Originally Posted by EuropeanPete

I'm currently spending two nights at the property based on recommendations on this forum. I'm happy with my stay and would/ will come back, but it's not exactly what I was expecting. I've not stayed in any US property since before Covid, so I suspect part of the misalignment might be that US hotels have reduced services even more than I had internalised.

The good:
- It took me less than 5min to get to the hotel after a 24 hour international flight. I was able to take a trolley the whole way, though disappointingly not up to my room itself
- Service has been excellent, really better than one would have any right to expect. Very attentive and they obviously make use of a CRM system to keep track of guest conversations
- I actually thought the breakfast was OK compared to the low expectations you lot had set. Scrambled eggs apparently means something different in the US to the rest of the world (just like the "Canadian" ham I had with it), but it was otherwise all edible and covered most of the basics

Stuff I was a bit surprised by:
- There doesn't seem to be any room service, or at least nobody ever answers the line
- There is no restaurant open for lunch or during the day, with just a "market" serving sandwiches. There were a couple of "hot" options, but the one I asked for was out of stock. Also no minibar in room with either snacks or drinks (this one didn't surprise me)
- Before the invention of restaurant POS computers, hotels used vouchers to offer free breakfast which is still done here
- The Shower is really poor. It's one of those old school ones with a combined temperature and power control and had a terrible shower head
- The room was clean and in good condition, but has an ancient style design with things like patterned carpets and no central light controls which just seems odd in a hotel opened within the last 10 years

The hotel is probably $100 a night more than alternatives, but you save 2 tips on the hotel bus, an hour or more or time and you don't have to worry about your room not being clean or noise outside, so I would say that's money well spent. I wouldn't expect any sign of "luxury" though - by international standards I wouldn't even call it a full-service hotel.

Originally Posted by Kacee

There's your answer.

It is very very common in the US for properties to not have an open restaurant, room service, or a stocked minibar, with Covid being the excuse. At least this property has actual cups and glasses in the room - most properties are still using paper cups. I'll add as well that the food in the Market is pretty good, and the fact that it's open 24 hours is a big plus IMO.

Also, you will find all new build construction in California has flow restricted showerheads due to water conservation laws. The corner suites for some reason have better flow than the regular rooms. Similar with the automated lighting systems in new builds, which tend to be awful.