While on our way from Athens OH to Mansfield OH, Shae and I needed to find somewhere to stay for one night at the last minute. We were due to be staying with friends in Mansfield, but a family emergency meant we needed to delay our arrival by a day.
We have a good stash of hotel points (here’s our stats from last month in case you’re interested), but I don’t like using them sub-optimally. Another factor when booking one night stays is that we’re traveling with a dog. Some hotels charge expensive pet fees per stay, so I didn’t want to pay a $100 pet fee for one night either.
Thankfully we had a great option along our route – the Sheraton Suites Columbus. At the time of our stay it was a category 2 SPG property which meant it only cost 3,000 Starpoints. That’s how many points you need at the weekend; on weekdays it’s 4,000 points per night. An added benefit is that not only is it pet-friendly, but there’s also no pet fee.
Here’s our full review of the Sheraton Suites Columbus, including our suite, the Club Lounge, its amenities and more.
Check-In
Before arriving at the Sheraton Suites Columbus, we received a text from the hotel asking if we had any special requests before checking in (we didn’t). Shae has Platinum status which is presumably why they reached out; it was a nice touch though as it’s not something we’ve experienced during previous stays.
There were no lines at the front desk when we arrived a couple of hours later, so the check-in process was very quick. The front desk agent was friendly and confirmed that we had Club Lounge access due to Shae’s Platinum status.
The Sheraton Suites Columbus has nine floors and she gave us room 844. The elevator requires a key card to access floors 7-9; I think that’s because those three floors have Club Lounge access.
Living Room
As we’d booked a one bedroom suite with a king bed, there was a separate living room which is where we entered.
The living room had a sofa bed, coffee table and a desk with an office chair on one side and another chair on the other.
Opposite the sofa bed was a TV. This was wall mounted and could be adjusted so that it faced the desk.
To the right of the TV was a mini-fridge, microwave and coffee maker. A free bottle of water was provided, with a much larger bottle available for purchase (I think it would’ve cost $4).
Bedroom
The living room had double doors that led through to our bedroom with a king bed.
There were tables on each side of the bed, with outlets available on both sides behind the tables.
Opposite the bed was a TV on top of a dresser.
The view from both the bedroom and living room was nice enough. The Sheraton Suites Columbus is outside of the downtown area, so you don’t have a city view. However, it’s much better than the view from many other hotels we’ve stayed at which was aided by being on a higher floor.
The bedroom also had a closet with mirror doors. Inside the closet was bedding for the sofa bed, a safe, a luggage rack and an iron and ironing board.
Bathroom
To the left of the closet was the bathroom that was split into two sections. The first section that you enter has the sink and vanity. There was another door to the right of this that led out into the living room next to the fridge and microwave.
The toiletries were ‘le grand bain’ which is the brand that all Sheratons seem to use.
To the left of the sink and vanity was the main bathroom area containing the toilet and a bathtub with shower.
Club Lounge
As I mentioned earlier, we had access to the Club Lounge during our stay. Shae and I didn’t feel like going out for dinner that evening, so I went up to the 9th floor to check out the evening hors d’oeuvres offering.
When entering the Club Lounge, there’s a business area with a computer and printer to the right.
The room extends out to the left with a good number of seating areas.
I arrived in the lounge before the evening hors d’oeuvres had been set up. That meant there were only daytime snacks at the time which consisted of some granola bars.
There was a coffee and tea station…
…as well as a fridge containing soft drinks.
Evening Hors D’oeuvres
About half an hour later, the evening snacks were introduced and I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve found evening hors d’oeuvres in other Sheraton Club Lounges have been hit or miss, but there was a good selection at the Sheraton Suites Columbus.
It included salad, hard boiled egg that was chopped up, cheese and biscuits, a vegetable tray, hummus, pita bread and fresh fruit. There was also a heated tray at the back containing chicken tenders. A couple of plates of these options were more than enough for dinner.
Breakfast
We went back up to the Club Lounge for breakfast in the morning where there was another decent enough spread. The hot options included scrambled eggs, bacon and breakfast potatoes.
There were a couple of cereal options, oatmeal packets, a toaster as well as apples and oranges.
