Hotel Reviews – Sheraton Grand Hotel DFW Airport
I hate early morning drives to the airport. Sometimes its much easier to stay overnight at an airport hotel and avoid the risk of missing my flight due to traffic.
That was my aim when I booked a stay at the Sheraton Grand Hotel DFW Airport.
Arrival
I knew that hotel was wrapping up a months-long renovation project when I arrived.
The lobby was quiet and it was apparent from previous visits to this property upgrades had taken place.
Parking was plentiful in front of the hotel.
Check In
The lack of a crowd meant I was helped immediately. My SPG Platinum status was recognized and I was awarded my bonus points. The front desk clerk also provided an overview of hotel dining options.
The Room
I was assigned room 431, a remodeled room on the fourth floor. As I approached my room, I noticed a heavy chemical smell that grew stronger in the proximity of my room.
I entered the room (and took my usual as-is photos). The remodeled room furnishings have an art deco look. My room included a small sitting area with a sofa.
The usual Sheraton Sweet Sleeper bed was featured. There were not adequate electrical plugs next to the bed unfortunately so I would still need to plug in at the desk or on a wall (leaving my devices on the floor).
There was a small desk next to a dresser and television.. The fixtures are new but the room still feels like a typical airport hotel in terms of size and grimness.
The bathroom was remodeled with better lighting than I previously remember.
A few minutes later I was still smelling the chemicals and starting to develop a headache. I was not comfortable sleeping in that room so I headed back to the lobby. Along the way, I passed an open door (not far from my room) with a gutted room.
Apparently construction was still ongoing on that floor.
The front desk clerk told me that construction was already completed on my floor and I told him about the open (and gutted) room I walked by. He told me “no, your floor is definitely completed – there should be no construction”.
I showed him the photo above that I had snapped (above). They agreed to assign me a room on the ninth floor where he assured me construction was complete.
I went back to the fourth floor to get my bags and found a couple of workmen locking up the room I had previous passed/photographed. One was reprimanding the other for leaving the door open.
When I made it up to the ninth floor, a couple of other workmen were checking various doors so it seemed that several rooms might still be in the works there as well. It was after 8 pm so apparently several were in the hotel working late.
The new room (900) was a different layout than the original room but blessedly there was no chemical odor.
The remodeled room furnishings were the same but this was a higher corner room so it had two walls of windows covered by long drapes.
Other Considerations
I needed to grab dinner so I went downstairs to the newly remodeled lounge/restaurant. I was excited as the front desk had told me that they had recently retooled to have a locally sourced/Texas-centric focus.
I was very disappointed in the service though so I left before ordering. When I sat at the bar, the bartender asked me what I wanted… but I had no menu so I asked to see a menu. I felt like I caught a bit of attitude as the menu was almost slammed down in front of me.
I opened it but only found a list of beers – no wines or cocktails. That made sense since Local Texas Tap & Kitchen is marketed as a gastropub. But its also the only bar in the hotel and was the only place where I saw people when walked in. (One14 Restaurant & Wine Cellar did not appear to have patrons at the time I walked by/through.)
I made the assumption that I didn’t see cocktails when I requested a drinks list that they would not have a special cocktail menu (unlike the great Westin Atlanta Airport I stayed at a few weeks ago who had a fantastic cocktail menu) so I requested a wine list and that was met with an eye roll. (I realize that some people walk up and sit at a bar and always know exactly what they want – a Budweiser or Jack & Coke – but a hotel bar should not be the kind of place to drink shame a customer who wants to look at a list!)
I wasn’t happy about that – and I was not feeling like sitting through a meal at that bar served up with attitude, so I decided to leave and grab dinner off property. (Pro tip: my favorite casual Neapolitan pizza spot – Cavalli’s– is only a few minutes away.)
The Sheraton Club was closed for renovations so they had roped off an area in the restaurant to use as a lounge during the morning and evening hours. I was not at the hotel during either of these windows.
Check Out
Check out was prompt and my bill was correct. The front desk seemed to be moving a bit slow and I needed to catch the shuttle (which only runs every 20 minutes) so I felt a little rushed when the desk clerk didn’t seem to be moving quickly – but they hollered out to the shuttle driver to wait for me so at least I didn’t miss it!
Summary
The remodeling at this property looks good and I am pleased with the cosmetic changes to the hard product, especially in the lobby and restaurant.
That said, I cancelled an upcoming stay after this one because of the ongoing construction and the issue I had with the chemical smells. I am environmentally sensitive to smell and cannot afford to develop a migraine before a flight. I’m worried that next time they may not have an empty room to move me to if there were another chemical smell issue.
I will hold off on additional stays at this property until construction is completed but will likely stay here again as this is often one of the most reasonably priced Starwood properties in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
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