stratofortress

JW, no question. Good fitness center, business oriented room, and nicer beds.

LPCJr

Spent four nights at the JW last August. Very nice property. Good lounge, comfortable rooms, and great location.

superbobx2

Just to update some lounge info, as I've been trying to decide b/w the Marriott by the Moscone center (where my meeting is this weekend) and the JW... picked the JW because the rate is cheaper, including breakfast.

Anyways, on to the info: the lounge at the SF Marriott (Moscone center) is open on the weekends, but only in the mornings for breakfast (starting at 7am) according to the person who picked up the phone and put me on hold to check. The JW lounge closes Friday at noon and opens again Sunday evening. Cheers!

bdschobel

That was true when I stayed there Presidents' Day weekend in February. I had a large group with me, so the free breakfast meant a lot of savings!!!

Bruce

Commie

I am trying to book a reward stay in San Fran for a weekend in May...Trying to decide between the JW, Marriott or the Stanford Court.
Through the readings, looks like the CL at the JW or Marriott is closed on the weekends. At least at the JW. If they are closed, would they give out breakfast certs for their restaurant instead? I am a Platinum member.

splume

I've stayed at quite a few of the Marriott's in the SF Bay Area, so I'll comment on my experiences.

First of all, my absolute favorite property in the city is the Marriott on 4th street, next to the Moscone Center. I've stayed there the most nights and went through the renovation. I find that this property has the best location to the clients/customers I work with since they are just about all located in the Financial Sector part of downtown. The lounge is good, although the seating is not great during the busy breakfast hour. The restaurant is good, but there is plenty of good food nearby. Staff is friendly and helpful. This hotel is always packed and the lobby always seems to be swarming with people. This hotel cators to the business traveler.

My second favorite property is the Marriott Fisherman's Wharf. Although it is in the very touristy part of town I've stayed there when traveling on business a number of times. This hotel seems to be run by a small staff so they quickly remembered me after only a couple of visits. There isn't a lounge, but breakfast is comp'd which is fine with me. What I like most about this location are the feather-topped beds and when I stay there as a Plat I always end up with an upgraded room. Being within walking distance to some great seafood is also a draw. Cabs are easy to get from out front, even during rush-hour in the morning. This is important because you won't be walking from this hotel to any business meetings. This is also within walking distance to little italy (although I prefer walking back down the hill, it is especially refreshing after some vino!)

Up next is the JW. I know, I'm as surprised as you guys are at this being #3 on the list. I stayed here for the first time over the 4th of July on a vacation last year with my wife. I found it to be a nice hotel, with nice rooms and a nice lounge. However, the location was not as ideal (for me anyway) and nothing really stood out. I've since stayed there for business and although there was nothing negative to report about the property (except maybe that the A/C never really got the room "cold") it didn't have the location of the 4th Steet property or the nice beds of the FW property. The food was pretty good though.

4th on my list is the Sanford Court Renaissance. I don't think I've been in a renovated room yet, but found the place to be pretty nice. I don't recall there being a lounge, and I remember getting a coupon for breakfast, but it didn't cover the whole meal on my first stay. On my last stay breakfast was covered. I haven't had the luck of a quiet room there, which was a big letdown for me. The location was pretty good though, if you don't mind the hill

Finally, the last property I've stayed at is the Courtyard on 2nd. The only thing this property really has going against it is its location. It is just a bit further away from where I do business to make this lower on my list of choices. I've always had a great room there and it is one of the nicest CYs I've stayed at. The food in the restaurant sucks, but that seems to be par for the course for CYs. There are plenty of places to eat just down the hill on 2nd.

Since we are talking about the Bay Area, I'll mention a few other's I've stayed at.

Marriott San Mateo: Decent hotel, good parking, decent to lousy food. Rooms in the new wing are great, but in the older wings are dumpy. I've been staying here a bunch lately but don't really feel one way or the other about the place. The food in the lounge leaves something to be desired though. The location is good for mid-bay area business. I've even stayed here when working in Pleasanton because of the CY there (see below.) Nice and close to the airport (SFO) too.

