Sheraton Studio City Hotel, Orlando

...thought I would give the Sheraton Studio City a try. It was close to the highway and a good location for me, and at $129 a night for a club level room, I thought it was a good choice.

The Sheraton Studio City Hotel is a full service hotel- they had everything I, as a business traveler needed, but also anything a vacationing family might want as well. They had an outdoor pool, generously sized and a kiddie-wading pool also.
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The Sheraton Studio City lobby was decorated with old Hollywood as its theme (if you couldn't guess from the aforementioned restaurant names). The bellman had a red jacket and square "bell hop" cap on and all the front desk staff had red valet jackets. The floors were white and black checkered tiles (as were the bathroom floors) and the elevators were located behind red velvet curtains. Black walls and mirrors were everywhere- ... more

On a recent business trip to Orlando, I thought I would give the Sheraton Studio City a try. It was close to the highway and a good location for me, and at $129 a night for a club level room, I thought it was a good choice.

The Sheraton Studio City Hotel is a full service hotel- they had everything I, as a business traveler needed, but also anything a vacationing family might want as well. They had an outdoor pool, generously sized and a kiddie-wading pool also.

There was an outdoor bar/snack shack that was open during the day. As well, there was a full service restaurant inside, the "Starlight Cafe", and although it looked small, to a tired weary family or business traveler, it would definitely hit the spot. Pricing was reasonable, anywhere between $9.95 and $27.05 for entrees. The breakfast buffet, aptly called "Breakfast at Tiffany's Cafe" is served during the a.m. hours. The lobby bar, "Oscar's Lounge" had a kind of creepy vibe to it when I arrived late at night (10:30 p.m.) but I didn't really get the feeling that this hotel was trying to promote a big party-Spring Break type atmosphere. Room service is available- pretty much the same hours and menu as the restaurant- until 10 p.m.

The business center had several computers available for use with printers and a copier and fax machine available for use for a charge ($.20 per page), although the printer and copier were both broken while I was there- so much for meeting my business needs. High speed internet is available in all guest rooms for $9.95 for a 24 hour period.

The fitness room had the basic essentials: a treadmill, elliptical trainer and stationary bike as well as an all-in-one weight trainer. The outside of the hotel is not really condusive to any type of exercise- too much traffic, so if you want to work out, you'll be stuck in this little room.

At least there's something for the kiddies! While you're busy trying to get a tan, send the older kids off to the game room. It is located just outside of the pool area. It looked pretty empty while I was there- who wants to stay indoors in a game room when they could be spending gobs of money at local theme parks??

A laundry room was also located nearby on the first floor, making this again, a good location for vacationing families.

The building itself is hard to miss, located just off I-4, across the highway from Universal Studios, it is pretty centrally located to all the area attractions. It is a tall round building with 21 floors and a big, lit up globe on the top of the building. Across the street from the hotel is the water park Wet and Wild and right next door is a Congo River mini-putt. It smelled a little like insecticide outside the hotel, but I think it was coming from the mini-putt, probably from all of the waterfalls and such.

The Sheraton Studio City lobby was decorated with old Hollywood as its theme (if you couldn't guess from the aforementioned restaurant names). The bellman had a red jacket and square "bell hop" cap on and all the front desk staff had red valet jackets. The floors were white and black checkered tiles (as were the bathroom floors) and the elevators were located behind red velvet curtains. Black walls and mirrors were everywhere- it was a little creepy. Everyone was so friendly and helpful though that it almost didn't matter.

My room was not like a typical hotel room- more like a den or something- just not bedroomy. I would have been thrilled to have a room like this 15 years ago- old movie posters for wall decor (think Rita Hayworth and Cary Grant), big silver framed mirrors and silver painted lamps with fake antique jewelry for decoration. Oh- and just in case you're wondering- I wasn't tacky when I was 14, I just really liked black and white and old movies.

The bed was comfy- it was one of those "Sheraton Sweet Sleeper beds. The comforters were silver, again, just not typical hotel colors and styles.

There was adequate work space, with high speed internet and a nice leather office chair. The TV was just a basic 32" Panasonic with movies on demand and HBO/cable. There were all the standard hotel amenities as well: iron/board, hair dryer, shampoo and conditioner (Pantene), lotion, coffee maker and clock radio/alarm clock. My room on the club level also had a non-wall unit hair dryer, robe, bottled water and a Bose CD/radio, which was a nice added bonus.

I found the Sheraton Studio City Hotel clean and comfortable- to a point. I think the hotel has done an all right job trying to create a themed hotel, but in the land of Disney, it's hard to compete, and I don't think Sheraton comes out on top with this one. The theme just doesn't go with a comfortable hotel stay, in my opinion.

Would I stay here again? Maybe, if it was a really decent price and there weren't any better options. Otherwise, for $129/night (US), I'd probably just skip the campy decor and stay at a generic Hilton Garden Inn. If you are looking for flare and family oriented services, this might be the place for you. And though some may think that $129 is expensive, but for Orlando, you'll get something average, and that's pretty much what this place is- odd, but average.

 

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