Four Points Bakersfield, CA [Master Thread]
 

I'll be staying at the Bakersfield Four Points next week and was wondering if anyone has stayed there recently. I'm curious to know how they are with upgrades (especially to us lowly SPG Gold folks). If I am given a choice is there anything special I should try to get...looking at the booking info it seems like the room choices are accessable, traditional, and deluxe (where deluxe seems to be traditional but facing the courtyard). Is there a club level?

I tried searching for earlier mentions, but I could only find a couple of postings within the last year or so, and they contradicted each other (One said it was great and offered an extra 500 bonus starpoints, the other said it was ok and saw no bonus).

stayed there on 1/30. Nice place as a Diamond gave me a nice exec room nothing to yell about, average room nice furniture. Its basically a 2 story walk up . The grounds were really nice and the exec rooms come with 2 bottles of water-FREE. The thread mill was O/O/O. I didnt get a garden view but rather one of the parking lot which didnt make a difference to me as I wasnt spending much time there. The hot tub was nice the jets werent powerful enough. All in all not bad for $59. Theres a small(and I mean SMALL) continental breakfast get there at least 10 mins B4 it closes otherwise it takes the guy 2 secs till its all gone. The bagels were the 1 bite and its gone kind. If you miss it believe me you didnt miss much.

I was hoping to get to the hot springs in the area but the fog was so dense on Fri morn ALL the schools were delayed by 3 hrs opening so the point of the trip up there was wasted as I needed to back in LA by 2pm I didnt want to chance a massive traffic accident as has happened B4. So the next time out on the coast (later this month) Ill try it again and yes Ill go back to the 4 pts.

I stayed there 14 Jan 03. Convenient location on the west side of town, 5101 California Ave. at Mohawk St.

The route 9 bus of Golden Empire Transit stops at that intersection. $1.75 for a day pass. http://www.getbus.org/

The hotel will take you from/ to the airport if you call in advance. You can also be dropped off elsewhere. In 1999 they received an award as the best Four Points nationwide.

There are several two-story buildings in the complex, surrounded by parking lots. As a gold I was put on the "SPG Preferred club floor," as designated by a brass plaque. I slept in for breakfast, so no comment on that.

There are several restaurants in the area, and it is a nice walk up Mohawk St. to the Kern river bike path. I also walked all the way to Panorama Drive, then downtown (about 5 miles round trip).

No complaints. I'd go back. It is more convenient for public transportation than the DoubleTree (up by Rosedale Hwy). The Hampton Inn on Oak St. (at California St.) closer to the freeway was actually more expensive (though it had a brunch), but I'd choose Four Points. There is also a Marriott Courtyard across the river near the DoubleTree.

Ground fog in the mornings is standard at BFL between mid-December through January, the locals told me. My 1200 arrival from LAX was delayed until 1300, while a 0635 departure to SFO three days later was delayed until 1200.

The TSA screeners are in place, and there was a sign announcing the impending construction of a new terminal.

BFL is a booming town. In the 2000 census, the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) of Bakersfield was home to 661,645 people. California includes 13 MSAs and 3 Consolidated MSAs, the latter consisting of 12 Primary MSAs. http://www2.census.gov/census_2000/d...rnia/2kh06.pdf . Among the 15 most populous of California's 58 counties, Kern County (coextensive with the Bakersfield MSA) had the second highest growth rate between 1990 and 2000 at 21.7%, trailing only Riverside. Similarly, the City of Bakersfield grew 41.3%, the fastest of the 15 most populous California cities and far eclipsing runners up Anaheim (23.1%) and Fresno (20.7%). http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/...s/ca_tab_6.pdf .


[UBB edit.]

[This message has been edited by SPN Lifer (edited 02-11-2003).]

If you want to skip the breakfast there is a Krispy Kreme about 1/4 of a mile away. It's on the corner of California and Stockdale. Also, if you are down there you will see an In-N-Out right next to it. Great hamburgers. Chains, I know, but those two might be the pinnacle of chain "restaurants."

There is great local food in the area, too. If you really want something unique you should try one of the several Basque restaurants in town. Chalet Basque is not too far away and if you are feeling adventurous (and have transportation) you should think about Woolgrower's or Noriega's. Reservations are a good idea at Woolgrower's and are mandatory at Noriega's. Noriega's serves family-style at 7pm only. Great great food.

Four Points Bakersfield CA
 

Just spent a night at the FP Bakersfield... I received extremely courteous service from every single employee. They made a point to thank me for being an SPG member (heck, I'm not even Gold).

And the Bistro restaurant was fantastic. Not a bargain price-wise, but the food was amazing and the service was great.

