JohnnyP

Anyone have any pluses or negatives about this hotel? Good/bad lounges, etc.? Location, location, locations?

I'll be in the area, commuting to the San Dimas area and Pasadena seems to be the nearest place that brings together charm and convenience. (I try to make business trips a little more interesting!)

The Doubletree in Pasadena looks newer/nicer and is more conveniently located near the Foothills freeway. Anyone have the experience to contrast the two hotels? Thanks!

stuck@slvr

JohnnyP,

I used to work in the building across the street from the Sheraton. While I've never stayed at either hotel, I can tell you a little bit about the location. Unless you're walking to the Foothill Fwy (210), The Sheraton Pasadena (which used to be a Holiday Inn about 14 mo. ago) is about 2-3 blocks further south from the Doubletree. So location shouldn't be an issue. Just across the street from the Sheraton is a recently renovated shopping mall called Paseo Colorado, trendy/upscale shops with good restaurants and a nice theater. You can also walk from the Sheraton to Old Pasadena (locally referred to as Old Town) where all the action is. There are tons of good places to eat and great for people watching. If you like Italian food, check out Mi Piacci on Colorado Blvd. or for Japanese food Sushi Rokku (sp?) just behind the GAP store. Probably a 8 min walk.

The drive to San Dimas will probably take about 20-30 minutes with no traffic, 45 min with traffic (usually during weekday afternoons).

Again, not sure about the hotels, but thought the info could help.

-eric

zakami

If you don't mind driving a bit, the 4 points in Monrovia isn't too bad. It will be somewhat cheaper and theres also no charge for parking.

PDX1K

I stayed at the Sheraton Pasadena about two weeks ago. I checked in late and out early so I didn't really get to experience much of the hotel except my room. The underground parking garage is something of a maze. My room was a somewhat tired standard room, no upgrade even though Gold. Overall seemed like a good location and probably would try it again. Stayed for $119 on a client's special rate.

Doug

JohnnyP

I've never stayed at a Four Points before. Do these usually have a "club floor" or something similar? Pretty good SPG Gold recognition at the Monrovia location?

Bookexp

Monrovia Four Points used to be a Wyndham, so it's much better than some other Four Points converted from Howard Johnson/Day Inns I have stayed. Monrovia is a closer to San Dimas than Pasadena, and the Four Points is among many good restaurants and not far from Monrovia's Myrtle Street, the town center.

Pasadena Sheraton definitely has better location for entertainment and night life, within walking distance. It gives you more a city feeling, compared to Monrovia's suburb atmosphere.

raffy

I stayed at the Sheraton Pasadena when it was a Holiday Inn several months back. The hotel, or rather, the lobby and drop off area was being renovated at the time, so I don't know what the final result looked like. The rooms, assuming that they were not renovated, were, as another FT'er mentioned "tired". They were very typical of an older style Sheraton, Holiday Inn, Hilton business traveler room, though somewhat large. The food service wasn't great, but since there were few food choices in the immediate area, I often had room service for breakfast. For dinner and lunch, head down to the older part of Pasadena, there are tons of great restaurants there.

At the time, there were was no club room, but then again, it was a Holiday Inn. Since I had some status, at the time, in the Holiday Inn program, they offered me free breakfast as my benefit.

The staff was quite friendly and overall, I enjoyed my weeks stay. There was a health club as well as washer & dryers on the premises at the time as well.

JohnnyP

As matter of update... We just returned from our stay in California and ended up splitting the time between the Sheraton Pasadena and the Four Points in Monrovia.

