Am just coming to the end of a 2 week stay here as part of a business trip. The chief reason for staying at this hotel is that my local office that I am visiting is just across the road (Literally, takes 30 seconds door-to-door)
I must say I have been quite impressed with the Sheraton during my time here. The staff are all polite and friendly, and do their utmost to help you if required. They also work very hard at understanding English and communicating in English, which from my point of view is a huge bonus
The hotel has a variety of bars and restaurants to choose from, and I ate at most of them at some point. I would advise against the 2 rooftop restaurants - one french and one Japanese/teppinyaki style. Both were vastly overpriced and far too pretentious for my tastes (even if the views were spectacular). For the money you spend you're better off hopping into Sannomiya for the evening. The downstairs cafe and American sports bar had some good simple food for a reasonable price (by Japanese standards!)
The spa/pool area was very nice (and I was not charged any extra) -usually fairly quiet which is great. The sauna had a classic ice-cold plunge pool next to it and also a hot pool which was great for relaxing in.
Although the hotels location (on Rokko island) means that its removed from the cebtre of Kobe and the nightlife, a bus ran for £2.00 into Sannomiya every 15 mins from just oputside the hotel, which was very useful
Couple of tips - taxis are reasonably expensive but very plentiful around Kobe ccentre - expect to pay £15-20 back to Rokko Island.
Mini-bar beer is remarkably cheaper than the beer in the hotel bars (v rare!)
Try A1-steak house in Sannomiya (the one next to the station, not the bigger one near the Sauna) for some classic kobe beef, and of course ensure you have a pint at Ryans, a wonderful Irish bar in Sannomiya
