Hotel Review: Four Points By Sheraton Lahore, Pakistan – Mixed Feelings

Hotel Review: Four Points By Sheraton Lahore, Pakistan – Mixed Feelings

I recently stayed at the Four Points by Sheraton Lahore in Pakistan, and I want to provide a review of this property. Those interested in history and culture may wind up with this hotel on their radars. I have some good and bad things to say about the hotel. On the flip side, it’s literally the only property you could stay at on points in this area.

Booking Process

The Four Points by Sheraton Lahore currently costs 10,000 Marriott points per night. That could change in their new dynamic pricing model, obviously.

I paid cash, though. With taxes and fees, my 4 nights at the property cost a total of $171.68. If you would redeem points, this would be a redemption value of 0.4 cents per point. That’s pretty low on what you can normally redeem Marriott points for, according to our research.

Location

The Four Points by Sheraton Lahore is located in Lahore, Pakistan. This is very close to the border of India, with the main city on the other side being Amritsar. Both are in the region known as Punjab. The Mughal architecture, famous Golden Temple in Amritsar, and other cultural/historical sites may draw you to the area.

But what really draws people to the area is the incredible border ceremony at Wagah. Every evening, when the border is closed for the night, there is a fascinating ceremony that draws big crowds. Soldiers marching and trying to intimidate those on the other side of the border. Bringing down the flag and trying to be better at soldierliness than the other side. It’s amazing. I’ve now been to this ceremony on both sides (India and now Pakistan). This is the real draw, and the reason you may wind up at the Four Points by Sheraton in Lahore is so you can go to Wagah for an afternoon.

Hotel Review: Four Points by Sheraton Lahore

Prior to arrival

My stay at the hotel did NOT start on the right foot. After I made my booking, I called the hotel. Most countries need a visa to Pakistan, so I called to ask if they could give me a letter confirming my stay to support my visa application. After getting bounced around to several people on the phone, the next part was incredulous. I swear they connected me to a voice recording that just sounded like you were talking to a person. Given that the answers had absolutely 0 relation to my questions, I’ll believe it was a machine until the day I die.

Another issue prior to my arrival was with airport pickup. I used the “chat with the front desk” feature in the Marriott app. The hotel replied to my question about airport pickup availability / cost by just saying “Noted”, so it wasn’t helpful. I got a taxi to the hotel.

Check-in

On arrival at the hotel, staff were super friendly and helpful. I also liked the lobby. It was big, open, and inviting. I also noticed this sign in the lobby.

They were expecting me, thanked me for my loyalty, and informed me that the hotel was 100% booked that night. Thus, they weren’t able to offer me an upgrade. However, they told me that they would move me to a suite the following day, and I was happy with this. Upgrades aren’t guaranteed, and I headed to my room on the 4th floor. This was a standard king room but on the Executive Lounge floor, with lounge access included.

Standard Room

The standard room is nothing impressive but isn’t bad. This is where I spent the first night.

I will point out that getting into the tub for the shower was awkward, both due to the height and the position of the glass panel.

Additionally, this room was immediately next to the lounge (closed) and the elevator.

Next to the elevator is the supply closet for housekeeping. I heard a lot of noise, especially early in the morning, and was glad they were moving me to another room later on.

Moving to the Suite

I went out for the day to explore and returned around 2pm. I stopped at the front desk asked about moving, figuring it was time. They said the room was still occupied.

Around 7pm, I had dinner at the Chinese restaurant off the lobby. As I was leaving dinner, the front desk manager saw me and said he was calling my room to tell me I could finally move to the suite. The occupants had just left. I found this quite strange, given that it meant someone checked out around 6pm or later. Once we arrived at my new room, I understood. It was the “Penthouse Suite” (side note: it was on the 3rd floor, so it’s not really “penthouse”). Clearly, you can stay whatever hours you want in this room. Waiting for the upgrade was worth it.

The Penthouse Suite

The suite sits at the far end of the hall on the 3rd floor. Upon entry, there’s a small foyer and then a mini kitchen.

The mini kitchen has only a mini fridge and a microwave, but the cabinets are full of dishes. The snacks are not free, by the way.

Down the hall, you pass the glass-enclosed bathroom and a locked door that goes to who-knows-where.

I found the bathroom both interesting and weird. On the one hand, it’s super unique. And it’s quite big.

However, the labyrinthine layout requires 2 turns and 2 light switches to get to the sink. And the full glass surrounding the bathroom is…I can’t decide how I feel about it.

The features work well, though. There’s a tub (with a TV nearby) and a separate shower. Water got hot quickly, and the pressure is good.

There’s ample counter space around the sink, a big mirror, and plenty of toiletries on hand.

In the living room area, there’s a desk with a very wobbly chair, lamps, sofa, and a coffee table.

I had free snacks as a welcome gift, sitting on the table.

There’s also ample closet space between the hall and the bathroom.

In the bedroom area, the king-sized bed was comfortable. I liked the note that I could call to ask for other types of pillows, if desired.

