In Search of Tranquility or Why the Sheraton Imperial Hotel is the Best Hotel in the World
Thursday, January 8, 2009 at 09:38PM | Lynn "Hammering out" a book requires more than a laptop, pen, and paper. It also requires tranquilty; the kind that comes with a great amount of quiet, organization, and cleanliness. It can only be found in an evironment that can be manipulated if necessary. That means I can open or close a curtain, have various lamps for light, and have more then one place to work. I prefer to lean back with my feet up on a hassock and type away with the computer on my lap. Yet, having a desk handy can break the monotony because my favorite way to write is in ten to twelve hour marathons. Once I get going, I hate to stop. I also prefer to have time to complete a short read through and light revision of what I just wrote.
My home office is my usual place to record my thoughts. Yet, it is rarely a perfectly tranquil place because I need to be ensconced where people ARE NOT BANGING ON MY DOOR SAYING THEY HAVE ONE QUESTION! Hey, doesn't anyone know that writers write well without interruption?
I enjoy reading everything including cereal boxes, recipes, blogs, travel magazines, and weather reports. Therefore, writer's magazines are also on my list. Their features include writing life articles in which authors tell about their favorite place to write. Since, if need be, I can write in a moving vehicle, an airplane, on a picnic table, while football games blare in the background, on a mountain top, and on the kitchen table, my favorite writing place sticks out as a place I look forward to going to as much as I look forward to a trip to Germany or Austria. Well, maybe not that much.
But for sure, I enjoy parking myself in a room at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The hotel is my favorite tranquil place.
Lynn, Michael Martino, Veronica I've often thought of throwing a few kudos their way, but when I read that Maya Angelou's favorite writing place was a hotel in Winston Salem, I thought, "Why not? I need to write about MY favorite writing place."
In mid December my husband and I stayed at the Sheraton Imperial after I completed a presentation in Raleigh. The long drive home seemed overwhelming, since I'd gotten up at 5:30 A.M. We checked in at 4:30, in time for me to get properly dressed, but not before we dropped by the club room, WHICH IS THE BEST CLUB ROOM IN THE WORLD.
Veronica Jones, the evening club manager, is stellar. She lays out a nice choice of foods and, always, a gourmet dessert along with standard sodas, coffee, and such. But Veronica makes the club her own. She gives her guests her full attention, her best smile, and anyone who meets her knows she loves her job. She calls repeat guests by name and gives a friendly welcome. She might say, "How are the Salsi's today?" She always says, "Welcome home."
There must be something good in the water at the Sheraton Imperial. For Lynn Thomas, the morning club manager, is just as wonderful, personable, and friendly. And, let me overstate how professional and helpful these ladies are. I've seen them help guests with their dirty laundry. Hundreds of times I have mentally compared the service and graciousness found at the Sheraton Imperial with hotels all over the world. I can tell the hotels that have management blatantly cutting costs at the same time they are going up on the rate. I've eaten in club rooms staffed by people who did not have a clue where they were. Some sat and stared and never even emitted a "hello." In fact, many hotel general managers have no idea that the club room can "seal the deal" on repeat business. Having a friendly greeting and a few dishes served properly can never be replaced with self-serve cereal bars stuck on a shelf. That's why every hotel manager in the world should check out how Veronica and Lynn relate to guests. They do a great job and never fall short of telling everyone to come again "tomorrow" or "tonight." They actually speak well of one another and of other employees (a trait lost in a lot of businesses).
In fact, Veronica and Lynn should go on the road and train every Starwood club room manager. They should start with the staff at the Sheraton New York Towers. I always enjoy staying there. Their club manager is great. But when I was there last February, the rest of the staff acted like they hated their jobs and wished the guests would go away, especially when it was time for the club to close. They nearly took the food out of my mouth and they were not friendly doing it. Where is their training? What, no smile? Yo, Lynn and Veronica...a job for you.
We've been in many places and traveled in other countries staying in Starwood properties whenever possible. (So far, they have the best hotel points program.) There is not one place where the front desk, restaurant and bar personnel, and certainly not club managers, are as friendly, helpful, interesting, interested, and engaging as those at the Sheraton Imperial. After ten years of seeing many of the same faces, especially Veronica and Lynn, and later, our favorite front desk person, Ebony Deans (now a manager), we knew the magic of the place had to be attributed to not just good management, but great management.
