Sheraton Columbus Hotel at Capitol Square Review

Booking & Stay Details

The hotel was booked through the Marriott Bonvoy app on my phone while traveling from Alaska to Ohio. I was looking for a place in downtown Columbus, close to a project site I have to go to. I always try to find a Hyatt property first. There is a Hyatt Regency in town, but the Hyatt was almost a $100/night more expensive than the Sheraton.

I previously stayed at The Westin Great Southern Columbus, and I wanted to find a new place to stay in town.

Also there was a Chase offer to get cashback for staying at a Sheraton hotel and this stay would max out the requirements for maximum cashback.

Location

The Sheraton Columbus Hotel at Capitol Square is situated in downtown Columbus. It is right across the street from the State Capitol and next to the Ohio Theatre. Behind the Sheraton is the John F. Wolfe Columbus Commons, a small city park.

Parking

The Sheraton Columbus Hotel at Capitol Square offers valet parking for $30 per night. It also has a partnership with a nearby parking garage next to the Ohio Theatre. It is a very short walk to the hotel and you can take multiple routes to get to the hotel. Either along State Street or through the park behind the hotel.

5/3rd Parking Garage – 21. E State St.

The entrance to the parking garage is located at E State St and S Pearl St. Parking will be charged to your hotel room and costs $12 per night. Parking here comes with unlimited in and out privileges. The only downside is, you have to pull a ticket when entering the garage and the front desk has to validate it. You have to do this every time you use the garage.  

Also, when you enter the garage, follow the ramp up. The signs on the pillar are misleading. It looks like you have to go straight for public parking and right for event parking. It’s all at the same place.

This parking garage is also used for events at the Ohio Theatre and other nearby locations, where the prices get jacked up. Don’t worry, just tell the cashier on duty at the gate that you are with the hotel and they will give you a ticket. It is a complicated process as he has to close the gate so a ticket can be pulled from the machine. One of the nights the attendant didn’t give me a ticket and just told me to use the help button when leaving and tell them that I am with the hotel. That turned out to be a nightmare as I had to explain why I didn’t have a ticket.

Columbus Commons Garage – 191 S Third St

Additional parking is available at another nearby parking garage but the hotel has no contract with it and you will pay their regular price every time you enter and exit.

Street Parking

Last but not least, there is limited metered street parking available. Make sure you obey the posted signs. The parking rate can be paid via the ParkColumbus App. Free parking is available from 10:00 p.m. – 8:00 am. and select holidays.

Shuttle Service

No shuttle service

Check-In

I parked in the drive way of the hotel and asked the valet if I could leave the car there to check-in and unload. There was no issue with that, he only wanted to hold on to the keys for the time being.

The check-in counter is right inside the hotel building. Unfortunately, there is only a revolving door or regular doors with a handicap button. This makes it harder if you have bags in tow to get through the door compared to automatic doors. However, the valet was super helpful and held the door open for me.

The check-in process was easy and quick. I asked and hoped for a suite upgrade. The agent checking me in told me that I already got upgraded. I was excited to look forward to what they upgraded me too as Marriott Ambassador Elite, but I only received the room I originally booked, a corner room. I have no problem with that, but please don’t tell me a lie that they upgraded me to the room I am paying for anyway.

Check-In: 3 p.m.
Check-Out: 

Corner King Room (Room 1718)

The room is located at the end of the hallway to the right. As you enter the room you have the sleeping area to your right.  

It has a King-sized bed with a nightstand on either side. The Sheraton Columbus Hotel at Capitol Square is an older building. There is a cube with power outlets and USB ports on one of the nightstands. The USB ports are already all broken and don’t work.

Against the inside wall is a small refrigerator and cabinet with a coffee maker on top of it.  

Opposite the bed is a wall-mounted TV. It is a bit on the small side. Underneath the TV is a dresser offering storage space.

Near the bed, along the outside wall is a work desk with an office chair. A power outlet is in the floor and not on the desk. Climate control is located on the pillar next to the desk. Unfortunately, the heater was broken and I called the front desk about it. They offered to move me but I just set everything up and it was late. Their maintenance guy was gone for the day and he was supposed to fix it the next day. It never happened during my five days here. I was very disappointed. I didn’t need it much, but still.  

