Marina Village Inn — Hotel in Alameda

We stayed here for two nights, and couldn't wait to leave. The photos we'd seen online were so misleading. Although there is a building with updated rooms, there is also one building that has not been touched since probably the mid-90's. Beyond just being dated, the un-updated building is dirty, gross, and dilapidated. 2 of the 4 lamps didn't work, there were cracks in the sink, rotted out bathroom moulding, dirty carpet, and I'm pretty sure someone committed suicide in our shower because there were what looked like splatters of blood on the ceiling seeping back through what had been painted over. They can't help what people do in their rooms, but at the very least, use some stain blocking primer. What a nightmare. When we arrived, the lobby was dirty and in the middle of being upgraded, but that was no excuse for what looked like a puddle of juice in the middle of the floor that literally sat there for hours. I only know this because we had to go into the lobby later in the evening in order to have the front desk receptionist take us up to our room to unlock the door because their key making machine broke earlier in the day, and we weren't given a room key. Instead, we had to go to the front desk and wait to be escorted to our room every time we came back in. The only saving grace was that the water pressure in the murder shower was great. I've stayed in some pretty terrible places in my day, including a place in Needles, CA that most people would run far away from, and this is definitely just one notch above that. To top it off, I'm guessing they have a rodent problem or something because I got bitten at least 3 times by something small enough that they weren't visible (so I'm thinking rat mites, maybe). Waking up with one bite on the side of my face could have been chalked up to something flying around, but waking up on night 2 with a bite 1" away from the first one on the side I sleep on, and then getting another one on my ankle while applying my makeup for the day means that there was definitely some kind of insect issue in our room. Stay pretty much anywhere else but here. Run away....

Me & My Boyfriend stayed here from July 8th to the 16th while we were on a business trip in Alameda. At first we noticed everytime the maid service came & “cleaned” our room they never changed the sheets because the same stains managed to be on the covers for our whole stay. We thought we had gotten bit by mosquitoes when we first started waking up with bites but on the 15th we got horribly attacked by bed bugs. I’m 8 months pregnant & I had to make a trip to the Hospital because of how badly I was bitten all over my body. My doctor even sent me off with a note proving they were bed bug bites. The manager & staff that was working July 15th told us they were planning to spray only our room (209) for bugs & they promised to issue a refund for the week we were there & moved our stuff to another room (108) for our last night. I woke up in the second room only to be even more bitten so they obviously had an infestation but they were still only going to spray that one room (209) for some reason. Here we are a week later with No refund, Only to be told that they somehow managed to switch ownership within 3 days of our check out date & they can no longer issue a refund because they don’t have any of our information & who ever promised our refund no longer works there. They couldn’t even give us the names because “the last owners took the books with the schedules”, But when I had first called today around 11 am the girl who answer the phone first knew our room number & how much we were owed with out me having to tell her so she clearly knew who we were. When I asked if there was anything else they could do for us the manager said he could only offer us a lower rate for a stay some where along the road if we ever came back. We will be taking extra measures & get to the bottom of this. They are still open for business but supposedly sprayed for the bed bug issue??? The whole inn needs to be shut down...

The Marina Village Inn is a property whose architecture suggests it was built around 1960. Surrounded by centenarian yacht clubs and a high-rise luxury condo, it overlooks a sail-craft marina and beyond, the Oakland Hills. The pool looks like it has been decomissioned since the Obama administration, and given water problems in Ca, will probably remain so. My second and top floor room was airy and sparkling clean, albeit scarcely renovated since construction. A very large single-pane picture window opened with some encouragement and allowed in light, sea air, and a view of bobbing masts at hand and a Coast Guard cutter in the distance. Mattress was firm, the linens fresh and soft, and the full size desk had a sturdy office chair. The microwave, safe, and drip coffee maker I did not use. There was some noise in the bath from an adjoining room, but I heard only a foghorn from the bedroom. The pool and inner court are brightly lit at night -- if your room overlooks them you will want to draw the blackout curtains in order to sleep. All in all a remarkable room for the price : I will trade light, a window that opens, and an honest desk with a view for cookie-cutter amenities any day of the week. The 24 hour front desk answered the phone with a human voice and I enjoyed talking with the employees who were kind and helpful, including the cleaning staff. I enquired about security for my car parked a few steps from the room because the Alameda police dept had posted a sign at the entry warning guests to not leave goods in their car. After all, Alameda is situated betwixt Oakland and San Francisco, arguably the car smash and grap capitals of the US. The night desk person told me that in the two years he has been employed there had never been a car break-in, so I left my bike in the car and slept...