citizenM Menlo Park — Hotel in Menlo Park

My recent stay at your establishment was, to put it mildly, profoundly disappointing. While I checked in with the simple expectation of a quiet room for rest during a week of business training, the experience was marred by a series of significant shortcomings, culminating in an event that compels me to write this review at an hour when I should be asleep.

The guest room, while clean, was reminiscent of a spartan university dormitory. The bed itself was comfortable, but this single positive attribute was negated by inadequate pillows and a complete failure of soundproofing, rendering the otherwise effective blackout curtains moot. The persistent noise from adjacent rooms and the hallway made the space unsuitable for focused work and, at times, for sleep itself.

The amenities offered little to improve the situation. The "rain" showerhead suffered from such low water pressure as to be functionally useless. The in-room refrigerator failed to maintain a cool temperature and, lacking any adjustment controls, was little more than a cabinet. Furthermore, I must express serious concern over the hotel's use of unsecured, refillable toiletry dispensers. This practice is a significant breach of basic hygiene standards, creating a legitimate worry about potential tampering and contamination.

However, the most egregious failure of my stay was the room's technology. The reliance on a slow and glitchy tablet to control basic functions like lighting and climate is a clear triumph of novelty over practicality. The system was inconsistent and frustrating to operate. This frustration turned to anger in the early hours of this morning.

I had set the tablet's alarm for 5:00 AM. Instead, at 3:00 AM, the room's lights activated. In a disoriented, half-asleep state, one does not immediately think to question an automated wake-up call. I proceeded to get out of bed and, in an effort to combat my perceived grogginess, consumed a significant portion of my coffee. It was only after my mind was fully awake that I glanced at my phone and discovered the actual time. Having been woken two hours early by a malfunctioning alarm and now thoroughly caffeinated, any chance of returning to sleep was lost.

While one can forgive certain austerity measures, the fundamental requirements for a hotel room are security, cleanliness, and a reliable environment for rest. My experience has shown this establishment to be deficient in all three areas. A guest, particularly one traveling for work, should not have their sleep so carelessly disrupted by the very systems meant to provide comfort and convenience. This stay has been an exhausting and deeply...

There is no breakfast buffet despite the website saying so. They replaced it with a la carte which means you will pay nearly $30 to get enough food, which itself seemed a bit skimpy. It was like I went to a grocery store and pulled a bunch of separate little items off the shelf and ate them together. In the rooms the floors are plastic, the walls are plastic, the showers are plastic, and the faucet water tastes like a nice drink of liquid plastic. It's like a doll house, but I'm not a plastic doll so I don't want to be in a plastic hotel room. Touching, showering in, sleeping in, and breathing all that plastic is not healthy. The blankets are way too hot where I woke up very sweaty both nights. I'm convinced they were full of polyester. Given that the whole place is plastic, they are probably plastic blankets. The mattress was a bit too hard. The pillows were great.

Their restaurant system asks for tips on the meals, but even when I did a full tip, the staff member did not even bother to bring me my meal. It sat in the back. She didn't refill my drink. I had to hunt for each part of the breakfast across weird locations throughout the kitchen area. Some things had price tags. What's the point of a tip? Do not tip, because you will not get any service that you would expect in a sit-down restaurant. I had to pick up the meal, bus my tray, pick up my drink, and clean up my mess. This is fine, but don't make the system ask for a tip next time.

Other than the bad restaurant breakfast experience, the service is generally very friendly and helpful. One solution is to order Uber Eats or something else and you will probably get more food and exactly what you want.

The artwork and internal decor is nice, and so is the yard. The nearby park path is very convenient.

The main reason this location exists is for people to conveniently visit a nearby corporate campus. I do not think it would last very long if this use case did not exist. Many customers may not tolerate what I described.

The check-in process was a bit clunky and odd given that I had already made a reservation through the...

Probably the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed in. the rooms are so horrible especially if you’re claustrophobic it is a tiny room the size of the bed. It feels like you’re sleeping in a coffin. The sink is the size of an airplane sink and there’s no space for anything it is very stuffy. Would not recommend and would not stay here especially if you’re a woman there’s no counter space and mirrors have really bad lighting. The lighting in the whole room is horrible and leaves shadows that you can’t see anything properly. The service is really bad too they don’t have room service, the food at the bar is all frozen I ordered something and saw them make it just defrosted and served and it’s not cheap. There’s no room service I ordered uber eats they didn’t even let my driver deliver it to my room and there were 10 workers down in the lobby they didn’t even bring it up to my room - if you’re not gonna have room service at least let the driver bring it up??? This isn’t even a proper hotel. Also the guy at the front called it affordable luxury which couldn’t be further from the truth. The people who created this hotel need to take a course on hospitality. Everything seems cheaply done in the name of being sustainable. Does not feel 4 star at all it should be considered 3 star and it feels like it was designed by a man. Also I can’t believe they would even put a hotel like this in California where there is ample space to build bigger rooms. It makes sense if it’s nyc or a tight city

Also the temperature controls and tvs are all glitchy can’t believe someone would call this luxury - it’s expensive for something shitty. And the sinks are so small the water gets everywhere on the floor they don’t even clean them everyday unless you specifically ask Shower pressure also is non existent and water does not stay hot consistently. Someone needs to push this down to a...