I've been staying at the Sheraton in Towson since 1995. I've seen many changes to the hotel, mostly lobby renovations and restaurant owner changes. It is an average hotel on all accounts, but why should they try any harder to make it a great place to stay when it's basically the only place to stay in the heart of Towson?

The Sheraton Baltimore North is conveniently located and is within walking distance to almost everything in Towson. I'm assuming most people needing to stay in Towson are either relatives of Towson University students or business people with meetings at the hotel. Most people traveling on business are probably working for companies in downtown Baltimore and would probably stay downtown- why stay in Baltimore County and commute if you don't have to?

For those who do have to stay in the Towson area, here's what you can expect from the Sheraton.

Rooms
The rooms are very average. The size is average for 1 or 2 people, yet I doubt you can fit a cot in the room very easily. In your room you will find a bed (which is very average in comfort), a desk & chair, a dresser, and a closet with a iron and ironing board. The television channels include the usual CNN, ESPN, CNBC, The Weather Channel, and the big networks, as well as USA, MTV, and The Discovery Channel. This hotel also has in-room movies but I think out of the 5-6 times I tried to use it, it shut off in the middle of the movie 4-5 times. To be fair, I've had this problem in many hotels. I guess the technology isn't 100% (although I don't understand why it should be so much of a problem). The lighting in the rooms is slightly better than average, which isn't great. If you've read any of my other epinions on hotels, you'll notice that I have a problem with the lighting in most hotel rooms. I still don't understand why they can't use brighter lights, especially in hotels that cater to business people.

The bathrooms are average as well. They are the standard size for this type of hotel and offer soap/shampoo and coffee (why is the coffee always in the bathroom?).

The hotel offers room service but it certainly has its problems. First of all, the room service menu is limited. You will have many more options if you dine in the restaurant. Why can't they offer all the choices for room service? Also, they say you can't order room service after 10:00. One night after a long day of work, I was exhausted. I didn't want to go out for dinner, I just wanted to relax in my room, watch a movie, and order room service. At 9:30 I called to place my order and they told me the kitchen was closed. I went down to the restaurant to see if they had anything left over and I was told they did not. After a little more arguing, I able to get a few boxes of cereal (without milk).

A problem I feel worth mentioning about the rooms are the thin walls. If no one is next to you, you probably won't have a problem with this. On my last stay, I had a noisy couple in the room next to mine. I could hear them talking and laughing most of the night. I called down to the front desk to see if they could have them quiet down a bit and they assured me they would do something. I don't know what the woman at the front desk did, but I was still listening to these people through most of the night. I eventually fell asleep but woke up at 5:30 to the sound of shrill voices. Also contributing to the noise factor was water (it sounds silly but it's true). Every time someone took a shower or flushed the toilet, it was very loud. At 6:00 AM, there are several people taking showers. When I don't have to get up until 8:00, I do not appreciate being awake for 2 extra hours listening to running water. I'm not a light sleeper so this must have been pretty loud. Other hotels manage for this not to be a problem. Why can't this one?

Service
The service here can be great and can be terrible. They obviously do not train their employees to act a certain way, so the service you get just depends on who is working at the time. I will tell you my best and worst stories.

The worst:
I was staying at the hotel on a cold winter night. I went back to my room after work around 9:00 PM and discovered my room was freezing. The heater was broken. I called down to the front desk to tell them, and I was told that engineering was gone for the night and to call back the next morning. I politely told her that my room was freezing and someone really needed to fix it that night. She said, "Don't give me an attitude- it's gonna have to wait till tomorrow." I asked if there was anyone else I could speak to and she said, "You don't believe me? Anyone else is gonna tell you the same thing." I was tired of arguing on the phone, so I went down to the front desk, told them that the heat didn't work in my room and if there wasn't anyone who could fix it that night, they would have to put me in another room. There were two people at the desk. The woman I talked to on the phone (I'm assuming it was her) said immediately, "All the rooms are taken,". Fortunately the other woman said she would check anyway. Sure enough, there was another room available. I switched rooms and the next morning told the manager the story. She apoligised and said she would talk to the woman who gave me a hard time.

The best:
I was staying at the Sheraton a few weeks ago. When I went to check in, the woman at the desk asked me if I was a Starwood member (their frequent guest programme). I said I was and was about to give her my number when she realised it was already in the computer since I provided it when I made my reservation. She apoligised for not realising that earlier and bent over backwards to do everything perfectly so I could have a smooth and flawless check-in. I had no problem with giving her my Starwood number and did not appear upset. I guess she just wanted to do her best and make all the guests happy. It was certainly refreshing to have this kind of service in this country, especially at a location where I had previously received bad service.

Restaurant/Bar
The restaurant and bar are both... yep, average. The restaurant has changed owners several times, but for the past few years it has been a surf & turf type place. The food isn't wonderful, but I've had worse. I've only tried a few things, but I'd say the best thing that I've tried would be the crabcake (which makes sense since this is Maryland). The service is like the front desk service, it depends on who is working at the time.

The bar has a limited selection (average brands- you will not find a selection of wine, good beer, or Belvedere Vodka), but does stay open as long as there are customers. One night I was there and by 9:00, I was the only one left. The bartender told me he was about to close but if I wanted, I could take one more drink with me up to my room. Another night I was there and at 1:30 AM, there were still 5 other people at the bar. The bartender made 1:30 last call and finally kicked us out at 2:00 (that's the legal time for bars to close in Maryland).

Other things to mention:
- The have bellmen but they are often not at the bellstand. I've always carried my own bags at this hotel, but if you need assistance, just wait a little bit and someone will show up to help you.
- If you need a taxi, you will have to call ahead for one. The taxi service in Towson is not wonderful, but they show up faster at this hotel than other locations around town (good luck getting back to the hotel though).
- The business centre, until this year, was only available on the 8th floor to people who paid a premium. This year they put a small but functional business centre right next to the lobby and it is open 24 hours.

I've found most Sheratons average and this one is no exception. Unfortunately, for the price ($119), this hotel should be slightly above average. However, there is no reason for them to try harder. The only other known hotel in Towson is the Holiday Inn, and that hotel is located on the outskirts of town (and a horrible hotel, by the way). There is a Days Inn and a Red Roof Inn about 15 minutes away by car, but those are a step below Sheratons. So this Sheraton is really the only place for visitors in Towson to stay.

Well, this isn't entirely true. There is another hotel/extended stay called the Burkeshire. It is part of Towson University, and it is now run by Marriott. Most people don't know about it since it just recently got taken over by Marriott and is not heavily advertised. It's also off the main road so people who drive by doesn't know it exists. Staying here is very comfortable. For the same price as the Sheraton, you get a full suite (bedroom, living room, kitchen, washer & dryer). There are two negative things about the Burkeshire. One, the restaurant has a very limited menu and short hours of operation. Two, the employees like to yell at the guests. I asked if there was a drugstore within walking distance and the guy told me that of course there wasn't a drug store in walking distance and I should have known that and picked up whatever I needed before I arrived. Then I went to have breakfast in the restaurant and asked for iced tea. The waitress said someone forgot to make it. I asked if there was a possibility of having some made and she informed me it was way too time consuming and they all had more important things to do with their time.

So if you need to be in the Towson area, take you pick- Sheraton or Burkeshire. Or better yet, rent a car and stay downtown. The commute heading away from the city is going against the traffic so it won't be bad at all.

Recommended: No