Executive Inn & Suites at the Waterfront in Oakland, California
Written: Mar 19 '08
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: very, very nice accommodations
Cons: noisy if you are on the side facing the freeway.
The Bottom Line: A few minutes from San Francisco, you get a wonderful room for a fraction of what it would cost a closer in to the City. Go for the water's side.
|
|
|
| gaelkm's Full Review: Executive Inn & Suites - Oakland Waterfront |
On another recent visit to the Bay Area in Northern California, we chose to stay a night at the Executive Inn & Suites located in Oakland at the Waterfront. I'd seen this hotel before while passing by and thought it looked more than decent, which is one reason we chose it for a night's stay.
This trip, we decided to "go for it" and reserve a room with a view of a portion of the San Francisco Bay. (The other side does face the 880 Nimitz freeway, which we preferred to avoid.) When we first walked into the lobby of the Executive Inn & Suites, I immediately liked the ambiance; it was an open area with a roaring fire at one end (with some comfy-looking chairs grouped around it) and a flat screen TV (on with the news). An attractive circular staircase in the center of the lobby led upstairs to the open second floor hallway. There was a huge beautiful flower arrangement near the central staircase also. A grand piano stands near the chairs (Alas, no one was playing it at the time we were there though)!
We learned by asking a few members of the attentive staff (in particular, Sharon) that there are a total of 225 rooms in the Executive Inn & Suites, some of which have recently undergone renovation. This hotel is 17 years old and has a business center, meeting rooms, laundry and continental breakfast from 6 -10 am. There is also a full bar, but no restaurant. I really liked the clean appearance of the entire facility and the wide interior hallways made an impression on me too. The way the two long buildings are set up are side by side and right along the Oakland Embarcadero (and the 880 Freeway). The executive section of the hotel was added later and is just six years old with 80 rooms. By the way, this hotel offers FREE parking, which is becoming more rare these days, so I thought I would mention it.
We were very impressed with our room. When we first walked in, I could not help but notice, a striking small half circular-shaped marble table with a silk orchid in a little vase placed on top of the table. Above that was a large framed mirror. Nice touch! Not only was our room huge, but it was one of the recently renovated rooms, so everything looked extra spiffy. The mattress was very comfortable and I found out it was one of those pillow-top mattresses.
Our views were also lovely and we took advantage by keeping the curtains opened most of the time to look out at the water. We even took a quick dip in the hotel jacuzzi....how decadent! We used our complimentary robes as we walked back and forth between the jacuzzi and our room. Our room was decorated using lots of greens and earth tones. We had a loveseat and matching chair that were a deep, forest green. The large desk was a dark wood and matched the tall television cabinet. The heavy drapes also complemented the room's style. There was lots of modern artwork in both our room and bathroom which took advantage of the colors throughout.
They really thought of everything when they did their renovation. We noticed that even the ice machines were located behind a wall, in a small alcove near the elevators, so that guests in rooms nearby wouldn't be disturbed while ice is being dispensed. We took a peek inside the fitness center and noticed that they had several modern exercise machines as well as towels and complimentary bottled water. Very cool.
The bathroom was also beautiful with a marble counter top. They even had a makeup mirror! The room comes with a safe, microwave and fridge too. There was also a phone in the bathroom. The shampoo, conditioner and lotion were made by Rusk. A coffee machine features Peerless coffee, which is delicious. It was also used in the morning when we had our complimentary breakfast with muffins. Also, our closet was enclosed with doors.
I think the price was quite fair. We paid $149 and had a gorgeous room and spectacular views just a short distance from San Francisco! You can't beat that!
Executive Inn & Suites Address:
(exit off the Nimitz 880 freeway)
1755 Embarcadero, Oakland, CA 94606
510-434-2691
Toll free 1-800-346-6331
We found this to be a great location, just 5 minutes from Jack London Square and 20 minutes to downtown San Francisco's Union Square area.
~thanks for reading~
©gkm.
.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.