The Best and Worst Starwood Hotels – Enter to Win 3,000 @SPG points! #TravelTuesday #SPGLife @StarwoodBuzz

Contest now closed 

In honor of my 100th night at Starwood this year, and at the suggestion of several readers, I thought I’d put together a summary of best and worst Starwood properties – in my opinion.  And to make the celebration even more fun, I’m giving away more Starpoints!  That’s right, you can win 3,000 Starpoints.  Just check out the contest rules at the bottom of this post.

So here it goes…

The Best

The Best of the United States:

Arizona –

The Phoenician Scottsdale

The Phoenician Scottsdale – I love the Phoenician you can read my review here.  The property is beautiful and the hotel is a great place for a family get-a-way or a soul-searching, self-indulgent weekend of serenity.  The restaurants are wonderful.  J&G Steakhouse is spectacular!  The spa is a great escape and worth a visit.  Hotel Website

The W Scottsdale – The W is a trendy and modern hotel where everyone who wants to be seen can be seen.  Of course I love this hotel because there is a BlissSpa!  The sushi restaurant is also quite good!  Don’t visit the W if you want low key holiday..but if you want a party, this is your spot! Hotel Website 

New Orleans –

W New Orleans French Quarter – I love the W NO French Quarter. It’s such a cool hotel right in the heart the city. The pool is a great place to hang out and the service is always wonderful!  Hotel Website

New York –

Le Parker Meridien – What an absolutely great hotel.  The l0cation is great for any NYC trip and the the hotel has two of my favorite restaurants – Norma’s and The Burger Joint.  The rooms are modern and many have spectacular views.  You just can’t go wrong with the Parker Meridien.  Hotel Website 

 

The St Regis New York – I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed by the St Regis NY and I wasn’t.  This could easily be the best Starwood property in my mind.  The location is great. The service is stellar. The rooms are amazing and the restaurants are delicious.  Staying at the St Regis is like a dream come true!  Hotel Website 

The Best of Australia –

The Westin Sydney – what a gem of a hotel. The hotel is in a great building that is both modern and historical and is so charming.  The service is great and the bathtubs, well, they’re amazing! Hotel Website 

 

Turndown service at St Regis Bangkok

The Best of Thailand –

The St Regis Bangkok – This was my introduction to the St Regis brand and needless to say, it was love at first stay. The St Regis is awesome!  You have to check it out yourself some day to really get a feel for the difference.  Hotel Website 

The Le Meridien Bangkok – Modern, trendy, hip…all the things a LM should be.  I fell in love with the Jean George eye openers here and was so impressed by the breakfasts.  LM Bangkok sets the bar!  Hotel Website 

 

There are many other great Starwood hotels that get honorable mentions – the list is really quite long!  But the ones above are the ones that I’ve deemed the best.   This list will always grow as I stay at more and more Starwood hotels.

 

The Worst –

luckily this is a short list because I’ve had really good luck and good experiences with Starwood which is probably why I’ve stayed 100 nights this year alone!   I really could only come up with two bad hotels in all my Starwood nights (which lifetime to date is almost 500!)

Dust under the desk

Element Arundel Mills – I’ve never been to a dirtier hotel. The amount of dust under the desk was appalling. It was so bad, infact, that the housekeeping manager held her daily meeting in my room to show the team.  Nothing was really as clean as it could have been and so,  I could never return after that experience (Pictured Right)

The Sheraton Parsippany – I stayed at this hotel for about 30 nights last year (2011.) The hotel will go down in my history books as one of the most cursed hotels. Every week was something new – pipes broke and there was no water, hot water tank broke and there was no hot water, air conditioning was broken…you name it and I’m sure it broke while I was there.  To make matters worse, the hotel was in desperate need of renovation – they started renovations just as my project there ended.  Service was terrible too – I can count at least three occasions where I was given keys to a room that was already occupied.  I wasn’t the only one this happened to, it regularly happened to my colleagues too.  For this reason, I can’t go back.

Your turn Contest now closed 

 

Want to know who won?  Check out this post to see who won the 3,000 Starpoints!

Who wouldn’t like a few thousand extra Starpoint?  You can enter to win 3,000 Starpoints (enough for a free night at a category 1 hotel or an upgrade at a category 1 or category 2 hotel).

