With Shae getting LASIK surgery early in the morning in Richmond VA, we needed somewhere to stay the night before. We decided to book a room at the Four Points by Sheraton Richmond VA – somewhere we’d stayed a couple of times in the past.
This is a category 2 SPG property and we stayed on a Friday night which meant it only cost us 3,000 Starpoints. That’s because category 2 properties are 3,000 points at the weekend and 4,000 points during the week.
The cash rate including tax would’ve been $136, so we got 4.5 cents per point (cpp) of value. That’s about double the value you might normally expect to get from Starpoints, so it was a great use of points.
As for the stay itself, here’s our review of the Four Points by Sheraton in Richmond VA.
Check-In
We arrived at the hotel at about 5:30pm. There were no other guests checking in, so we went straight to the front desk.
The lobby has a reasonable amount of seating if you did need to wait to get checked in or out.
We were checked in by a trainee called Cobi who was very friendly and efficient. We had Truffles traveling with us, so he had us complete a pet waiver form.
After getting us checked in, Cobi let us know that breakfast was available in the restaurant in the morning but that it wasn’t included in our room rate. I already knew this, but it’s nice that they highlight this for guests who might otherwise have assumed breakfast was included. That way they don’t spend ~$15 per person in the morning without realizing.
Bedroom
We made our way up in the elevator to the second floor as we were in room 230. Entering the room, the bathroom and a closet were to the left and the main bedroom area was straight ahead.
We’d booked a king bed room and the bed itself was extremely comfortable – I had a great night’s sleep.
There were side tables both sides of the bed, although there were only available outlets on the left side.
In the corner there was a lamp, armchair and movable desk / table.
The other side of the room had a desk, office chair and TV. Although it might not look that big in the photo, the TV was much larger than I’m used to in hotel rooms. I’m guessing it was a 50-55 inch screen.
There was a small coffee maker on top of the desk. The coffee didn’t seem to be branded, although it was Rainforest Alliance certified.
The desk had two cupboards which contained a microwave, safe and fridge.
Well, I say fridge but it was more like a freezer. I’d brought a bottle of Coke Zero with me and left it in there overnight. The next morning it sprayed everywhere when I opened it because it was half-frozen.
As I mentioned earlier, the room had a small closet which contained a luggage rack, ironing board and iron.
When entering the bathroom, I thought they’d forgotten to replenish the toiletries as there was only a small bar of soap and bottle of lotion by the sink.
That was until I remembered that this hotel has shampoo, conditioner and body wash dispensers above the bath.
The water pressure from the shower wasn’t great, but it was serviceable.
One of the downsides of the bathroom was that we only got cold water from the sink’s faucet once. All the other times the “cold” water was either warm or hot. This meant I had to go up to the third floor to fill my water bottle with ice to help cool the temperature of the water before drinking it (the ice machines on levels 2 and 5 were both out of order).
Our room was at the rear of the building which meant it looked out over the pool and lake – more on those in a mo.
Amenities
The Four Points by Sheraton Richmond VA has a connected indoor and outdoor pool. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to swim in either of them; I dipped my hand in the outdoor pool though and it was very warm. This was on July 22 after it had been 85°+ for several weeks, so I’m not sure how warm it’d be earlier or later in the year.
Apparently the hotel has 11,000 sq ft of meeting and event space as well as a fitness center. I didn’t get to check out either of these though on my quick walk around.
I did get to check out the surroundings of the hotel though. There’s a gazebo with a couple of chairs looking out over one of the small lakes.
There are several small lakes and they have paths going round them which are perfect for walking your dog or going for a jog. (I’m a poet…)
There’s also a large grassy area where you can walk your dog.
Heading back inside, there was a fairly sad-looking business area just off the lobby.
Food
We didn’t purchase any food at the Four Points, so I can’t comment on whether or not it’s any good. They have a restaurant downstairs though that serves local craft beers in addition to breakfast, lunch and dinner.
As the breakfast buffet was ~$15 per person, we decided to save our money and brought along our own breakfast bars.
There are a few other convenient food options. There’s an Applebee’s restaurant next door to the hotel and a pantry selling drinks and snacks by the hotel’s front desk.
The Four Points Richmond also offers room service (apologies for some of the prices not making it into the photos.) You can order breakfast…
…lunch and dinner…
…as well as beverages including beer and wine.
Rather than eating at the hotel, we picked up Chipotle on our way back from Belle Isle seeing as we had a Buy One Get One Free coupon.
Truffles got in on the action by getting some rice, meat and corn in the foil lid.
It seemed like some of the hot salsa might have made its way on to the meat or rice, as she drank half her bowl of water straight after. Sorry Truffie.
Internet
I’m not entirely sure what to make of their internet connection. I connected both my phone and laptop to their wi-fi and had no issues with my phone.
However, the connection on my laptop was terrible. The service kept disappearing and seemed slow even when it was connected. Like I said though, my phone seemed fine so it’s a bit weird.
Parking
There’s plenty of parking around the hotel, so you shouldn’t have a hard time finding a spot. There’s no parking fee which is always appreciated.
Pets
One of the best things about Starwood hotel brands such as Four Points is that most of them are pet-friendly. Not only that, but most of them – including the Four Points in Richmond VA – have no pet fee.
This is excellent for one-night stays such as these as some hotels charge a $100 pet fee per stay. That’s not so bad for stays of a week or more, but it can pretty much double your cost if only staying one night like we did here.
Summary
This was our third time staying at the Four Points by Sheraton Richmond VA and it was much like our previous stays. Not spectacular, but it’s a solid option if you need somewhere to stay near Richmond, especially when using points.
The hotel has nice surroundings and is only 15 minutes from downtown Richmond. The rooms are clean, it’s pet-friendly and it’s great that each room contains a microwave and fridge.
The downsides during this stay were poor wi-fi, a fridge that froze everything in it and cold water that was anything but. Having said that, we’ve never experienced any of these problems in our two previous stays, so I’m happy to give them the benefit of the doubt that these were isolated issues.
If we’d stayed longer than one night though, I’d have been inclined to ask to change rooms to try and solve these problems.
Truffles Approval Rating
Despite me maybe burning her tongue with hot salsa, Truffles gives this stay four paws out of four – pawfect!
Although the room wasn’t massive, there was just enough space for her to run back and forth chasing her ball. There are also some great walking paths and grassy areas outside for her to do her stuff.
Her parents also love that it’s free for her to stay here 🙂
Our Own Hotel Rating
Room = 4.0 / 5
Hotel Amenities = 4.25 / 5
Food = 3.75 / 5*
Location = 4.25 / 5
Service = 4.0 / 5
Overall Value = 4.0 / 5
Total = 4.04 / 5
* The food score is based on the prices (which are fairly expensive) rather than the quality of the food (we didn’t eat there).
Hotel Address
Four Points by Sheraton, 9901 Midlothian Turnpike, Richmond, VA 23235
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