Hotel Sheraton Asuncion - Elegant and modern

The hotel’s website proudly proclaims that it is situated in a privileged neighborhood. Privileged indeed. The view outside my window overlooked an affluent area of the city with many large homes with huge yards like none other that I saw in Asuncion.

One wonders what the residents of these mansions felt about the ten-story hotel when it was built directly adjacent to their luxurious property.

How private can that huge pool be when dozens of strangers can look down on you from above while you’re enjoying a relaxing dip? That eight-foot security fence is ineffective against the prying eyes of visitors from across the globe.

The hotel is simply elegant to match the surrounding neighborhood, but with modern interior designs and situated far enough from the hubbub of the downtown area. It’s still convenient to many amenities, however, such as the shopping mall across the street and good restaurants nearby. And a cab ride to downtown takes about twenty minutes and costs a whopping 60,000 Guaranies, or roughly fifteen dollars.

Hotel Sheraton Asuncion hosts a small restaurant and bar on the ground floor (not to be confused with the first floor. I’ll explain later). Breakfast, which is complimentary, and lunch are buffet-style and both are delicious. Breakfast consists of hot foods, such as scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages and pancakes. I found it interesting that the restaurant does not offer syrup. Pancakes are eaten with honey! It’s a unique blend of two familiar and wonderful tastes. They also serve an amazing array of fresh fruits, like mango and papaya, small pastries and an assortment of cold cereals. (Tony the Tiger, Snap, Crackle and Pop are not included.) The orange juice tasted like it came straight from the tree, but the peach juice tasted like it came straight from the can. The coffee is strong and powerful enough to knock you into the middle of next week. Needless to say, I loved it.

Lunch had a number of salads, hot meats and sides, usually including a pasta dish. The ceviche was awesome.

As I mentioned earlier, registration and the restaurant are on the ground floor. The first floor is up a wide open staircase to the large ballrooms. The second and third floors house meeting rooms.

The fourth through ninth floors are the guest rooms and the tenth is the crowning jewel. It features an open bar area with swimming pool and hot tub and gives visitors a spectacular and breath-taking panorama view of Asuncion. The open area had a modern Greek style with columns, giving it an affluent feel. Although I didn’t get a chance to try the wet and dry saunas, I was assured by my colleague that they were luxurious.

Downtown Asuncion

Sunset over Asuncion

One important fact that needs noting is that the elevators do not ding, beep, buzz or otherwise indicate they have arrived on your floor, with the exception of the ground floor. Several times, I was caught admiring the view out of the ninth floor window, unaware the elevator was standing open. I had to make a mad dash to reach it before it was too late.

As with any place catering to the traveler, the staff can make or break the experience, no matter how luxurious and posh the hotel is. This crew was one of the most helpful, courteous and friendly staff I have ever encountered. Some spoke English but many did not. Still, the language barrier rarely caused inconvenience or misunderstandings. However, there was the time I asked for coffee and got espresso instead. It did help me stay awake for the long, boring, afternoon meetings.

Ruben

Ruben, the bartender, makes the best Caipirinhas. He speaks excellent English since he lived and worked in Montgomery, Alabama. Norma and Elaine were two of the lovely young women who greeted me with a buenos dias, big smiles and kept the coffee coming each morning.

Diego

Tall and handsome Diego manned the registration desk and arranged for transportation to and from the airport as well as a couple of city tours.

Bottom line, my room was always clean and, for a week, I was happy to call it home.