To enter, leave a comment with a Starwood hotel that should be added to the best or worst list.  You have to provide a reason why it belongs on that list.   The winner will be selected at random on Friday Aug 17 at 5pm EST.  Good luck!

Rules

  • You must be a resident of the United States of America  – I am unable to administer contests in other countries.  (sorry, it’s not my rule! Complain to your government, not me.)
  • You must be at least 18 years of age.
  • Contest ends at 5pm EST Aug 17 2012 –  all entries submitted after that time will not be eligible .
  • You must be a member of Starwood Preferred Guest for a minimum of fourteen days before being able to receive Starpoints
  • You may register for free to become a member of of Starwood Preferred Guest and you can register on the same day that you claim your prize if you’re not a member
  • A Starwood Preferred Guest account may receive up to a maximum of 20,000 Starpoints per account per calendar year, whether purchased by the member or received as a gift from another member or source.  If you have already purchased or received 17,000 points or more this year, you are not eligible (sorry, Starwood’s rule, not mine)
  • Starpoints you purchase do not count towards preferred status
  • There is no affiliation between Starwood and VeryGoodPoints

122 Comments on "The Best and Worst Starwood Hotels – Enter to Win 3,000 @SPG points! #TravelTuesday #SPGLife @StarwoodBuzz"

  1. Worst SPG I’ve ever been was the Sheraton Dover Hotel in Delaware

    this place is a dump.. I booked using 1,600 pts + $30 on a SPG C&P stay in June

    platinum recognition was great, received 500 pt amenity, suite upgrade, access to the club lounge

    here’s the bad part – There was a old dirty mattress/boxspring that was leaned against the wall outside the hallway of the door. Left to go to the Dover Mall and the casino.. I came back and the mattress was STILL there. I walked into my room and the suite reeked of mold and mildew. I promptly tweeted the pics to SPG and left the property without staying that night.

    another bad part was the club lounge – Evening appetizers consisted of fried pickles (hot) and the cold items were celery sticks, cubed cheeses, and carrots with ranch. What a paltry selection of foods for a club lounge… The beverages are kept in the fridge that is monitored by the club attendant. I asked the club attendant “So where did you get all these bottled beers from” (I was amazed because there was a HUGE variety). The club attendant responded “Oh, its all leftover beer from the restaurant downstairs that they couldn’t sell” Oh geez, thanks for telling me that I am drinking expired beer. One look into the fridge and I saw other foods mixed in (probably employee lunches) stored in the fridge (DISGUSTING).

    Needless to say, I was compensated for my stay and I will never return here again or to Delaware for that fact. There really isn’t much to do in Dover………

    This hotel is shameful and should not bare the Sheraton brand name

  2. The best SPG property I have stayed at is the Element Denver Park Meadows. It’s gorgeous and clean and the staff is wonderful. I’ve stayed here many times for work and it couldn’t be a more convenient location for me. Not to mention the fact that it’s so close to a fabulous mall with great places for dinner! I always look forward to my stays here with the wonderful rain shower, the large rooms with a couch perfect for getting work done and the best egg white breakfast burritos in the morning! I’ve recommended the Element to endless coworkers and they’re all just as smitten!

  3. Best of Thailand: W Koh Samui. Great location, fantastic views, private terraces and pools in suites, super friendly staff. All around an amazing Starwood property. Definitely worth connecting through BKK to get there.

  4. On of the best is SPG is the Element Dallas Fort Worth Airport North. This property is always clean, great modern style to rooms and lobby area and a very friendly staff. One of the biggest pluses for me is it has FREE PARKING, an airport shuttle and a free hot breakfast. With a AAA rate I typically stay here for around $70 to $80 a night. The Sheraton and Westin literally right up the street are typically more expensive and you have to pay for parking if you did not book the parking rate plan. This property is also typically ranked 1 or 2 on trip advisor and for a good reason!

  5. St. Regis Princeville on Kauai!

  6. One of the best is the Westin Palace Madrid. I still think it’s a great hotel with great history in a great location. Sure, there’s no oceanfront or anything, but it still ranks right up there in my opinion.

