The Sheraton is Starwood's middle of the road brand (below St. Regis and W; roughly equivalent to Westin) so if you compare this hotel to other Sheraton hotels, it would probably rate highly. But if you compare this property to other resorts in Southern California, well, then you are setting yourself up for disappointment. To call the Sheraton Carlsbad a "resort and spa" I think is stretching the truth a bit. If having a pool and massage facility qualifies a hotel to call itself a "resort and spa" then so be it. Truth be told, the pool area seemed unkept and you can probably get a better / cheaper massage elsewhere.

We have averaged one stay here a year for the past 4 years and the experience has been consistently average each time. We have friends who live in Carlsbad and I am a Starwood guy so when we visit, we stay here. The best place to stay in Carlsbad used to be the Four Seasons Aviara, but sadly, it switched to a Park Hyatt a few years back and in the process, lost some of its luster. We stayed there once after the switch and decided that it wasn't worth the money anymore, hence the switch to the Sheraton.

Anyhow, about the Sheraton Carlsbad - the feature I liked most about this property is its proximity to Legoland. You can literally walk there in 5 minutes so you can go back and forth from the hotel if your kid is fussy about food or needs to take a mid-day nap. There is a gate at the far end of the parking lot that is supposedly exclusive to Sheraton guests, but I saw a bunch of local folks park there and use the same gate entrance so it's not as special as the hotel makes it out to be. The bar is small, but the bar tenders tend to be very cool and accommodating. Nothing else really stands out as a positive.

As for the negatives, I am generally disappointed with the facilities and services at this hotel. If this were a $150 per night hotel, I would set my expectations accordingly. But during the peak summer months, I regularly pay close to $300 per night so my expectations get a bit elevated. First the rooms are not exactly "resort" rooms; more like a business hotel. In fact, I missed a connection at SFO recently and the airline put me up at the Westin near the airport. The rooms seemed oddly similar. Next, I am a Starwood Platinum member so they give me so-called "club" privileges. The club facilities are a joke. We routinely found the club room over-run with families who are too cheap to feed their kids properly at the restaurant. People also sneak in from the back doors so the place is constantly over-crowded in the mornings and late afternoons. I don't know what it is with Americans and free food, but it seems to bring out their uncivilized nature. Anyhow, there's no point in waiting in line for crap coffee and a dry muffin so we usually skip it. They should really do something about this. I mentioned earlier that the pool seemed unkept. By that, I mean there's always used towels strewn on tables and on the ground and there seems to be no lifeguards / staff on duty to keep unscrupulous guests from doing stupid things. We have three young children. Once when they were swimming in the pool with other kids, a bunch of teenagers ransacked the place doing canon balls into the pool and driving the children away. A real "resort" would have handled it quickly and quietly, but no one was there so a few fathers had to get together to control the situation. One of the redneck teenagers actually challenged us to a fight which was the funniest thing I had heard in a while.

Overall, the restaurant is average; the spa is average (at best), the bar is small, but good, the front desk staff was very nice and the valets / porters were great help getting our kids / baggage loaded and unloaded. There is underground parking which helps during the summer, but there is a limited number spaces and the elevator access is not well planned.

When I think of "resort", I think of quiet and relaxation - neither of which we get at this property. One caveat to my review is we've only stayed here during the summer so during the other seasons, it might be a pleasant place to stay. What I do know is this: we'll go back to Carlsbad again next summer, but instead of the Sheraton, we will try the West Inn & Suites. That hotel comes highly recommended from trusted friends who are also well traveled.

I was not thrilled with having to stay at the Sheraton when I first heard that because of a colleague I "Had to"

I have to say, it was beautiful, near lots of things, easy to the freeway and the restaurant was amazing! Usually hotel restaurants are not so good, but this place was hopping and great food!

I prefer boutique hotels, but this was not bad.

When Legoland is high on your priorities then consider the Sheraton. Its a 4 min walk from your room and you are there. Our kids loved it and it was great to be able to stay right till closing then crash into our beds.

Overall the hotel is brand new , solid 4 star with very good service (we arrived at 10am well before we could checkin but they kept our car and luggage in the valet area for free the whole day whilst we were in Legoland toughing it out) and in room dining. Room is larger than normal and spotless. Self park is underground and convenient.

This is not a hotel with the charisma of others for it caters to the Legoland clientele and Conferences . Also its 5mins to Carlsbad premium Outlets where we spent a whole day loading up.

Does the job for me.

You are there for legoland - that's it. Why anyone would stay here otherwise beats me.

I never had much luck w/ attraction resorts so why expect anything more from this one. The rooms are average but clean, food is acceptable + over priced and overall service is spotty. There really is a private entrance to legoland - a bit of a hike but there really is one and it's convenient I guess. But they are opening an actual LEGOLAND hotel inside the park so that should take much of the allure of the "private entrance" away very soon.

Horrible beds. They are old and way way too soft.
Complimentary in-room starbucks coffee + wi-fi (after you pay the $12/day resort fee)

Hope this helps.