This was my second stay at the Sheraton in Riyadh and it has improved a little since I was last there. When I first checked in I was given a room on the 4th floor for the first night, then moved to the 6th floor the following day. The 6th floor room was newly refurbished - in fact I was the first person to stay in the room since the refurb. The refurb on one side of the 6th floor was pretty much finished, but they were still working on the other wing. They finished the day I left. The noise was minimal, however as they move down the hotel floors I can see the noise increasing. The new rooms have larger TVs, a media panel in the wall to allow you to plug your gadgets into the TV, and smarter brighter decor.

Water pressure for the showers is pretty low - certainly not the blast I expect from a hotel shower these days.

The 3rd floor lounge is pretty decent, although they could change the choice of food daily rather than serving exactly the same things every evening.

The buffet restaurant was somewhat disappointing - they currently have a Turkish them for a few weeks but I had more authentic Turkish food at my office from a fast food place. The Italian restaurant is decent, and the food in the lobby is OK if uninventive.

With a little more thought and imaginitive, all the restaurants could be better.

I also loath paying the cost of the Internet in the room. Yes, they have free wifi in the lobby, but this is not really helpful for work purposes and is more of a scheme to get you to have a coffee while you use the wifi.

There is no reason a hotel should need to charge $24 a day for internet access. I have seen the new managers comments about remaining competitive, basically it is a money spinner for the hotels. The bandwidth is pretty shoddy too, although it is faster than my last visit.

Hotel choices in Riyadh aren't that great, and the Sheraton is one of the better ones. With a little thought and imagination, it could be the best.

If you are an SPG member you have very little choice in Riyad. The good news is that the Sheraton is actually pretty good. I recently spent a couple of weeks here. The rooms are typical size and have a good desk area for working. There are plenty of power outlets (220v but you can also request a 110v transformer). Wifi and wired Internet in the room is very good. If you want tea/coffee in your room just ask for it. The gym is average with a good variety of cardio equipment as well as weight training machines (full circuit plus free weights). There is also a Sauna and an indoor pool, though I never saw anyone in the pool the whole time I stayed. I may have been tempted to use it but they also serve meals occasionally on the pool terrace so it's a little off-putting knowing how sensitive locals are to swimwear. The gym has full locker, changing and shower facilities. The buffet restaurant serves what I can only describe as mediocre buffet food but the breakfast buffet is substantial (I really enjoyed the varieties of fresh fruit). The Italian restaurant is again nothing to write home about. On the plus side, Almost everything is available in room-service at no additional charge. The SPG lounge offers very good service with breakfast and light evening meal (leftovers from the buffet lunch as far as I could tell). You can also get afternoon tea and coffee in the lounge. The lobby has a cigar shop, barber, florist and a coffee shop but no shop for accessories or souvenirs. On the plus side you are very close to one of the biggest shopping malls (Kingdom Galleria I believe it's called) - a 10 SAR taxi fare will get you there. The grounds of the hotel are pretty secure but there isn't really any garden to walk in. All the staff were very friendly and helpful. To his credit the manager took time to meet with me. I was particularly impressed with Ronaldo in the restaraunt - he remembered my name and made me feel welcome every morning.