Review: Sheraton Grand Warsaw

I spent my first night in Poland at the Sheraton Grand Warsaw, a flagship Sheraton property located in the heart of central Warsaw. This is a full-service hotel with a club lounge that we could only dream of in the USA.

Sheraton Grand Warsaw Review

My nightly rate was only $109, a tremendous deal considering the location and amenities (real and potential…more on that in a moment). I only had gold status with Marriott Bonvoy at the time, but my friend was a Titanium and since he booked both rooms, the hotel granted me lounge access and complimentary breakfast.

Common areas of this hotel underwent remodeling during the pandemic.

Room

My room 320, was large…but very much a standard king room. I appreciated the space to spread out and loved the Sheraton “Sweet Sleeper” bed, which was very comfortable (I was able to get a full night’s rest and largely avoid jet lag during the trip). 

Shower toiletries were in individual bottles and provisioned by Citron + Vetiver.

Four bottles of water (small) were also present, which were appreciated. My only complaint was that a hot water kettle with instant coffee (and tea) was provided instead of an espresso machine with pods.

There wasn’t much of a view from my room, but the days were short anyway (late October). 

Club Lounge

The most pleasant surprise I found at this hotel was the Club Lounge, which offered a frankly massive evening spread of food and drinks (all complimentary) compared to the weak snacks and honor bar offerings at so many stateside Sheraton properties.

We had dinner plans and food is quite reasonably-priced in Poland, but we really could have made a great dinner in the lounge, with not only soups, salads, and finger food but hot meat and fish with pasta and vegetables. The cold cuts and cheese board looked to be of high quality and there was also a wide selection of desserts available.

I did not return in the morning since I was able to eat in the main restaurant.

Gym + Spa

I was looking forward to utilizing the sauna and steam room treatment but sadly the entire gym and wellness area was under refreshment. A temporary fitness studio was set up in a conference room with limited equipment yet more than enough for a robust workout.

Dining

The hotel has three restaurants, two of which I tried.

Cucina Mia

Located off of the lobby level, this attractive restaurant offers Italian food and an all-day bar with coffee and alcohol.

I had a flat white here and found it to be good (but not great…I found a great place in Warsaw called Ministry of Coffee which I’ll detail in a separate post). Cucina Mia serves as the club lounge during the day, where guests with access can enjoy free coffee, water, and soft drinks.

Mezzano

Mezzano is where the daily breakfast buffet is located. It was quite crowded when I was there and corona restrictions meant masks and gloves were required when using the buffet (I would imagine since lifted).

In addition to a wide spread of hot and cold items, made-to-order eggs were also available.

inAzia

The hotels claims this as Warsaw’s #1 Asian restaurant. It is open

Parking

We parked right outside the hotel in our rental car and used a meter to pay for parking. There were no issues except that people really like to squeeze in! I could not even get into the car until my friend backed it out…that gives me goosebumps when I think about someone parking that close to my own car!

Location

From the hotel you are within a short walking distance of The Old Town. If you’re a tourist in Warsaw, it is very difficult to beat this location.

Service

Most staff were well-intentioned but I did experience one hostile interaction. Even though I had requested and been granted 4:00PM checkout during check-in, at one point my key expired just after noon. I went downstairs to renew it and found a long line. Only one agent was working.

When it was my turn (after 15 minutes) she told me to wait before I could say a word and walked away. She returned a few moments later and I explained to her I needed a new key valid until 2:00pm, when we would be leaving.

She could not understand why I was given club access and late checkout in the first place and I mentioned that my friend had booked two rooms under his Titanium status. 

I then reminded her that I have gold status, which also guarantees a 2:00pm checkout.

She looked at me skeptically, as if I had checkmated her, and grudgingly renewed my key. Literally scowl…

CONCLUSION

I really appreciated the comfortable beds, Club Lounge, and breakfast spread at the Sheraton Grand Warsaw. The location was also central and the hotel appeared fresh and modern. Next time, I hope the pool and wellness areas have reopened, but other than that it was a very good stay. I’ll let the one front desk incident slide…