Sheraton Raleigh Hotel

Was nervous about staying here April 17-23 when I read the other reviews. However, I'm very glad I stayed at this property. My room was very clean, the furniture was terrific and the bed and bedding were to die for. I slept extremely well during my stay. The bathroom was always well stocked with fresh towels and sundrie items. The air conditioning was excellent and I liked being able to open my window for fresh air. The front desk and bell staff were very friendly and a great help to me. The hotel is a four minute walk to a lot of restaurant choices (Woody's is an excellent sports bar) from Italian to Irish to American fare. Check out "Big Ed's" for breakfast! Excellent food and a great atmosphere.

The problems with construction blocking the hotel are gone. I had no trouble driving right to the door and check in was easy and very quick.

The bar at the hotel was fantastic (thanks, Wade and Howard) and the food served there was terrific.

The pool was closed due to renovations, but that didn't bother me as I'm not an avid swimmer.

I travel 50 weeks out of the year and, all in all, I will definitely stay at this hotel again.

Unfriendly hotel staff. Old rooms. Not clean at all. I thought it would be like one of those Sheratons in Europe but i was wrong! I will never go back there. Please do not waste your money.

We don't have much positive to say about our hotel stay there:

1-our reservation was changed from 2 double beds to one King.

2-We ended in a smoking 2 double beds after suffering-at 1 in the morning- the incompetence of the check-in employee who basically gave us (again) wrong room and claimed we had requested it.

3-There are young party animals roaming hotel hallways with impunity till wee hours of the morning: they are loud, high, use colorful language -we have little kids so definitely not ideal- and not stopped by hotel security despite our complaints.

4-hotel manager stated she was crediting our spg account with 1000 starpoints to offset our terrible stay. That is not very generous BUT in addition our account only got credited 500 points.

Run in opposite direction!

After reading the reviews, I was apprehensive about staying here. I was in town on a Friday night for a concert at the Progress Energy Center, so the location couldn't be beat.

As others have stated, the construction in the area is causing problems in entering the hotel. The previous reviews helped me with this as did the directions on the Sheraton website. The logistics of the parking garage were actually better than most city hotels. You can valet park and avoid the minor inconvenience.

Front desk personel were helpful if not particularly friendly. I was second in line at check-in; a second employee came out to check us in. She answered my questions about the area and gave accurate directions to the PEC.

Room was as reserved. Beds comfortable and room clean. Everything functioned properly. The hotel was pretty full with lots of kids due to various shows/competions. We heard no noise except when the elevator door opened on one of the floors they were staying on.

Rest assured this is NOT the best hotel in Raleigh. The entire experience was the worst I've had in MANY years and I'm a frequent traveler for business and pleasure.

FIND the hotel? Due to construction, it's hard to get to (drive past the DO NOT ENTER sign), there's NO Valet, NO Bellman, NO Parking in Front of the hotel and NO attached parking garage, you must drive around the block and park in someone else's lot.

BOOK the correct room? I worked through the 800 number, clearly stating my desire and willingness to pay for an upgraded king on club level. The agent assured me there would be no problem. I called the hotel the morning of the reservation to make sure a room was blocked to accomodate a 8:00pm arrival.

NO KING -- NO CLUB FLOOR AVAILABLE? After a good ten minutes at the front desk I was given a room not on the club floor, yet with club privledges. Doesn't matter I find out, the club is rarely open. The room had two beds, another trip to the front desk (one of many). I finally received a king bed. However the room was the same size as the first room. SMALL - VERY SMALL. Caveat: the hotel was at less than 50% capacity during my stay and yet "we don't have anything" was the mantra at the front desk.

BATHROOM LOGISTICS: The bathroom door brushed against the toilet seat when you opened/closed the door. In order to get to the shower, you had to stand between the toilet and the sink, close the door, then access tub/shower. The reverse when you wanted to leave the bathroom - the door had to be shut in order for you to move around in the bathroom. The bathroom door had a "groove" in it from the toilet seat brushing the door...

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS: The thermopane seal on the windows of the room leaked; your view -- fog and condensation. Nightstands didn't match. Desk in room was bowed in the middle. Towels paper thin, Ice bucket cracked and leaked on furniture. Room wasn't level, and it felt (and looked) as if the building may be leaning a bit. I didn't get to see the Club, it was closed most of my stay (5 days). Front Desk had one person at any given time, didn't matter if there were three or thirteen people in line - one person.

CHECK OUT: Room rate varied from $74.00 to $169.00,every day was different. I inquired at the front desk as to the "real rate" and was told the computer assigns rates.

It's been many years since I've felt the need to "flee" a hotel. The best thing that could happen to improve the overall experience is competition.

The hotel is supposedly "Raleigh's finest," which would be a pity if true. It is located in the heart of the city, just a few blocks from the state capitol. This is a dodgy neighborhood, at least during weekends, when downtown Raleigh is eerily empty. Right now downtown is rather torn up; they're turning a failed pedestrian mall back into an active street, so there is construction everywhere. This makes it a bit hard to navigate when trying to find the hotel.

The hotel restaurant is situated in an atrium on the second floor. The manager was quite nice, but the breakfast there was inedible. And I gave the place two tries.

The pool is in a dark little room on the ground floor, and depressed me so much I couldn't swim there.

I stayed in what was supposed to have been a suite on the top (17th) floor. It was not a suite, just a typical Sheraton one-room scenario. The executive/business center on that floor was not open during weekends.

The air conditioning was faulty, otherwise the room was quite decent.

The facilities were standard of a hotel of this class, but the level of service was far less than expected. It is a convienient location if you have meetings in the downtown area, but the lack of ammenities (coffee bar not open on weekend and no curbside luggage assistance) did not live up to expectations. I will avoid this particular hotel in the future...may try others dependent on how my written complaint is handled.

The rooms were nice & the food was good. However, it would be nice for someone to help & direct you with your luggage. Always useful when the desk knows what's going on in the town for guests looking to spend time/money in the city and for something to do. The people in the eating area are the nicest. Oh, let's not forget the people in the parking garage. One peron took the time to call someone she knew to help us find an area. In my book, she went above and beyond the call of duty.

Checked in and checked out again within 30 minutes

Hard to list how many things were wrong.

You can't stop in front of the hotel and there is no help with your bags is a good start - but you can park for a charge of $8 a day in a multi storey opposite and then drag your bags over to check in.

The hotel is very difficult to find - in a street blocked off by some kind of construction activity - not the fault of management - but not mentioned to me when I phoned for directions...

The facility appears to be part of a shopping mall...in a rough part of town - you know - I'm not going to bother writing any more - awful !

The room we stayed in was supposedly non-smoking but actually had a very strong smell once you turned off the AC (You had to turn off the AC for it was freezing with it on).

The room desk was warped and there was a suspect white stain on a blanket.

Also, you are pretty much forced to pay for parking across the street which has a flat rate deal with the hotel.

Seemed more like an aging business hotel more than anything else. I guess the downtown Raleigh area is pretty dull. We moved to the Chapel Hill Sheraton after 2 nights. That hotel was much nicer...