Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Arena — Attraction in Raleigh

From personal experience, The Four Points by Sheraton Raleigh Arena is the best Four Points hotel I had stayed at so far for this brand within the Marriott Portfoilo. Things that really impressed me:

The impeccable politeness of the staff, how wiling they are to help guests/answer questions, and being able to interact with them/have conversation while waiting on things like ordering food and waiting in the lobby for pickup. The rooms here are spacious and I certainty enjoyed my 1 King Bed room that had a cooler fridge, a wet bar, small dining table, desk, and the complimentary hotel pen and paper pad which I don't see at most properties anymore. The room was absolutely clean and I loved it. The ability of the staff to solve problems. I had an issue the night I checked in where the TV wasn't working at all. It took awhile to reach a solution until the Front Desk realized their technical support wouldn't be able to come on property to fix the issue that they allowed my partner and I to switch rooms and give us time to move our things. There was also one morning that I was having breakfast and I noticed I had a cracked coffee cup that was dripping out coffee. I asked one of the breakfast attendants to take it away and they did. The breakfast buffet really impressed me, especially with the various meats: from pork and turkey bacon, to pork and turkey sausage. Most places skip on bacon because it's too expensive, but this Four Points definitely puts out to make guests happy! The complimentary coffee, teas, and hot cocoa in the lobby was a very nice addition as well. This was my first time seeing it at a Four Points and being able to use it 24/7 and seeing it stocked constantly was a Godsend. Shout outs to the staff that made my stay memorable and enjoyable: Jasmine, Lawrence, Brock, and Russell.

Points of improvement: I stayed during Easter weekend and was not given prior notice that the Breakfast buffet would be closed on Easter Sunday in observance of the holiday. While it was a disappointment, fortunately, I did not take the Complimentary breakfast for 2 benefit as a Platinum Elite upon check-in. I was fortunate enough to be able to grab breakfast at a nearby Waffle House. It would have been nice to know in advance that breakfast wouldn't be served on a holiday. I was hoping to connect my work laptop and my Nintendo Switch to the TV in my room, but unfortunately the cable box was flush behind the TV on the wall, and I was too scared to lift up the TV from its mount to connect an HDMI cable. It would have been nice to have a second screen to use while I work and to be able to play games on the TV during my downtime. Most Marriott properties I've stayed at allow for easy access to the cable box so that you can pick from the TV menu to connect to a device via HDMI. It was a minor inconvenience, but a sorely missed amenity during my stay.

Overall, this was a great property and I would definitely stay here again if I were to visit the Raleigh area again for an event at the nearby PNC Arena. Stayed here for the 2022 League of Legends LCS Spring Finals and...

🪳Cockroach! 🤢I didn't dislike the stay but its left me feeling nauseated and uneasy. 😭 Below is my edit as I posted way too soon. How is this a 4 star hotel?

What I liked: ✨ Fantastic bed and pillows! The room looked just like the pictures online when we checked in Friday night. Clean, nicely painted rooms, good layout, and I really appreciate when king bed rooms come with the taller toilets, that's a huge plus. The bathroom was clean, and the space overall felt well-kept on first impression.

They also offer 2-bedroom suites, which is a nice option if you’re traveling with more people. Saturday morning breakfast was solid—fresh setup, and the gentleman working the desk was really kind and helpful. At that point, I was thinking this was a strong 5-star stay.

The change: But by the end of the weekend, a few things changed that made me feel differently.

Breakfast - it's need consistency... Especially if you're paying $10.75 a day to eat it.

Saturday was great, eggs were great, the usual egg scramble, tasted like someone may of seasoned it a little. Blueberry muffins... my God the best blueberry muffins ever. Moist. Amazing.

I do have to add that I liked the potatoes, and real bacon.

Sunday and Monday, the scrambled eggs were off, had a grainy texture, like they’d been overmixed, over stirred, or sat for awhile. No seasoning at all. Then Monday morning, I found a hair cooked into the eggs. That was it for me; I lost my appetite and did not finish. The eggs we had at the holiday inn was better .. 😬

On our last morning, literally 2 hours before we were about to leave my niece was doing her hair in the bathroom and saw a roach crawl out from behind the counter of the sink. 😭 It crawled up behind the mirror then made it way on top of the sink counter to say hello. 🤢We took a picture and my husband killed it then showed it to the front desk. They apologized, that was it.

We noticed both air vents were thick with dust and buildup the first day, didn't think much of it. Paired with the roach, it felt more like this is pattern of missed deep cleaning. And now looking closer, is that a water stain by the vent? Is that mildew? Mold ? Yikes!

I wanted to love this place and I really did the first nights stay. But the last day left me feeling uneasy. I don’t think this is a “bad” hotel by any means. The space looks great, the front desk staff were polite, and it definitely feels nice when you first walk in. But based on food quality issues and visible maintenance gaps, I’d recommend the staff take a closer look at cleanliness, especially around vents and food prep.

If those things were fixed, this would be a great option, especially for longer stays. Right now though? I’d call it a 2.5 hotel with a 5 star set-up. It has really left me...

I’ll start with the positive and say that the room was very spacious and clean, also well appointed. I was pleasantly surprised. Good value from that standoint. The area is sort of empty. Nothing going on. Now the story about the less positive stuff: I checked in at 9:15-9:20 and wanted to grab a bite and drink at the grille/bar(one of the reason wow had picked this hotel). I see the whole bar area is empty and no staff at the bar so i asked the front desk as i was checking in. They tell me they closed already. Yet both the sign in the lobby and the documents in the room clearly stay the bar stays open until 11pm on Saturdays. So I had to leave and go somewhere else when i was tired but wanted convenience.

I had reserved a room from your app with breakfast, which by the way cost an extra $16. The menu at the hotel shows a much lower charge so that’s a rip off and taking advantage of their customer and reward members. I didn’t appreciate that when i realized.
Anyway I got up to have breakfast at 9am and again find the restaurant/bar/ sitting area empty. I ask the front desk and they tell me there is no breakfast this morning.. what?? Not only they overcharged me for breakfast then there is no breakfast. Apparently the “chef” called in sick and the hotel has no contingency plan. I want to grab coffee and there weren’t even cups! :( in the morning of all time). If you don’t have breakfast at least have the coffee station stocked. The front desk person told me there was no breakfast and was gonna leave it at that it seems. I told him that I had paid extra for breakfast when I reserved the room and he said he wasn’t sure what to do. He’d look into.

I went up, got ready and packed up. I go back down to check out and he still didn’t know what to do and was waiting for a phone call on how to address it. :( that’s sad and poor service.
When i told him I’d paid an extra $16 he said he knew how to refund $16 and took care of the credit as I checked out. He was pleasant and calm the whole time.

Overall I’d never go back there and now question whether I’d even consider staying at this chain again. The management has work to do on associate training, back up plans... maybe corporate should pay this...