Sheraton Suites Old Town Alexandria — Hotel in Alexandria

I’ll start by saying the best feature of this hotel is the gym and courtyard area. The gym is spacious, has enough equipment to do an assortment of workouts and stretches. Probably 2nd best hotel gym in the area behind the Marriott Marquis in DC with their 2 story gym. I’ve stayed in Marriotts ~ 400 nights in the past 5 years and it’s challenging to find a hotel this gym this nice.

However, this is the worst hotel I’ve experienced, not worst Marriott but worst hotel and yes, I stayed at a few motels in my younger days where cigarette burns were in comforters.

I’ll chalk it up to expectations.

First morning I wake up to a room that smelled like feces and urine (no I didn’t do the doo on myself). That morning, I packed my belongings to reduce the smell from infiltrating them and smelling like poo.

I asked the front desk attendant to look into it but when I came back at least 8 hours later, my room smelled even worst. I had to go back down to file a grievance and finally the maintenance guy came in to fix what I thought would be the ventilation, however, it was the secondary sink where the coffee and tea is located. The maintenance guy was a very kind plumber who had to clear the sink out with a plunger. The gloves he wore weren’t in great shape after. He was visibly unhappy and disappointed with the situation but was apologetic and very respectful.

Also that same morning, because the Member Lounge is out of service, they stated the previous evening, I receive a voucher for free breakfast, which ordered that morning after a workout. There are QR codes to order breakfast but it turns out it’s only for the buffet, which is hidden in the back behind the restaurant and they charge a delivery fee when using the QR code although I asked to pick it up. I ordered egg white omelette and oatmeal (my normal travel breakfast) it came to about $33 which is outrageously more than I paid at a Marriott in Manhattan. We’re in Old Town, VA buddy, it’s pricey out here but not that pricey.

disclaimer just get the basic hotel buffet it’s $23+ tip

I wish this was the end of it but it’s like the poo smell that’s still stained in my nostrils, there’s more to experience.

I go to the gym the following evening, went into the restroom and the sink is filled with, well I’ll let you tell me what’s in the attached picture. Whatever this substance is, it’s disgusting and utterly unacceptable from management. Usually I can chalk miscues to training but this facility needs some TLC that their management clearly isn’t handling well.

The bones are here but there’s a lot of missing parts at this place. Staff seems is average at best (not including the maintenance man, he’s good), parking is good, plumbing is **ed, food is average. 10/10 don’t recommend for value or price. For Motel 6 or Days Inn prices I would then consider staying here.

PS: The GM was “never” there or “available” when I asked for a conversation. Truly a...

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY!! THIS HOTEL IS STEALING MONEY VIA DECEIT ON BOOKING AVAILABILITY AND NOT FIXING THEIR MISTAKES!!! This is my first time EVER leaving a bad review and they earned it!!!

This was such an absolute disappointment to start our vacation with.

First, we booked from the Marriott website and it allowed me to book a suite with club access. We were specifically looking for that amenity for our first trip to see our Capitol. Booking this type of room, of course, meant that it was much more expensive than an average room. Upon arriving, we were informed at check in that there is no club lounge and it is under construction. We were given a voucher for a little (and not good) breakfast buffet in the lobby each morning. When I inquired about the 24/7 access to free soda, water, and other non alcoholic beverages, we were told we could call for a few bottled waters in the room. They then proceeded to give us a coupon for 15% off a drink at their bar in the lobby in replacement of the free cocktail and hors d'oeuvres that we paid to have access to in the evenings.

The front refused to speak about refunding the price difference and felt that free lobby breakfast was enough to account for the hundreds of dollars that I was charged for a service that their own website should not have allowed us to book in the first place, as it was no longer available at their hotel. Upon calling the customer service line, I was met with the same non-resolution and was transferred to a supervisor upon my request. The supervisor was actually apologetic and stated that she tried to call the hotel to speak with the manager but no one was answering her calls. She opened a case and stated that she suggested half off of our stay due to their false advertisement and lack of updating their room availability.

Upon checkout, three days later, I was still told there was no update on the resolution and I’ve yet to hear back from anyone. I was charged full price despite not even using their cheap breakfast coupons. I am now five days post checkout with no resolution and full charges. The icing on the cake, this hotel is outdated and the one bedroom suite was extremely small. It was very misleading in their photos. It felt dirty. The pull out couch mattress was so thin that my child had to sleep sideways due to the bars jabbing into his back (the frame bars). The ac unit rattled loudly and woke us up multiple times every night.

What a...

Upon arrival into our first room we noticed a huge brown stains on our couch cushion as well as brown markings on our pillows and comforter. When I spoke to the woman at the front desk and shared the photos with her she said “those are just brown stains… those things can be easily fixed”. As if to imply that my concerns were not a big deal. She offered no “I’m sorry for the inconvenience… this is what we can do”…which is basic customer service. We may have been saying the same thing in essence, however a customer service refresher may do the trick, as I’ve noticed other guests mentioned the poor service in other reviews.

Anyway, after a brief exchange she changed our room, which was much better! Smelled fresh, appeared clean and all appliances were working. Thankfully my husband’s time enjoying the on-site gym made up for it. It’s a full sized gym with literally everything, including Peloton bikes.

If you plan to stay at this location be advised there are no microwaves in the rooms; however, there are two available for use near the “Starbucks”. The lady who worked at the Starbucks both mornings of our stay was so pleasant, and made up for the lacking service from the front desk. It’s important to note for my fellow Starbucks Addicts that this is not a full service Starbucks. Just coffee and espresso, but it was just what my husband and I needed after the nightmare of this recent snow storm. The coffee and espresso are definitely Starbucks quality!

Lastly, if you want to take a look at the menu for on-site dining, be advised that you will need to physically go to the front desk to pick up a menu. That’s what I was told verbatim, after again speaking to the front desk. I would recommend that the hotel add any onsite dining menus to the #Bonvoy app so that members can view before having to go downstairs. Or simply creating a digital menu for hotel guests to access. You can add a link to your website or add a QR code to send via text to your guest. Pretty standard these days with COVID and such.

Okay let’s talk about the lounge.. which is worth noting here as it was surprisingly chic and comfortable. So many inconspicuous spaces to sit and relax outside of the room. I needed a little break from my toddler, and found a cozy spot to sit, sip and watch Netflix. The decor and furniture were super chic and perfectly paired.

Overall a decent visit. Not in a rush...