DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Berkeley Marina — Hotel in Berkeley

I am so sad posting this review because I absolutely LOVE this DoubleTree. The staff has always been great, kind and helpful. The food is delicious but pricey, especially the French toast for breakfast! Or the steak and this fig salad for dinner. You can do laundry 24 hrs. They have an indoor sauna, hot tub, heated pool and fitness center that I specifically come here for and awesome rooms with comfy beds and wide/deep bathtubs! Oh! And i can't forget to mention their famous Warm, Soft, INCREDIBLY delicious cookies you get when you check in and if you ask nicely they'll usually give you an extra when you crave one in the middle of the night. 😅 They even have an allergy friendly version now that I saw behind the desk today. Now for the part that resulted in me giving 2 stars to the service section... Today I found out that you don't have to pay for the parking if you have a handicap placard, which I do. But why did I have to ask about a discount to be given this info when every time I stay here I book the handicap accessible room and ask the person checking me in where the handicap parking is. Good customer service would be telling me this the first time I stayed in light of my accessibility request, etc. When I book through hotels.com I can bundled EITHER parking or breakfast, both are equal to about $40. I usually choose the parking, which means I have been paying for parking this whole time when I could have been getting the breakfast. I spent $100 this morning on breakfast and coffee and this could've been $30 with the breakfast bundle. I did this right before checking in for my 2nd night (I extended) and finding out about the parking. * Thank you for finally telling me BTW! I asked to speak to a manager about this after the clerk said she could give me a meal credit and Romel (?) never called. I called back after chatting online with a Hilton Honors rep who was empathetic and said the property should address this since I was still there. The manager didn't want anything to do with this and kept insisting it was a problem for Expedia (hotels.com) to address since i booked through them. I tried to explain that I could've adjusted my reservation the night before with hotels.com had the person checking me in inform me I did have to pay for parking when they saw I had an accessible room reserved and I asked where the handicap parking was. Had she done this there would have been no issue. It's so hard to try to make a case for the right way something should be done to someone who is uninterested in truly hearing you. I was understandably frustrated and my pain for my nerve disorder was triggered which also triggers my fight or flight system. Instead of asking me how he could accommodate me, the manager got frustrated with my "attitude" and said I wasn't letting him speak. I didn't even realize I was stopping him from speaking. Truly, I was just trying to express my experience and get him to understand and he could have kindly made me aware and de-escalated the situation. Instead he took offense and then tried ending the conversation. I pleaded with him to please tell me what he was trying to say but he refused. When he refused to speak I told him how shocked I was at this interaction. And how heartbroken I was because I really do love this place. I'm a local and I still spend my money to come here because it is usually, that great!!! I then told him I'd ve contacting Hilton and also posting reviews and that's when he aggressively shot back stating the HE was going to contact them both. I asked about what and he made it seem like he was helping make them aware of my grievance. I told him I would never stay there again after the way he was treating me that he was making me feel like I just wanted to leave even though I had already paid to extend and he hung up on me. I filed complaints with Hilton and hotels.com and everyone I spoke with couldn't believe this manager. I found out he retaliated against me by reporting my attitude to both Expedia and Hilton and that he was trying to get me banned and...

BAIT AND SWITCH PRICING! Read this review before you pay for your room online.

I booked this hotel through my credit card where it was advertised as $104 per night. It’s the first time I stayed here even though I come to the East Bay for work every week. Because it was the first time I was staying here. I only booked it for two days, even though on this trip, I was going to be here for a whole week and I’m glad I did. The location and the views are definitely nice, but the rooms, while satisfactory, were not on par with other Hiltons that I’ve stayed at. But my biggest issue was the parking. For all the other hotels that I’ve stayed at in the East Bay. I have never once had to pay for parking. The price is advertised the prices that you pay without added fees. This is a classic bait and switch. It’s what the Airlines used to do 20 years ago when they would advertise a low price and then you go to purchase it and you wind up paying a boatload of extra fees that could add $100 or more to the cost of the flight. This was so unethical that it became illegal, and now when prices advertised for an airline, that’s what you pay, all in, unless you want some premium seats. And at least back then with the airlines, you saw the price WITH all the fees when you paid. It’s not like you paid for the ticket, and then after you’ve already paid, you show up at the gate and they tell you that on top of everything else there’s some additional huge service charge to allow you to get on the airplane.