Four Points Bakersfield [Master Thread]
 

Preface: Down for client meeting.

Status: Platinum.

Rate: Better than Hilton Garden Inn.

Transportation: Drove in.

Parking: Free.

Check-in: A little slow but efficient. Given room in building 5. Second floor facing courtyard.

Perks: Offered amenity and took points. Was not told anything else. Assume you get some breakfast possibly like Hilton Garden Inn. Need to call on that.

Lounge: Not here.

Room: The room is renovated. You enter onto a stripe carpet. To the right you have a small closet followed by a large mirror on the wall. You have a dresser with pull out basket for storage. Atop you have a LG flat panel tv. Many channels but I have a "wave" rolling up the screen on all channels. Next is a desk with chair, followed by comfy chair and king size bed. You have a cubby hole vanity table with chair.

Bathroom: The bathroom has a single basin pedastel sink with tub. The tub has a push out curtain.

Internet: The room has wired HSIA. A little slow.

Gym: Assume they have one.

Spa: Don't think so.

Eating venues: Apparently the restaurant is one of the best in town. Dinner there tonight with clients. Will advise.

Local markets: Retail around area.

Local area: It is BFL. ?

Nagatives: Dated but ok. Comfortable. The heating/ac unit is loud. Rumbles.

Closing: Will be down here at least twice per year. Last time tried the HGI BFL. It was ok. This in total is comparable if you get breakfast. Regards from BFL.

The dinner was excellent. Valley comfort food. I did receive points on my spend charged to bill.

Tried booking this place on SPG.com last Friday for same day arrival. Listed as sold out. Went to PL and ended up with 4 Points @ $50. Front desk said they had a few rooms left and were getting $160. It's not uncommon to see stupidly high rates at this hotel and it's cat 2 for point redemption.

Four Points Bakersfield
 

Obviously not an exciting location, but we are staying here for 1 night on our way to Vegas over the spirng break. We have a deluxe room w/ 2 Q beds booked. Just want to make sure the place isn't awful. Thanks.

No its not awful. It's clean and well executed for what it is - if you've stayed at enough 4Pts, you have likely stayed at a clone of this property (multi-building, two-story layout).

Often when driving to LAS from the SFO area and departing after work, we stay here to pick up a stay credit as its essentially on the way. Sometimes it is a bit hard as the rates can be nonsensically high, especially for what you get, and for what your other choices are in the local area.

But somehow they manage to sell rooms.

Some other things to share:

1) There is a real working oil well pumping away in the parking lot of the hotel.
2) If you go South on California and make a left on Stockdale Highway you will find a bunch of restaurants (mostly chains) ranging from fast food (In-N-Out burger, etd.) to moderately-priced (Outback Steakhouse).

One place I can recommend is the Cafe Med (4809 Stockdale Hwy. at the Stockdale Fashion Plaza). Decent Mediterranean food at moderate prices.

They usually have a coupon by roomsaver.com it use to be at $49 now I believe its $75. Of cause its walk-in only. So what I usually do is make a res (for any Hotel that has a coupon) that allows a cancelation by 6pm, and on the way before 6pm I call and ask if they are accepting the coupon for that night if they say Yes, I tell 'em Im about 2 1/2 hrs away and do they still think I will beable to use it when I get there, at times I was told just tell who ever is here you spoke to ____ and they said its OK. Then I will call the res 800# and cancel the res I made, if they told me its very tight then I'll decide if I still want to pay the rate I booked it at.

Does the roomsaver rate rate count for SPG credit and benefits?

I just stayed here this week on an award stay. I was recognised as Plat, offered the points or a movie and was given a deluxe room with patio that was lovely, newly refurbished and well kitted out.

The bed was very comfortable but the poly-cotton sheets were a bit rough but as this was only the second Four Points i've stayed at I was pleasantly surprised.

It was well worth the 4000 points!

Time for more training
 

I've had three stays here in the last two months. The first stay they forgot to post my Plat Welcome Amenity. The second stay appeared to go without incident, however, upon checking in for the third stay, they modified my reservation at the second stay (effectively cancelling my third night) AND proceeded to bill me as a no show for the second night reservation!

They are working on fixing all this and the staff has always been been very nice and I'm sure none of these problems were deliberate, but three out of three stays messed up? Not a good track record.

The property is nice almost always been upgraded from a traditional room to a deluxe room facing the courtyard. Especially like ordering room service on a warm evening and eating on the patio outside the room.

I'm not giving up on them, being the ONLY SPG property in the area. Just watch what they do and hope they get it right.

Update: Last stay just posted and NO Plat Amenity. :( Good thing there is no 3-strikes rule for franchises.

Do they comp breakfast for platinums?