San Francisco Marriott Fisherman's Wharf — Hotel in San Francisco

Let me begin with what was good about this experience. This is an aging Marriott, but from first appearances, the upkeep is above average. The rooms (we did sample 2) were clean with the exception of the duvet in the first room we were assigned. That piece of laundry smelled unwashed😷. I will address the need for room #2 shortly.

Both rooms had updated bathrooms with signature Marriott Bonvoy upgrades. The rooms were nicely furnished and the furnishings were clean. The bedding in the 2nd room (a junior suite) was odor free. The hallways on both floors were very quiet throughout despite a fully booked weekend of travelers and children. The elevators were clean, fast, and very efficient.

Now, to our concerns. I must preface the following by stating that the the manager on duty 12/7/24 introduced himself as "Willie." He made the attempt to rectify the following situation to our satisfaction. The problem with that approach was that he did not ask "us" what would make us whole due to the inconvenience we experienced. His 'solution' below.

My spouse and I are avid travelers with top-tier memberships in Marriott Bonvoy and another major hotel chain. We know from in-depth experience what to expect from these well-known brands.

When on travel, I inspect every room I am assigned to upon entry. I am looking for clean bedding, zero evidence of pests, a clean and well stocked bathroom, great water pressure, unclogged drains, and a dust free, odor free, enviroment. Nothing should be broken, stained, dusty, infested or unkempt. I require consistency in brands I favor and the following was not acceptable for the Marriott brand.

Upon entering room 505 after 8-9 hours of travel, I did my usual inspection. What was not acceptable were 2 things, smelly bedding and some type of HVAC, filter covering that was protruding from the wall and would not close. Whatever this was, it looked unkempt, unsanitary and unhealthy. This was unacceptable. A bad look for ANY brand. Whatever that cover was designed to hide made the situation appear worse.

The front desk sent up someone from maintenance who was quick to tell me, "all the rooms are like that so the AC could get air." Unacceptable. Nowhere we have ever stayed required a gap in the HVAC system cover.

After following up with the front desk, they went on to tell me that maintenance could revisit the issue the following day. There were no available rooms to switch due to a full house.

Day 2, after a very poor night sleep (the mattress was uncomfortable), we went in search of a manager. This is when we met "Willie."

He took us to a Junior Suite on the 2nd floor to inspect for a potential move. It had a similar HVAC gap, just not as wide. The cover was clearly a very cheap attempt at fixing a widespread problem. The room was bigger in floor space which we did not need.

We accepted the 2nd room because we had a very busy day ahead and could not continue to waste time. Willie also followed up with 2 days of Cable Car tickets and a microwave that I requested.

As stated above, we were never asked what would be an acceptable "solution for us." This was never about the room size, Cable Cars or a refund. My reviews I do it for the consumer on my own dime so I can be honest. This is why I have 2.1M pairs of eyes on my reviews. They have never been sponsored. Decent hotel nights are quite expensive and customers should never feel unappreciated, under valued and afraid...

We had never been to San Fran and were advised by friends to choose this location as newbies. We are Marriott people and had a few choices. Quick valet, no wait and a swift check in. We wanted to unwind without having to hit the streets and make decisions. We were delighted to have a nice comfortable lobby bar that had an knowledgeable bartender and had great food (crabcake sliders!) with a good beer and wine selection (we are picky on all accounts). Perfect spot to plop down for happy hour and settle in. The hallways, room & bathroom were clean, bed comfy. And what a pleasure to actually have people at the concierge desk in a hotel lobby these days. There always seems to be an empty concierge desk wherever we go lately, obviously due to covid, but this hotel hit the mark especially in a tourist town like this. I chatted with 2 of them who were so friendly and helpful. I got tired of making decisions with all the self planning and booked a tour through them. It was really nice to have them there in a big city that you have never been to. The breakfast was appropriately priced for a hotel location like this, clean, hot, delicious bacon & sausage, several egg choices and always had a nice gentleman there refreshing everything (he didn’t go unnoticed). There are fresh fruit, pastries available as well as great coffee. Lots of service! You’re never on your own looking for someone in this lobby area. This property itself is not over the top or swanky in its atmosphere and decor if that’s what you’re looking for. It’s decorated in a very tasteful up to date contemporary manner that’s comfortable for all types of travelers. Valet guys were great, valet not cheap as to be expected. Most parking places in the area were charging the same rate. To comment on other reviews regarding a slight smell. I think it could be possibly be dampness from the ocean. I prefer that over fake air fresheners, so I would hate Marriott to start spraying that in the rooms. I didn’t notice it and I am seriously high maintenance with any smells. It is a dog friendly hotel so if that is of concern just request a non-dog friendly room maybe. When you have a hard working, results and service oriented staff (so hard to find these days) that is all that matters anymore to us and this place has it. We felt well taken care of in a new city, had a great 3 nights stay and would...

All of the staff seemed really nice. From the moment we arrived and had a friendly greeting from the valet parking worker, to the ladies that we interacted with in reception.The room was nothing special, but by that I mean it had no outstanding features, or any distinguishable traits that would separate it from other hotelsThe concierge was friendly and helpful, and was very useful in helping us to plan our activities.And the hotel is in a good location to get to the pier or do the 'big bus' tour.But here's the downside. The gym is small, had no steriliser, or wipes, even though one of the rules stated in the gym is to wipe down the equipment after use.And the overall impression of the gym is that it could do with a really good clean from top to bottom.Added to that there's the washing machine and tumble dryer located in the gym. Yes that's right, in the actual gym.Now we were very happy when we read about the hotel having washing machine facilities, but we were slightly surprised at it's location.Another thing was the air con. We stayed in September and although the weather for the season was just starting to cool down after the summer, it was still fairly warm. The air con looked as if it had been fitted in the seventies and made a sound as if it had been running non stop ever since then.It was so noisy that we had to turn it off completely at night time and at different times during the day.On a final point we received news regarding the death of my partner's daughter, which meant that we had to cut our whole vacation short including this leg of the trip.We informed the front desk that we would be checking out one day early.We were not expecting a refund, for that day, but after being told by the member of staff that the 30 dollar a night 'destination fee' would be waived for the night that we were not going to be there, we later found out that this fee had still been added to the final bill.We still have no idea what a 'destination fee' is, but to be charged it when we weren't even at the hotel was extra galling.And what was also strange was the fact they didn't even ask why it was that we had decided to cut our stay short?Would you not be interested to know whether something was wrong with your customers stay, and to know why they had cut their visit short??A bit of a poor end to a otherwise 'ok' stay...