I was prepared to write a glowing review of this hotel, and to say once again that TripAdvisor had come through for me. Unfortunately, I can't say anything positive about my experience there. I booked through Hotwire and stayed one Saturday night. I was just in town for a concert. I didn't want to stay in a casino hotel, nor did I want to stay in one of the shady motels/hotels off the Boardwalk, so I was thrilled to get the Sheraton. It did indeed have a pleasant lobby. Check-in was quick and efficient, and I had no problem with my room, which was on the 4th floor and had two double beds, and which overlooked the outlets. Everything was clean and in working order.
The problem did not arise until I came back around 11:30 p.m. from the show. My card key wouldn't work. I was asked to come back down to the front desk so my card could be reset. But it still didn't work the second time, so they sent security up to open the door for me. When I walked inside, it wasn't my room. This room had only one queen-sized bed and someone else's luggage in it. I was completely baffled, and of course concerned about the whereabouts of my luggage. So I went back down to the front desk. I'm sure the clerk thought I'd been accepting too many free drinks at the slots when I said it wasn't my room, but I hadn't had a drink that night. They checked the computer and verified that I had indeed checked into a room with two beds earlier in the day. One of the clerks, Theresa, said she would go back upstairs with me, as though things were going to mysteriously right themselves in her presence. When she saw that I wasn't lying she took me back downstairs and started calling the engineering dept to find out if they'd have to move beds out of that room. I didn't feel their priorities were in the right place, as I could care less about beds, and wanted to know where my luggage was. I was starting to think it was time to call the police. The other clerk, Emir, took me into the bell hop's closet, to see if someone had moved me out and put my luggage in there, which of course it wasn't. Theresa went back upstairs and met engineering up there, while I waited, fuming, in the lobby. I should add that neither of the clerks seemed particularly interested or concerned about the fact that it was appearing I had been the victim of a theft. Then Theresa called down to the front desk and Emir told me they'd figured out the problem: some wise guy had decided it would be fun to rearrange all the room number signs around, so the room I had entered was truly not my room at all. They only discovered this after Theresa went through the luggage that was in the room I thought was mine & discovered the guest's name. Of course I didn't see the humor in the situation, and I felt that an employee of the hotel should have realized the room numbers were amiss, as I had only walked into the room one time previously.
I asked her what sort of compensation I would be receiving for my inconvenience, as this was 20-30 minutes of wondering what the heck was going on. She said they would give me $50 credit to use anywhere in the hotel. I told her I was checking out early the next morning and would't have time to use anything, and that since I'd prepaid through Hotwire (for $300, not a great bargain) I couldn't be credited by the hotel. She said they would contact Hotwire to see what they could do. I have been waiting patiently now for over two weeks, and of course my credit card has not been credited the $50. I will be contacting the hotel's GM next.
So needless to say, I won't be returning to the Sheraton ever again. Book this property at your own risk, and make sure you know which room is yours when you leave.