San Joaquin Hotel — Hotel in Fresno

Visited Fresno for the first time for a friend's birthday and their family booked us a stay down the way at San Joaquin because it was close to their house and thought it looked relatively nice from the street..... they were mortified when I showed them the photos of our "suite". ||||I am guessing that the only "housekeeping" done before we arrived is one of the "maids" removing the police tape from our door because it looked like a crime scene inside. Horrifying stains of indeterminate liquids and/or bodily fluids greeted us on every square inch of the carpet. Stains that have clearly NEVER been even attempted to be cleaned. A quick spray of Folex would remove some of it but apparently the cleaning staff has better things to do. Needless to say, we kept our socks on the entire stay. ||||Perhaps most of the lights did not work in the unit which made it dark. The few bulbs that did turn on were bright blue which made us feel like we were having some sort of acid trip. Maybe this was to distract from the filthy carpet?||||The bathroom sink and shower faucet had clearly never been cleaned and were heavy with water stains. ||||Astonishingly, the linens and towels seemed clean (believe me, we double-checked before touching them. ||||The hotel walkways were equally stained. The next morning we did pass a housekeeping cart which we had to laugh about because we could only assume it was purely decorative to imply that any employee there actually does their job. ||||The few times we passed through the lobby and actually saw anyone at the desk, they were disheveled and turned their gaze to avoid eye contact while maintaining a comical frown. ||||The cherry on top was really when we returned to the parking lot sometime after midnight from the party. Several cars were taking up 2 spaces with some idling with lights on, people talking, and ladies of the night walking about. The scariest part was that one car pulled out of their spot behind us when we pulled in, turned their lights on, and attempted to block us in. My friend and I booked it to our room and locked the door - again - nobody in the empty office. ||||We had many nervous laughs about the third world conditions of San Joaquin Hotel to distract us from how gross and sketchy this place actually is. ||||If you find yourself needing last-minute accommodations in Fresno and this place is your only option, you're better off sleeping under a freeway overpass or in a homeless shelter. Either of which will be cleaner and feel safer....

Warning - If you want a pleasant stay look elsewhere!

Staff - unhelpful and seem to be bothered when you ask a question of any kind.

Room - mostly clean but dated. Cold water on the sink didn't work and shower head was only about 5ft tall so I had to squat down to shower.

Hotel - I might have unfortunately booked during a scheduled gang fight or maybe it's a normal thing there, I don't know.

AC - vent was aimed directly at my face and could not be redirected as it was broken. So I kept it on low and let my face freeze and my feet roast (it was about 100 degrees F while I was there).

Breakfast - don't count on it.

Ice Machine - broken.

Overall - because of the fighting from other guests and the AC blowing directly at my face all night I did not sleep much or well. I would not go back here for half the price. I could have saved a hundred bucks and slept in my car.

About the service...

I arrived in Fresno a bit early in the day, around 1pm and so I called to request an early check in. The lady on the phone wasn't very helpful and just said I could come and try but it would depend on if they had any clean rooms (an hour early is all I asked for). I thought it wouldn't be so hard for her to check over the phone.

So I came at 2pm and found the location to be a bit odd but when I walked in the lobby it was nice and clean. But when I came to the counter I had a very poor customer service experience.

There were two ladies behind the counter, one who helped me and the other who never looked away from her computer.

The one who checked me in said about 6-7 words in total to me during the whole process. There was no welcoming, not even a hello. She seemed bothered that I was there.

I asked a couple of questions but maybe she didn't hear me. Finally towards the end of the process she spoke and just told me to swipe my car. I saw a 200 fee and inquired what that was about and she said "it's the deposit" very blankly as if I should just know automatically.

I really struggle here because the whole experience was the worst of any hotel I've stayed at.

I would have said something to the front desk about the various broken things but that lady gave me such a poor experience I figured I'd just be put in a worse room for saying anything.

I give them two stars because the room was at least clean and ready for a gust, other than the cold water not working on the sink and the shower being for a child.

If this were my only place to stay in Fresno then...

I should have listened to the horrible reviews! Even if I get a response from management, it will only be a "canned" one and they won't get back to me directly. That tells you something about this hotel! I have stayed in Best Western hotels for years without a problem. They have always been clean and friendly. I chose this hotel because it was in a part of fresno that used to be considered high class AND it was part of the Best Western Group. Boy was I wrong! I made the reservation because we were going to my mother's burial and it was a very somber trip. I needed a quiet and nice place to stay. I had my receipt for the reservation. The first thing I was told is the fee was $21 MORE than my reservation receipt with ALL charges! I was also told there was a $200 deposit required. There was nothing about that noted on the website. A lady that came in after me was also shocked and said there was no mention of this deposit. Luckily, I did get the $200 back after a few days and they refunded the $21 overcharge. That is where the good news ends! The grounds were dirty and unkempt. The pool water was dark greenish-black! The elevator was filthy and smelled strongly of cigarette smoke. I had to hold my breath while inside. The first room given to us was beyond belief. It had huge stains throughout the entire carpet! The tub had no faucet and the sofa looked like something out of a thrift shop! We asked for another room thinking they gave us this room by mistake. The next room was only minimally better but upon inspection, it got worse! The carpet didn't have as many huge stains as the first room but it had plenty. And, one very large stain was red and looked like a huge blood stain! The sink had blood in it as well. The room smelled like musty cigarette smoke and some other gross smell. There was a utility room right in the hallway of our room and the door was unlocked and ajar. Inside was an air conditioning/heating unit with a dirty floor and an open electrical wiring box. Very dangerous for small children which luckily, we didn't have with us. The bed was comfortable but we were afraid to sleep in it wondering if the sheets were even clean! We couldn't get our money back because it was late and the rude front desk person said we'd have to pay a cancellation fee as a no show. There was litter on the roof of a lower roof as if garbage had been tossed onto it. The lobby was the nicest area of the hotel which would indicate the staff was more important...