I have mixed feelings on my stay at the New Sheridan. The rates were $250/night for a reguar room, but $150/night for the same type of room with no bathroom. You end up using a shared bathroom dorm-style down the hall. We figured why not? The problem was, the ladies 3rd floor shared bathroom smelled like sewage and I could hardly stand being in there to do anything. I figured out I could just run down to level 2 for a smell-free shower, etc.. Also, the bathroom was down the hall, so I did use it at night-time - but by the time I walked all the way down the hall, had the floursecent lights shining in my eyes; I just couldn't fall back asleep. I wonder why they don't have a nightlight in there? Also, the showers have a tiny soap dish in there but they need to install another $5 shelf for shampoos and things. You end up putting your stuff on the shower floor which looked dirty. I never quite felt clean or relaxed due to those bathrooms. They look like they were updated in 1982 - ick.
Anyway, the hotel is beautiful inside, it does seem very European - you could forget you're in America. It is a historic hotels, so it's no surprise that the rooms are small but quaint and decorated in a way to fit the old charm of the hotel. That was somewhat of a problem b/c we stayed in the winter and had lots of bulky stuf just lining the walls. There is no closet. The staff was very helpful, I am a light sleeper, so they gave me a fan for white noise which helped. If you are a light sleeper, request the 3rd floor b/c quite often I heard the bar music (subwoofer) on the 2nd floor. The hotel is old and creaky too and the doors close pretty loudly, but people typically are quiet at night so it wasn't much of a problem.
There is a computer on 1st floor so you can get in the internet whenever you want. Also, at any time you can help yourself to coffee, tea, hot chocolate, cider, and typically apples. The breakfast is delicous - they make one thing (such as sausage/biscuits and eggs or french toast with bacon) each day and also give you cold buffet style choices as well. Later in the day they have some chocolate chunk cookies which are pretty good.
Overall, I liked the hotel and the staff. The next time, I'd stay on the 3rd floor WITH a bathroom in my room!!!
