The Sheraton Atlanta Hotel: Atlanta's Sixth Largest Conference Hotel

The Sheraton Atlanta Hotel is located in downtown Atlanta in the center of the hotel district. It is very easily accessed from the Interstate 75/85 Downtown Connector. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is only 15 minutes away, and MARTA, Atlanta's public transit system, has a train station within walking distance. Also within walking distance or a short cab ride away are many of downtown's attractions, including CNN Center, the Georgia Aquarium, the World of Coca-Cola, Centennial Olympic Park, and the homes of all three of Atlanta's major professional sports teams - Turner Field, Philips Arena and the Georgia Dome.

The Sheraton has 760 rooms and 17 suites, all of which have been refurbished. The hotel, built in 1965, has embarked on a remodeling plan and has invested $70 million into the facility in the past seven years. All rooms and suites now have up-to-date amenities for both business and comfort. The hotel also features a fitness center, a hot tub and a swimming pool with a retractable roof. A business center and high-speed wireless internet service (for a fee) are available. The three restaurants on the property offer a variety of dining choices: Fandangles is a stylish restaurant and bar with poolside dining; Collage serves breakfast and lunch in a casual setting; and the Deli offers light fare with indoor and outdoor seating.

One new factor that the hotel stresses is its commitment to the environment. The refurbishing has added many energy-saving features to the hotel's HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems. They have rethought all of their service processes to save resources, and they encourage guests to recycle and conserve energy while at the hotel. Attempts are made whenever possible to avoid using harsh cleaning chemicals; even the pool is saline-, not chlorine-treated.

The Sheraton is Atlanta's sixth largest convention and meeting hotel. A new ten million dollar conference center offers 90,000 square feet of convention space, which includes two ballrooms, a 6,000-square-foot conference area with four large break-out rooms, 26 other break-out rooms of varying sizes, and up to 45,000 square feet of trade show space on a single floor. Full catering for everything from coffee breaks to full seated banquets is provided by the hotel. Sheraton offers several rewards and bonuses for booking meetings. The meeting spaces emphasize the same "green'' concepts that the residential part of the hotel is practicing.

The Sheraton Atlanta has made a huge effort to improve its property in order to compete with Atlanta's newer and more well-appointed conference centers. The results, according to guests, are mixed. On a well-known travel review site, nearly half of guests rate their experience as "Excellent'' or "Very Good,'' but fully one-third rate it as "Poor'' or "Terrible.'' Reviewers mostly love the location of the hotel because it is close to many restaurants and attractions. The new look got generally positive comments, with one guest saying, "I was pleasantly surprised at the contemporary feel of this hotel; it seems to be kept very up-to-date.'' Opinions about the staff were more mixed. One person notes that "the staff was incredibly welcoming and kind.'' Another guest titled his entire review "Service is lacking.'' Other complaints involved cleanliness and maintenance. Perhaps as the hotel finishes it upgrade in 2009, all the facets of its operation will come together.