On the island was an A-framed serving display containing breads, bagels, muffins and pastries. There was also a bowl of fresh fruit and a large bowl of cottage cheese.
As much as I enjoyed both the evening hors d’oeuvres and breakfast, there are several improvements that could be made in the Club Lounge.
It didn’t seem particularly organized, so both in the evening and at breakfast they ran out of plates, bowls and silverware. The same thing happened with the hot options in the evening and morning, so there was about 15-20 minutes during both times we visited where they ran out of some of the hot food options.
The fridge containing soft drinks could also be better organized. It seemed to get refilled just before the evening snacks and breakfast were served. That meant at its busiest times, all the drinks in the Club Lounge were room temperature. It would’ve been better for them to fill the fridge during quieter periods so that the beverages would be cold by the time guests arrived to eat.
Amenities
The Sheraton Suites Columbus has several amenities for guests. There’s an indoor swimming pool…
…while around the corner from the swimming pool is a whirlpool.
If you want to build up a sweat before going swimming, there’s a fitness center with a fair amount of equipment.
If you don’t have access to the Club Lounge but need to use a computer, there’s an additional business center in the hotel lobby.
There’s also a coffee station in the lobby for guests to take advantage of.
Wi-Fi
I have mixed feelings about the Wi-Fi. For whatever reason, my laptop wouldn’t connect to their Wi-Fi, even after restarting it. I thought this was an issue with their Wi-Fi, but both Shae and I were able to connect our phones to it, so I’m not sure what the problem was.
There was thankfully another open Wi-Fi network my laptop was able to pick up, so I didn’t have to rely on my phone as a hotspot. I’ve never had that problem before or since though, which makes me think there was some kind of Wi-Fi issue on the hotel’s end.
Pet-Friendliness
As I mentioned earlier, the Sheraton Suites Columbus is a pet-friendly hotel that doesn’t charge a fee for bringing along your dog.
There are a few grassy areas around the hotel where you can walk your dog so that they can do their stuff.
Service
We didn’t have much contact with staff at the hotel other than at check-in, check-out and in the Club Lounge. All the people we did speak to though were friendly and personable. It was also nice that they’d reached out to us before arrival to see if there was anything they could do for us.
Location
The Sheraton Suites Columbus is located just outside of the I-270 perimeter around Columbus to the north, near Worthington and Polaris.
The hotel’s about 20 minutes outside of downtown Columbus, so it’s not too far if you’re wanting to explore what Ohio’s state capital has to offer. It’s also only 10-15 minutes from OSU and is right next to a movie theater and a very short drive to restaurants.
Cost
We paid for our stay using points; as it was a Friday night stay, it only cost 3,000 Starpoints. Thanks to Shae’s Platinum status, we received a welcome amenity of 500 Starpoints, so our net cost was only 2,500 points.
The cash price would’ve been $132.83 (inc. tax), so we got 5.31cpp (cents per point) of value out of our points which is excellent value.
Final Thoughts
Even though we only stayed for one night, we enjoyed our stay at the Sheraton Suites Columbus. Our suite was comfortable and we appreciated having the separate bedroom area so that I could work in the evening with the light on while Shae was in bed.
I thought the Club Lounge had a good spread compared to other Sheratons we’ve stayed at in the past, although there are a few improvements they could make in that area.
This hotel is a decent option if you need somewhere comfortable to stay in the Columbus area and don’t need to stay downtown, especially if you have access to the Club Lounge.
Truffles Approval Rating
Truffles gives the Sheraton Suites Columbus four paws out of four – pawfect! She (well, we) loved that there was a separate bedroom area where you could close the doors so that she wouldn’t be disturbed by people walking down the hallway.
It’s also great that there’s no pet fee and there are sufficient grassy areas to walk your dog around.
Our Rating
Room = 4.6 / 5
Hotel Amenities = 4.4 / 5
Food = 4.4 / 5
Location = 4.4 / 5
Service = 4.3 / 5
Overall Value = 4.7 / 5
Total = 4.47 / 5
Address
Sheraton Suites, 201 Hutchinson Ave, Columbus, OH 43235
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