My wife and I have had to go to Hamilton several times over the last while on some personal family matters. Couldn't get into the Crown Plaza the first time, so we ended up at the Sheraton. Based on some of the previous reviews, I was dreading it, but we had little choice. When we first arrived, the parking elevator was out of service, so we had to take the service elevator (after wandering through a maze in the sub-basement). I wondered if this was a harbinger of things to come.
It wasn't. The front desk people were very accommodating and friendly. The room was spacious, clean, and we had a wonderful view of the city. We had a couple of drinks at the bar (the Loft), and the staff were prompt and pleasant. Same thing for the restaurant where we had breakfast (great Eggs Benedict).
We went back again a couple of weeks later (parking garage elevator now working) and had the same positive experience. Well, close ....the room was much better.Bigger with a work desk. The front desk people said that this was a corner room. The bathroom was bigger too, and there was dedicated glassed-in shower stall, rather than the usual bathtub-shower hybrid.We had room service, and that was pretty good. Good size flat screen TV too.
Some notes about Hamilton. I was born and raised there, but left for Royal Military College in '69. Since then, I have been traveling and living all over the world. I recall having to go home to attend a funeral in 2002. I was horrified at how the city had deteriorated. Downtown Hamilton was dirty and desolate. Most of the stores were permanently closed. All that was open were doughnut shops and take-out pizza places. Jackson Mall, which is attached to the Sheraton, was 3/4's empty.
Things have changed for the better. There is more life in the city core, it is well cared for, and has some great looking restaurants and shops. I'd say Jackson Mall is about 90% full now, and my wife spent several hours shopping while I worked from the hotel room. She said she might even go back to Hamilton in the spring with a girl friend, because there were great deals and choices in the mall.
A minor gripe. The Internet access at the Sheraton is expensive, but that seems to be the trend with most hotels these days. Other than that, it is where we will be staying whenever we go to Hamilton. Highly recommend it
- Sheraton Hamilton
- Hamilton Sheraton