Marriott Santa Clara: Again, a nice hotel with pretty good food. Good location (for my business anyway) with good parking.

Courtyard Pleasanton: A dump. Would avoid this whenever possible.

Marriott Walnut Creek: Nice property, nice room, good breakfast. Admitedly, I only stayed here for about 4 hours (really late flight in), but it seemed fine. I'd stay here again if given the chance.

trueblu

First post on this forum.

I've got a conference coming up in September at the Moscone Centre and would appreciate advice. The conference rate, and "best available rate" are exactly the same. However, on the conference website, it says "free internet in room" for both JW Marriott and 4th Street Marriott.

I'm gold tier, and may well be travelling with my wife and infant (not yet born!). Would the experts here recommend booking with marriott.com or the conference rate. Will I get gold benefits if I book the conference rate? Will my chances of an upgraded room be diminished (the conference is pretty big, and rooms are likely to get pretty booked up, admittedly).

I note from the website $13/day charge for wired internet access, and free wi-fi would be a bonus, esp. for my wife, if she decides to join me (she's never been to san francisco).

Not sure to admit it on this post -- am wavering on whether to book marriott or not -- the conference rates for the intercontinental, westin and W are all pretty similar to the marriotts (am spg gold, but that's hardly worth anything admittedly).

And I decide to go marriott -- which would you recommend. The 4th street one is best for me, but would be willing to consider another if it's over-all better for my family (it's been a long time since I've been to san francisco, so geography is somewhat hazy).

many thanks,

tb

wiluk

Not sure about all of your questions but I've stayed at the Marriott on 4th a few times - always on a conference rate. As a gold they've always given me a room upgrade. Definitely recommend the hotel though - it's location is PERFECT for Moscone center and it's in a good area of downtown. I certainly wouldn't stay anywhere else - I once stayed at the JW and wasn't keen.

trueblu

Thanks wiluk. Good to know.

Do you mean within the marriott family, or in general?

tb

Idranet

Resurrecting this thread just to ask if anyone knows if the Parc 55 is now affiliated with any program? Or has it gone completely independent? I found several threads (including this one) pointing out that it's no longer part of Marriott. I'd stayed on business back in '05, and as luck would have it will be back in '09. No choice for hotel on my part - this is where it'll be. But I hadn't kept up with the transition to a non-Marriott property.

Can anyone point me in a good search direction?

Thanks.

keeton

You can start with their own website. It is not affiliated with anyone, it seems.

When it was a Renaissance, the Parc 55 was the best location in SF for transportation without a car. I really miss it.

newfbc

Staying at the Marriott on 4th.. so far, not impressed.

My requests...
Guaranteed for your arrival: 1 King Bed
Noted for your arrival: Extra Towels, Extra Feather Pillows, High Floor Room, Refrigerator

Got the king bed.. otherwise, nada on any of the others.

Presented my EEO weekend certificate at checkin.. the guy said, last time I saw one of these was about 3 years ago

Ron.

Non-NonRev

This hotel was originally built (IIRC) in the late 1970s as the Holiday Inn on Union Square, later upgraded to Crowne Plaza. I don't think that the renovation at the time of the upgrade to CP was especially extensive, so I don't doubt that a major renovation is needed. Looking forward to a report, as the location is quite good (especially for leisure stays).

jasperJ8

stayed in Renaissance Stanford Court last February and it's one of the best stays i had with Marriott so far, nice rooms and friendly staff

freeupgrade

Skip the SFO Airport Marriott - the hotel is Category 5 - what a joke....should really be Category 3.

On Command system there doesn't even have a fast forward button on remote - hello, its 2009, and some Marriotts have had this technology for at least 3 years now.

Very rude staff there.