Oakland Marriott City Center

The hotel itself just went through a recent renovation, the guest rooms are decent now. You can see some of the "old hotel" that remains though, and it definitely shows as the AC vent pumps air that isn't the freshest. The M Lounge is new, and very nice. The food though, is average. I've seen many other M Lounge spreads that are much better...the exception is coffee, wine and alcohol. They have a great setup there - more coffee choices than I've ever seen and they are damn good (and I don't like coffee) The restaurant food is brutally bad. I don't think a single dish that I ordered (or my colleagues) was worth eating. "Sourdough" bread was 3 day old french bread... The WiFi was exceptional. As a business hotel, this was much appreciated. Connection dropped on iPhone all the time (once you lock phone), but it was seamless on other devices. The views of SF Bay were fantastic. Proximity to public transit was also as good as it gets. Now, the bad stuff....the elevators. I spend 75+ nights per year in Marriott's, and request to be near elevators. Once a year you'll get a semi-loud elevator that makes for a subpar night of sleep....but manageable. Think a small hum. Upon check-in, I was warned that I was put near the elevator and "it could be loud". I inquired about how loud and they mentioned it wasn't too bad, but they let guests know because it can be rough certain nights. Upon getting into my room, I lasted 5 minutes. I felt like I was sleeping on the BART tracks themselves, and listening to the train run over me. I called the front desk and they were nice enough to try and switch me, but due to the Salesforce conference ($550+/night room rates) they were unable to do so. They were exceptionally nice, and admitted the noise was sometimes an issue...they said they would provide bonus points to my account. Those still have not been credited, but I just checked out 2 days ago. I was surprised that as a top tier Marriott elite they would put me so close to an elevator that was such an issue. Upon checkout, I inquired if many people complained...the woman was fantastically honest, "Yup, pretty much every guest near one". I'm not sure what needs to happen for them to change it, but I CANNOT recommend this hotel based on the elevators alone. If you get unlucky and you're anywhere close to them...you will regret it. While I appreciate the points (assuming they actually post), it felt like a bad outcome. Read less

Night management staff feels the need to wake sleeping guests up to confirm a check out time?! So dumb, and do uncalled for. Especially after this time had been confirmed several hours prior to her harassing phone calls. Twelve to be exact. This night manager called not once, not twice, but three times. Hanging up all three times when I answered the phone. When I told this night manager that I was sleeping she said with a rough tone “I am trying to avoid someone coming to your room and knocking on your door”. Being woke up in the middle of my sleep (3 hrs in) is unprofessional, unnecessary, and unacceptable. The worst Bon Voy experience ever! Avoid this place unless you don’t care about relaxing and resting during your stay. My sleep as a professional driver is just as important as a pilot with an airline, where my clients rely and depend on me keeping them safe on the road. There was absolutely NO reason whatsoever for this harassing phone conversation. Thanks night manager-guess I will try my luck at resting when I get to Portland. This manager is a joke-and should not be in this business! A horrible reflection on a fairly good property. Epic fail! Read less

The staff is nice and helpful when asked questions. The hotel is clean and well kept. Room was kept clean and housekeeping was very attentive when asked for extra items. Upgraded due to titanium status so the view was fabulous. Drinks are very pricey which drove us to go elsewhere. If you want to keep people in the hotel to spend money drop the prices a little. M Club was nice. The selection of food in the evening was great. Overall a good stay. I would consider/recommend this property if I were to travel to Oakland again. Read less

We stayed at the Oakland Marriott City Center on a Saturday night before leaving for Hawaii on Sunday, and again on the following Saturday night on our return before flying back to our home city. The location was so convenient, just a 15 minute uber ride from the Oakland airport. We were able to walk to Chinatown for dinner, and also walked a few blocks down to Jack London Square, where we caught the ferry over to San Francisco. The staff at check-in both times was friendly, professional & helpful. They offered us water (appreciated after long travel times), upgraded our room (without us asking) and even gave us access to the executive lounge where there were snacks and drinks available. Our rooms were incredibly comfortable, quiet and nice looking, with great views of the harbor. The whole experience of staying there was just very easy and we felt appreciated as guests. Thanks, we will certainly stay here again when we find ourselves in Oakland. Read less