The Marina Inn on San Francisco Bay

Based on the many positive reviews — most of which, in hindsight, seem to be from better days — we decided to book the Marina Inn on San Francisco Bay. After our stay, we felt it was time for a more recent and honest review. From the moment we arrived, it became clear that time had not so much stood still here as completely forgotten to come back. The exterior of the building looks noticeably dated, with a few questionable characters hanging around the parking lot and bits of rubbish scattered around the area. Not exactly the warmest first impression. Fortunately, the staff at reception were friendly and welcoming, and check-in went smoothly. Armed with our room keys, we made our way down a long corridor where the walls appeared to have survived countless layers of paint and the air carried a distinctly musty smell. Opening the door to room 201 confirmed that the theme continued inside. The carpet was damaged, and underneath it was a wooden floor that seemed to move along with you as you walked around the room. The walls were extremely thin, which meant we were kept remarkably well informed about what our neighbours were doing at almost any time of day or night. Privacy apparently comes as an optional extra. The air conditioning did work, which was good news. The bad news was that it made so much noise that you quickly started wondering whether being too warm might actually be preferable. And then there was the bathroom extractor fan. Taking a shower with it running felt rather like washing yourself next to an idling diesel truck. Calling it “loud” would be generous. The bathroom itself was functional, but clearly well past its prime, with thick layers of sealant and bathroom fittings that did not always seem entirely committed to staying attached. The washbasin was oddly located outside the bathroom, partly hidden behind a cabinet that we treated with great care, mainly because it gave the impression that one enthusiastic touch might cause the whole thing to collapse. The television was outdated but generally worked, although some channels regularly disappeared. Wi-Fi was available too, at least technically. In practice, it was so slow that it created considerably more frustration than convenience. But the real highlight — and unfortunately not in a good way — was the bed. The beds seemed narrower than a standard queen-size bed, and the mattresses were so uncomfortable that we woke up with back pain every morning. If the neighbours did not wake you up, the mattress eventually would. At some point we seriously started considering whether sleeping on the moving wooden floor might actually be an upgrade. Finding stray hairs in supposedly clean bedding on several occasions did little to improve our confidence in the overall standard of hygiene either. Breakfast was served in an open area in front of reception. Every morning offered essentially the same selection, eaten from cardboard plates with plastic cutlery while sitting on hard chairs. The “fresh” fruit came pre-packed in a plastic container, the filter coffee was actually perfectly fine, and both the croissants and bagels were impressively dry. If dehydration were a breakfast theme, they had absolutely nailed it. The hotel’s surroundings feel more like an industrial area than somewhere you would choose for a relaxing stay. The view over San Francisco Bay itself is pleasant, but the boardwalk and the immediate area around the hotel were poorly maintained and did not exactly encourage you to spend much time there. And perhaps that sums up the Marina Inn best. If you cannot find anything else and simply need somewhere to sleep for one night, it is manageable — provided you are willing to accept its many shortcomings. But after that night, you will probably be quite happy to continue your journey. At first glance, particularly because of the price, the Marina Inn may look like a good deal. In reality, there are plenty of hotels offering better value for money, better comfort and, importantly, a better location — especially if you are planning to visit San Francisco itself and would rather not spend so much time travelling back and forth. Judging by the many older positive reviews, this may once have been a perfectly good hotel. Unfortunately, today it feels more like a reminder of what it used to be. A case of faded glory.

So, my nephew had a last minute medical emergency that he needed to be at Stanford for at 8am and we live in the valley almost 2hrs away. We decided it would be smarter to have him stay at a hotel closer to Stanford the night before because of traffic. By the time the emergency room told he he needed to go it was 9pm at night so through Expedia my nephews son booked and PAID for the room online and got there around 11:30pm. The hotel would not let them stay because in the rush my nephew s son forgot his wallet and didn't have a card for the deposit. They offered cash for the deposit explaining the situation and how long they just drove, and NO they would not except that at all. So my Nephew who is sick and his son had to drive all the way back and get his wallet and then drive back. By the time they got back to the hotel it's after 2am and they needed to be at Stanford at 8am for the medical emergency. They could have called a Manger and under the circumstances made an exception, I mean the room was going to be used less than 6 hrs and it was already PAID for! Just very bad business! I will never stay there and I am letting people who I know in the area not to because it was just wrong to put someone who was very sick through something like that! They explained the situation to them and still no. SMH

I've stayed here well over two dozen times over the last 20 years. This last stay was probably the worst one I've had, which is sad to say right? The obvious pros are that the location is great, the Bay is right there, and Horatio's, El Torito, the park, and Monarch Bay Golf Club is 100 yards away. The front desk and housekeeping folks are generally quite nice and accomodating. This last stay was just not up to par. I had a great room on the ground floor with a patio view of the vacant marina behind - I miss the rustling of the boats, but that's done and gone as an experience. The room was pretty basic, I appreciated the daily bottles of water for sure. The downsides were that the first night, the people next door were loud AF until 1am or so. Then the people right above were also loud, and stomping around until about 3 am or so. The next day was where things got kinda bad. The fan in the shower sounded like a diesel engine at a data center. The breakfast buffet is a huge meh, it in no way resembles the previous pre pandemic and during the pandemic layout. It's like beyond basic these days. Hard boiled eggs, no hot food at all minus make yer own pancakes. Fruit cups not actual fresh fruit like they used to have. No eggs, no nothing. They had a decent selection of yogurt and cottage cheese. The coffee has never been anything but industrial so that's par for the course. And after a long day, went to refresh in the hot tub and maybe the pool, and well, it was broken/cold/not hot. No towels either. No sign, no nothing. So I went to take a hot bath, but not so fast! The lever to stopper the tub didn't work at all. I had to take a towel, and weight it down with a couple of cans in the ice bucket to get any water to fill. Talked to the front desk people but they were completely uninterested in listening or offering some sort of discount regarding the room (the hot tub and pool being broken just happens, so whatever) condition. I just don't think this place has ever been the same since the pandemic or the closure of the marina, and the caliber of the guest seems to have gone down (corridors smelling of weed just like Hilton Garden Inn nearby). It used to be such a nice homey place, but it's about the same as it was in 2010 and other hotels in the area have stepped up their amenity game (seriously, no on site grab and go alocohol? Talk about a missed revenue opportunity) since and you just feel the lack of effort all through the place. I'll have to think about staying here again next month when I come back out.