tbm13

BART takes about 15 minutes from 12th St. Oakland City Center to Powell St. The Marriott Oakland is right next to 12th St and Powell St station to the Marquis is only a 2 minute walk or so.

You can look up at BART times at http://www.bart.gov/

jr1202sr

THANK YOU!

ryw

Update on the property - I stayed here for 1 night a local staycation. Got upgraded as a gold to a high level king room with a view of the Bay which was a nice touch. It was a slightly strange shaped room in the corner of the building (sort of triangular), but I didn't experience any problems with it. Bathroom was on the smaller side though.

It's been through a redesign. There's a long built in narrow desk/counter area under the TV with plenty of outlets (works fine for me, though it's not as deep as the traditional desk, so some folks might not like it). Looked like relatively new carpet too (which I liked better than the faux wood floors some updated properties have used). Some Oakland-inspired art in the room was a nice touch, and I enjoyed the updated lighting fixtures. There was a large chaise lounge sofa with a really large sidetable that stretched over it (which conceivably could also be used as a desk or table).

There's now an M Club, which is open for service 7 days a week. It's located on the 2nd floor, same floor as the restaurant and part of the conference center. (I think they share a kitchen with the restaurant kitchen). Not really a view from the 2nd floor, but lots of natural light comes through. There was an evening spread enough for a meal (a salad, rice, and a chicken stew, plus a meat/cheese/olive tray, bread tray, and a crudite selection). Breakfast was a basic Springhill Suites-like hot breakfast. Snacks & drinks available throughout the day. There's a coffee/cappuccino machine, and at breakfast they also have additional coffee pots. They even had to-go boxes for food. The attendant working there was really great and friendly! The M Club itself has a few different spaces, including a few TVs, tables, sofa areas, and a counter along the window with outlets that wouldn't look too out of place at a coffee shop.

It looked like Fresh Bites was still being implemented - for the time being in lieu of room service/fresh bites, you could order to-go from the hotel restaurant and go pick it up.

I'm local, but for out-of-towners, the property is across the street from the 12th street BART station which has trains to SF, and OAK and SFO airports. There are some good bars in the area too! It's in the middle of an urban environment, so know that things can change a lot block-by-block if you're on foot.

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the update. Much appreciated.

Cheers.

macmedic

Kacee

I burned a Cat 5 AMEX cert to escape the record heat this week (most homes in Oakland, including mine, do not have A/C). Great 35k value, as rooms were going for $499.

No upgrade for a last minute booking on a night the property was sold out, but I liked the base level room, both the fresh decor and the excellent separation from the hallway. Room was absolutely dead quiet. Ability to stream Netflix on the large new tv was much appreciated. I do agree with the comment above that the bathroom was rather small.

Staff were very friendly, definitely a different (friendlier) vibe from SF. Did not like the M lounge at all. It was understaffed and not kept particularly clean. I also agree with ryw's comment the breakfast was much like a Springhill Suites.

"Fresh Bites" is fully implemented. I got a cobb salad. The ingredients (obviously locally sourced) were absolutely top notch, and it's a shame the salad was served in those awful take out containers, with plastic utensils.

For 35k points, this property is a GREAT bay area option. Oakland is changing rapidly and a destination in its own right. You're only 12 minutes by BART from SF (with station entrance about 50 yards from the hotel's front door).

boolean64

You're on the edge of old oakland. Some really good eats at swan market 2-3 blocks away which has 3-4 food stalls with great food, and right around the market is a bunch of restaurants...a couple ramen shops, a good beer place, good coffee shop, pizza place, etc.

Eastbay1K

Also, an excellent Omakase place (Delage) which at $70/pp is a steal. A not-terribly-long walk to Jack London Square, and to Uptown (the other direction). Walk to JLS has a few unsavory blocks. More good food and drink both ways. This is not even to mention that you're on the edge of Chinatown, right across Broadway.

lexdevil

And B-Dama inside the food court section of Swan's Market is great. Same people as Delage. Though you will be cheating yourself if you skip the pork belly tacos and cocktails at Cosecha (also in the food court). Their Paloma is outstanding!

jbarm

I, as well, just returned from a two night visit to the Oakland City Center Marriott.

