Refreshing the Brand: The New Face of Sheraton
The Mediterranean City of Cool has youth, fun, hi-tech — and now a hotel that gives the modern Tel Aviv visitor all that and more
Forty-five years ago, the Tel Aviv Sheraton was the chain’s first to open outside the US, and today it is one of the first six of 446 Sheraton hotels in 74 countries to undergo what owner Marriott International calls ‘the brand’s transformative journey.’
“Our transformation draws on Sheraton’s roots as community hubs,” says Franco Vella, the Tel Aviv Sheraton’s Malta-born general manager who has been at the hotel for eight years. “In today’s world, that means providing places to connect and be productive. So we’ve designed an environment where guests feel comfortable, whether they’re working, meeting or relaxing.” It should come as no surprise that Sheraton Tel Aviv won 2021 best Business hotel By World Travel Awards.
At the heart of this new environment is a reimagined lobby which most readily calls to mind a modern-day town square. “It’s an open layout, with flexible, free-flowing spaces where guests can work, meet & relax,” says Vella. “There’s a long ‘community table’ with lockable drawers, soundproof phone booths, private niches and five different-sized purpose-built glass-enclosed meeting rooms. All workspaces are tech-enabled, with power outlets and wireless charging points, and our community manager is always on hand for anything from DHL dispatch to directing guests to our ‘library’ to borrow a device charger. All rooms are equipped with 65” flip TVs that connect with computers, tablets and iPads, video conferencing facilities, and sophisticated video projection and more.
Also new to the lobby is a food and beverage outlet that morphs from a daytime coffee shop to a nighttime bar. To balance its croissants, sandwiches, espressos and martinis, a fresh sushi station is shortly to open. Lobby food, as well as the diverse and creative cuisine offered in the hotel’s main dining room by chef Yehuda Amar, winner of Master Chef 2018, and the sandwiches, pastries, salads and ice creams served at the hotel’s Deck 115 Pool Bar can be ordered to any of the hotel’s 320 guestrooms, around the clock — but forget about dialing room service, says Vella. In the new Sheraton, guests order from a tablet or via their phone by just scanning a QR code, their food delivered to wherever in the hotel they request.
The hotel’s guestrooms are also carefully rethought. They have fresh, modern ‘residential appeal,’ with soft finishes and warm wood tones accentuated with black metallic accents. Luxurious, up-leveled walk-in showers have replaced old-fashioned baths, toiletries are Dead Sea products, and vanity space has been expanded, in line with focus group recommendations. Unchanged, however, are the incomparable Sheraton Sleep Experience beds.
In the new Sheraton, however, guestrooms are not only for sleep. Although all still have the standard coffee machine and minibar (free of charge in the pricier rooms), robes and slippers, iron, ironing board and hairdryer, every room also has integrated power and charging ports, 55” TV screens, a safe large enough for a laptop, and a sofa and adjustable table. The Sheraton prides itself in offering all their guests unrestricted high speed internet access throughout the hotel. And if all this is not enough, the revamped 18th-floor Sheraton Club Lounge offers buffet breakfasts with a live cooking station, snacks during lunch, hot appetizers and salads in the evenings, a full bar and a spectacular sea view.
While much has changed, the hotel is still very much the Tel Aviv Sheraton. “When you upgrade a brand with as rich a heritage as Sheraton, you don’t change too much too quickly,” says Vella. “Our focus groups showed that many of our guests choose us because that’s what their families have always done. And they also showed that length of stay is generally longer than in other hotels. So everything for the evening or weekend (or even midday!) transition to leisure has been remains — our swimming pools, spa, fitness room, , banquet and event halls and parking — with, of course, the sea, beach, promenade, shopping and nightlife just outside.”
We are proud that the Sheraton Tel Aviv was chosen to be the first hotel in Europe, Africa & Middle East to be a proof of concept for Sheraton, he says. The fully renovated Sheraton Tel Aviv will act as a beacon for future Sheratons.
Partnered with Sheraton Tel Aviv