Sheraton Pasadena

• Barely any Gold recognition. The gentleman checking me in asked if I thought I would make Gold again. That was about the extent of it.
• After prodding a while, he gave me club-lounge access with a "I'm not supposed to do this, but..." The club is about the size of two rooms with TV, sofa, chairs, massage recliner, and coffee tables. The breakfast spread was decent. Very good orange juice! Fantastic staff in the lounge, too -- very attentive and really seemed to care for their jobs.
• The hotel interior is welcoming, but the rooms are average, tired Sheraton rooms. Nothing of note there. There was some Japanese takeout boxes and glasses filled with black sludge on our patio... I'm guessing those had been there for a while. I didn't touch them. The fitness center could use some sprucing up.
• The location of the hotel is quite convenient. Just a short hop from the freeway, and an easy stroll to the hip and happening Colorado Blvd. Found a great Mediterrean restaurant (iDine, no less) called Café Santorini. Fantastic.

Our next stop was the Four Points Monrovia on a Priceline stay. Talk about 180 degrees of difference!

• Although I had called two weeks earlier, and then a few days earlier, and then that morning to confirm the availability of a n/s room with two doubles, at check in we discover that no such thing is available. I respectfully negotiate for nearly 10 minutes with the desk clerk to no avail -- her hands are tied. We are checked in to a n/s king room with "bedding for the floor."
• We weren't sitting in our rooms for more than five minutes when our phone rings. "Sir, we've found you a room with double beds!" We pack up, express our gratitude and check into our new digs. A couple hours later, they call again to make sure everything is hunky-dory.
• The hotel interior is quite a nice Four Points -- you can see the Wyndham influence. The rooms are not large and also beginning to show their age. Somehow, though, I found it much more comfortable than the Sheraton.
• No club lounge at this hotel. The fitness center has one StairMaster, three bikes, two of which are broken, and one treadmill. Good views while you're pedaling.
• Here again, the location is pretty good too. Easy walking to lots of restaurants, and the hotel is literally right off of the freeway. In N Out Burger is a brisk 15 minute walk.

All in all, I'd rate the Sheraton a "B" for poor elite recognition and in-need of some in-room renovation. The Four Points receives an "A-" for all around decent goodness...

Starwood Lurker

Access to the club level lounge is not a benefit of the Gold elite level, unless of course you've reserved a room on that level.

Upgrades for Gold members are to Preferred rooms, which are not necessarily club level rooms.

In this case, it sounds like the front desk person actually went out of his way to recognize your elite status by giving you complimentary access to the club level lounge - something he did not have to do. Sorry if you don't agree.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Specialist, E-Communications Department
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

[This message has been edited by Starwood Lurker (edited 10-01-2002).]

JohnnyP

Lurker, thanks for the heads up! Maybe I'll raise their grade. Of course, whether it was a perk, a favour, or whatever, I not only appreciated his gesture, but I enjoyed it as well.

FWIW, I'm not sure our room was a preferred room, either; but a bed is a bed.

Thanks, again.

DENPremEx

For those of you unaware, the Hilton in Torrance used to be the place to meet FA's from all the overseas airlines (Virgin, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, New Zealand Air, etc.). They all used to stay there and the bar was the place to meet them. Now the Hilton Torrance is undergoing a renovation and due to an "incident" all the airlines have pulled out of the Hilton Torrance. You are probably wondering what this has to do with *Wood? Well, the Pasadena Sheraton has benefited from Hilton's loss and the FAs from Virgin and New Zealand Air are staying at the Pasadena Sheraton! The pool has amazing scenery and the bar does a brisk business in the evening. This is great news for anyone who stays out in Pasadena. Although I still prefer the Westin (much nicer hotel), I wouldn't hesitate to stay at the Sheraton (again) and I will defintely be frequenting the bar and the pool there again! ^

clover

I'm surprised they are going way out to Pasadena, given the hassle it can be to get back to LAX from there. I wonder what the attraction is for the FA's. Is it just some fantastic deal that the airlines negotiated?

Sam P. Goodman

Just out of curiosity...what was the "incident" you speak of?

PremEx

Hmmmmm? Did someone get "lucky?"

DENPremEx

The bartender at the Pasadena Sheraton said that one of the FAs spoke about an "incident" and that after that they didn't feel safe in Torrance. After spending many nights in the bar at the Hilton Torrance with a group of FAs so diverse they would make the UN proud that it would take a lot more than someone getting lucky to scare them off.