BCH

Any recent Titanium or Ambassador experiences at this property. Staying later this month (though also have a reservation at the Marriott Marquis), and wondering what to expect in terms of upgrade, breakfast, other perks.

Thanks.

BCH

PhilE

@BCH - did you stay at the W in the end? If so, what did they offer in terms of Platinum benefits? Their website is lacking and there is no contact email I can find.

I have bookings for the W and the Marriott Marquis next week (3 nights) and the rates are about the same (after taking into account a $25 daily amenity fee at the Marriott). Trying to decide and leaning towards the W...

Phil

BCH

Yep. It was last summer and they offered nothing (I'm an Ambassador) other than points. That hotel is not really anything special - just barebones decor and occasional colorful pillow. The service was also lacking. If they rebranded it as an AC Hotel, you wouldn't really notice any difference. I wouldn't chose it again.

spgvun

i stayed for one night this past April. Didn’t have much of an opportunity to notice decor but it seemed nice enough. In terms of service, I asked for late checkout and when I finally vacated the room at 16:30, they were perfectly pleasant about it. As an Ambassador guest I was offered breakfast which I believe was a $15 credit off of any items I wanted. Didn’t sound very generous but it covered my juice, toast & bacon so I had no complaints. I would happily return to this hotel.

PhilE

So we ended up staying at the W last weekend for 3 nights and now 2 nights in the Marquis.

W was good - upgraded to Fabulous high floor room with views towards Oakland bridge. Liked the design and bathroom, but as others said, walls are quite thin and we were woken the first night by booming beats next door (either very impressive sound from the TV or they brought their own hifi!). Few raps on the wall and neighbour turned it right down so wasn’t a big problem thankfully. Breakfast was either $15 per person credit or a set menu of coffee/ juice plus muffin, oats or avo toast with 2 eggs. The toast was great and the latte coffees smooth.

Marquis is massive in comparison and feels much busier. Bill has $25 destination fee per night but not one of 3 checkin agents could explain what it covered - some mention of a platter between 4-6pm, bicycles and F&B credit. After discussing with their manager, they said the 1st night fee would be waved as the benefits only start the following day. I’m sceptical but will see what they say today. Elite breakfast is grab and go from the coffee shop in the lobby - water/ juice, muffin/ croissant, yoghurt and drip coffee or tea. It’s fine but feels like skimping when there is full breakfast being served in the restaurant opposite (am used to Europe/ Asia benefits!). Lounge was shut ‘because it’s the weekend’ (not clear if they’ve reopened post COVID or just preferred that explanation). Room is modern and fine if a bit dark/ dull - we were upgraded from low floor to high (no suites showing as available). They agreed to 4pm checkout. TV can take an HDMI input but lip sync was way off and picture massively over sharpened. Still, i suppose better than the W where I couldn’t find an HDMI input at all.

At the same rate I’d choose the W as service more personal, better breakfast and room brighter/ more to our taste.

We’re using a free night with suite night upgrade at the Westin St Francis for our last night, so will update post with feedback on that in a few days.

Phil

PhilE

Just a quick update to say the Westin was quite nice too - my 1 remaining suites upgrade cleared and we were given a classic suite on 6th floor. Breakfast was offered as either a grab and go from the lobby cafe or full buffet in the restaurant via 2 paper vouchers. We went for the latter and enjoyed - good omelette station and half-decent lattes.

donotblink

anyone know what's going on with rates at this property, for the next few weeks, corporate and regular rates are nearly $500/night but the AAA rate is half that! I've never seen such a big spread between AAA and BAR and corp rates.

ElevatorEnthusiast

A few quick updates from my stay:

• Upgraded to a Studio Suite (basically a corner room, but nice views) on the 28th floor
• The bed was ABSURDLY GOOD - the fluffiest covers and mattress I have ever seen
• Breakfast is the same as posted above - avocado toast with fried egg was tasty
• Nespresso machine in room appreciated
• TV had Internet TV OS, but poor viewing ability unless sitting on the bed
• Towels felt very new
• No noise issues noticed
• Whatever Whenever answered with my name and had tissue box brought up quickly

Overall, a very nice experience, mainly made by the bed.

ntamayo

It’s rare nowadays to see a positive review based on the fundamentals (comfy bed, good night’s sleep, prompt service). 👍

DELee

You should see the pictures!

David

ElevatorEnthusiast

Haha! I can take a hint :-)

aimango

Upgraded to studio suite corner on a lower floor (11) for a stay this week as titanium. Was a bit concerned with the lower floor and exposure to both of the busy streets (Howard and 3rd) since I could hear street noise, although it was muffled so not too bad. They said they’re committed for rest of the night when I asked on the first night. Ended up sleeping fine with some white noise.

Service was friendly and was asked whether I wanted points or breakfast. Was able to apply $500 to my stay on my Amex green at check in for the 100 off 500 luxury Marriott properties, and rest on Amex brilliant.

The decor is modern and bright lighting due to the corner room having so many windows. Double curtains are nice as the blackout is good, but my main complaint is the need to manually bring down the blinds. For a corner room it is a bit of a hassle as there are four windows to deal with. This is where automatic blinds would be very much appreciated.

Beds comfortable. Showers solid, and overall the larger room is well furnished and set up so it doesn’t just feel like a giant room. Closets are kind of weird though, needs more drawers or shelving.

Did not eat at the property yet. The lobby feels really dark which seems to be the vibe of other W properties. It is just a stark contrast of how bright and vibrant the rest of the floors are.

Taking Ubers to the property could be annoying if you’re coming from airport during traffic-y hours since the drop off location seems to be on Howard and not 3rd so would recommend just using the pin drop off.

Internet connection (even the enhanced) is on the slower side. Choppy zoom calls here and there. Not a fan of LG tv interface and remote felt really laggy. The streaming integration worked fine though.

Overall I prefer this property over The Palace since The Palace feels more dated and has thin walls which sucks when facing Market st. Have had good experiences at the Westin in the past too but not a fan of that area.

The W is located beside the moma, there is outdoor art around the corner. Also a short walk to Salesforce park via elevator. My work building is connected to the park so it was a nice experience overall, and great to avoid any crazy homeless. I will definitely be staying here again in the future.

3rdworldresident

Any recent experiences at this hotel?

Just want to confirm that there is no JUNK FEE surprise at check out.

dw

I just checked out today. No resort fees yet at this property, though with most hotels in the area now charging them, I wonder how long it will last.

I actually had a great stay overall (upgraded at check in from the Fantastic room I had booked to a high floor “Studio Suite”- really just a corner room; proactively offered late check out) that was unfortunately marred by a billing issue at check out. My platinum breakfast for one of the days was accidentally charged in full and the fairly unfriendly/disinterested person who checked me out was extremely unhelpful with making any attempt to resolve the issue and just told me they’d have to check with the restaurant and I’d receive an email later.