Sheraton Suites Old Town Alexandria

The parking situation was a real problem. They charge $32 a night for the garage, but it's tiny, open to anyone, and doesn't guarantee a space. We had to park on the street each night. You'd expect some spaces to be reserved for hotel guests if you're paying the hotel, but the receptionists were fairly rude when we asked and basically said it wasn't their problem. The room was small, with an old TV and only basic channels. We had told them there would be three guests, but I still had to go find blankets and pillows for my child to use the pullout bed.

The lobby was neat, and the location earned the two stars. The room, on the CLUB LEVEL, was awful. It smelled strongly of mildew, and there was literal melted chocolate on the carpet. The pullout bed had crumbs and an orange peel on its fitted sheet; under that, the mattress cover had a blood stain that looked washed but not bleached. We took it all to the desk and, after asking twice, got two clean flat sheets for the night. They said housekeeping had to handle the rest. The heat never worked, just blowing cold air at our faces, so we turned it off and froze for two nights. The shower was dirty, the toilet occasionally made a metal banging sound, the Wi-Fi didn't work, and loud wind chimes outside our window kept going all night. With the room in that condition, those problems felt even worse. The Sheraton Club was also closed. We didn't ask to switch rooms for reasons that would take another paragraph to explain. My husband is a few stays short of Titanium for the year, and I've traveled with him for many of our 65-plus stays, from Fairfield's in the middle of nowhere to the Sheraton Ohana Suite in Waikiki. We've never had a room like this. Our adult daughter came along for a special trip before medical school, and this room really dampened the experience. I usually leave positive Google reviews, but this was bad enough that I wanted to warn people.

I've usually had good stays at Sheraton properties, so this one was especially disappointing. The service was poor from beginning to end, and I've spent hours trying to resolve around $500 in charges without getting an answer or anyone taking responsibility. I was booking for a work event. The website showed no availability, so I called the hotel and was told there was one room. I booked by phone and bought refund protection in case of bad weather. The next morning, my company arranged another room at a lower rate. I sent in a card authorization for that booking and wrote clearly in the comments that the original reservation should be canceled. My name had been misspelled on that first booking. After that, I spent hours calling different numbers and trying prompts to confirm the cancellation and fix my name. I could reach only offshore representatives, who couldn't find the reservation or help cancel it, possibly because of the misspelling. I also sent a refund request through the link in the confirmation email and heard nothing. At check-in under the new reservation, I again asked for help canceling the original one. Staff said they couldn't because it was booked through a 'third party,' even though I'd called the hotel's own number. The front desk took my number and said a manager would call, but nobody did. Instead, they emailed the wrong person at my company and incorrectly claimed I had no refund protection, even though it was on my receipt. The rate is already high, and parking adds another $32 a day for self-parking, with no valet or assistance. I wouldn't recommend this property. It's overpriced, poorly managed, and the customer service falls far short of what I'd expect from a Sheraton.

Don't use this property for airport parking. The shuttle only comes once an hour, and I had to call several times before I could reach the front desk. The garage is mostly suited to compact cars. Staff didn't seem in a hurry to get me to or from the airport, and the service was poor. Park somewhere else!