Oakland Marriott City Center — Hotel in Oakland

SERVICE & TRANSITIONS -- What they lack in speed, they make up for in warmth. Dolly was an ace-- thank you sir!!🫡 Cleaning/runner staff actually smile, which was nice! Phone service was questionable: it took some effort to reach the right people or those that knew how to transfer lines(?). Vehicle retrieval is exacerbated by traffic during peak hours, so request that car sooner than later! Geronimo is an asset & exemplary valet. Idk what's going on with the doors here (confusing & unsightly) but the lobby is still spectacular. Great flow, function, & flare✨. MVPs: Dolly & Geronimo .

ROOM (https://youtu.be/SZ8AIM9xb2I) -- "Impressive design; disappointing function" sums it up. Relaxing earth tones and moody lighting gave this room an intimate & alluring vibe. A strong first-impression aesthetically, but the devil is in the details...: The dimensions make the layout functionally awkward; outlet distribution isn't effective; tabletop space is inadequate (esp. for a 2-person party); storage door is impractical; AC vent is poorly placed & underperforms; air circulation is lacking (shower ventilation was non-existent) & windows aren't functional either... The view was nice though.

BED -- Very luxurious first impression with the sleep quality to match😴. Linens were soft, breathable, & clean. The mattress had a perfect firmness level; pillows were cool to the touch; comforters were warm & cozy... 10/10

BATH -- Contemporary, sleek, & clean. The different textures were fun + the vanity was powerfully luminous. Towels were in excellent condition too-- they actually arrive fluffy upon request! Ultimately this space was too cramped for comfort. On top of that: there's no discernible exhaust, water doesn't heat quickly, & faucet is too short.

TV/ENTERTAINMENT -- 55" LG configured with the de facto Marriott TV solution (curated smart features, stripped down apps & integrations). The display was very high-end, same goes for the wicked mount installation👌. If TV doesn't appeal till you, there's a bunch of hotel-sponsored activities like live music, Cornhole, & mini golf!

WI-FI & CELL RECEPTION -- Underwhelming... Free (Lobby) WiFi is slow. The member benefit speeds aren't any different. It took a significant amount of time to establish a connection. Verizon carrier performed well in this area. --Performance-- Video streaming - average Online gaming - average Video chatting - average --Nerd Stats-- 11-14 Mbps download 6-8 Mbps upload 1% packet loss 31 ms latency 18 ms jitter

FOOD & DRINK -- NOT DoorDash friendly. Despite this inconvenience, there's enough to close the gap. In-room dining is available, although it was more of a bagged-takeout-room-service experience. Since the menu was allergy friendly menu we decided to order the French Toast & Breakfast Burrito. Both were DELICIOUS! My only complaint is their use of Cholula instead of Tapatio 💔🥲. The receptionists are extra attentive when it comes to guests staying hydrated + there's a huge market in the lobby with everything except batteries. In-room: ❌ microwave ✅ mini-fridge (small) ✅coffee ❌ tea ❌ wet-bar ❌ mini-bar

NOISE -- External sound-proofing goods No complaints with internal chatter or housekeeping turnover.

LOCATION -- Downtown Oakland; Extremely walkable for food, shows, transit. In a safe location.

RATING This room wasn't a hit, functionally. Luckily, the quality in hospitality brought this experience across the finish line for us (s/o to Dolly & Geronimo). I could see myself staying here again in a different room type. I'd recommend this property for anyone optimizing for a great value at a competitive...

Several major issues from our stay and had I read the other reviews, I would have avoided at all costs.

1. The biggest issue was our room had a pair of VERY soiled men's underwear next to the bed when we entered the room.

2. The bed spread on one of the beds had several black stains on it.

3. When we went to ask about what to do, the lady at the counter didn't appologize or anything. All she did was ask for our room key, stood expressionless and completely silent while typing for several minutes and then just handed us back a set of keys. Nothing about the fact she was changing our room or the new room number. Had I know she was going to do that, I would have said that we still had our luggage in the room (which she could have asked about as we clearly didn't bring it down with us when she saw us). She then looked as us rudely and said "then security will have to come let you in". When I asked if they were coming to the lobby or the room to meet us, she again looked at us rudely, called someone and then said to wait in the room and they would be up right away.

4. Security didn't show up for close to 15 minutes and that was after I called back down from the phone in the elevator lobby to ask to which the person said they were waiting for us downstairs. It still took even longer for the person to show up. It wasn't even security but a bellhop who thought he was picking up luggage. (We showed him the underwear and he said very loudly "THAT'S NASTY")

5. The room we were moved into had a single king bed when we requested 2 queens.

6. The walls were so thin that we could hear anyone in the rooms next and above and below us.

7. Drunk people knocking on our door at 1am and being loud in the hallway the entire time.

8. Houskeeping coming into our room at 10am despite the privacy card hanging.

9. $45 self parking with machines that don't even work properly when you go in and out. They didn't read the room key as per the instructions and again, someone was "sent to come help us" but they never arrived so we were just sitting there at the gate till we just left.

10. It has been 2 weeks and I have now noticed that I was charged $14.95 for internet despite signing in as a Bonvoy member which is supposed to make it free. Had to call and now there is a whole process and if it confirmed, I will get a refund in 10-15 days...

All of this was entirely unacceptable from the unclean room to the rude staff to the delay in getting anything actually done. There was no communication, no apology, and we got moved to a room that didn't meet our requirements but at that point, we were through with it. Had we not prepaid, we would have left on the spot.

Looking at all the other negative reviews this hotel has, I should have known better than...

I was extremely disappointed with my recent stay. I spoke w/ the front desk manager & with many other staff during my stay at this location. I haven’t called a hotel manager in many years. This turned what was supposed to be an exciting, exploratory visit to Oakland for house hunting, into a bit of a drag and disappointment. I have outlined some of my feedback below as I think this should be addressed on a larger level so that others do not have the same experience as us.

First, I am FUMING irritated by how I was treated by the valet at this hotel. It happened twice in the same evening, with the same person. He was rude, talked down to me about how to speak to the valet staff about how I need my car to be parked, and had extreme attitude, after making me move my own car several times because he was overwhelmed. This is unacceptable. I have driven cars in hundreds of hotels both in and out of the U.S. and I am not about to be talked down to by a valet attendant.

The hotel itself. This hotel needs help. The bathroom is dirty and broken down. We had a tile loose above our bed that made us nervous to sleep and the floors were pretty gross in the bathroom. It was an extremely warm weekend in Oakland and our room was so warm and the AC was not working properly. We had to call and have a fan brought to our room because we couldn’t sleep. Also we had a lot of issues with the television not working on the internet. So had major limitations on working Netflix etc.

The hotel service. We needed plates and silverware for take out one night. We had been out house hunting until later in the evening and we called for plates/silverware. I took nearly an hour to get these items to our room and we had to call more than once. We also requested our room to be serviced on Saturday (we called earlier in the morning to double check they would be coming). We had a stain on our sheets we wanted changed. We arrived back at the hotel later around 9pm after another day of house hunting to find our room completely untouched and unchanged. It was so frustrating because we were exhausted. This time I decided to speak to the manager on duty (who was friendly and understanding) but again had to call more than once because of the delays. Our room did not end up fully changed until 11pm.

We stayed in Oakland because we are relocating back to the Bay Area and wanted to check out the East Bay and in particular Oakland, Rockridge and the Oakland hills. This is nowhere near the welcome we expected and was a major turn off to Oakland. Ya’ll need to get...