Sheraton Hotels in Asunción

Our stay at Sheraton started on the wrong foot although it might not have been the hotel’s fault. My Marriott Suite Night Award request was approved but when we arrived at the hotel we were told that suites were fully booked and they had no idea why my SNAs went through. So we stayed in a club room for the first night but were moved to the presidential suite on the second night and which was highly appreciated. The first room was an old generation Sheraton room: rough carpet, shower in tub, subpar soundproofing, toiletries were unbranded local stuff, also the bathroom door did not close properly and there was no lock. One positive was that the bed was unmistakably a Sheraton bed = comfortable. The presidential suite was equivalent to 4 normal rooms in terms of size according to the floor plan. It was still a fairly aging room but with the extra space it was very useful to us including our 18-month daughter who was very happy and could run around. Service was quite good during our stay with various staff members addressing us by name which is not that common at a hotel of Sheraton level which is not supposed to be considered luxury like Ritz Carlton or St.Regis. One manager was quite visible during our stay, she welcomed us at check-in, she was greeting guests in the restaurant for breakfast in the morning, same during happy hour in the lounge, and she also stopped by before our departure when we checked out. I also received an e-mail after our stay to inform us that they found one item in the room and asked if we wanted to send someone to pick it up. Most hotels don’t even bother with a “lost and found” service so kudos to Sheraton Asuncion. Regarding dining, happy hour in the lounge and breakfast in the restaurant were above average, and the in-room dining menu and prices were quite good relative to what we could find in the city including in the large shopping mall next door. I also noted that wifi was blazing fast at 350+ Mbps, one of the best I have seen anywhere in the world – not the kind of hotel where I would have guessed this to be the case. Overall this is not a new and modern hotel but when judging a hotel I always compare to the local competition. The other choices I noticed are an Aloft, an Ibis, a Holiday Inn Express, and a Crowne Plaza. Except for the latter I don’t think there are any other international hotel chains remotely close to the level of Sheraton and given the good service and dining, as Marriott Bonvoy Elite I would return to Sheraton.