  7. I’ve only stayed once, but Sheraton LAX gets my vote for a _good_ property. As a gold, they upgraded me to a corner suite on the club floor on a stay where I was redeeming points!

  8. Best: Westin San Francisco, Worst: W New York Union Square. Staff is incompetent and pompus.

  9. Best: W New York times square
    Excellent staff and dog friendly!

  10. worldtraveller2 | August 13, 2012 at 10:52 pm |

    Best: Phoenician Phoenix, W Hong Kong, W San Diego
    Worst: Four Points in Portland, OR, it was so bad they tore it down!

  11. Sheraton Maldives, really friendly staff and great Manager. Complimentary upgrade to a villa with an award points + cash stay and a very nice diner for my wife’s birthday last year. We will go back for sure.

  12. Worst: Aloft in Tempe. Worst. Pillows. Ever. I was here every week for 4 months and I literally packed my own pillow for each weekly trip. Also, the AC unit constantly turns on and off, and is LOUD. The only way to turn it off was to unplug the darn thing. Wifi connection was terrible. Rooms were dark and dreary. It was close enough to the airport that the planes flying overhead constantly were annoying. No restaurant (but thankfully plenty nearby). I could go on and on and on…

  13. Best would be The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina…Stellar location and very well groomed staff.

  14. Worst: Four Points by Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport. Hallways and room carpets were filthy. Bathroom was… I don’t know how else to describe it… creepy.

    Best: Westin Cape Town. Amazingly friendly, helpful staff. Excellent GOLD recognition of upgrades to Club Level. Gorgeous free breakfast every morning overlooking the city, table mountain, etc. Stellar lounge!

  15. Best: Westin Capetown! The service from the staff there was unbeatable. Can’t wait to return!

  16. Best: Westin SF @ Market Street or Westin Grand Vancouver. Both great modern hotels in the heart of a super walkable city.
    Worst: Sheraton San Jose, I ended up with a murphy bed 🙁

  17. Best: Hotel Alfonso XIII in Sevilla for its beautiful decor and excellent butler service.

  18. I have never stayed at an son property. But I still want to play 🙂

  19. best: sheraton mirage port douglas because of the golf course and terrific resort facilities.

  20. Worst: definitely the Four Points Fresno, which I had the pleasure of staying at a few years back. It’s now a Park Inn, and may have tided up a bit, but when I stayed there it was dirty, grimy and had a horrible mariachi band playing by the pool every evening (and I had a room facing the pool).

    Best: too many, but I loved by stay at the Westin Grand Vancouver.

  21. Best: W Montreal – friendly staff, great location, and fantastic city!
    Worst: W Hollywood – terrible front desk service in addition to all the annoying wannabe Hollywood types roaming the hotel and the rooftop at Drai’s.

  22. I’ve stayed at a few SPG hotels but I’m blaming the government or my own misfortune for living at the bottom of the world.

  23. Best: plaza Atheenee in Bangkok. amazing attention to detail, super spa services, great location. recognise plat status with upgrades, always go out of their way to make your stay confortable.

    Worst: sheraton park tower in london. bad service, charged me my booking even when it was duly cancelled. escalated to hotel GM, nothing happened. until i escalated to SPG corporate office, then admitted mistake and refunded 3 months later. not even letter of apology or any service recovery.

  24. SHARAD BANSAL | August 14, 2012 at 12:22 am |

    Best hotel is Westin Sohna resort, India. The cottages are great and whole area gives you feel of being on countryside while being just located near main city.

  25. Le Parker Meridien. Great location – walk to Central Park, Columbus Circle Whole Foods, theater district. Nice staff and service. Some great views.

  26. For worst, I’m going to go with Le Meridien – N’Djamena, Chad. To be fair, though, it is a strong competitor for the best hotel in N’Djamena.

  27. Best: Of course there are plenty of luxurious Le Meridians and the Luxury Collection in Europe, but SHERATON NHA TRANG in VIETNAM has had the best service ever. Its a category 2, so 3000 points would get you a free night. The hotel is newly built with a beautiful infinity pool. The rooms have beach views of Nha Trang but thats not all! Every single staff greeted me by name, (and I stayed there on points for 1 night!). I actually got sick eating some street food and the staff went above and beyond to provide me with an abundance of throw up bags as well as sprite and chicken soup to settle my stomach. I felt like I was taken care of by family! I ended up using another mere 3000 points to book another night because of the hospitality. bonus: The amazing pedicure was a steal at $5 (hotel spa!). They also have staff to walk people across the street to their private beach. AMAZING.

