PA Pittsburgh Sheraton Station Square

[Phaelon56]

3* - winning bid of $45

Beautiful property - stayed for two nights. I was put on the 8th floor in a NS King that had a nice angle view of the river and the skyline. The property is directly across the river from downtown Pittsburgh in Station Square, an entertainment and complex. There's a small shopping building, a Starbucks, Hard Rock cafe, sports bars, comedy club etc. Area is very quiet weeknights and busy weekends.

Large room, excellent bed, great pillows. The availability of high speed Internet access would have been nice but otherwise this is a stellar property. Two years ago I stayed at the Hilton at the edge of downtown directly across from "the Point". This is by far a nicer property that the Hilton.

Hotel staff was warm and friendly - great place to stay if you win a bid on this one.

[mcgervey]

I agree with this reviewer as well. Though I'm not sure how relevant these reviews will be for Priceline.

I have NEVER gotten this hotel in bids for downtown, many times, up to $50 and $60. This is now an older property, but has been updated and expanded several times... It is one of the top end hotels in Pittsburgh due to the combination of Station Square location and the quality of the hotel. It's just hard to get this hotel for any kind of budget deal. The best rate I've ever gotten was $85, and that was on Expedia or Travelocity or one of those, on a short notice booking.

If you can get this hotel for $85 or cheaper, it's worth it though. I did get accomadated with a river view, and was surprised.

If you're not from Pittsburgh, a nice culture and shopping tip is Carson street. Go further down Carson about a mile or so onto the South Side. Great restaurants, art galleries, and bars/music venues. On any weekend night you will have your choice of many locations with live bands, possibly even battles of the bands (try the Rex Theater), or even spoken word. You can get a famous Pittsburgh style sandwich and bet at Primani Brothers (cole slaw and fries on a pittsburgh style steak), or hit the Carson Street Deli for outstanding salads and sandwiches, or one of several sushi bars. Dave's Music Mine is a good record store (hit the basement for vinyl), and right down from Dave's is a vintage toy store (I think it's call Groovy or something) where you can probably find vintage star wars or GI Joe toys, or that brady bunch lunchbox you had when you were 10.. Across the street from Daves and a few stores down is a really good independent used book store, the name also escapes me.

Also, a MUST do if you're at or staying at Station Square, is ride the incline up to Grandview avenue and stroll one of the best views of any city anywhere. It's part of the county transit authority (PAT transit) so it's a mere $1.65 or $2 or something round trip, and takes mere minutes, plus whatever time you spend carousing the Avenue up there. If you want FINE and EXPENSIVE dining, take the incline up and walk all the way down the avenue to near the other incline, and there's a collection of some of Pittsburgh's best restaurants, complete with city views.

Crawfords in Station Square, an R&B and Jazz club, also has EXCELLENT cajun cuisine. Also highly recommended.

Finally, if you're attending a Steeler or Pirates game, you can take the Gateway Clipper river shuttle to the game from Station Square. This is not the speedy nor budget way to go to a game though. You will pay $10 to $15 to park at Station Square, and another $8 for the shuttle round trip. You can park very near the stadium or ballpark, if not RIGHT next to it, for between $10 and $15. By doing the Station Square and shuttle route, you do avoid the possibility of gridlock traffic though.

Of course, if you're staying at Station Square, you're probably not too worried about your budget anyway.

A budget tip for Pirates games: Drive around Allegheny Center Mall. You can sometimes find an on-street parking meter where you can park for 4 hours for about $1.50. If you fail, just pull into the Allegheny Center garage for $8. It's a two short block walk to the ballpark from there. Add a block or two if you find an on street meter.

Another somewhat little know but wonderful attraction downtown is the National Aviary. It is on the North Side a short walk from PNC park or Allegheny Center. You can park there for free and take in a wonderful exhibit of birds from all over the world for just a few dollars. I think it's $6 for adults and $4 for kids. There is a website, check it out.

Up in Oakland, try to find Phillps Conservancy, right next to the Pitt campus, for another wonderful and inexpensive activity. They just finished adding another huge wing.

These, along with the Pittsburgh zoo, are year round facilities as well. You can have a great time for very little money on a weekend trip in Pittsburgh if you put these stops on your agenda.

Yes, if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a proud Pittsburgher who misses his hometown! :)

RJ

[cober6711]

I got this place for a $78 bid for a 3* hotel on Priceline after trying for a few days with no success.

All in all, its a mixed bag.

The good:

There were absolutely no signs of 'Priceline discrimination'. I was upgraded to a suite when I checked in after the hotel realized I had SPG Gold status. I did, however, decide to come in a night early, booking that night with cash and points rather than on PL. I did not end up having to move out of my suite. Service was very friendly, and some problems with the room (see below) were addressed immediately and I was compensated with free breakfast and 4000 starpoints. Hotel is VERY secure-elevators won't work without a key.

The bad:

My only complaints with the hotel was that the housekeeping was very spotty.

When I checked in, there was hair and a used Q-Tip in the bathroom, as well as the previous occupant's coffee still in the coffee maker. Again, these problems were addressed immediately and I was compensated with breakfast and some points (see above). As well, the trains passing by were rather loud, being on the 4th floor right near the tracks, but it didn't prevent me from sleeping.

Again, all in all, its a mixed bag, but I'd stay here again!