Observations:

Good:
1. Internet speed was very fast when tested. 100 up and down. This was enhanced internet access, as I have free service via Titanium status.
2. Hotel condition. Well maintained public areas and rooms. Clean and updated.
3. Status recognition. Was good, given upper floor in corner room. No suite upgrade, but they were shown as sold out night of arrival.
4. M Club. Good, not great. Food spread reminds me of standard US concierge lounges of old, OK breakfast and OK evening snacks. Pastries in morning were OK, not stale but not quite great either. Not close to offerings at MClub at Marriott Marquise in SF.
5. Transit access to SF. Easy and close access to BART station. Safe ingress/egress to station night and day. $3.50 OW with Clipper card to SF in 15 minutes.
6. Uber/Lyft access to OAK airport. About $18, which isn't bad.
7. Hotel staff. Courteous and helpful. Had solid security at every entrance to manage non-customer traffic flow.

Not so good:
1. Neighborhood. I've lived in urban environments and I didn't feel comfortable on the streets here. When we went out early one evening on the weekend for a few blocks walk, there were a number of folks standing around that didn't seem to have anything in particular to do. Not a lot of foot traffic. You can see efforts to spiff up place but still not somewhere I want to hang out in. YMMV.
2. Street people. Other posts mention walking to Jack London Square, which you can see in the distance from the hotel. You can certainly walk there, but you have to walk by a significant homeless encampment under the freeway overpass to get there. No thanks.

I've stayed at this property several times over the years. Not a bad place to set up a base camp for hanging out in SF via transit, because of a very significant difference in cost.

jb

Kacee

I work across the street. You need to pay attention walking around downtown at night. It's safe during the day.

ucdtim17

It's an area that has traditionally emptied out after business hours, but as you may have noticed there are several large buildings under construction in the adjacent blocks (office and residential), and dozens of other projects in greater downtown, so it should be getting better. Old Oakland is great, but the fortress design of the hotel and convention center don't exactly highlight connections to areas that are even just across the street. I would guess 70% of people that stay at the hotel don't even realize Old Oakland is there.

tai4de2

Stayed September 2019. I have titanium status, which was weakly recognized at checkin. I booked last-minute and didn't expect an upgrade so I was not disappointed when I didn't get one. I booked and stayed in a Bay-view room, which has a pleasant view of water, docks, and SF off in the distance.

I actually enjoyed the breakfast a great deal. There was ample selection and real proteins (pork-based breakfast sausage), which is more than I've gotten in certain other Bay-area properties.

As others have said, there is excellent separation between the living space and the hallway, making the room very quiet. I found the room modern and cozy and would have been happy to stay for more than the one night I was there. I would (and probably will) stay again.

The neighborhood is hit or miss but I wasn't there for that. Getting an Uber wasn't a problem.

GateGuardian

Has anyone stayed here recently? I have to work in the area next week and booked this hotel.

They mentioned they don't have valet anymore, so I have to park at the convention parking lot. Does anyone know if the parking lot is connected to the hotel inside the parking lot or I have to walk back outside?

Also, is it still safe to walk around for dinner around the hotel?

Kacee

My office is across the street. Last stay was right before the pandemic.

It's always been a "be careful" area at night. Not per se unsafe, but be aware of your surroundings. It's gotten worse during the pandemic, and there's not much open at night in the immediate area . . . uptown and Jack London are each 10-15 minute walks up/down Broadway. I would not park on the street at night and you should never leave anything valuable (i.e., cellphone) in your car, not even for five minutes.

IIRC, the convention center parking lot does connect directly to the hotel. The convention center is part of the same structure. The hotel itself is not bad at all.