I stayed at the Sheraton recently after a successful bid of $45 on Priceline. While it was an exceptional deal, I was a little disappointed that the hotel, while technically in Novi, isn’t located by the Twelve Oaks Mall. The mall is located on the far southeastern edge of Novi -- literally on the city’s limits. It’s about 10 minutes away without traffic and as much as 30 minutes away during the busiest times of the day, when the highways can be parking lots.

Nevertheless, the hotel is in a great location for anyone who expects to travel in the metropolitan Detroit region. It’s right off of I-275 only a couple of miles north of I-96 East and M-14 and a couple of miles south of I-96 West and I-696 East. The surface streets -- namely the “mile” roads -- can be used to avoid heavy traffic on the highways. Driving to downtown Detroit for a baseball, football or hockey game takes about 20 minutes with light to moderate traffic.

Upon arrival, I was pleasantly surprised at the friendliness of the hotel staff. The front desk clerk greeted me by name (Mr. ----) several times during the check-in process. That level of service, while superficial to some, isn’t standard at many hotels.

The room itself was spacious and very clean. The double beds were comfortable and came with four large pillows. It has a very large flat-screen, high-definition television. The toiletries were standard offerings as well. By and large, the room’s accoutrements were contemporary and up to expectations. The lighting was a bit dull, as there is no overhead light fixture. Instead there were three or four lamps in the room, which were alright but no replacement for a ceiling light. I also thought the room could have had a couple of more electrical outlets for guests to plug-in various devices. I could only find one readily accessible outlet on the desk. The bathroom was also clean and well lit, though I didn’t think three towels were enough considering there could be two adults and two children staying in the room with the double beds. I was also a bit disappointed that the bottled wattle in the room was $3 a bottle. I know hotels make a lot of money off of in-room beverages, but $3 is a bit expensive when the same bottle is 75 cents in a store.

Outside of the room, the corridor on the third floor -- where I stayed -- was a bit dark and could use some more lighting. The public spaces were exceptionally clean. I found the fitness room to be well equipped, though accessing it required walking through the pool’s wet floors.

The hotel’s biggest downside was the lack of complimentary wireless internet. I had my BlackBerry smartphone, so I didn’t need a computer to check my e-mail messages or surf the internet, but I was disappointed that wireless internet was approximately $10 a day for access.

I didn’t eat at the restaurant, though the prices weren’t unreasonable by hotel standards. Morning breakfast was about $13 for the full breakfast buffet or about $6 for the continental buffet. If you want to skip the hotel restaurant, there are a couple chain restaurants within walking distance as well as fast-food restaurants. Across the intersection of Haggerty and Eight Mile roads, there are supermarkets and other stores in strip mall developments.

In all, this hotel was an exceptional deal at $40 on Priceline. I would most certainly consider staying here again.