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I was recently stranded over night at LAX following a delayed flight from London and a missed connection. My usual hotel, the Hyatt-affiliated Concourse Hotel was full and so I went back to an old favourite – Sheraton Gateway at LAX. It is right next to the the Concourse and so very close to the airport.

The hotel shuttle came about 5 minutes after I arrived at the corner between Terminal 4 and Thomas Bradley. There was only one other passenger at that point, but by the time we left Terminal 8 the shuttle was full. On the way back the next day the shuttle was again full with people standing.

Check-in was a simple affair, they have a nice elite line which I used.

The agent confirmed that I wanted the bonus points as my amenity (I did), and then confirmed that I had one of the refurbished rooms with a King Bed. So far so good.

I walked along the corridor and opened the door to a new, fresh room. A large sofa with a table in the middle, a big flat screen TV as well as a nice desk chair, a big bed and a new shower created in the bathroom. Brilliant! The WiFi worked, and only afterwards did I realise that I could have used the Premium WiFi at no extra charge as an SPG Gold.

It was fairly late by now so I pulled the curtains and prepared for sleep. I passed a restful night– there were planes taking off from northerly runway so I did wake a few times in the night.

In the morning, you could see how close the planes come to the hotel.

Next morning I found that I had been put on an SPG Club Floor which gave me access to the lounge. Of course, Gold status at SPG doesn’t give you breakfast at their hotels in the way that Diamond does at Hyatt. I was almost regretting my choice, but the lounge (which requires keyed access) had a good selection of hot and cold items and super friendly staff. I had breakfast there before heading out to the airport.  Check-out was flawless, with nice and friendly staff confirming the bill, sorting my credit card and wishing me a happy holiday all very sincerely.

I was glad I had gone back to to an old favourite, it didn’t let me down.