For those needing a hotel west of Toronto whose business takes them to the Hamilton ("steel-town") area, the Sheraton Hamilton is an adequate, not stellar, hotel. Good news is that the hotel staff are generally very friendly and eager to please. Room service is typical for this type of hotel and food offerings are good, albeit it is by no means "fine dining". The hotel is well located in downtown Hamilton, linked to an underground mall that connects to many nearby office towers.

I had a room on the club floor. The room was clean and spacious (it was a corner-room). Yet other than the desk chair, there was only one arm-chair in the room. There also was no ottoman. Thus, when sitting and watching TV or eating from room service, the absence of an ottoman was noticeable. I asked the front desk about this, and was told that while there used to be footstools in these corner rooms (they are certainly large enough to fit a footstool and a second chair--otherwise, for two people in a room, only one can sit on a comfortable chair!), after renovations these were not replaced.

This may be a new Sheraton "brand standard" and, if so, it is disappointing. Room designers need to consider that there could be more than two people in a hotel room, and even if the room is only occupied by one, having an ottoman is standard in most hotel rooms everywhere.

The bathroom was large but the new glass shower with a half-door allows water to flow out onto the bathroom floor. Again, this is an example of not thinking a re-design through, as putting on a proper glass shower door would avoid such issues. Also, there is no toe-tap in the shower--so when one turns on the water one gets a shot of cold water in the pipe. That last is an example of cutting corners on construction--a toe-tap, or "toe-test" tap in a shower, is usually present although in some new construction hotels I have seen this left out--again, bean-counters prevailing over common sense and customer comfort.

Club floor amenities are good. A buffet breakfast is available for those on the club floor; usually includes eggs and bacon, along with fresh fruit, etc. The evening snacks are adequate. Bottled water, soft drinks and coffee are available 24/7--a nice touch.

Would I stay here again if in the area? Yes. Again, the service was great, front-desk friendly and helpful, meeting room facilities suitable. it is not the hotel's fault if it is following mandatory Sheraton brand standards on the items noted above, but hopefully somebody at Sheraton smartens up about these missing amenities. Sometimes these "little details" add a lot in comfort when one is on the road.

one other point: internet is not free unless you are Starwood Diamond (I believe you get it free if you are very high up in the Starwood loyalty chain). In my view, all hotel chains should provide complimentary in-room internet access. Interestingly, some of the less expensive brands (Embassy suites, Hampton) do provide this without extra costs, but the supposedly "better" hotels (Sheraton, Hilton) tag on additional costs. Consumers should make their points about this as eventually this should become a standard, included item.