Four Points by Sheraton San Francisco Bay Bridge — Hotel in Emeryville

First I'd like to say that I do believe in Starwood and still consider it to be the best at service amongst all standard hotel chains. My experiences, however, at this Four Points was disheartening.

I have a choice to some degree as to which hotel chain to show my loyalty; but in this case the Four Points was the best match with my company's corporate rate policy so i booked it for the next several weeks.

Upon check-in last week, I asked Stephanie about the authorization policy, as the pre-auth was much higher than I was told it would be. She didn't have the answer. She told me she would email the general manager and copy me on the email to get the answer. That never happened and no one from the management staff contacted me with an answer. Not a huge deal; but I would bet my life that if I made the same request at the Westin Canal Place in New Orleans, someone would've called me before I got up the elevator. They really do "get it" down there.

Moving forward to this week. I arrived early Monday morning (around 3am). Again; Stephanie was on duty. I asked if the 'Your 24' program applied to life gold members and we told no. Fine. She told me she had a room available but they would likely charge me for an extra night. She mentioned that if I waited a few hours l, they could check me in as a "Monday" arrival vs Sunday; so I decided to wait. When I arrived back (around 8:30am), a lady named "Kee Kee" was working and she said. "We don't have any rooms available" and, get this, she said, "Stephanie told me you wanted to avoid the extra charge and that you'd be coming in, but we don't have any rooms".

Logically; if there were no rooms, wouldn't the answer be only that there are no rooms. It leaves me to wonder what would've happens if I had said yes to the room Stephanie offered. Would she have had to tell me she lied or was Kee Kee not be honest about the available room. Regardless, as a customer, I shouldn't be left to decide who is lying and wonder why there was a room available at 3am for an extra charge and suddenly 4 hours later...no room.

I stay in hotels every week without incident usually. This, to me, was a very disappointing experience. Suddenly I have no room until later in the day; now impacting my arrival...

My family and I arrived around 7pm ready to check in after a full day of traveling from North Carolina. Upon trying to enter through the front entrance, the front sliding door of the hotel was locked! I’d never seen or experienced this ever, so I pressed the button on the call box to summons the receptionist. She rudely answered me with “what do you want?” As she could clearly see me and my family through the glass door standing in the cold with our luggage waiting to enter. I had to give her my name and demographics which she had to verify before she would let us enter the lobby. Upon entering the lobby, I immediately noticed the uninviting aesthetics, dimly lit lobby with out dated furnishings, I instantly began feeling like the building was dingy and unclean. It felt like I was checking into a rundown motel vs a Marriott Bonvoy hotel. The receptionist explained everything was closed due to the pandemic( room service, wet bar, gym), and there were construction projects occurring within the hotel which created a lots of noise. One of the elevators was broken which caused a much longer wait as everyone in the hotel had to use the one working elevator. The working elevator was dirty with scuffed wood paneling and dirty scratched floors. I requested an iron be brought to my room to iron my clothes as my room had an ironing board, but did not have an iron. The front desk told me they would send one up, but never did! On two separate occasions my room key didn’t work causing me to have to deal with the rude staff and inconveniently travel back down stairs to have the room key re-keyed. Horrible customer service, very very poorly maintained and just a plain dirty hotel. I tried using the house phone in the hallway to call a relative located on another floor and the receptionist told me she could not transfer my call because the transfer button was broken. As a member of the military, I’ve stayed in many hotels in the USA as well as abroad. I’ve paid far less for places that offered great hospitality and kept their facilities beautiful and clean. Please do not spend your hard earned money here; its truly not worth it! I strongly suggest you look elsewhere and reconsider before staying...

At the Four Points SF, you get what about you are expecting here and quite a bit more. As might be anticipated, this is a fairly no-frills business hotel. The location is fantastic, with ready access up and down the East Bay and across the Bay Bridge to SF -- there is also ample high-end shopping in a lovely outdoor walking mall, restaurants, and a plaza of "big box" stores all within walking distance.

Amenity-wise, this hotel has recently massively improved and is quite pleasant. The pool area has been spruced up, and the new lobby, bar, and cafe are sprightly if small, with good bartending and food preparation. There was often a friendly and lively crowd in the lobby, which is always nice when visiting. Room service was quick and reliable, and although the menu is somewhat limited, the offerings are tasty. I'd particularly laud their beer and wine offerings, which are well-selected and reasonably priced. Although hours are somewhat limited (bar 5-11 PM, room service till 10 PM), it seems a fair offering for a Four Points.

The most unfortunate aspect of the hotel are the rooms. They've been recently redone, so the furnishings are nice enough, but ultimately they're just small for a Four Points, and the bathrooms are uncomfortably so. Half of the rooms have balconies, however, which you should definitely request -- they add a lot of space feel to the room, and have nice views over the Bay. For SPG members, the upgraded room is somewhat larger, which is nice enough, through the lavatory size remains the same.

On the other hand, the staff is just amazing here. Always friendly and accommodating, and you get the impression they do want your stay to be the best. I've stayed at many SPG properties, and the team here is amongst the best.

Overall, this is fine deal for the price, with good if basic amenities, slightly smaller than average rooms, excellent location, and a great staff. If this is convenient to your destination and you're not looking for a luxury experience (and price), you won't do...