The only reason this review of the Waterfront Marriott at the San Francisco Airport exists is because I wanted to save a few bucks (and a lot of time) by staying close to the airport. It was ok – but I’ll probably choose another hotel next time.
The full review of my 1 night stay at the San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront
Of all the hotels adjacent to SFO, the Airport Marriott / Waterfront looked the most interesting to me as I was browsing the list of options online. I mean, how bad could a hotel that sits right on the shores of the bay really be?
First impressions
Unfortunately, first impressions were not all that good. Maybe because the weather was dull and gray and I was dead tired from traveling all day, but I guess I had envisioned this place to be a bit more upscale than what I was seeing from the outside.
I know, Marriott hotels aren’t known for being plush and luxurious, but being right on the waterfront made me think that it was going to be something special. My bad.
San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront exterior. I took this pic on the morning after I arrived, and believe me: the sun made it look a lot better than it did in the dull gray conditions the evening before.
This pic is a bit more representative of what you’ll see when you arrive.
The lobby
Walking into the lobby for the first time was an experience I’ll never forget. It was busy. I mean, like wall to wall “excuse me I can’t get by” (people-*******-everywhere) kind of busy.
The lobby was full of people attending some sort of formal event, and then once I got past that I saw that the lounge took up most of the floorpan with the check in desks pushed way over to the right. The lounge was packed, and the line for checking in was long, but thankfully I didn’t have to wait for a significant amount of time.
Main lobby of the San Francisco Airport Marriott. Note these pics were taken the morning after I arrived, so the crowds I experienced the night before were long gone.
The check in desks are straight ahead to the right.
The desk agent checked me in super-fast and sent me on my way before I could even ask about the WiFi, but I did feel thankful that she was so quick about it. This was not a calm welcome to this hotel, and I was very much looking forward to the quiet sanctuary of my room.
Getting to my room
Right away I was digging the black and white murals of the city of San Francisco everywhere.
Guest room hallway of the San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront.
The door to my room. The carpet pattern kind of looks like someone spilled a bucket of bleach all over it, right? I didn’t have that impression when I saw it in person, but that’s what I’m thinking now as I look at these pics.
The room
Room 8066 was mine for the night.
Walking into the room for the first time.
Looks pretty good! I like the mural on the back wall.
That’s a nice looking king bed! BTW, the white and brown textures remind me a lot of Westin properties. I like this.
The view from the other side of the room.
Looks a lot like a Westin doesn’t it?
Here’s a wide angle view showing the entire space. I’d rate it as least 35x better than the room I had at the Dulles Airport Marriott.
This is a decently sized room IMHO.
Lounge area, with table. Who knew that Marriott hotels could be stylish?
Hotel chains must get really good deals on these desk lamps because I see them everywhere.
I’m gonna use the **** out of that phone to call for room service later lol.
Think very carefully before you grab that water bottle. You’ll be charged $5 for opening it!
The interior of the closet (just in case you were dying to see it).
The bathroom
The bathroom looked pretty nice too!
There was no tub in this room, but the shower was nice and big.
The toilet. Yee haw.
The vanity was surprisingly basic considering how stylish the rest of the bathroom was.
Complimentary THANN amenities. Typical airport Marriott stuff.
The room itself was pretty nice. Certainly not luxurious or high end (and not near as nice as the room I had at the Calgary Airport Marriott) but very quiet and comfortable – which was exactly what I was looking for.
The view
The view was pretty good too, though it was unfortunate that I wasn’t facing the airport (my room faced south). Rooms on that side of the building must have had one heck of a view!
The view from my room (facing south). My apologies to anyone hoping that the view was going to be at least as half as good as the one I had at the IAH Airport Marriott.
This view was much nicer at sunrise. Sun FTW!
Just to show you how close to SFO this hotel is, you can see it clearly by standing right outside the main entrance.
Looking towards the east, you can get great views of aircraft on runways 28R and L.
The surrounding area
There’s a walking path that goes right along the water’s edge, so this is a great place to do a little plane spotting to kill time.
There’s a nice little outdoor workout area, which is great for mornings as beautiful as this!
Room service
Room service was the biggest disappointment – mostly because of how outrageously expensive it was. And while the menu did look quite good, the food arrived with plastic wrap clinging to it looking as if they had just taken it out of the microwave.
It even tasted mass-produced and frozen dinner-like. I was so exhausted from a long day of traveling that I didn’t have enough energy to go out for dinner, but I’d highly recommend it to anyone thinking about ordering room service here.
I paid way too much money for this ($50!!), which was not even close to being worth it. The food was ok, but not $50 ok.
Final thoughts
I almost felt bad for choosing to stay at an airport hotel when there are so many good (real) hotels in the city of San Francisco. The Westin St Francis on Union Square is just one example of a hotel located in the heart of the city that I really enjoyed, and there are a lot of other fantastic hotels within a stones throw of that place. It’s really hard to go wrong when choosing a pace to stay in San Francisco!
All in all, the Airport Marriott Waterfront at SFO is a good airport hotel. Not bad, but not what I’d consider excellent either. You could very easily get more value for your money by choosing to stay at a nicer airport in the city, assuming you don’t mind the (minor) hassle of getting to and from the airport.
