Sometimes It Is Worth The Extra $20...
Written: Jul 20 '06
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Convenient location, relatively affordable
Cons: Still pricey, the rooms
The Bottom Line: Consider giving it a chance after 2007, but until then, pay a bit more and stay elsewhere.
|
|
|
| tch7's Full Review: Red Roof Inn San Francisco Airport |
Finding a pleasant and affordable hotel between the San Francisco airport and San Mateo was no easy feat. With price and location being the dominating factors, my family settled on the Red Roof Inn San Francisco Airport, located in Burlingame. I wasn’t expecting anything wonderful, yet I still came away rather disappointed.
Check In
First impressions were decent, with a clean and recently renovated lobby with a free coffee machine, as well as a Denny’s style restaurant. The staff was pleasant, but had incorrectly taken down our reservations and left us one bed short. Fortunately the hotel was far from full, making it easy to get a different room with another bed. As I walked to the room from the lobby, I passed by the pool, suitable only for disposing of a dead body.
The Room
Unlike the lobby, the rooms were old, dark, and had signs of years of traffic. The carpet had been vacuumed, but dirt was caked into it, eliminating the urge to take off my socks and shoes after a long flight. Crammed between the window and a bed was a circular table with three uncomfortable chairs. The beds were clean and comfortable. The cable television was large and worked just fine.
The ventilation system worked well, and wasn’t annoying during the night with any odd noises. However, the room had terrible noise insulation, and when you’re basically next to a freeway, it’s not a very relaxing place. The bigger noise problem was that you could hear people walking up and down the stairs, causing the metal railings to rattle.
The Bathroom
The toilet and tub/shower are enclosed in their own small room, with an open area twice the size for the one sink. The tub was clogged up and had slightly dirty water festering away in it. I managed to get it slightly unplugged, but it still drained very slowly, even with the low-flow power of the shower head. The toilet worked, with the hideous linoleum floor from the 70’s being quite conducive for bowel movements. Despite a rattling in the ceiling, the fan didn’t seem to provide any sort of ventilation. Out at the sink, water came out at the same rate that it went down in the tub. The towels were clean and everything had been wiped down.
Price and Location
The only real upsides to the Red Roof Inn are its relatively low cost and fairly convenient location. Most other hotels start at $130 per night and go up from there, while the Red Roof Inn was only $99, which is still an ungodly sum for what you get. I’d recommend spending a few more dollars and going to the Crowne Plaza, which was the next most affordable place. If price isn’t an issue for you, I stopped by the Embassy Suites for Sunday brunch at Rings, and wouldn’t hesitate recommending it. As for location, nearly all of the hotels in the area share a similar location, being between the Bayshore Freeway (Highway 101) and the San Francisco Bay, with some nice paved trails all around. It’s only a 5 minute drive to the Airport, with complimentary shuttle service available.
Not Very Good, but...
I am hesitant to suggest that you make every possible effort to avoid the Red Roof Inn. Even though I gave it a well-deserved 1-star rating, in a year’s time it may not be so dire. Why? Because roughly half of the hotel was closed for renovations during my 2-night visit, and once those renovations are completed, it’s quite possible that you won’t feel like you’re spending $100 on a horrid hotel room. Hell, I might even give it another chance. Still, unless you want your bathtub already filled on arrival, avoid the Red Roof Inn San Francisco Airport for the time being. It’s worth shelling out the bucks for something a little more comfortable.
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
tch7
|
 - Top 500 |
|
Reviews written: 112
Trusted by: 145 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.