After our incredible stay at the Fogo Island Inn, we decided to spend a few nights in St. John’s, the biggest city in Newfoundland. We checked out of the Fogo Island Inn mid-morning, took the ferry, and then drove to Gander. From there we flew to St. John’s, which was a roughly 30 minute flight on a cute little Beechcraft 1900 (though in retrospect we could have driven that as well).
Air Canada Express Beechcraft 1900
Since I’m a Starwood loyalist, we decided to stay at the Sheraton St. John’s for our two night stay. Our rate at the Sheraton was 140CAD per night, or roughly 100USD. This is a Category 4 SPG property, so a free night redemption would have cost 10,000 Starpoints. In this case, paying cash was definitely the better value.
We took a taxi from the airport to the Sheraton, a ride that took about 15 minutes. The Sheraton is rather outdated looking from the outside.
Sheraton St. John’s exterior
However, from the inside it’s a different story, and looks like… well, just about any other Sheraton. Just inside the lobby was the reception area to the left.
Sheraton St. John’s lobby
The lobby also had several comfortable lounging areas.
Sheraton St. John’s lobby
Sheraton St. John’s lobby
Also off the lobby was a business center.
Sheraton Newfoundland business center
Sheraton Newfoundland business center
The check-in process was efficient, and within a few minutes we had keys to our room on the club floor.
Sheraton St. John’s hallway
We were assigned room 642, located at the very end of the hallway on the right. There was an entry door leading to the doors to both rooms 642 an 644, which was a bit odd, since you could easily hear when the person next to you entered the room.
Sheraton St. John’s room exterior
Sheraton St. John’s floorplan
The room had a long entryway with the bathroom on the right.
Sheraton St. John’s club king room entryway
As usual, the hotel had the signature Sheraton bed, which is extremely comfortable.
Sheraton St. John’s club king room
Sheraton St. John’s club king room
The room had an unusual shape, and at the other end of it was a desk and a TV console.
Sheraton St. John’s club king room desk & TV
The desk area had conveniently placed outlets, which I appreciated.
Sheraton St. John’s club king room desk
Next to the TV were two bottles of complimentary water, and an ice bucket, along with a Sunbeam single-cup coffee machine.
Sheraton St. John’s in-room bottled water
Sheraton St. John’s in-room coffee machine
There was also a comfortable chair with a side table.
Sheraton St. John’s club king room sitting area
The bathroom had a sink, toilet, and shower/tub combo.
Sheraton St. John’s club king room sink
Sheraton St. John’s club king room shower
Sheraton St. John’s club king room toilet
Toiletries were the brand standard Sheraton ones, which are… fine.
Sheraton St. John’s toiletries
The highlight of the room, however, were the views. Our room had views of St. John’s Harbour. The afternoon we arrived it was snowing, so visibility was limited.
Sheraton St. John’s club king room view
However, when we woke up the next morning we pulled back the curtains and had an amazing view. Wow!!!
Sheraton St. John’s club king room view
Sheraton St. John’s club king room view
So overall I’d say the room was typical of the brand, with the added benefit of one of the nicest views I’ve ever had from a Sheraton. The in-room Wi-Fi was fast and free, which I appreciated.
The executive lounge was located just down the hall from us, and could be accessed using a key card.
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge
Here are the hours for the club lounge:
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge hours
The club lounge wasn’t very big at all, though also never seemed to be full. This hotel probably doesn’t get as many SPG Platinum members as most other properties. The club lounge had a variety of seating options, including booths, high-top tables, etc.
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge
There was also a computer with a printer in the corner of the lounge.
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge
Throughout the day there were soft drinks, water, granola bars, and whole fruit available.
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge soda & water
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge snacks
There was also coffee & tea available all day.
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge coffee & tea
Then in the evenings from 5PM until 7PM there was an evening spread, which wasn’t impressive. Sheratons in North America seem to have the most underwhelming lounge spreads out there, and this hotel was no exception.
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge evening spread
There were plates of cheese, fresh fruit, veggies, crackers, chips, and brownies.
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge evening spread
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge evening spread
And then there were two hot options, including chicken quesadillas and meatballs, neither of which were especially appetizing.
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge evening spread
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge evening spread
Breakfast was served from 7AM until 9:30AM, and was basic, but more than sufficient. There was coffee, tea, and juice.
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge breakfast
There was cereal, fresh fruit, cheese, salmon, cold cuts, pastries, bagels, etc.
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge breakfast
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge breakfast
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge breakfast
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge breakfast
Then there were two hot options — oatmeal and super cheesy eggs.
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge breakfast
Sheraton Newfoundland club lounge breakfast
Overall the lounge was pretty average for a Sheraton in North America. The breakfast was sufficient, as I usually just like coffee, fruit, and cereal for breakfast (I didn’t touch the eggs). Then throughout the day I appreciated having access to coffee, water, and granola bars. However, we didn’t touch the evening spread.
In terms of the hotel’s other facilities, there was a gym on the ground level. The equipment looked decent enough, but two of the treadmills didn’t work properly, so it didn’t seem like the upkeep of the equipment was all that great.
Sheraton Newfoundland gym
Sheraton Newfoundland gym
I was impressed by the size of the gym, though, including a repurposed squash court.