When I checked in, they asked me if I had a car. Of COURSE I did. How the hell else would I get here? Horse? And then they told me parking is $40 a day! Let me reiterate that. FOURTY DOLLARS A DAY!! And if I had booked it for the whole week that would’ve been an additional $280 just to park. That’s ridiculous. And because I had already paid, I could not get a refund so I was trapped. This is so infuriating and so scammy that I would’ve given the hotel one star, but I just bumped them up because of the good view. And I think because I’m a Gold member they gave me two five dollar gift certificates to use in the shop. OK, but the prices in the shop are so grotesquely inflated that I would’ve needed to use both of them to purchase a single bottle of iced tea! The prices in their shop are even higher than airport shops, and not by a little bit, by a lot. I just can’t get over how sleazy and slimy it is to advertise a low price that’s nonrefundable and then hit guests with huge fees later that are unavoidable unless you want to park your car on the street where it’s really not going to be safe in this location. I am really, really, really disappointed in Hilton for allowing this. At the very least, they need to advertise this as “paid parking only”, or just include it in the price of the room, which would be the honest and ethical thing to do.

I don’t do business with unethical places, so yes, they managed to bleed $80 from me, but they lost my business for life because of it. And they made me motivated to make certain that anybody else who decides to give this place a shot knows BEFORE they pay for their room, that they are going to have to pay $280 a week for parking and if they don’t want to stay once they find this out, the hotel is not going to give their money back for...

Great Location. Disappointing Experience I recently had the unfortunate experience of staying at your hotel from and I must express my deep disappointment in the level of service and accommodations provided during my stay.

First and foremost, the unfriendly and unprofessional behavior of your staff was disheartening. From the moment I arrived, I was met with indifference and a lack of basic courtesy. The front desk staff seemed disinterested in providing assistance or answering my questions, making me feel unwelcome from the start and refused to answer any questions so that I could extend my stay. Throughout my stay, their lack of attentiveness and dismissive attitude further compounded the issues I encountered.

Additionally, I was dismayed to witness the inadequate efforts made by the hotel to ensure a peaceful and comfortable stay. The constant banging on doors and screaming from the housekeeping staff was disruptive and highly inappropriate, especially to my room, when I had just arrived. It was truly alarming to witness such unprofessional behavior and a complete lack of consideration for the guests' wellbeing and comfort.

Furthermore, it was evident that little effort was made to control the noise levels in the hotel. Children were allowed to run freely and loudly in the hallways, contributing to an overall chaotic and uncomfortable atmosphere. This disregard for basic etiquette and noise control greatly diminished the quality of my stay.

Lastly, I was disappointed to find multiple broken items like the elevator emergency box, amongst others. Not only did this inconvenience me, but it also demonstrated a lack of attention to maintenance and overall cleanliness. It is essential for a hotel to provide functional and well-maintained facilities for its guests, and the state of my room fell far short of expectations. Dirty walls and trash upon arrival.

I believe it is crucial for you to be aware of these issues as they significantly impacted my overall experience at your hotel. As a loyal customer of various hotels, I have come to expect a higher level of service and accommodations, which I unfortunately did not find during my stay with you.

While writing this email serves as a means of expressing my disappointment, I genuinely hope that you take my feedback seriously and make the necessary improvements to enhance the experiences of future guests. I trust that you will thoroughly investigate these matters and address them promptly to prevent such unfortunate incidents from recurring.

I sincerely hope that steps will be taken to rectify these issues and restore the reputation of your establishment. I look forward to hearing from you regarding the actions you plan to take to address these concerns.

Thank you for...