RTWSTARALLIANCE

Preface: I have a F award ticket on UA. You are allowed a stop so since I have never been to Northern Japan I decided to add this in. I flew from HND to CTS and will return to the US via of all things NGO.

Rate: 8700 all in.

Transportation: Upon arrival into CTS exit baggage. If you checked a bag your claim ticket will be required to exit. Make a hard left and head towards to escalators down. The entrance will to to your right. The ticket machines have a English option so push the button. You need a ticket for Shin Sapporo not Sapporo. The rate was I think 850 yen versus 1040 for a ticket to Sapporo. Upon exiting the wicket head towards exit 8. Now this was not so simple As your approach Shin Sapporo facing forward the Hotel is to your right. So upon exiting I just headed towards that direction. You will eventually see signs for the Sheraton. Now mind you. You will walk outside for a few minutes so prepare your umbrella just in case.

Check-in: This process was ok. Not all agents speak good English which I understand. I knew from Yasuki was a Platinum I would most likely get a upgrade. My junior and I mean junior mint suite was the upgrade along with a buffet breakfast coupon and gym coupon for each day. I was also offered a amenity which I took points.

Perks: As noted above. The Hotel does NOT have a Lounge.

Room: The cable tv in my first room was not working properly and I spent the first 45 minutes watching two engineers trying to fix the system while sitting on the floor. The English speaking agent Heather arrived with new keys for another suite. Now these suites are nothing special and looking at the floor plan there are a few per floor. The room is a wedge with a very small living area with a small desk. The otherside contains the sleeping area and bathroom. I have two large windows with I assume a ok view for Sapporo. Standard amenities. My bathroom as dirty and I needed someone to come clean it while I looked for food.

Communications: HSIA wired internet is available for 1000 yen per 24 hour period. The worst thing it is not located anywhere near your desk but next to your bed phone. So I am working (ok well not really working) on a small table brought over. The confirm button is in Japanese only so I am probably paying 1000 yen per session. Just kidding.

Location: Actually not as bad as I thought. Some shopping attached to the Station and food. Not located in downtown Sapporo so nothing cultural for a tourist.

Closing: Today I am going to try and take a one day bus tour of the area. The tour leaves from the Sapporo Station bus terminal located on level two. So I need to head to Sapporo proper. I say try since I do not have a reservation which is required. Reservations must be made before 6 PM so have the Hotel book in advance if you are arriving late.

The Hotel is functional and given the rate a bargain. The Renaissance is probably better located but was more and I have no status with Marriott. Thank you again to Yasuki and SanDiego1k for the assist on this trip. Will advise later on buffet and that tour.

Oh. Ramen. I did with the help of Heather find a small ramen shop called Ryu Ryu which was located by the exit 8 talked about above. It was ok.

railroadtycoon

Thanks for the report.

I agree that though not centralized in downtown Sapporro, but as a Category 2, point redemption in both award and cash and points is great.
Access to downtown Sapporo can also be accomplished via JR and municipal railines.

Also I'm not sure but I recall someone said that the Sheraton was a converted property, though I'm not sure what it used to be.

schriste

I'd like to add that as a platinum guest earlier this year I was given access to the very nice health club with numerous sauna, steam, and water options. Also a very nice buffet breakfast. Add these in and the rate can be very good indeed.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

I will second that. The buffet was good. A chef will cook eggs one of four ways. Please don't ask because I do not remember.

You can take the same train from Shin Sapporo to Sapporo Station (central). Forgot the rate already. At least 200 yen.

Tour. I did make it onto the tour. The tour is ONLY in Japanese. I did not find it a problem as you are after the sites. I took the Sapporo Day Tour which commenced at 9:40 AM and they dropped me off at Shin Sapporo right near the Sheraton at 4:00 PM. Rate was 5400 yen which included your admissions but not lunch. Stops are Okura Ski-Jump Stadium, Mt Moiwa Ropeway (tram), Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill and Historical Village of Hokkaido. I highly recommend the tour. SanDiego1k also took it and highly recommended it also. You will love the Village. Also had a very interesting Japanese lunch where you cook it yourself.