Next to the main door is a large closet which holds an iron, ironing board as well as a laundry bag and laundry paperwork. Next to the closet is the entrance to the bathroom.

The bathroom is narrow but long. As you enter you have the vanity to your left. Followed by a shower/tub combination and the toilet at the very end.

There are windows all along the outside wall. The windows in the bedroom area have curtains while the windows in the bathroom have blinds. The bathroom also has a tiled floor while the rest of the room has carpet everywhere.

Public Areas & Amenities

Lobby

The hotel’s lobby is rather small. It mainly houses the front desk, business center and has connection hallways to the neighboring building and meeting rooms.

Business Center

The business center is located in the lobby past the elevators, near Starbucks. It consists of one workstation and a printer and a nearby conference table where you could set up your own laptop. The use of the workstation is complimentary but you need a password from the front desk to use it.

Fitness Center

The fitness center is located on the 22nd floor, the top floor of the hotel. The fitness center takes up almost the whole floor, which is smaller than the rest of the building’s levels. It has a good selection of workout equipment. You also get a nice view of the park behind the hotel.

Pool

There is no pool at this property.

Guest Laundry

The Sheraton offers a dry-cleaning service but there is no on-site guest laundry.  

Housekeeping

Housekeeping is offered daily.  

Dining

Sheraton Club Lounge

The club lounge is located on the 20th floor of the hotel but is closed for the moment. There is no word if it will re-open any time soon. I was hoping the lounge would be open, as the hotel still uses a picture taken in the lounge on their primary homepage.

Plaza Restaurant and Lounge

The hotel’s restaurant is located on the 2nd floor. You can use the regular guest room elevators to get up there but there is also a dedicated elevator for just the restaurant, which didn’t work during my stay. Otherwise, you can use the escalator near the meeting rooms to get upstairs and you get in from the back to the restaurant.

Breakfast

Hours:*
Monday – Friday: 6:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Saturday & Sunday: 6:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

*Please double check with the hotel, as the hotel supplies contradicting information about the hours. There is a sign posted at the restaurant and they will hand you a flyer with information about the hotel. Some hours are different, so please make sure you check with them, as the hotel doesn’t really know what the hours are. 😉

Marriott Bonvoy members with Platinum, Titanium, or Ambassador status receive vouchers for free breakfast.

Breakfast is served a-la-carte and no buffet. There is a pretty good selection.

Lunch and Dinner

Lunch Hours:*
Monday – Friday. 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
no lunch Saturdays & Sundays

Dinner Hours:*
Daily 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Lounge/Bar Hours:*
Daily 4 p.m. – 11 p.m.

*Please double check with the hotel, as the hotel supplies contradicting information about the hours. There is a sign posted at the restaurant and they will hand you a flyer with information about the hotel. Some hours are different, so please make sure you check with them, as the hotel doesn’t really know what the hours are. 😉

Lunch and dinner are also served at the restaurant. The restaurant has a good selection of food choices for dinner. However, service could be better.

Starbucks

There is a Starbucks located within the hotel on which I was counting on as I had to get up early for work and hoped to just grab a coffee to go. However, Starbucks was closed for renovation. Unfortunately, that is not mentioned during booking and even the sign on the Starbucks door just reads “Closed for the rest of the day”. This let me assume it might be open the next day, but it wasn’t and by looking inside the window you can see that there is major remodeling going on.

Conclusion

During my stay at the Sheraton Columbus Hotel at Capitol Square I found out that the hotel changed ownership just recently and that the new owners are here at the hotel too. They are planning on renovating the property. A renovation is desperately necessary. The hotel is old and outdated. Lights in elevators don’t work, and many other things here and there need some love. Some of the rooms on my floor didn’t even have a lock on them anymore and you could just open the door and walk in. These rooms weren’t occupied and it seems they are prepping them first for renovation.

The hotel also uses the old room key style with the magnetic strip, which I hate as they tend to demagnetize.  

Staff interaction overall was okay. Nothing where I could say they went above and beyond, but just normal and friendly. I was disappointed that there is no mention on the website that the Starbucks is closed and they only show a false message on the door that it is closed only for the “day” but never reopened the whole week.

At the moment, I wouldn’t suggest staying here until the renovation is done. On the other side, this might be a good time to get decent prices for rooms at the heart of the city.