I rarely leave negative reviews for places since everyone has their off days and one visit isn't always enough to get an idea of how good a business is. This is not one of those cases.
This is my first and last time staying at the Sheraton Anchorage, or any Starwoods hotel for that matter. The general manager of all people was very rude to me and the room wasn't fully cleaned when I checked in.
I stayed at the Sheraton for two nights over New Year's. I saw some specials on their website, among them a 25% discount for Alaska residents. Being an Alaska resident, I clicked on the offer, expecting to get a 25% discount when I booked my reservation. The reservation confirmation email showed that the discount was not applied. Turns out you have to copy a code and enter it in the designated field at checkout. I take responsibility for that for not having been more careful booking my reservation, although I wish they made that more clear on their website.
The response I received was what shocked me. First I called the hotel and asked if the discount could be applied. He told me no because I had booked the prepaid option. So I decided to email the general manager, Mr. Colin McBeath, who replied with only "Let me look into this right away". The night before I was supposed to check out I hadn't heard from him so I emailed him again. Shortly afterward, I received a very flat reply from another employee who basically just regurgitated the information in my confirmation email.
A few hours later, Mr. McBeath replied to me and asked if my concern was addressed in a satisfactory manner. I told him it had been addressed, but I was displeased with my customer service experience at the hotel, and thus would not be staying here again. He replied, "That's regrettable, but perhaps that is for the best".
Really? That's how a general manager in the hospitality industry replies to a paying customer? I replied expressing disbelief that he was so rude to me. He clearly didn't care at that point since he already got my money.
So I contacted corporate to let them know what happened. I'd hate for anyone, especially those visiting Alaska, to have their trip ruined by an experience like this. I received the standard "we're sorry, thank you for your feedback, we will address this" customer service reply. I don't know if this is actually true or if they were just telling me this to shut me up. So of course I didn't get a discount or refund at all, but that was very wishful thinking.
Anyway, customer service aside, the hotel is nothing special. Rooms are pretty nondescript. I would like to say they were at least clean but inspection of the bathroom proved otherwise. There was a dental floss pick glaringly visible under the sink. Not a strand of floss, which I understand could be missed, but floss attached to a green plastic part that made it visible against the tile.
The bar food more or less reminded me of dining on campus in college. I could get cheaper cocktails in college too.
Basically, avoid this hotel at all costs, unless want a room with a view of the Anchorage Memorial Cemetery. There's other options in downtown Anchorage with better locations and (hopefully) better customer service. read more