    Now the worst… HOTEL PULITZER AMSTERDAM. Its a category 5, but lodging in Amsterdam aint cheap so thats reasonable. I stayed on two separate trips and both times were a disaster. The first time the heater didn’t work and it was dead in the middle of winter. Sure the snow is beautiful outside but it was unbearably cold, they were not exactly apologetic but after our many complaints they brought us a tiny heater that couldn’t even heat up the bathroom. It gets worse. The second time I stayed was summer. They gave us a room in the garden because we had 4 people in our family. Apparently some staff left the window open and there must have been a million mosquitoes just hungry for blood! We could not sleep at night as the huge mosquitoes buzzed around our faces. We called multiple times to have them come spray the room but they never showed up. So we used the hotel envelope to collect all the dead mosquitoes that we killed, the number was over 40!!! Since we got no response from calling, at 3am we took the envelopes full of dead mosquitoes to the front desk to ask for bug spray. That finally worked but the staff never apologized and simply stated that this was just part of the summer season in the garden room. I guess if you don’t mind sharing your category 5 room with 40 mosquitoes, this is the place to stay!

  28. The best hotel to me is the W HOLLYWOOD it offers the best entertainment because it is smack dab right in the middle of the entertainment capitol of the world, where glitz, glamour, glorious sunshine, power shopping, vibrant dining and cutting-edge style headline the marquee, and the Rooms & Views are to die for.

  29. Worst- Four Points Asheville, NC- very uncomfortable beds, smaller rooms than any other Starwood I’ve been in. Bathroom is tiny as well.
    Asheville is of course a great place to visit.

  30. Best: The Andaman, for it’s more unique mix of forest, beach, and wildlife in a isolated resort setting

    Worst: Le Meridien Phuket, old section room are aweful, no shade or trees around YMCA like pools, staff lacks Thai style hospitality, poor beach location, minimal restaurant options

  31. Best of Starwood for me would be Le Meridien Bangkok, best because the rooms and service is superb without costing a million dollars a night to stay there. I have stayed there for as little as $100/night and for the experience you get, that is a tremendous value.

  32. Worst ever: Four Points by Sheraton Chicago O’Hare Airport, Schiller Park

    Why: Missed my flight at ORD, and being a Starwood fanatic, I booked the FPS using cash & points, but even at $30 and a paltry number of points, this place was overpriced. I think this was quite possibly the worst hotel I have ever been in (OK, there was an even worse one in Venice, but not a Starwood)……the only 2 things I was grateful for was the free shuttle and that none of my family was with me.

    When I arrived in the less-than-clean lobby, there were several of Chicago’s finest seemingly vetting wedding goers from a noisy party, with sobriety likely the qualification sought. If I am any judge this would be in short supply…quite the party.

    The room was filthy, the sheets looked used (at best) and the balcony sliding door (apparently used by the previous occupant for tossing cigarette butts onto the balcony floor) was stuck in the open position, so it was plenty cold to boot. And smelly.

    Oh well, I could go on, but you, dear reader, likely get the point: sleep at the airport!

    Favorite: The Goldener Hirsch, Salzburg

  33. St. Regis Mardavall Mallorca

  34. Worst – four points Norwalk, ct

  35. Best would be the Westin Twin Towers in Seattle. Beautiful interior and a great view of the water from the room we were in. Staff was courteous and upgraded us to a nicer room on arrival.

  36. Four Points in Houston. It was old and run down. The room smelled awful and I had to switch rooms because the sheets were extremely dirty. At least the staff was really nice!

  37. Best SPG I’ve been too was in Hawaii in the island of Kauai “The St. Regis Princeville Resort in Kauai”! It was an amazing property, beautiful grounds and amazing service. The food, the drinks and the staff were great, a lot of attention to detail. The hotel is built on a cliff, has wonderful views and is in a great area of the island. People go the restaurant there from other hotels just to see the sun go down un the evenings, just amazing views.

