Hotel Vista Sierra — Hotel in Auburn

I am writing this from the room as we speak on our last morning before checking out. We stayed for three nights. My spouse had to do in person training in Auburn, which was really the reason why we’re here. We didn’t want to do the two hours drive two days in a row from the Bay Area.||The goods:|- The two queen room is spacious; in fact, it’s big enough that it even comes with a small walk in closet, a good size living area and a working desk. Since we are here on business, which required me to sit for hours in front of a computer, the desk and living area were very ideal as I could move from one area to another for a change of scenery so to speak.||- which brings me to the next important aspect of being able to work while staying in a hotel, the importance of having a good high speed internet. I was able to do video calls, streaming some videos, etc etc without having to upgrade to a higher speed internet, so that was greatly appreciated. Nothing is more annoying than having your videos cut off or people you speak with on video chats frozen up with the weirdest facial expressions.||- I really liked the exercise room. I wouldn’t call it a “gym” since it’s pretty tiny; it’s a room equipped with three treadmills, two ellipticals, sets of weights, kettlebells, exercise balls, and even a bosu. In terms of equipments, I give it 10/10; so many selections. The issue is, it’s really super small so there’s really not a lot of area to be doing weights or stretching or what not if you have more than two people at a time. One day, I was in there with three people but thankfully one left as there really wasn’t any other space for another person to be using the “weight/stretching” area. Another day, it was just me and another person, I was doing free weights and he was using the weight machine, so he took up pretty much the whole area as he needed more space so he could probably use the machine. So, while I do appreciate the selections of equipments offered, perhaps taking away one treadmill may help with the space. Additionally, while the room is equipped with plenty of towels, the two times I was in there, the disinfectant cleaning wipes that they provide to wipe down the machine were not available. They were there but you couldn’t pull anything out, in fact I wasn’t even sure if they were even filled. I ended up having to use those small towels provided to wipe everything down. I witnessed everyone else leaving without bothering to wipe them down, which is one of my biggest pet peeves of public gyms. ||- The staff in the dining area is very very nice, especially the older gentlemen at the bar. I didn’t catch his name, but he was there the night we checked in and the following night when we just wanted something to drink. ||The not so goods/could be improved:||- While the staff we encountered in the dining area was all friendly and nice, the same could not be said to the front desk. When we checked in, a sour looking woman greeted us. She didn’t smile at all. We came down a few minutes after checking in because our toilet didn’t flush and our phone didn’t work. She seemed extremely annoyed when we asked for someone to fix both. The toilet was fixed but our phone never got fixed the whole time we stayed. Which reminds me, all the plugs by the bed do not work. Thankfully the plugs by the desk work otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to charge any of our electronic devices.||- The following day, we discovered that one of our room keys did not work, so I went down to get it reactivated. The person on the front desk is another lady than the one who checked us in. Again, unpleasant, no smile whatsoever. When I told her my key didn’t work, instead of apologizing for the inconvenience, she responded with “really?” No, Sherlock, I just love waiting in line to speak to the front desk! She tested it and repeated what I just said, that the key did not work. She did get it reactivated but the whole interaction was so unpleasant, like I was bothering her. If you look at my other reviews, I’ve been reviewing hotels waaaaaay before TripAdvisor was well known worldwide, and I’ve stayed at a lot of hotels, from five stars to not so great hotels all around the world. I have never ever encountered the most unpleasant group of front desk people until this hotel. Front desk literally is representatives of the hotel, the first group of people patrons interact with, your first impressions! How can one expect to have a good experience when the first impression is awful? I know that this hotel is not really part of Marriott anymore even though I did book through Marriott app and I am still able to communicate through the app, but this is certainly not a Marriott standard. ||- since I was working in the room, we opted for no housekeeping. I did request extra towels and left the dirty towels out. They picked up the dirty towels and emptied the trash I left outside promptly, however,I requested clean towels at 1 pm and they weren’t delivered until 7 pm and only after I requested them again. Again, this was all through the app because our phone in the room did not work! ||- We didn’t partake in the free breakfast so I can’t comment on that, but the coffee in the lobby was nice to have all day. ||Honestly, the hotel itself isn’t bad. We had a decent stay, but the interactions we had with the front desk leaves really bad taste. Not to mention the non working phone and the delay in fulfilling any house keeping request. ||It appears to be one of the nicer hotels in the area but I honestly have no knowledge of Auburn so I can’t conclusively confirm that’s the case. Probably will look into a different option next...

I had high expectations when booking Hotel Vista Sierra, given that it’s branded as a SpringHill Suites but markets itself like a full-service resort. Unfortunately, the reality is far from that.

The property simply isn’t equipped to be a true resort. There’s no real restaurant, no resort-level amenities, and the service feels more like a basic roadside hotel than a destination stay. Calling it a “resort” is misleading—it’s a SpringHill Suites with a pool, nothing more.

What made the experience worse was the poor service from leadership. The Director of Sales, in particular, was unprofessional and outright rude. When I asked about hosting a small group event, instead of being helpful, she was dismissive and short, almost as if I was inconveniencing her. At one point she even rolled her eyes when I asked about catering options and said, “We don’t do that here, you’ll have to figure something else out.” That kind of attitude is unacceptable in hospitality.

Examples of service misses: • When I inquired about early check-in, I was told bluntly, “Not possible, we’re too busy,” with no courtesy or alternative offered. • The so-called “resort fee” is a joke—what you’re paying for is Wi-Fi and a basic fitness center, things most hotels include for free. • Staff seemed poorly trained; I had to ask multiple times just to get towels brought up, and when they arrived, they were dropped off without so much as a greeting.

Overall, Hotel Vista Sierra is trying to present itself as something it’s not. If you’re looking for a true resort experience with quality service and amenities, this is not the place. You’re better off booking a genuine full-service hotel where leadership values guests instead of...

SpringHill Suites Auburn was our choices in the Marriott chain for our visit while attending a golf tournament in the area. From calling ahead to add a night in advance of our booked weekend and our original stay to our request for late checkout on our day of departure, the SHSA staff was there to accommodate! The staff is great! Very welcoming and helpful! My husband has Parkinson’s disease and its impact day to day, night to night never really can be predicted. Often, he may require a walk outside at whatever hour. I was so glad SHSA is perched at the top of a hill, limited access from the busy streets is a big plus and when we needed to take a late night walk around the parking lot we felt safe. Great location! The pool is open (the jacuzzi, not yet, nor the exercise facility). Still requiring masks be worn and both staff and most everyone (there were a few guests walking around uncovered), hand sanitizer stationed throughout (though empty on my 3rd floor near the elevator at the time I tried using it). The best amenity that is highly unused, at least throughout my weekend stay, was the parking garage. What a great amenity! Straight from my 3rd floor room to the parking garage! Didn’t need to pass through the lobby all the time AND the best thing is that my dark navy car didn’t get hit by the strong summer sun in June! Comfortable every time I got in it to head the the golf courses on our stay! We have an annual golf tournament to the area and have told all our members about how comfortable a stay we are having at SHSA after hearing about their complaints (traffic noise and thin walls they are experiencing at the Best Western Motel across the freeway). Thanks for...