Although I love the SPG program, I’m generally not a big fan of Sheratons. This may in part be due to my rather sub-par experiences staying at Sheratons, in particular the dismal Sheraton Towers Singapore and the Sheraton Casablanca. The Sheraton Towers Singapore has tired, old rooms and refuses to upgrade Platinum members even when suite inventory is available, not to mention the lack of a decent lounge breakfast. The Sheraton Towers Casablanca, to be fair, had fantastic staff and upgraded me to an obscenely big suite, but the rooms again were dank, dark and cold, plus the building had clearly seen better days. The abundance of working girls in the lobby didn’t help either
But Starwood presumably is tired of the Sheraton brand being known as a functional but depressing business hotel and plans to change that.  As part of their Sheraton 2020 plan, over 100 of the top Sheraton hotels will be put into the new Sheraton Grand tier, with the aim of “creating a halo effect” across the group’s portfolio.
No word yet as to which properties will get flagged as Grands (although there are a few properties already called Sheraton Grand, such as the brand new Sheraton Grand Dubai), but this is clearly a step in the right direction
In conjunction with this, Starwood intends to launch what they call their most generous Sheraton-focused promotion ever. From 9 July -30 Sept, you earn 1 free Sheraton night with every 5 nights you spend at any Sheraton. The free night can be used at any Sheraton property, in any category.
Why should you care? Well, there are a handful of very attractive Sheratons in resort areas which may be on your to-visit list. One that is on mine is the Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort, which is on a private island and has that quintessential Maldives experience- overwater bungalows.
Or perhaps you’d like to stay at the Cervo Resort in Porto Cervo, Italy?
Registration for this promotion hasn’t opened yet but I’ll update this post when it is. The price point of Sheratons across the world really varies, I’ve seen sub $100 rates in Indonesia before. Earn cheap, redeem expensive, that’s the mantra
In the meantime you can sign up for the SPG Make it Count promo, where you get 1,000 bonus starpoints whenever you make a stay of 2 nights or more including a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Not the most amazing of promotions, but if you’ve already got Starwood stays blocked off there’s no reason not to earn this bonus.
