San Jose Marriott — Hotel in San Jose

We recently stayed at the Marriott San Jose for a three-day conference, and while the hotel itself is modern and the staff was courteous, our overall experience was unfortunately disrupted by a serious incident that raised major safety and communication concerns.

On Saturday afternoon, an electrical fire occurred. We were unsure of the exact cause or location, but we were promptly evacuated from the building. During this evacuation, we were informed by staff that guests on the 20th floor and above were not being notified of the emergency and that we should call anyone we knew staying on those floors. This was incredibly alarming. If it had been a more serious fire, people on those upper floors could have been in real danger. The fact that the fire alarm system apparently did not reach every floor is a significant safety issue that absolutely needs to be addressed.

While the staff was polite and tried their best to assist, there seemed to be a lack of coordination and training for handling such emergencies. After the evacuation, re-entry to the hotel was chaotic. Only one elevator was operational, leading to long waits and congestion. Some guests, including myself, were locked out of their rooms due to the keycard system being down. My medication was inside my room, and the process to get assistance was slow and stressful. Navigating this while trying to pack in the dark (due to no power) added to the difficulty.

The hotel did offer a complimentary drink at the bar as a goodwill gesture, but guests were asked to present their meal vouchers, which many of us couldn’t access in the chaos of trying to leave. It was a frustrating and disorganized situation.

To make matters worse, there were multiple large events happening at the same time — our 300-person conference, a wedding, and a quinceañera — all impacted by the fire and power outage. Our event had to be cut short, and many of us had to scramble to find alternative accommodations, which was incredibly difficult at the last minute.

Seeing fire marshals walking through the hotel for hours afterward didn’t instill confidence that the building was fully safe, even once we were allowed back in. It felt like the focus was more on clearing the sidewalks than ensuring guests were secure.

While emergencies can happen unexpectedly, emergency preparedness is something a large hotel like Marriott must take seriously. There needs to be more comprehensive training for staff, backup systems that are adequate for a building of this size, and most critically, an alarm system that reaches every guest on every floor.

I truly hope the hotel takes this feedback seriously and implements the necessary changes. While I appreciate the individual efforts of staff during a very difficult situation, the systemic issues with safety protocols and communication are far too...

Each year, I write a review to document my stay and thank the people who made the difference in making this particular stay most enjoyable during my favorite Furry Convention and California’s largest event of Anthropomorphic Arts, Music and Culture “Further Confusion” 2025. This was my eighth “FC” since 2018 (I even stayed in a mostly empty SJ Marriott in 2021 during the virtual con and in 2022 when the con got cancelled last minute, and it turned out great as I met other furries that didn’t cancel their Marriott rooms and we had a con anyway!) This year I stayed for five nights from Thurs. January 16th to Tues. January 21st. - The AMAZING “Ellie” at Front Desk was able to provide me the SAME room that I’ve stayed the previous two years in 2023 and 2024 (Room 621, completely renovated since last year with new fixtures, hardwood floors and updated TV system). I’m thankful the staff remembered me to the point now that I can get the room of my choice each year (I’m sure my Bonvoy Platinum status didn’t hurt, either) Overall, the stay was great as usual, and having access to ‘Club M’ with the free breakfast, snacks and evening hot meals (Thursday and Monday) was a nice touch. The evening waitress (I forgot her name) that handled the Thursday evening service remembered me from last year! Overall, the convention itself was so much fun!! The panel rooms were clean and FurCon provided A/V equipment so I could host my Greymuzzle (older Furries) panel with no issues. I was pleased overall with valet parking (excellent service by all the attendants) and security (thank you for controlling elevator lines and providing access to Fursuiters first on lobby level). It was fun fursuiting on the 4th floor party floor on Fri and frolicking all around con space the entire weekend. I never miss FC’s “Dead Dog” Dance on Monday night - therefore I had to sleep in after this Bear boogied for three hours straight to close out the con. As a result, I received late checkout on Tuesday afternoon at 4pm and it was much needed!! In closing, it was great to stay in the same room for the last THREE Further Confusion conventions #FC2023 #FC2024 and #FC2025. I hoping to get Room #621 for FurCon 2026 as it’s the perfect room and location to avoid elevators on the busy Friday and Saturday nights and close to the stairwell. Thank You, Ellie along with the staff and management of San Jose Marriott along with the staff and management of San Jose/McEnery Convention Center for providing a safe and entertaining venue for Furries near and far. FIVE CLAWS UP HIGH!!!!! Thanks for reading my annual review of FC @ San Jose Marriott. Bear Hugs - Joe G. Bear of...

I had an awful time at this Marriott.

I wanted to see if there's anything I can do with my current situation with the San Jose Marriott staff.

To keep it short, I booked a stay with San Jose Marriott and had a family and friends discount ready. However I was also having an issue with getting into my room - so that was something I was prioritizing because we couldn't get in multiple times. I provided them with a printed form for the discounted rate but provided them with one that expired that day. So I was told by their front desk associate that I can email them the updated form to receive the discount. He then told me to take a picture of their hotel email and send the form. If I did not send the form that same night then I would be charged for a normal rate. So I took his advice and sent the form the same night once I got into the room. I even stated in the email to ask for a confirmation back to understand that they have received it but they did not send me one. A week later I found out I was charged with a normal rate which was about $300 and was supposed to be about $107.

A kind supervisor - Quentin Robinson, from the property reached out to me stating that I would receive my discounted rate via email which was at first great customer service. However, today the Director - James Fridman, told me I cannot get the discount because I did not have the corrected printed form at check in. I called him and he said there is nothing I can do about it and that I am at fault - when clearly the front desk associate told me to forward the email the same night.

I do have proof of the email sent on that same day, a photo of the email I took from the associate at the front desk, and the email from the supervisor telling me I would receive my discounted rate. I was provided with the worst customer service from James and he even threatened me saying, "Do you want your family member to get in trouble at their property for providing you the discount?". Eventually he said we can keep arguing about this but will not issue me any discount on my stay - even when the form was emailed directly to them. I was blamed to be at fault when it should be the front desk associate who told me I can receive my discount if I forwarded my email to the hotels email and the director held me accountable when his supervisor already stated I would get a refund. Such a shame and was really...