Michael Martino runs the cleanest, most organized, friendliest hotel IN THE WORLD. His entire staff is professional without being arrogant. They are dressed in uniforms and look well-presented, yet they are not condescending. Martino's people know how to offer up a tranquil, quality hotel experience in the cleanest rooms I've ever been in (meaning consistently over a period of ten years). The thread-count is just right on the sheets and I have been meaning to ask Veronica how the sheets get "done-up" so well. This thought came to mind after I stayed at the Disney Dolphin recently and the sheets looked like they had been slept on before I got there. That may be another story. Now, Martino should take this group on the road and tell other hotels how to get their sheets clean.
Martino should rate at the top of hotel managers everywhere, because he is the only hotel general manager that I've ever been able to find, even if I wanted to say how much I enjoyed the stay. (I stayed in hotels about 45 nights in 2008). I've requested to see general managers many times and have been met with horrified stares from guest services personnel. Once at a Clarion, I had to call American Express and ask them to call the manager for me and he still would not come out of his office. (After his front desk told me "it was tough that my hotel room had no heat and I nearly froze to death. I stayed up half the night waiting on a maintenance man that never came.") I've never stayed at a Clarion again and never will.
I am convinced Michael Martino is the ONLY general manager in the world that is happy to see his guests, with the exception of a young general manager in the Cleveland Airport Sheraton (a few years ago). He is the only general manager I know who is available to guests. Other hotel GMs must tell their poor front desk personnel that they don't want to be disturbed. And, that's how I met Michael Martino some years ago. I needed information on Starwood hotels in Europe and thought the general manager of the best hotel I'd ever stayed in might know something about the Starwood hotels in other countries. His interest and knowledge were integral in helping me plan a great family trip that led us to stay two weeks totally in Starwood properties.
There are other great Starwood hotels, especially in Munich, Venice, Bolzano, New York, San Antonio (Las Cantera), London, Orlando, and San Diego. But for the combination of tranquility, professionalism, a great staff, and customer service personnel who make the guests feel welcome, the Sheraton Imperial is unbeatable. It is not a resort, but they do have a tennis court, a jogging trail, a full-size gym facility and a fabulously huge pool for summer months.
We look forward to staying at the Sheraton Imperial. That is obvious. I dread leaving because I think about how much writing I can get done in that tranquil surrounding. Yes, and there are times when I get stuck making it to the end of a chapter, that I go to www.spg.com and start looking up that night's room rate. If it is affordable, I throw my computer in the case, drive right there and park my body and my brain along with my computer.
It is great to hear Veronica say, "Welcome home," when my husband and I walk into the club lounge. Then, the next morning we see Lynn -- all smiles. We are disappointed when the club is closed and often have the front desk find Veronica just we can say "hello," because she is also the assistant head housekeeper (probably why the sheets are so clean).
I'm looking forward to the outdoor pool opening. It does my heart good to see the pool manager, Steve Smith, taking pride in having a perfectly clean sparkling pool, another reflection of Michael Martino's attention to detail. Yep, I've had Steve, with pride in his voice, talk about how Mr. Martino likes crystal clear water. Dirty pool water is my pet peeve (especially when it is hard to see the bottom). When calling the problem to the attention of other front desk personnel, I find they don't care. That my dears is why I've asked to see various general managers over the years...to tell them their pools are filthy and they should get someone cleaning. Doesn't the health department close down the dirty ones? Those are the GMs I rarely find and when I do, they tell me it is up to their pool person (who generally looks eighteen). That has happened more times than I can count. These managers are un-managers. If their pools are filthy, are their restaurant kitchens dirty? They probably slip out the back door to play golf after lunch. Maybe they're surfing the internet behind closed doors. Those must be the times the eighteen year old runs the hotel.
Swimming is my third favorite thing after writing and growing roses. The pool...the pool...that is a topic for another day. For now, I'd rather be writing....at the Sheraton Imperial. If you're ever close to Durham, Chapel Hill, or the Raleigh-Durham Airport, just veer off Intersate 40 at Page Road and tell Veronica, Lynn, Ebony, and Michael that Lynn Salsi sent you.
Reader Comments (4)
You are so fortunate to be such a gifted writer. So many times I have wanted to sit down and write about so many things. The last year in particular has created situations that my children, my friends, and others in similar situations need to be aware of. The ability to put on paper without looking for pity or drama, but to just be factual is something I can't do. I wish I could.
Thanks Richard, I don't have a secret about how I write. However, I have always enjoyed listening to good talkers. Sometimes I think I hear their voices in my head when I am writing about them.
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