We'll choose another hotel next time
We stayed with Sheraton in Anchorage, in Club rooms, on 5 & 15 Sept 2005 & had two of the worst nights' sleep we experienced in the 3.5 weeks of our Alaska trip. ("To lose one parent, Mr Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness." Oscar Wilde.) Our problems were:
5 Sept
1. Our reservation was wrong; fortunately they had other rooms available so this was sorted out.
2. Despite having asked for a quiet room we experienced: noisy guests in the corridor (including children) shouting until the early hours (we appreciate that there is little an hotel can do to prevent this but one hardly expects it in a club room); traffic noise; and train whistles. We got little sleep. (The room problem was remedied on our second stay when, by insisting on a quiet room, we secured a room overlooking the cemetery.)
3. I was able to write my name in the dust on the shaving mirror.
4. I picked up several pieces of rubbish from underneath the wash basin.
15 Sept
1. The floor lamp did not work. The maintence man found that the light had been unplugged behind one of the beds (presumably, he thought, by the chamber maid).
2. We were awakened at midnight by the bedside alarm which had obviously been set by the previous occupant and not cancelled by the staff. We had nicely gone back to sleep when we were awakened at 12.30am by the second alarm which presumably had been set by the previous occupant as a backup. While we had managed to go back to sleep after the first one, we failed miserably to get back to sleep for some time after the second alarm so had a rotten night. The duty manager checked & found that the previous occupant was air crew so it was quite likely that he had set his alarm for this ungodly hour; he did, though, stress that all alarms should be cancelled before another victim is allocated the room.
We reported on both occasions our view that the lighting in these rooms is amongst the most dismal and inadequate we have ever encountered in a hotel room - anywhere (and we have travelled extensively); the duty manager acknowledged the problem and blamed a design fault for the fact that the light fittings can take only inadequate lightbulbs.
The staff were very friendly & helpful & the breakfast (extra cost) was good. There are several good restaurants within walking distance (we did not try the Sheraton for dinner).
Dr R A Litton
UK