Experiencing the Sheraton New York Times Square

A few months ago we were approached by the Sheraton hotel group for an advertising deal. As part of that deal we were invited to spend a few nights in one of their hotels, and review our stay. This is that post, but it isn’t your average hotel review post.

See, a few weeks ago we were hosting our first TNW USA event in New York, and we needed a place to stay. We decided to kill two birds with one stone, and book a night in the best room we could find at the Sheraton near New York Times Square.

First off; me (founder of The Next Web) and Jorg (our CMO) are hotel fans and could easily see ourselves living in one, so we volunteered on the spot for this assignment.

The main reason we were invited was to try out was the Sheraton Club Lounge. This is where we wrote our posts and did some other work. The room we booked was a club level room, so all the room amenities and services were also part of the club level deal.

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We started by doing some work in the Sheraton Club Lounge catching up on email and discussing some conference stuff. The space was almost too comfortable and really feels like a lounge, with comfortable couches and soft lighting. There are power sockets everywhere and the WiFi works great too.

We spent a few hours in the Sheraton Club when we arrived and felt very welcome. The people working there have clearly been instructed to be hospitable and welcoming, and nobody gives you the impression you are staying too long, or eating too many bananas (I ate 4, Jorg ate 3). This might seem trivial but finding a nice place to work when you travel can be a challenge. Staying alone in the room can become dull, but hanging out in a coffee bar starts to feel like you are stretching it and abusing their hospitality when you stick around for too long. We had none of these issues at the Sheraton Club Lounge.

The view, at the 44th floor, is amazing with Central Park at one side and Time Square at the other side.

In the evening we wanted to have a good steak but the restaurant in the lobby only does burgers and some other good meals. The receptionist explained that we could order steaks through room service so we went back up to our spacious room, slipped into our (smooth as silk) robes and ordered steaks and champagne (a very recommendable combination!).

Service was smooth and fast and we tipped the waiter generously for bringing us extra glasses to serve our gin-tonics later. I think Jorg was flirting with the room service telephone person which makes sense as we called her back 4 times to order extra items. Everything was great quality and we over-ate chocolate dessert.

We decided to invite the TNW team to our room on Friday evening for gin-tonics and snacks. That was fun until we got a warning for being too loud at around 11pm. We were having a lot of fun and laughing out loud so no surprise there.

The person knocking on our door was polite and understanding and we toned down our instant party within 15 minutes and moved our team out the door and back to their own rooms soon after that. The Sheraton doesn’t mind you enjoying its hospitality as long as you don’t wake up the neighbors. Fair enough.

Me and Jorg ended up having to share the bed, which was fine, as it was big and soft enough to not become embarrassing for either of us. Next time I’d still prefer my own bed though. I like Jorg, but not THAT much.

In the morning we got out our running gear, strolled over to Central Park (just a few blocks away) and had a great run. We were terribly lucky with the weather as it was sunny and warm with just a light breeze. New York at its best! When it is cold outside you can also use the fitness centre at the hotel. We checked it out and it looked cool, clean and modern.

After our workout we packed our bags, left the room, and spent the rest of the day working from the Sheraton Club again.

It was Saturday now and there were some people working here. One lady was using the desktop computer, two other fellows were doing a video call and showing off the view and I noticed another women relaxing behind her computer with all her baggage next to her. Looked like she was relaxing for a few hours until her next flight out. In the evening it got a bit more crowded, but it never felt busy.

All in all we got a lot of work done, had a small party with our crew in the room, and a nice workout in Central Park and a great stay at the Sheraton in New York. To close off I apologize to the Sheraton for disturbing our neighbors and do hope they ask me back again to test some other rooms too. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.