in this poster's opinion.
The hotel is aging and not particularly gracefully. The rooms are dark, look dated, and the bedding appears to be the sweet sleeper bed circa 1995 or so. It's difficult to get the heat/AC to play nice and give you the temperature anywhere near what you want. The internet is pathetically slow, albeit a small step up from the nicer downtown Marriott across the river. The gym is fairly small and the treadmills highly coveted. The lounge is alright I suppose, and the woman who works there friendly, although it's a bit of cramped experience. The front desk staff isn't anything special, other than the friendly girl who works there early weekday evenings. You'd think with the other deficiencies of the hotel, service would be a bigger priority.
Over my 40 stays I have not been upgraded into anything other than a standard room once, despite having Plat status. I'm not even sure there are rooms to be upgraded into other than the Governor's Suite on the 7th floor.
What I have had happen to me twice now is that I've been walked from the hotel. Once during a golf tournament where I walked in after a long day of work at 11p to find I had no room, nor were there any rooms at the two hotels nearby that I could walk to (I had no car). The best solution offered was to buy me a cab to a hotel in Manchester without any provided transportation back to Hartford in the morning. I chose instead to sleep on the pull out couch of a coworker, with only 6 hours left before I had to be up again for work the next day. An email to the GM of the hotel netted me an offer of 5k points and better service in the future, an incredibly weak offer considering the circumstances.
I never saw any of that better service in the 16 stays I made after that incident. Last night, however, I was walked a second time, despite the GM telling me that they'd have new policies in place to make sure it didn't happen. I even called the front desk earlier in the evening to confirm I'd still have a room when I got there later and was told it would be okay. When I arrived a number of other guests were all getting walked as well. How in the world does this hotel overbook so badly anyway? The front desk girl attempted to put me in a lounge/meeting room with a rollaway bed - I declined this laughable option. At least this time the nearby Hampton Inn had rooms, and I enjoyed the stay there enough to consider it as an option for my future stays in lieu of the Sheraton. I haven't heard back from the GM yet but can't imagine him doing anything sufficient enough to earn my business back.
With great regret, I've canceled all my future stays at this hotel and in doing so might be jeopardizing my Platinum status for 2012 (unless I get moved to a project in a different city). As long as I'm working in Hartford I won't consider returning to this Sheraton. The hotel drags down the SPG brand to begin with, and on top of that is incapable of managing their capacity and treating their best customers well. Unless you like rolling the dice every time you check into a hotel (and winning the roll means you're still stuck at this crappy hotel), do your best to avoid this one as well. The downtown Marriott, Hampton Inn, and Hilton would all be better options in this poster's opinion.
Feb 10, 2011, 10:13 am
#41
Join Date: May 2006
Programs: Starwood Lifetime Platinum; Hilton HHonors Gold; United Premier Gold
Posts: 263
Everything Madcow256 says about this place smacks of the hard core truth. I've stayed here twice in the last 2 years, and each stay was simply dreadful, among the worst *wood experiences I've had in the last 20 years.
It's amazing to me that *wood corporate doesn't take some sort of action wrt this place, it's not as if they don't know it doesn't even come close to meeting normal standards.
It's amazing to me that *wood corporate doesn't take some sort of action wrt this place, it's not as if they don't know it doesn't even come close to meeting normal standards.
Feb 10, 2011, 11:04 am
#43
Company Representative - Starwood
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Austin, Texas
Programs: Marriott Employee Level
Posts: 31,593
[email protected]
My apologies for the poor stay experiences at this hotel.
Best regards,
William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
[email protected]
Feb 10, 2011, 11:18 am
#44
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 7
I would start here:
[email protected]
My apologies for the poor stay experiences at this hotel.
Best regards,
William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
[email protected]
[email protected]
My apologies for the poor stay experiences at this hotel.
Best regards,
William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
[email protected]
Feb 13, 2011, 9:16 pm
#45
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: York, PA
Programs: MRSPG LT Tit, HH Diamond, Hertz Pres.
Posts: 1,737
This is my least favorite property.
I have stayed here 4 times in the last 2 years.
Summer of 2010, heat wave, could not get the room below 82' degrees.
One time a bracket broke on the headboard and fell on me. A measly 5k points despite an injury.
I was here just last Thursday. I received an email from the GM cautiously making sure there were no problems. Finally a decent stay with no issue in the 10 hours I was there
I have stayed here 4 times in the last 2 years.
Summer of 2010, heat wave, could not get the room below 82' degrees.
One time a bracket broke on the headboard and fell on me. A measly 5k points despite an injury.
I was here just last Thursday. I received an email from the GM cautiously making sure there were no problems. Finally a decent stay with no issue in the 10 hours I was there