I chose the Sheraton Memphis Downtown for a number of
reasons: first, I’m familiar with the brand and quite like it; second, the
hotel was as close as I was going to get to the Interstate, and in particular
the Hernando de Soto bridge that would transport me from Tennessee and into
Arkansas; and third that British Airways offered the hotel plus a flight from
London to Memphis via Chicago (and four nights away from home) for the princely
sum of £1,217.
My only problem on this particular journey was the shortness
of the trip. I flew out of London on the Tuesday and flew back (from Dallas
Fort Worth) on the Friday evening. I didn’t allow myself any time to relax and
get acclimatised. In truth I needed a couple of days more.
The whole trip was a bit of a blur. I can’t remember what
time I eventually arrived at the Sheraton, but arrive I did and I was pleased
to get a friendly welcome and an efficient check-in at the front desk.
This was an odd trip as my plan was to spend Tuesday night and
Thursday night at the Sheraton and in between one night at the Hampton Inn,
Blytheville (and somewhere you’ll find my review of this hotel somewhere on
Trip Advisor too).
On Tuesday night at the Sheraton I was in room 344 on the
third floor. The hotel boasts two ‘towers’ meaning there are different
elevators for each tower. You also need to be aware that you need to swipe your
keycard, the one they give you for the room, when you enter the elevator,
otherwise it won’t work or you’ll find yourself heading off for some distant
floor that isn’t yours. I had a few issues with this and at one stage I had to
return to the front desk to sort it out, all very annoying, but I’m not going
to hold it against this great hotel as overall it was good.
It’s great to arrive in time for dinner so as soon as I’d
sorted myself out in the room – I decided not to unpack as I’d be checking out
in the morning – I headed down to ground floor level where I was directed to
the restaurant, which was sparsely populated. There was a young family, a
couple of groups and one or two solitary diners, like me.
The laminated menu offered a range of dishes and as I try to
eat healthily I chose the salmon with cauliflower mash and salad accompanied by
a glass of Merlot or Cabernet, I can’t remember.
The room was fine: a decent bed, a flatscreen television, a
bathroom that worked fine and even a coffeemaker, which I know is always there,
but I used mine for the first time, meaning I’ve never used the hotel
coffeemaker before, and it was great. A steaming cup of decaffeinated Starbuck's
coffee was just what the doctor ordered at something like 0530hrs when I found
myself awake and on my computer, blogging.
Soon it was time for breakfast and this was where the
Sheraton Memphis Downtown excelled itself. What I particularly liked was the
porridge, but I also enjoyed fresh fruit (blueberry, melon, strawberries) and
some scrambled eggs with a small sausage, and let’s not forget the tea and the
croissant and the yoghurt, I really went to town. I could have sat there all
morning chilling out but I had stuff to do, like finding out where Madison was
so I could pick up my hire car and head for Arkansas. I’d spent a lot of time
on Google Maps virtually driving the route and it helped, believe me.
Reluctantly I checked out, but on Thursday evening I was
back and this time in room 503, which was in the other tower and a little bit
bigger than room 344. There was a sofa, which I didn’t have on Tuesday night
and the view out of the window was slightly different: this time I was facing
the Interstate whereas on Tuesday I was facing the Crowne Plaza opposite.
I was too tired to eat out so I visited the Sheraton’s
restaurant and chose the same dish (salmon with cauliflower mash and a couple
of glasses of red wine). All was good and you know what? I should have stayed a
night or two longer and not rushed about like, well, like an idiot.
Fortunately check-out wasn’t until noon so I had time for
yet another leisurely breakfast and then a brief wander around Memphis. I
headed for Beale Street and bought a couple of tee-shirts and a baseball cap.
The Sheraton Memphis Downtown is a good hotel, staffed by
good people all of whom where extremely helpful, in particular the guys on what
I think the front desk girl called ‘the bell hop’. One guy there (who used to
be a truck driver) offered solid advice on how to reach the Interstate from the
hotel and what to do once I was on the bridge and crossing the state line.
Everything worked out fine and it was down to the guys at the hotel. I’d
definitely return and would advise anybody else to stay there too.
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