    Worst property I’ve been to would be the Sheraton Newark Airport in Newark, NJ. Old in need of a remodel.

  38. Best: Sheraton Petaluma. Stopped here on a drive to Napa and service was excellent at checkin, breakfast etc.. Additionally, this was probably the cleanest hotel I’ve ever stayed. It was impeccable!

  39. Not so good – Aloft in Rogers, AR. Loud, self-consciously hip in a depressing way, ridiculously spartan rooms, kind of like an angry teenagers idea of a hotel. Interstate roaring alongside…nice.

  40. Best: W Washington DC. Great staff, clean rooms, and incredible location. Plus it has the fun, trendy W vibe.

    Worst: Westin La Paloma Resort and Spa in Tucson. The resort component is nice and the location is great, but the rooms are in need of a major overhaul. The property struggled during the economic downturn and it shows. There appears to have been zero investment into this property in years.

  41. Sheraton Lisbon.. very nice spa facilities!!

  42. St. Regis Bal Harbour!

  43. Best – Phoenician Phoenix!

  44. Won’t be staying in any SPG till next month but read that Tambo del inka is the best in South America so will be there for one night using Cash and points. Worse- there isn’t any compared to the dives I have stayed in before

  45. Westin Bellevue was great…the gym had DBs up to 120 lbs…usually it’s only up to 50lb.
    Was not a big fan of Sheraton Nashville Downtown.

  46. I loved the Sheraton Vistana Resort in Orlando FL. The rooms were upgraded , the pools were lovely and the staff was friendly and helpful. It was also real close to Disneyland!

  47. One of the best – Four Points by Sheraton, Downtown Seattle. Incredible value for the location you get. They’ve also just done a complete renovation and the hotel is beautiful!

  48. W Scottsdale. Walking distance to nightlife, great shopping. Close to Paradise Valley. The gym faces the pool. Great atmosphere!

  49. The Westin in Portland Oregon. Charming hotel and great service wwhenever I stay there.

  50. W Midtown Atlanta — beautiful hotel, great location, excellent food.

  51. Best-
    Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown. The rooms just consistently over perform and they often have great views (even for lowly SPG Gold members). The staff is nice as well and the location is fantastic. I think they have been doing renovations lately as well so it can only get better.

    Worst-
    Sheraton Pittsburgh. Just a dirty, rundown hotel that consistently seems to cost about $70 more per night than it should.

    Westin Tampa Harbour Island- There wouldn’t be anything wrong with this hotel if it was a Four Points or even a Sheraton, but it just doesn’t come anywhere near the quality you expect from a Westin (Staff is fantastic though).

  52. The St. Regis Princeville is the BEST!

  53. Mary Elizabeth | August 14, 2012 at 8:17 am |

    Worst – Charleston SC Sheraton by the airport. Service was fine, but the rooms were in terrible condition – furniture wood was coming apart and the air conditioning unit at the window (not central air) was split apart. The carpet was frayed and coming off the floor. I was shocked that this was an SPG hotel.

  54. Sheraton Iguazú Resort & Spa, Argentina.

    This is the only hotel inside the park and the only hotel that has spectacular view of the Falls from your room. Keep in mind the falls are about 5 times bigger and larger than Niagara falls.

  55. Best: Le Méridien Piccadilly, London, UK
    Worst: Sheraton shenzhou peninsula resort, Wanning, China

  56. Pointasaurus | August 14, 2012 at 8:27 am |

    Best- St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico
    Astounding rooms, beautiful grounds, very good service

  57. Agree – Best is Phoenician Phoenix!

  58. Worst: Le Meridien Fairway in Dubai, UAE. The hotel can be booked through the SPG website, but on arrival (March 2012) I was told at the check in desk that they do not award SPG points for stays. What? Then, before showering I found no shampoo in the room. I heard a Housekeeping attendant in the hallway and I asked him for shampoo. “We have no shampoo” was his reply. I called the desk to ask if they could send up shampoo, and again “we have no shampoo”. Hey, I can live without the disposable slippers, bathrobes and pillow mints, but shampoo?

