Okay. I’m a budget hotel kind of guy. Usually when I’m on vacation, a simple crash pad will do as I’d rather spend my money elsewhere. When I went to a weekend convention at the Sheraton Gateway, I was looking forward to seeing what I was missing by going the budget route. I found the Sheraton to be not bad, but nothing special.

The Room

I was sharing a room with a colleague. We had two full beds, a medium sized dresser, and a writing desk. The television got most local stations (though not the PBS station) and some cable stations. Other game amenities were available for a charge. The carpeting was torn in several places.

There was a decent sized closet and an iron and ironing board in the room.

The room was slightly larger than the Super 8 rooms I had been in, but not much. Towels were thicker and the bathroom was larger than some of the more budget motels I had been in.

The overall description of the room would be not spectacular, but decent.

When I travel, I avoid extra phone charges by using my phone card and paying only 2.5 cents per minute. Sheraton charged for both local calls and 800 calls, something I am not used to.

The Food

I experienced three kinds of food during my stay at the Sheraton–a banquet, a restaurant meal, and buffets in meeting rooms.

The banquet food was quite tasty. The hotel offered several different cuisines. The one I had (Mexican) was medium spicy and most of the food was fresh. There was more than enough and the lines were not bad at all. Service was pleasant and prompt.

The food at the restaurant was decent, though somewhat pricy. I didn’t care about the price because someone else was paying for it and I’m sure that many visitors at hotels such as this are equally unconcerned about price. For a bowl of soup, a personal pan pizza, and a glass of wine, I paid a little over $30. Service was not as good as at the banquet, but decent. The food was tasty, but not spectacular. My colleagues who had been there before (I hadn’t) suggested that service and attention had gone down. They thought this might be because our organization was scheduled to go to the Hilton next time because we had outgrown the facility and they didn’t care.

The buffets that serviced meeting rooms were more than adequate but, again, not spectacular. For lunch, there was more than enough salad, sandwich fixings, and a few other items. The breakfast buffet had the usual fare you would expect. Tasty, plentiful, but not spectacular.

Other Considerations

The lobby was comfortable and attractive. It was large enough for the various displays our organization had and the chairs and sofas were comfortable and plentiful.

Check in and check out were efficient and the lobby staff was friendly and helpful. Meeting rooms had the basics necessary and the building was neither too hot nor too cold.

Parking was across the street and there was plenty of it. The parking fee was included in the room rate and we had unlimited in and out privileges.

The gift shop was your garden variety offering for a hotel.

In conclusion . . .

The Sheraton is a garden variety airport offering–nothing special one way or the other. If you need a clean, comfortable accommodation near the LA Airport, you probably could do a lot worse. If you are looking for a fabulous hotel to be a wonderful part of your travel experience, this is not it. If you prefer to spend as little as possible on lodging so you can spend more on something else, you probably could find a better deal at the Super 8 a block or so away.

For a convention type experience, you could probably do a lot worse. You will get the services you need, though you won’t be telling everyone back home about the fabulous experience the hotel provided you with

For getting the job done, the Sheraton does it, though not necessarily spectacularly.

Recommended: Yes