A friend has plans to stay with family at Jack London Square. I seem to recall some negative posts here recently about the Inn at Jack London Square. I've stayed up the street at the Best Western and found it very acceptable. Any suggestions or comments?
Frank in cool and cloudy SBA
Posted by smitty195 (Member # 5102) on :
Hi Frank,
The Jack London Inn is an ABSOLUTE no-no! It has become extremely bad as of late. A few years ago, it was an acceptable "cheapie" to many people...but not any more. Drug dealers, hookers, and gang members routinely roam the halls. Government dollars now subsidize a good portion of the rooms to homeless people. It is filthy--to the extreme. Amtrak pulled their crews out a while ago, and they now stay at a Courtyard by Marriott in Oakland.
Now, to add confusion to things (or maybe it will clarify?), the hotel that I think you are talking about is now a Best Western. it used to be called "The Inn at Jack London Square"---not to be confused with the Jack London Inn that I mention above. The Best Western/Inn at Jack London is very acceptable. This is the hotel located on Broadway right next to freeway 880. There is a Buttercup Pantry restaurant in the parking lot of the hotel, and it is open 24/7. This is where Oakland's finest eat all the time, and the police headquarters station is one block away on the other side of the 880 overpass. You can taxi to this hotel from the Oakland Amtrak station (highly recommended at night!), or you can walk there during the day in about 15 minutes. Their address is 233 Broadway, Oakland, CA.
Anything I can help with just let me know.
Posted by sbalax (Member # 2801) on :
Yep, that's the Best Western I was talking about. Great breakfast at the Buttercup.
Thanks, Smitty. I'll pass the info along.
Frank
Posted by travelplus (Member # 3679) on :
I would rather stay at the Hilton SF or another nicer hotel than the BW any day. I pride myself on finding excellent deals for the price of a room at a BW at a nicer hotel using hotwire.com or priceline.com. I stay away from the BW and other motel chains. For instance I booked a room at the Hilton SF for $99 dollars a few years back on hotwire. Stay away from BW if you can.
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
Sbalax, if you need further evidence that the Jack London Inn is a rathole, go to:
Regarding Mr. Travelplus comment, I'm certain that the auction sites such as Priceline enable users to 'score a deal' at high end properties such as the San Francisco Hilton. However, for the less adventuresome such as myself and for whom "the best surprise is no surprise' is important when traveling, the auction sites are not all that enticing.
Posted by Henry Kisor (Member # 4776) on :
Perhaps, GBN, we have already chewed the suption out of the Tripadvisor reliability topic.
I'm with you, however, about hotel auction sites. I'd rather pay a premium, too, and not be surprised.
On the other hand, if the market doesn't rally some more, there may not be much choice.
Posted by smitty195 (Member # 5102) on :
For what it's worth.....I have witnessed people at hotel check-in lines run into difficulties when an issue arises with their reservation, and they used an auction website (Priceline, HotWire, Expedia, Travelocity, etc). The problem is that you are not the hotel's customer---you are someone else's problem. From what I have witnessed, the hotel staff basically tell you to contact the company that you booked with and figure it out. It seems like a huge hassle to me just to save a couple of bucks---especially since these days, the major chains all guarantee their internet rate to be the lowest published rate. For this reason, I always book directly with the property where I am staying, so that I am "their" customer and my issues can be dealt with swiftly.
Posted by rresor (Member # 128) on :
Further to this somewhat off topic thread:
After two bad experiences with Hotels.com, I will no longer use them. First bad experience: booked a hotel in San Diego described as "historic". It was just old, and they gave me a room with a window overlooking the fire escape and a dumpster -- and said they couldn't change it since I'd booked through Hotels.com.
Second bad experience: snagged a very good rate at the Gateway Hilton in Newark through Hotels.com -- although I had to ask for the manager at check-in before they would honor it, and then when I received my bill the next morning, it was for a much higher rate, and I had to stop by the front desk and repeat the whole process with the manager.
I did get the lower rate, but never again.
Posted by smitty195 (Member # 5102) on :
Those are the same types of stories I've overheard while standing at various check-in desks the last few years. If you are "their" customer and booked through their own website or toll free number, then things go smoothly. But if you are someone else's customer through a website, forget it---you're in trouble.
Posted by Vicki (Member # 3410) on :
I have used bidding sites (Priceline, Hotwire) for about 15 years and never had a problem with either. I can't say that I have ever received a "bad" hotel but I never bid on anything less than 3* and usually only 4*. I also do my homework and if I think there is much chance I will get a hotel that I really won't like I don't bid. We usually end up with a Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Sheraton, Kimpton,or Embassy Suites.
I have used on-line agents (non-bidding sites) such as Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, Hotels.com, and Book-it, also without incident.
Many, if not most, hotels will now honor any quote from an on-line agency such as hotels.com, etc. so what I sometimes do now is find the lowest price I can and then call the hotel directly. They verify the price and that's what I pay. Often the savings is considerable and all of these options are within my personal comfort level.
Posted by gibg (Member # 2565) on :
Back to the subject of Jack London Square hotels -- we have just returned from a wonderful stay of five nights at the Inn at Jack London Square. Great location, great staff, excellent rooms and the Buttercup Grill right there for fabulous breakfasts and great waitstaff. Plenty of underground parking and the ferry dock three blocks away make it even more attractive. Amtrak station is four blocks and the hotel will shuttle you there. Yes, trains (a block west) go by all the time with horns s-blaring but you get used to it very quickly. And the ferry commute across the bay is very special.
Posted by Hoop (Member # 4607) on :
It appears that the Inn at Jack London is no longer affiliated with Best Western. It's just an independent "boutique" hotel now.