Pat Trainor

Review of Sheraton Old Town

I travel a fair bit, and as I use Amex/SPG, I trav...

I travel a fair bit, and as I use Amex/SPG, I travel to a lot of Sheratons. I stay here often on business.

Good News: Only 1 out of 6 desk staff are snotty kids, and the front desk 24/7 little store area is nice-it even has sodas in a cooler. They use the good $100 pillows I wish I had at home, and the GRAs are always excellent. Look them up-they rock! The bar/restaurant is great at giving you utensils, etc. without having to buy anything. I've never eaten there.

Bad News: Ice machines are spotty, and I've never seen the on-floor vending work. About 1/2 the time the automated wake-ups don't work at all, so use your own alarm on cell/watch.etc. Internet. Ugh.. They charge $6.95/day for wireless choked at 2MB/sec down, and non-existent up. I've never made my company pay for more, as my cell will get better speed. Most Sheratons kick ass in this regard. Do not trust the list of local eateries at the front desk-it has not been updated in 7+ years, and many places listed are no longer in existence. There is a building being built across the street for the last 100 years, it seems, but if you are careful, and ask to see the room layouts, you can get a higher room that faces Washington, or even the Masonic Memorial. If you stay in a room looking over the construction, you can see the incoming flights to DAC (Reagan is just 3.5 miles north) go almost over the hotel on approach (too far away to keep you up or anything)...

Overall: Of all Sheratons, I find this one a great value. It is old, but relatively clean. There is a large Trader Joe's 3 blocks South, and my new favorite hang is Teaism, just 1-1/2 blocks south. CHECK THEM OUT ONLINE! There is an uppity restaurant diagonally across the street, but I've never been. The taxis are _always_ 5-15 mins early if you order them through the front desk, and there is an Enterprise car podium in the lobby.