Room Service: Sheraton Baltimore Washington Airport (Baltimore, Maryland)

Sheraton Baltimore Washington Airport
Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore's BWI Airport, located around thirty minutes from the harbour and downtown is home to a number of options when it comes to lodging. With a tree lined view of the Baltimore Washington Parkway, the Sheraton Baltimore Washington Airport is a modern property that is just small enough to have memorable customer service, but with services that rival hotels located closer to the Inner Harbour.

It is a convenient property to reach by car. Parking is ample and easy to reach from the highway, but if you choose to take a plane or a train the hotel shuttle is a better way to get in and around. We used the complimentary services to meetings and social appointments that required venturing into the city or Washington, D.C., but the wait for the shuttle wasn't too comfortable. The distance between BWI and the hotel is too close to generate the delays we encountered when waiting for transport to arrive, and BWI officials are also to blame for poor logistics related to construction around the usual space where all hotel shuttles pick up their guests.

Walking into reception I was pleasantly surprised that the lobby wasn't a standalone lounge or some sort of a club since there was thumping modern music playing in the background, stirring in with furniture that made it feel like a modern living room. Guest registration after a little wait was very cordial with a lovely clerk who took a genuine curiosity towards what I did for a living. As boring as the topic was she showed skill in getting me to my room as quickly as possible. She even wished me a good night one night when I was lounging around waiting for someone in the lobby!

We were put in a room located on the property's club floor, which was most definitely the highlight of our stay. If you upgrade from a standard room to one of this floor, not only do you get a few swanky extras like free bottled water in the room, you also get access to an exclusive lounge with similar furniture to the lobby that had refreshments and snacks that helped satiate in periods between meals.

We were also lucky enough to have breakfast and evening reception included in the stay, so the food was served in the lounge and the meal service was much quicker than your standard rodeo through the breakfast area of other hotels. We went through a notable quantity of bottles of water thanks to the famous muggy weather Baltimore and D.C. play host to during the summer, and the upgrade may be worth the extra cost considering what hotels in general charge for the same refreshments on property. Call it a lazy tax, but it was really convenient.

Our club floor room was much more spacious than we had imagined through their professional photos, with a large desk that could accommodate all the paperwork associated with a hostile corporate takeover. You could either spread five full-sized laptops end to end, or seven netbooks or tablets, or even a full figured lover of yours (which we don’t advise doing since an exceptionally long desk is still a desk by function).

The lamps are of a classic look, while there is a chic window shade that has a neat earthy tartan pattern which adds to the already fascinating decor.

There were a few drawbacks staying at this property like the issues surrounding their shuttle service, but also the fact that internet access was not free for all rooms by standard. But with a pool, a properly sized fitness facility and a business centre that did provide free internet access, it was generally a neat stay.