  59. 4 points Portland, OR. Dirty, bad location right against road with lots of traffic, noisy.

  60. Best Starwood Property – the Le Meridian, Malta. The hotel stands out compared to all other upscale hotels in the area – great spa, excellent service, incredible views from all rooms.

  61. Best hotel: The W Washington DC, for being so generally fabulous and for upgrading me on a points stay to a gigantic suite overlooking the White House with a full living/dining room setup, so nice I did not want to leave for my meetings, so pleasant to be there even though it was a hotel room when I fell ill and had to stay in, and because of the rooftop bar famous from the Hotel Washington days.

  62. Westin Excelsior in Rome…marble, crystal chandeliers, beautiful pool and spa in a great upscale location!

  63. Best: in my limited experience, the Westin SF @ Market Street — a great hotel right in the middle of a great walkable city.

  64. Best W Seoul Walkerhill because the service was excellent.

  65. Best – Sheraton Hong Kong
    1) Modern clean guest rooms.
    2) Skylounge overlooking the harbour.
    3) Service Service Service!

  66. Best – W Retreat Koh Samui because it’s in one of the most beautiful places in the world and has a nearly empty beach with crystal clear warm waters.

  67. Bertrand Say | August 14, 2012 at 9:07 am |

    Add to the worst list the Sheraton Heathrow. I stayed there on reward points and they made me feel like a second class citizen. They would not even give bottled water because they claim that I used points to pay for the stay.

  68. I have been consistently impressed with the Le Méridien San Francisco. Excellent staff, convenient location, and great views. I make frequent bookings there for business and the one and only time I had to make an inquiry regarding an invoice, it was resolved promptly. This hotel gets my vote for one of the best.

  69. The Sheraton in Portsmouth, NH is a wonderful hotel – it has a very elegant feel and is walking distance to everything in the cute city of Portsmouth. The hotel has beautiful rooms, a great gym and pool and really nice people working there.

  70. St Regis Mardavall!!

  71. Add Sheraton Harrisburg Hershey Hotel to the worst list. The walls were paper thin, and I heard the guy next door (how to put this nicely?), um, ordering an ‘escort’ via speakerphone…and spending time with the escort…and it took 3 phone calls, 2 trips to the front desk, and 2 hours to get them to agree to move us to a new room, with no apologies given for the inconvenience (and this was all at 2-4am). Never again.

  72. Worst: Sheraton Princess in Honolulu. Place is run down, bathrooms are unusable, bed spreads were stained! And it’s listed as a SPG Cat 5!

  73. For me it’s the W in Washington. Great view …convenient location and superb service!

  74. Best: St. Regis Aspen for its location

  75. Best: westin kaanapali ocean resort villas
    Worst: Walt Disney World Swan

  76. Best: Westin Palace Madrid. Awesome location, amazing staff, newly renovated large rooms and great views.

    Worst: Sheraton Suites Orlando. Cheap fixtures, dirty carpet, peeling wallpaper, hole in wall, horrible service.

  77. The Parker Merdian in NYC has to be one of the best Starwood properties on the East Coast.

  78. Best: the W New Orleans.

  79. The Worst: Four Points by Sheraton Shanghai

    The hotel rooms are tiny and the walls are paper thin…

    You can hear conversations from the next room!

  80. The Parker Palm Springs should be on the best list. The Jonathan Adler decor, beautiful landscaping, and friendly service make for an all around great experience.

  81. Sheraton Framingham Hotel in Massachusetts looks creepy from the outside and gets worst in the inside. Hotel looks from the Medieval Era and the furniture and quality follows that age. Dirty, cheap, worn down, just damages de Sheraton brand.

  82. Best: Westin Chosun – excellent service (including a nurse on site)

  83. The W in San Francisco. What a great location and stylish design. Love the design of
    The “wonderful room”

  84. Sheraton Poipu on Kauai in Hawaii has great service and is a great location on the best beach on the island.

  85. Just back from the Westin Dublin in Ireland last month which is very nice with modern remodel and is very centrally located.

  86. Best is Sheraton Waikiki….their client relationship manager is top notch and they bend over backwards to take care of their Platinum guests!