Sheraton Newfoundland gym
Sheraton Newfoundland gym
Next to the gym was a pool. I imagine this is probably somewhat of a novelty in Newfoundland, though it goes without saying that we didn’t use it. 😉
Sheraton Newfoundland pool
The hotel also had a large “open” space with a glass roof. I’m not sure if this served a purpose or was considered to be modern architecture at some point, or what…
Sheraton Newfoundland lobby
All the staff at the hotel we interacted with were friendly, and the hotel has a good location in St. John’s. It’s towards the end of the “walkable” area, so we spent our days walking around the town, working from coffee shops, going to good restaurants, etc. St. John’s was a cute city. I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit it specifically, but if you’re exploring the rest of Newfoundland (which seems worth doing), then a stop in St. John’s for a couple of days could be fun.
Sheraton Newfoundland bottom line
The Sheraton was a great base from which to explore St. John’s. This was a pretty standard Sheraton property, so the hotel itself didn’t have much charm, though the bed was comfortable, the club lounge was a good place from which to work, and the Wi-Fi was fast. Perhaps the highlight of the hotel was the incredible views.
If you’re an SPG loyalist then I’d by all means recommend staying here if in St. John’s. Just expect it to be an average North American Sheraton property…
@Shawn Morrissey - "Epicenter of tourism in Canada." Hahaha...yeah, ok. Newfies like to think that...
Sweet, walkable city. Colourful and full of friendlies. The history is long and sometimes dramatic. Water street is the first street in N. America. Some top quality restaurants as well.
Through-the-wall PTAC ACs? No thanks! I intentionally avoid staying at properties with those as much as possible. Rooms with them always feel so damp and they never seem to be powerful enough in winter or summer.
@smallmj,
I'm not sure but I'm eager to find out what it was like, small props like that don't visit DUB so never had the experience and would like to read about it, as well as the airport facilities on either end.
Look forward to hearing how tomorrow's stay at the Emirates Palace compares with this!
@DB
How much of a flight review can there be?
Walk up to a little 18 seat prop that may or may not have a bathroom. Squeeze in to the 30" pitch seat in an all economy layout. Take off and land a few minutes later. Not enough time for the airline to make an impression.
No flight review?
St. John's being described as a cute city and not particularly worth a specific visit begs the question: how much, and with how much effort, did you see of the city? St. John's and surrounding areas are culturally and historically rich. It's an epicentre of tourism in Canada.
I second Red's recommendation to go see Come From Away. I'm generally not big on musicals (prefer either plays or operas) but I thought it was great. I had actually meant to make the same recommendation earlier, both in connection to visiting Gander and to Ben's descriptions of Newfoundland hospitality.
Complete overkill on the photos and it makes the report tedious to view. Do we really need the hallway, the door, the door open, the entryway, the room map, the back of the door...etc etc etc
@GottaFly
Now you've got "Somewhere In The Middle of Nowhere" from the musical Come From Away stuck in my head.
I'd encourage Lucky and any residents/visitors to NYC to check it out. It's about Operation Yellow Ribbon where 6000+ people were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland on 9/11. Decent amount of aviation references in the show, especially the focus on Captain Beverly Bass, the first female captain on AA, who was flying a 777 CDG-DFW...
@GottaFly
Now you've got "Somewhere In The Middle of Nowhere" from the musical Come From Away stuck in my head.
I'd encourage Lucky and any residents/visitors to NYC to check it out. It's about Operation Yellow Ribbon where 6000+ people were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland on 9/11. Decent amount of aviation references in the show, especially the focus on Captain Beverly Bass, the first female captain on AA, who was flying a 777 CDG-DFW and ended up there. Oh and the music is great too. It has an outside chance at winning the Tony for Best Musical.
My only trip to St John's was in Feb of 95, and I didn't get to see any of the views. It snowed like crazy the entire time I was there, so I only saw the airport, the university and the Holiday Inn.
I was there a week before you and absolutely loved St. John's. Great people and just a very nice small city with beautiful views. I hope you had a chance to visit Cape Spear and Signal Hill.
While the hotel rooms were comfortable and spacious, the noise level was very high on the nights I was there - even at very late hours on weeknights. I noticed the same problems as you with the gym...
I was there a week before you and absolutely loved St. John's. Great people and just a very nice small city with beautiful views. I hope you had a chance to visit Cape Spear and Signal Hill.
While the hotel rooms were comfortable and spacious, the noise level was very high on the nights I was there - even at very late hours on weeknights. I noticed the same problems as you with the gym equipment, as there seemed to be trouble with every machine. Also, parking was a serious issue there, as the hotel apparently was hosting a convention, and upon returning in the evening, I could find no parking space. The kind bellman said I could park around the side of the building in a spot which threatened towing, which was OK, but a bit nerve-wracking.
That all having been said, and after my very positive experience at the Delta Barrington in Halifax, I would likely stay at the Delta instead when I return to St. John's, which is a bit of a closer walk to the main restaurants, etc. in the city.
This used to be a Fairmont. Apparently it's come down in the world since then . . .
Solid property for the largest city in the middle of nowhere, I mean Newfoundland!
St. Johns looks beautiful