Steph C.
Yelp
I was a guest at a conference here a few weeks ago, and while I enjoyed my visit and appreciated the free room, the hotel was pretty terrible. This was my second stay at the Sheraton Times Square, and my opinion hasn't changed since my initial review in 2009. I guess life is long and it's possible I'll come back again, but I will never do so on my own dime.
Two things stood out as particularly flagrant. One: The hotel's conditioner was unusable. There was some kind of mismatch between the shitty squeeze bottle and the viscous conditioner, and neither my mom nor I could get a drop of it out. We asked a housekeeper for a replacement, but she said they were all like that, and we gathered we weren't the first guests to complain. She told us we had to squeeze really hard, but I could not have squeezed harder without risking some level of stupid injury. I'm sure other guests have figured out a way, but I went four days with unconditioned hair.
Two: If you want to leave any luggage while you hang out in New York after check-out, the Sheraton charges $5 per bag. This appears to be an improvement from my first visit, when the charge was $6.50 in 2009 dollars. Even so, that's $5 per bag too much, an admission that the hotel has no interest in providing good service.
Not everything was bad, I suppose. The receptionist at check-in was friendly, and the lobby and conference spaces were nice enough, though it was ridiculous how early the lobby bar closed. We got a room on the 49th floor, which both my four-year-old and I appreciated, and the smart elevators were cool, if not always as quick to arrive as I might have liked. Our room was nondescript with lumpy, worn out bedding on two beds that were inexplicably different heights, but there was a decent view to one side, and the blackout curtains were good for when we wanted to sleep in on California time.
As a coda, I thought I forgot my glasses in my room, and though they did turn up, I noticed the Sheraton did not acknowledge the inquiry I left on their voicemail. I actually took the time to fill out their automated post-stay survey, but I don't think the management reads customer feedback.