Firestone Lodge, San Mateo

Early 2008, after 2 years away, I planned a trip back to the San Francisco bay area. Years ago, in a San Mateo publication, I noticed and kept a tiny ad offering nightly lodging at $40, and a low weekly rate. An internet search shows up Firestone Lodge, now at $50 per night, but no weekly rates. A trans-pacific phone-call to the lodge confirmed a weekly rate of $240. There was a catch, though, a U.S. credit card is required for rental, even if one paid cash on walk-in. Luckily I still had an active U.S. cash card which the manager accepted, but no reservations over the phone. As un-luck had it, the day I dropped in on arrival was the last day of a nearby county exhibition, filling Firestone Lodge full with show personnel. I crashed in another motel, came back the next afternoon and got an upstairs room. The entrance to Firestone Lodge is sandwiched between other store fronts along El Camino Real, but its insides go deep, all the way across onto a quiet back street. During my stay, the place seemed no more than 50% full, with easy and ample parkihg. Occationally I'd hear noises in other rooms, but nothing rowdy, nothing disruptive at night. There were 3 towels from the day I checked in, 2 mid-sized and one bath towel. The bedsheets were clean but rumpled, which at first I thought were not changed. Later, I saw clean sheets on the maid's cart that were rumpled too, so I figured they were just not ironed, probably to cut cost. While there, I never requested a change of bedsheets. I don't eat in bed and I don't sweat in winter, so I saw no need to change bedsheets every few days. In fact the one maid there hardly ever offered to clean my room. That was just fine with me; I didn't want anyone to re-arrange my lunch leftovers or snack food, or my paperwork. I trust she would clean the rooms if asked to. There were cable TV, a referegirator, a microwave, and a heater, all in working order. After a week of normal use, the microwave somehow acted up and konked out. I told the manager about it, and he was nice enough to immediately have replaced the faulty micro with a newer one. Even Hilton-class hotels might not respond this quickly. Granted its buildings were a little run-down and the services minimal (front desk open for only 8 hours a day), but this was more than made up by the Lodge's proximity to super-markets, banks, a post office, Asian restaurants, and transportation. Bus# 292 (at Hillsdale Shopping Center) takes you right to the airport. CalTrain stations are within 16-minutes' walk. I highly recommand this place to anyone on a low budget, especially for stays of a week or two (3-weeks maximum). $240 per week comes to only $35 a night. I dare say nowhere else in California can one find this super value. The next time I visit the U.S., I'm going back to the Firestone Lodge, for sure!

Also stayed here for the bar. The place isn't that bad -- pretty much what you would expect for a 1 or 2 star motel -- and it is super close to the convention center. However, I'm pretty sure it is a halfway house for ex-felons. On the second day of the bar, I mention in passing to the guy sitting next to me that I think I'm staying at a halfway house for convicts, and he says (he's a criminal defense guy) that motels are common residences for ex-felons as they have poor credit and have a hard time getting longer term housing. I get back from the bar and there is a police car in front of the motel, picking someone up. It made me a little nervous, but it was probably good to think about something besides the exam, and I had planned to take Benadryl to sleep regardless, so I slept fine. I finished the stay unscathed and passed the bar, so it was ultimately fine.

I stayed here when I took the Bar Exam at the San Mateo Expo Center. There are two places within a short walk to the Expo Center, and the Howard Johnson's, across the street, was full, so I ended up at the Firestone Lodge. If I have to stay in San Mateo again - and I certainly hope I passed so I don't have to repeat this experience - I will stay at the Merriott and walk a little further. I checked into the motel at about 10:30 pm on Monday night and found the room amenable but without a TV. The manager quickly rectified this, but then I noticed the toilet would not flush and the small fridge in the room was not working either. Both were corrected on Tuesday when I was out. My room was not cleaned the entire time I was there, from Monday to Thursday, but on Thursday when I went back to my car during the lunch break I noticed a woman cleaning the rooms. When I checked in, the manager apologized for only providing me with one towel, saying he was having difficulty with his suppliers. I never received additional towels, and because my room was not cleaned during my stay there, I never had a change of towels. It seems there are a number of long-term residents who work at the race track nearby, and some of them can be noisy at inappropriate times. I was awakened by my upstairs neighbor at 6 a.m. one morning, and although the noise from upstairs was not continuous, it was nonetheless enough to keep me from sleeping. For me the last straw was finding a hypodermic needle underneath my bed. Fortunately my 19-month-old son, who had stopped by (with his father) to visit, did not find it. There was a very friendly cat who roamed the place, and he was quite sweet and social. The cat is the best thing going for this place, actually. The bed and the pillows were comfortable. While the price was quite reasonable, I would happily pay more so as to not repeat this experience.