It’s funny how expectations can completely alter your judgement about a travel experience, especially a luxury travel experience.
Now that it is 2018 and I’m almost 27 years old, I have finally accepted some level of adulthood (probably because for once in my life I can afford it). I decided to kick the year off in style – a five star luxury trip to the Sheraton on the Park. Yes, this is not my usual scene. I feel most comfortable crammed into a room with nine or more others, but this was a well earned treat.
Expectations were high.
With New York City glamour vibes, we entered into the festive marble lobby of the Sheraton. Smiles greeted us by the countless staff there to meet our every need. Check in was smooth and hassle free.
Arriving early, we handed over our luggage before heading to our favourite Tea Room – just to keep the extravagance going. Before finishing the short five minute walk to the QVB we received a message notifying us that our room was ready. They couldn’t have figured that out three minutes earlier?
Absolutely stuffed from tea it was finally time to see our room. And it was worth the wait.
The Room
Booking a park view room we were gobsmacked as we gazed out into the lush green park, but not only that, we had a prime viewing platform to St Mary’s Cathedral from our very room. Excitedly we spent the first half hour taking photos of the immaculate room and vista to match. This was going to be a great weekend.
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Nestled in one of the cosiest beds I’ve ever laid on it was hard to move so my first room service dinner was a must. Service was prompt and the pizza was delicious.
Time to hit the town, we got glammed up in our insanely chic bathroom where the lights around the mirror provided creepy fluorescent rings around your pupil. Not the best distraction when applying mascara…
Every thoughtful detail in the room was met, even down to every single light switch. However, things were about to turn.
Considering we were staying in a high end hotel you’d imagine sound proofing would be down pat. But the new rooms at the Sheraton on the Park definitely need some more work. With us being in an adjoining room, our neighbours arrived home in the middle of the night and it was as if the door between our rooms was wide open. We could here every single detail of their conversation. And I mean every detail.
Too tired to complain we left them to it. After all, they’d probably check out tomorrow and what is loss of one nights sleep? But the next night we had a 3am wake up call from our new neighbour who had a domestic (well what sounded like a domestic) on FaceTime or Skype. Again we could hear every detail, even that from the phone speaker. So note to any readers: MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A NON ADJOINING ROOM.
The Facilities
Who wants an indoor pool with glass ceiling unveiling the Centre Point tower? Or a pool deck overlooking Hyde Park and St Mary’s Cathedral? Yes please. Not to forget the five star gym and day spa facilities too.
Searching for the perfect pool for our luxury retreat we settled on the Sheraton. However, the photos online didn’t do it justice, so with low expectations we were overwhelmed with glee. So I have chosen not to share a photo so you can experience it for yourself too. I couldn’t stop myself from floating in the middle of the pool gazing up at the Centre Point tower, an aspect I never could have imagined myself.
The bar and restaurant on the first floor were both modern, well serviced and I could happily live off the pork gyoza’s every single day for the rest of my life. So good!
Overall
The Sheraton on the Park is a beautiful hotel. For someone who doesn’t like hotel travelling I was blown away by the comfort and elegance of the experience.
However, due to lack of sleep, we checked out early to head home as we were too tired to explore the city which was a shame. We shared our disappointment with reception staff who quickly brought a manager – Ben – who was incredibly understanding and generous, removing our room service and bar tab as consolation.
We still couldn’t help but feel deflated by the experience. After all, you expect better sound proofing when splurging on such a luxurious hotel. Again, isn’t it strange that our expectations is what really damaged our experience? If I were in a crummy hostel in Bangkok I wouldn’t have blinked an eye. But then again, we did spend my monthly allowance in South East Asia for the two night stay…
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All opinions are subjective to the writers personal travel experience. The writer travelled at her own expense.