  87. Best- W Lakeshore Drive. It’s like a nightclub. I just want to hang out and have a cocktail many days. I have stayed here even though I live 10 minutes away.

  88. I haven’t stayed at a lot of SPG properties but the one I had the most fun at was my local Westin here in STL. Right across from the ballpark. Great room, floor to ceiling windows, great bed, big bathroom (maybe I was upgraded and didn’t know it) It’s a real nice property. Even the visiting teams stay there.

  89. I just stayed at The Westin resort in Kierland AZ and I thought that it was really quite good. Will have to check out the Phoenician when I’m there next

  90. The best I’ve stayed at is the W Chicago
    Fantastic service by the ambassador there and the food was great. the location helped a bit since chicago is amazing!

  91. Just amending my previous post on the Westin Kierland AZ. Their two pools along with the slide and the “lazy river” make it a great place to beat the Phoenix area heat!

  92. One of the best is W Hotel Lakeshore Chicago. Also Le Meridien in Munich was very nice. Aloft in Boston was really great and so was Element in Chicago near O’Hare.

    Four Points near BWI airport wasn’t that great, same goes for the LAX airport as well.

  93. Worst (for business, that is) is the W New York. The rooms were tiny (I’m skinny and I could barely fit between the end of the bed and the wall) and the desk even more so. Virtually impossible to get any work done on it. And the hotel is incredibly noisy to boot. On the positive side, the lobby and bar were filled with supermodel-quality women…

  94. Four Points at BWI airport wasn’t good.
    I found the Westin in Dublin, Ireland to be excellent.

  95. Best: Seattle Westin with great decor, friendly staff and great view of the Puget Sound.
    Worst: (so far) Sheriton Fisherman’s Wharf. Great location and decor but lots of fees including $50 a night for parking, hotel is a huge maze, and some staff made unkept commitments.

  96. w taipei – spanking new and offers fantastic views, and great location, super accessible

  97. St. Regis Bali. It may not be the most authentic Bali experience, but the hotel itself is gorgeous, the amenities fantastic, and the breakfast is the best I have ever had (and it’s included with every rate).

  98. I agree with your addition of Le Meridien Bangkok to the Top 100 list. It is Top 5 in my book. I’ve had 2 trips and 12 nights there this year. The service, the staff, the facility, the food, the meeting facilities, the everything are all exquisite.

    I can also add to the Top 5: Royal Hawaiian (formerly a Sheraton, now part of the SPG Luxury Collection). Classic Hawaiian Charm, ideal location, friendly and accommodating staff, exquisite dining (the tasting menu at Azure is one of the best I’ve had). Next door is the Westin Ala Moana Surfrider. While I didn’t stay there, I did eat at their upscale Beachhouse restaurant. The facilities were impeccable, and the food was exquisite as well.

    And for the bottom of the heap: Westin Las Vegas. I posted my negative review on the SPG website, complained to the hotel, and have yet to hear anything back from them. While I could go on and on for pages about how horrible this property is, I’ll use the “everything I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten” approach: The hotel is BLECH!

  99. Best: Sheraton in FLL, next to the beach
    Worse: haven’t stay in one I hate yet.

  100. wanderluster | August 14, 2012 at 5:26 pm |

    BEST – Sheraton Suites O’Hare. Just completed a renovation. Good club lounge (for US), friendly and competent staff, nicely remodeled rooms. And perfect location for an overnight before an early morning flight from ORD. It’s very near to a metra station (train into Chicago city center), has free shuttles to the airport that run every 20 minutes 24/7, and has a Harry Carey’s within walking distance for dinner.

  101. The best Sheraton miramar El Gouna Egypt

  102. Best W Hoboken. Great views of Manhattan, a PATH train ride away and half the cost of a hotel in the city. Service was excellent.

    Worst 4 Points Lexington, KY. One of the nastiest hotels ever. Buckling carpet in the halfway, small roach in the bathroom and a moldy shower.

  103. Best hotel: Sheraton vistana villages in Orlando. Great pool, spacious, great service.
    Worst: Sheraton Lake Buena Vista: needed attention to detail and cleanniinnes.

  104. Best: Westin Cancun Resort & Spa – The Royal Beach Club with free breakfast and evening hors d’oeuvres. Not to mention it has the best beach on the Cancun strip.