Well that is it from here. Unless I find something interesting to eat this evening walking around.

yasuki

Wow, you have been experiencing lots of things that I have never experienced.
From Shin-Sapporo to Sapporo, the subway-Tozai line (East-West line) is available. But you need to change the subway at O-dori station to Nanboku line (South-North line). Also you can go to Susukino that is downtown of Sapporo city.
Sapporo is famous for fresh fish, sushi, and beer. You can enjoy draft beer and Genghis Khan food (BBQ lamb meet ?) at Sapporo beer garden and Kirin Beer garden.

http://www.kirinbeer-en.co.jp/menu1.html
http://www.sapporo-bier-garten.jp/

Sorry, only Japanese.

But I do not recommend to go there by yourself, so I do not tell you on PM and I know you do not drink a lot like me.

elliscm

We stayed at this hotel on our honeymoon and did the Ghengis Khan at the Sapporo Bier Garten. It was all you could eat lamb and all you can drink beer for 90 minutes, in the lovely wood-paneled beer hall indicated in the second website below. It was *by far* one of the best parts of our trip, but we both love to drink beer. We especially enjoyed that they had Sapporo brews (i.e. dark) that you can't normally get in the US. There was a long line of taxis outside the door waiting to take the stuffed-silly and falling-down-drunk to their hotels.

I was not such a fan of the hotel. It was in a boring suburban neighborhood with nothing interesting within walking distance. But the rooms were large (by Japanese standards) for the price, and it is a classy place.

money_opp

be sure to get some Ishiya White Chocolate Cookie.. they're one of the kind

http://www.shiroikoibito.ishiya.co.j...ish/index.html

Royce's Confect Chocolate is always very good too

http://www.e-royce.com/index.html

ghia74

I had a question on this hotel and this seemed to be the most recent thread.

My brother is taking a group of exchange students to Tokyo in July. He will have a couple of free days and wants to go visit Hiroshima. The Sapporo seems to be the closest hotel at 10 miles out side the city.

I tried to piece together details from some of the other reviews but thought I would just ask. Is this a convenient hotel if he is taking a train from Tokyo, and will than want to take public transportation or a tour to Hiroshima? Or is the fact it is 10 miles outside the city not worth the free room I would give him?

jimmychang

There is something wrong with spg.com. Hiroshima is thousands miles away from Sapporo. They are actually in the opposite side of Japan. The one close to Sapporo is Kitahiroshima which I don't think is the one you refer to.

Take a look at the map below.

http://www.hoteltravel.com/japan/maps.htm

PforPlatinum

Sapporo is about 500 mile NORTH of Tokyo, and Hiroshima is about 400 Miles WEST of Tokyo - they are 750 miles away, not 10 miles.

Unfortunately, no Starwood property around Hiroshima area - closest is Kobe, still more than 1 hour away with bullet train...

Better to look at other hotel chains...

ghia74

Thanks, next time I will consult a map, not just SPG.com, before posting. In my defense it does list the hotel as 10.99 miles outside Hiroshima city center.

PforPlatinum

I back you up.
After I post my reply, I did property serach on Hilton and Marriott, typing Hiroshima in city. Both came up with hotels in Sapporo. Must be using the same search engine...

ghia74

Thanks, after looking at that I realize how off it is. I could only wonder my brothers confusion if he went to Sapporo and asked a cab driver to take him to Hiroshima expecting a 10 mile charge.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

We will be taking a family trip to Hiroshima and booked the ANA for four nights. I did the same thing last time. No SPG, Hilton, Marriott or Hyatt props in the area. Visiting Hiroshima, Kure and Miyajima. The map is definitely off.

ENIAC

Thanks for posting on this hotel. I'd noticed it on the SPG site, and it looked like great value, but never came across any details in the other Japan threads.