Hilton HHonors - Embassy Suites San Rafael - Marin County Trip Reports and Reviews

I used a GLON to stay there last summer for 6 nights. Could have had a room for $140 or so plus tax, so it is not the best bet for points, but it is free and saved just less than $1000. We stayed at San Francisco Hilton for three nights before coming to ES San Rafael.

The hotel is rather in the middle of nowhere, but since you will have a car, there is plently close enough (within 5-10 minutes drive). You can certainly use it as a center of activity to climb Mt. Tamalpais, to cruise into Sausalito, to park and walk across the Golden Gate Bridge, to check out Marin Headlands and drive the coast by Stinson Beach. Napa and Sonoma are close enough. I recommend driving to the very north of either in the morning and turning around and heading back south as you make your stops at the various vineyards. Have a dd if needed.

The hotel is fine, not as nice as Sacramento ES and not much of a view, but the breakfast is good (busier on weekends than weekdays) and the manager's reception is fine. The parking is free, but we were offered some jewelry from some guy in a van in the parking lot, at cut rate prices, needless to say we didn't take him up on it.

The pool is open 24 hours a day and there can be lots of kids, even at 11 pm (hey those were my kids at 11 pm). The jacuzzi is decent, but can be crowded, and the exercise room is fair, but the pool is small and steamy.

All in all it was an economical way to use a GLON for a family vacation. I even recommended it to another family member who was doing the same San Francisco trip and needed to fill her four CNTU stays (HS BDL, San Francisco Hilton, ES San Rafael, ES Burlingame.) 50,000 points for these stays so I just booked her a TEEN for Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Phoenix. Nice.

Don't expect a lot over and above, just a decent place with two rooms and breakfast/manager's reception and you will be fine.

I just returned from a GLON stay (had an old cert to burn). It was my first time there. I received a nice suite on the top floor. I think the rooms are all the same, from what I could see. The suite was similar to ones I've seen at all other ES, except Tahoe (where the suite was exceptionally good). Parking here was free, and the hotel made a nice base for touring San Francisco, Muir Woods, as well as day trips to wine country. It is much closer to San Fran than to wine country, but still not a bad drive. The breakfast was better than average, the manager's reception wasn't bad either, but the only wine they offered was 2 buck chuck. Didn't bother me though because they had plenty of Jack Daniels. Service at the hotel was excellent and everyone seemed to have a "what can I do to make your stay better" attitude. The lone instance where the hotel could use a bit of improvement was on Sunday morning breakfast. There was a huge rush of guests for the last hour of breakfast which caused massive lines and they were continually running out of items, such as plates and silverware, which exacerbated the problem. I have to believe that this was not an unusual situation and they must encounter it on most Sundays. That said, they should have known that it would have been quite busy and should have had more staff on hand for the rush. They were very understaffed and many guests were visibly upset. The cooks were also quite snippy that day. I didn't let it bother me and hopefully it was a one-time occurrance because some staff members were absent. Other than that one minor complaint, the hotel was very good. I'd recommend it to anyone. If you like sushi, there is a fabulous restaurant in San Rafael called the Sushi Boat, about 2 miles from the hotel.

I often stay at the San Rafael ES on business because its the only Hilton property in Marin County, CA. Its a large property that's beginning to look worn and threadbare. Last month there was a sign that a remodel was planned. From the often surly employees I suspect that it is understaffed. Get to the restaurant early for breakfast because the food often runs out well before the published closing time. And beware the weekends, the property is overrun with kids celebrating overnight birthday parties and running wild throughout the night. In short, I'd definitely stay elsewhere if there was another Hilton property from which to choose.