photos by Nicole Roegner

Its beige exterior may not look like much, but when the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown opens its doors October 1 as the largest hotel
in the state, guests may be surprised by what they find inside.

When phoenix decided to build a 31-story, $350 million Sheraton hotel on Van Buren Street – with city-backed revenue bonds – there were more than a few critics.
A new convention center was in the works that supporters hoped would drive demand. But for many years, Downtown Phoenix languished as a minor destination. Groups opted for cities with more space and things to do, and tourists preferred the Valley’s suburban golf resorts. The two Downtown stalwarts – Hyatt and Wyndham – seemed to mop up the business just fine, and better yet, they were paying their own way.
As construction progressed, the hotel even took slings from local architects who’ve called the L-shaped, beige building an uninspired eyesore.
Critics be darned, the monolithic Sheraton is preparing to open its glassy doors October 1. At last, naysayers, proponents and travelers alike will waltz into the belly of the beast for an inside look.
And they all might be surprised.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., one of the largest lodging companies in the world, owns the Sheraton brand and is pouring all of its latest ideas into the Phoenix hotel. If successful, the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown could become a blueprint for a new kind of convention hotel.

“This hotel represents so much for the Sheraton brand,” says Steven Spivak, who joined the property last year as director of sales and marketing. “It’s the most recognizable brand in the world, and when people recognize it, we want it to mean something great to them.”
Towering above most buildings in Downtown Phoenix, the 1,000-room Sheraton is the largest hotel in the state and nothing if not grand. Guests will make a dramatic entrance off the Third Street porte corche, designed to simulate the sky. Giant disks accent the ceiling like abstract clouds, and lights shift in intensity throughout the day like stars. Walls are made from limestone imported from Jerusalem.
Guests who enter the lobby will stumble upon Sheraton’s latest idea: Click, an Internet café where anyone can compute, order coffee or watch TV. Travelers sparked the idea through guest surveys, saying they needed a place to socialize that didn’t involve a musty, meat-market hotel bar. Other new ideas include a state-of-the art fitness center where guests can track their workouts and weight loss each time they travel.