Waterfront Hotel, Oakland

The valet scraped up the side of our van - when I called, the front desk did not deny it but said I couldn't prove it because I left the hotel already (10 minutes earlier). I left 2 messages and they told me a manager would call and I NEVER received a call back. Hospitality and professionalism at it's WORST!

The Waterfront Hotel has the best value for the money anywhere in the Jack London Square area of Oakland, CA. It's very safe, clean, & the staff go way out of their way. Of the 3 hotels within a 3-4 block area, the Waterfront Hotel is the cleanest, safest hotel around. this is the only hotel my family & I would stay at. I would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone who asks. It's also convenient to the Alameda/Oakland Ferry to Piers 39 & 41 as well as Fisherman's Wharf, Scott's & Kincaids restaurants as well as Yoshi's. Also convenient to AMTRAK & within an approximate 20 minute drive to Oakland International Airport.

Living in a small condo or loft (as many do) in the Jack London Square, China Town, Old Oakland or the Downtown area of Oakland, usually means that when guests come to visit from out of town, locals need to find or suggest convenient, comfortable and affordable places for their guests to stay. For the past few years, my choice has been The Waterfront Hotel, and the feedback from my guests has continually been superb. I was surprised to discover that The Waterfront Hotel was missing from the list of "Top 10 Hotels" in Oakland. Then, I read the reviews, and was even more shocked, because they did not describe The Waterfront Hotel I know. And then I saw how old the reviews were - the most recent one was from February of 2008! Well, it's time for a more recent update and review. A few years ago, the very popular and successful Joie de Vivre hotel management company took the reigns and they've made significant improvements throughout the hotel. I believe almost all of the prior complaints are now a distant memory. Although Miss Pearl's Jam House has replaced the old restaurant and bakery, right next door is one of the very best seafood restaurants one could find in the area: Scott's, which is always accommodating and the catering menu is usually priced well below what one would expect for the quality experienced at any function or event hosted on their property. I can't say that The Waterfront Hotel has made a complete turnaround, because I had never stayed their "before," but their "after" is a slam dunk!

We and several of our guests stayed at the hotel during our wedding weekend. Everything about the hotel was wonderful--clean, comfortable, great harbor view from our room, and friendly staff. HOWEVER, we would never go back to the restaurant. They cancelled our wedding breakfast and didn't tell us until I called to confirm it the day before, and then promised to substitute breakfast for our group at no charge with reserved table and centerpiece in the hotel proper, but never followed up. It was extremely embarrassing and frustrating when we all arrived for breakfast. The front desk staff saved the day and set us up in their breakfast room. The restaurant never called to apologize or to make amends in any way. We really liked the hotel room, very comfortable beds, the friendly staff and the location. Hopefully the restaurant will improve with time.

Room was clean and spacious, however they knew we had four adults occupying the room and we didn't have enough towels/glasses. The worst part was a checkout. We had booked online with the bed/breakfast pkg. and they said breakfast wasn't included and they also tried to charge an extra $20.00 for parking. Their site said parking for one car was free. We also presented our AAA card and they only gave us a $2.00 discount. Then they changed their statement and said we did get the bed/breakfast pkg.after arguing with them but since we presented the AAA card none of that was available and again said no breakfast and a charge of 20.00 to park. We said to forget the AAA card. We then got breakfast and free parking but the rate went back to 209.00. Room really wasn't worth it - it was quite dated and you shared a balcony with two other rooms which wasn't real secure. Anyway, we won't go back.

Great location, comfy bed, wonderful water pressure...but the train runs through town all night long. They failed to mention this. Unless you're a sound sleeper, find somewhere else.

We came from the UK and were in the middle of a tour all round - we had been travelling 15 hours in the coach and arrived at the hotel at around 9pm absolutely exhausted! The sight that caught our eyes was a fire blazing in the fireplace, where we all crammed around, bearing in mind this was October and was fairly chilly! We sat around for about 10 minutes until we got our keys from our tour guide and we went to our rooms. My husband and I had a most amazing room, we opened the door and peered in, and couldnt believe it, the window at the end of the room was so far away - we had been given an enormous room, fabulous kind size beds, a lounge area by the balcony, dining area too, plus all the normal amenities, walk in closet, en suite, everything was beautiful, especially after our long drive from LA - we just chilled out in our room and invited our friends (10 of them along for coffee and snacks later on listening to music. I found the staff extremely friendly and helpful and would definitely go again. I loved the sound of the trains tooting in the early hours, reminiscent of the old hitchcock movies. Adrienne & Avi from London

12/31/07 .i love the front desk staff great job,specially Christian.great service rooms were wonderful i would love to stay again.WE had dinner at Jack Bistro.helpful staff.

Comfortable setting, great food and location. Nothing better than hanging out at Jacks Bistro, listening to Simon on the Piano and talking to Jerry at the Bar. I will not stay anywhere else while in the Bay Area.

We stayed overnight after the Giants game. What a treat! The staff was wonderful! We enjoyed a swim in the pool after a long day at the ballpark. Sunday morning we had a tasty room service eggs benedict, and then spent the rest of the morning strolling thru the farmers market at Jack London Square. We were even allowed a late check out so that we could rent a kayak and cruise the bay. What a fabulous weekend!!