  105. St Regis Beach puerto Rico
    Best because their property is absolutely gorgeous. The amenities are outstanding and there are plenty of activities to take part in.

  106. Best: Le Meridian Vienna – Literally across the street from the Royal Opera and Hapsburg Palace.

  107. worst aloft baltimore airport… tries too hard to be cool

  108. W San Diego. Great place for meetings.

  109. I’d vote for including the W Westwood (Los Angeles). My family’s made it a point to stay there several times, and each time, the service has been phenomenal, even when something has gone a little off. They set the bar for all the other W Hotels at which I’ve stayed, IMHO.

  110. The new W London is a brand-image-buster! Right next to M&Ms World, you have to look twice to make sure it’s a luxury hotel.

  111. Worst: BWI Sheraton – rooms smelled and right above wedding that didn’t end until 12:30 (luckily only there 1 night)
    Best: W Barcelona – friendly staff, great pool and beach area

  112. GOOD: W Hotel in Montreal was very professional, loved their Wonderful Suite.

    WORST: Sheraton Le Centre in Montreal, was outdated. The lounge food was inadequte.

  113. My best stay was at St. Regis princeville in Kauai. The staff were extremely friendly and you can’t beat the beach location.

    The worst, Four Points Sheraton Philidelphia. The lobby was full of drink people, front desk was rude, the heating/cooling unit in the room was tore apart and pieces laying everywhere, including on the bed. Got switched to another room and there was a tampon floating in the toilet and a sock under the sheets!!!!! Ugh. Never again.

  114. Seattle westin for the great views and great staff

  115. Interesting enough you can find nominees for each category on the beautiful island of Kauai. The best SPG property I have ever visited is the St. Regis Princeville. One of the worst is the Sheraton Poipu Resort. Runner Up for best property would be the St. Regis Washington DC.

  116. Forgot to mention: Princeville is the best because the rooms are huge, luxurious and have the best views in the world. The service is unbeatable. Poipu is the worst because the rooms are old & in desperate need of renovation, and the pool area is way too crowded.

  117. WORST: Le Meridien Stuttgart — none of the icky things described here, but a total sense of apathy from the staff. As a Platinum guest, got a crummy room I had to beg the staff to exchange. Lounge has extremely limited hours and options. The night we were there, it was asparagus soup from 8 pm to 8:30 pm. Just felt the whole staff would rather those pesky guests quit coming.
    BEST: WOW to choose from so many– Love the Sheraton Royal Orchid in BKK, even though some reviews are lukewarm. Nothing like a riverfront, high-floor suite, beautiful lounge, and wonderful garden breakfast. There is also something we really love about the Panoramahaus Dornbirn Austria and its spa/pools. Other notables — Hotel Elephant in Weimar, Germany; Bonavenure in Los Angeles; Le Meridien Chiang Mai, Thailand.

  118. Best: W Taipei – Amazing hotel; or should I say ‘marvelous’ since they upgraded me to an 1,100+ square foot Marvelous suite. Incredible views and modern decor.
    Best: St. Regis Bal Harbour – Impeccable staff, amazing balconies and perfect location. Oh, and really cool technology.

    Worst: Any property has issues from time to time (typically the older ones more often) but I’ve always been able to find someone on staff to address my concerns. A/C not working is probably the most common.

  119. Best: Royal Hawaiian (a Luxury Collection Resort), Waikiki, HI
    This iconic pink hotel is the perfect escape to paradise, while still being in the center of the action. Plenty of beach activities, shopping, and nightlife abound just steps away from the property. Built in 1927, this resort blends the historic and the contemporary in a glamorous and luxurious combination. Highly recommend it to any traveler with a taste for the whole package!

  120. ChineseScouse | August 17, 2012 at 1:04 pm |

    Will have to say Royal Hawaiian in HNL too; got married there so have a special affinity to it! The Royal Hawaiian suite was simply amazing!

  121. Best: W Hong Kong or Royal Hawaiian
    Worst: Four Points Philadelphia or Portland

  122. Best – St Regis Bali – Wonderful experience from every direction
    Worst – Four Points Schiller Park – Unpleasant front desk

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