Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel

I’m a frequent traveler and loyal Marriott customer, and the Sheraton fell well below the service and basic amenities I expect from a Marriott property. At check-in, my card was charged $468.68 for incidentals without any explanation or advance notice. I had to call later to ask about it, and was told the charge would be refunded later. That lack of transparency set a bad tone. Housekeeping still hadn’t cleaned our room by the second day, and we were out of towels after only three had been provided at first. The front desk said it would be handled, but when we came back an hour later there were no towels and no cleaning. We went down again, wrote our room number on paper, and the request was confirmed. After another walk, we found a card saying housekeeping hadn’t entered for privacy reasons, even though we had specifically asked for service. It felt like nobody was listening. Only after asking a third time did we get clean towels, and the room still wasn’t cleaned. The room also lacked soundproofing. We could hear conversations and other noises from neighboring rooms, particularly through the bathroom vents, along with the elevator stopping on our floor and guest doors slamming throughout the stay. That made it hard to enjoy a quiet room. The elevator setup was a problem too. There are four elevators, but only two serve guest floors. One was out of order, leaving a 14-floor hotel with just one working guest elevator. The broken one had an out-of-order sign, but its door still opened, which confused guests. Getting hot water and coffee was disappointing. At other hotels, they’re available in the lobby, but here they were behind the cafe counter. Each day we were asked to pay for a cup of hot water, which we later learned should have been included. The older Asian man in charge was unhelpful and made us feel unwelcome and disrespected. A Hispanic man working there was more polite and checked whether we were guests, but the encounter with the older employee left a bad impression. This stay didn’t reflect the quality or service I expect from Marriott. I hope management takes these problems seriously for future guests, but I won’t return.

I slept terribly the whole stay, largely because of the guestroom issues. The bathroom light runs on a motion sensor that can’t be turned off, and it’s bright enough to wake me when I get up at night. Worse, the faulty sensor switches it on for no reason. It happened every night, waking me once or twice each time. Whoever chose those switches made a bad call. The thermostat was no help either. I set it to 74 on the first night, but the room stayed at 68 throughout. I was chilly and couldn’t get the heat to come on. Guestroom doors slam loudly, and the sound carries up and down the hall. I’m pretty sure my bed vibrated when the next-door neighbor came or went. The doors don’t block much noise, so I could hear slamming and hallway conversations all night. It was worse Friday and Saturday, though quieter Sunday and Monday. The doors need upgrading, especially with the light problem already making sleep hard. There’s no free breakfast, either. The lobby is nice, and warmer than my room, but at $250 a night I expected more.

The renovation gives this 3-star hotel a fresh, clean look, which is why I picked it over a nearby 4-star place. Service was great from the shuttle bus driver, who gave us tips on where to tour and eat, to the lobby and housekeeping staff. I hope the building and service stay well maintained, because I may visit often. To me, it deserves a 5-star rating.

Four of us were comfortable in a king room with a rollaway bed. The gym was nice, and the subway is just a two-minute walk away, with plenty of restaurants nearby. There aren’t really dining options in the hotel itself, but with so many places close by, that didn’t matter. We had a great stay.