The pillows provided were good enough, though I’m not a fan of the mountain of decorative pillows I had to find a place for. Luckily, housekeeping took these away the next day without my having to ask.

I will point out that the mattress was a bit bigger than the bed frame. It stuck over the edges.

Controls in the Room

Both the standard room and the suite still have the old-fashioned…not sure of the name of this thing. It’s a box with light and radio controls. Having light controls in multiple different places (here, on the wall, lamps with foot switches) had me constantly guessing which switch I needed for the light I wanted to turn off/on. Things worked, but it was less than ideal.

Hotel Amenities

On the 6th (top) floor, there is a spa. Turning the other way out of the eleveator, there’s a pool table.

Continuing past the pool table, you arrive at the rooftop. The rooftop has 2 levels, and there are plenty of tables. You can sit outside or inside for the BBQ restaurant up here.

There’s also a pool on the roof.

I will note that the 2 elevators in the hotel are quite small and filled up easily, given how busy the hotel was during my stay.

One thing I didn’t like was the music throughout the public spaces. It’s not the music but the type and the volume. They played Pitbull all day one day, and I heard the same song on repeat 5 times in a row another day. This could be improved for sure.

Service at the Restaurants

I ate most of my meals at the restaurants in the hotel. Prices were cheap. Off the lobby, there is a Chinese restaurant and a European-meets-Pakistani restaurant (which is also where the breakfast buffet is located). Next to the front desk, there’s a small bakery/café. On the rooftop, there is a BBQ restuarant.

Throughout my stay, I found staff at the restaurants to be friendly and eager to help. Food quality was decent, and it was above what I would expect for the price I paid. I was more than happy with the restaurants.

On the night I ate at the Chinese restaurant, it was decent. I’ll admit that service was quite friendly, but they told me I couldn’t have the first item I ordered. “It was cooked several hours ago and is no longer fresh.” What? Food isn’t made to order? This really confused me.

Hilariously, I chose to eat at the Pakistani restaurant near the lobby one night, since they advertised a buffet with traditional foods that evening. I happened to be the only person in the restaurant who was not part of a wedding party. When I showed up in jeans and flip-flops to a crowd of people in their best, they all gawked at me. I gave a little wave. Staff still provided quality service, even while swamped with this wedding party.

Fawned Over by Hotel Staff

While I will say that staff were eager to help, at times I felt like this went too far. As literally the only foreigner at the hotel (and I’m guessing the only Titanium Elite they’d seen in a while), I couldn’t walk through the lobby just to go out the door. Managers would come running to talk to me. Just to chat. I appreciate that they wanted to make sure my stay is great, but sometimes “How are you?” “I’m fine” is all that’s needed in a conversation.

While waiting for a taxi to the Wagah border or waiting for a taxi to the lab for my PCR test, managers would sit and talk to me like they felt obligated to keep me company while waiting. It was strange for both of us. I got the impression they were expected to not let me wait alone, meanwhile I’d be fine just waiting alone in silence. I’m not big on chit-chat.

A balance between saying hello, asking if I need anything, and then letting me have personal space would be nice.

Here’s an example: while passing through the lobby to breakfast one morning, I was stopped by the front desk manager to introduce me to the hotel’s general manager. He asked how my stay was and for my honest feedback as their first foreign visitor in a long time. I happened to mention that the restaurants didn’t have signs with their hours, so I wasn’t sure which ones were open at which times for dinner.

He called the front desk manager, told them this needed fixed, apologized, offered me free dinner that night, and then later came to find me at the restaurant. The food & beverage manager also came to find me, in order to apologize for the “most unfortunate” experience I had while dining at the hotel. It honestly wasn’t a huge deal, but it became one to them.

Day of Departure

On the day of my departure, I had a late flight and was out exploring the city. It dawned on me that I hadn’t requested a late check-out. I used the “chat with the front desk” in the app and messaged them. I asked for a late check-out time and apologized for not telling them sooner. 3 hours later, when I returned to the hotel, they hadn’t replied.

I cleared out of the room, settled my bill, and checked out. Staff during both check-in and check-out were friendly and efficient. They smiled and thanked me for my visit.

The concierge, bellman, and van driver to the airport were friendly, as well. I had spoken to these people each time I came and went, and they were all good at their jobs.

Final Thoughts on Four Points by Sheraton Lahore

I have some mixed feelings here. First, the pre-arrival stuff was weird. I thought I was going to hate this place and rip them a new one in my review. My stay, however, was quite good. Obviously, the value I got for price paid vs room I stayed in is incredible. And everyone was very friendly.

That being said, I don’t need a lot of hand-holding during a hotel stay. If something is wrong, I’ll let you know. Hotel staff don’t need to wait with me and chit-chat until the taxi comes. Free dinner is a nice gesture but not needed as an “apology” for me mentioning there aren’t signs with hours for the restaurants. Better management of music and volume, plus less “fawning” could make this hotel awesome. Its location and amenities are really good. If the staff could dote a little less and provide a little more personal space, my scoring in the review would go up.

At the end of the day, I would stay here again and would recommend it to others wanting to visit the area. Just know what to expect.