Review of Sheraton Grande Ocean Resort 4*

Unfortunately, the experience with the Sheraton Grande went from positive to negative rather quickly. The hotel does not show much respect towards Platinum members (who spend 50-100+ nights a year in SPG). Upon arrival, the staff are very courteous. Many of them speak English, which is a major plus. The hotel manager was super kind as we were celebrating a special occasion, putting a "Congratulations" letter in the room (+1 star). They upgraded us to a suite (I used Suite upgrades) — I was ecstatic. However, the suite consisted of 2 beds (which they then pushed together into one), and was also on the smoking floor (the room is non-smoking). There is a lot of construction going on as well, so you may notice construction workers roaming the halls. Now, the reason I am rating them lowly, is that the second you checkout, you are no longer needed on the property. For example, we came back to the hotel a bit past 4PM (our checkout time is 4PM) and asked if we could just rest in the "Club" lounge since they booked us on the 6:35PM shuttle to Haneda. At the entrance, they said no and no exceptions. I went to the SPG Gold/Platinum Desk to ask if we could go in and get a water or coffee, and they refused. While I understand that they follow rules strictly here, there was no "sorry" or anything. It was a strict "No, you are no longer staying on the property. " I thought it was rather disrespectful, especially as a Platinum member. Fortunately, they offer 1 hour of free Wi-Fi in the lobby (thus writing the review). I don't blame them for following the rules, but they should definitely treat Platinum members with more respect. As for the hotel overall, the gym is very poor. There are no freeweights, and the pools are closed during the winter season — no biggie there. The buffet on the 12th floor for Platinum members is decent — lots of variety with soup, dimsum, American eggs/sausage, orange juice, etc. The staff don't really make an effort to say Hi compared to other SPG properties in Japan. As for the rooms, the rooms are clean. They're a bit old and dated, thus the renovation. I am eager to see how the new rooms will look — this is a good investment. As for location, if you are going to only go to Disneyland/Sea, this is a great location. Make sure to buy a daily pass for the monorail since it's 260yen each way. If you're not purely spending the week/weekend at Disney, I'd recommend moving to a hotel closer to the city. It is extremely far from the city (~1.25 hours) and expensive unless you have a JR pass and buy a daily pass for the monorail. Overall, I had very high expectations for this hotel but my experience was soured. I'll treat this as a one-off and maybe will give it another chance.