Just got back from a 4 night visit to the San Mateo Marriott for a conference. First I was put in a king bedded standard room, which was very nice and large, but the Internet in the room did not work. Front desk was very nice about it and after dinner moved me to a suite, which was two (rather small but nice) rooms. Great bathroom, but nothing exceptional. Fantastic bed, great LCD TVs. One thing that has to be said about this hotel is how nice their staff is, from housekeeping to the bartenders. Room service was quick, everything except the orange juice (Sunny D?!) was good.
One quibble: They don't give you real coffee mugs! You get disposable cups for the coffee, not what I would expect at a hotel this nice. Marriott folks, if you are reading this, you have to change that.

I stay at a lot of Marriotts every week, so as a Platinum member I have high expectations, especially from the full-service brands. This was a disappointment from the start. The evening check-in staff was weak. They hardly looked up and greeted me. The Marriott Rewards Elite station/line wasn't even staffed, so I had to wait behind two people who reserved via Priceline and whose reservations couldn't be found. I gave them the benefit of the doubt for being understaffed at 9pm.

However, I noticed that none of my "At your service" pre-check-in requests (Virtual Concierge) were met. No microwave and no milk and cookies and it's now the second night of my stay. Also my rate includes an LCD television and my room has none.

I was also given inaccurate information about phone calls being included and rate information availability that turned me off.

Overall, this hotel is weak and the staff needs better training. I was not impressed in the least, but again, I do have high standards. This may be adequate for the occasional traveler. I thought I'd give this Marriott a try, but I'll probably go back to the Sheraton in Palo Alto.

This Marriott is massive. Multiple elevator banks and a sprawling labyrinth of hallways, make it a sure bet to get lost, unless you bring your own GPS system or a box of bread crumbs.

The hotel itself is great. Big rooms, good service. The bathroom was clean and spacious with separate bath and shower.

I paid a little extra for access to the Concierge Level - very nice. The staff there went the extra mile printing out a document that I couldn't get printed in the "Business Service Center".

However there are a few things worth pointing out:

1. The thermostat in my room was not adjustable. It appears that it is, and I'm pretty good with electronics, but no matter what buttons were pushed, the temperature stayed the same. It was comfortable but I like it cool at night, then warm in the morning. I was out of luck. No I didn't call the front desk because it wasn't THAT important to me.

2. $10/day for internet. When you're paying $250+ for a room, throw in the internet.

3. $14/day for parking. Come on.

4. Not the easiest place to get to from the HIghway. You can see it from the 101 but be prepared to wind around some before getting there. Going south from SFO, take the Route 92 exit. Take the left fork toward Route 92 East. Then take the right fork to Fashion Island Blvd. Turn right which turns into 19th Ave. Turn right onto Grant then right onto Concar. Concar bends left into S. Amphlett. If you end up on 92 West, take the Concar exit, turn right onto Concar which turns into Amphlett.

5. "Business Services" room off the lobby was a misnomer. Yes there are the standard machines there. But I spent almost 30 minutes and $15 to try to print out a couple of pages on the printer there. Brutal.

This would be hands-down an awesome hotel if the bloody heater/air conditioner weren't so old.

Everything else is perfect. Huge rooms, modern showers, great location, great staff...but the heater kept me from sleeping well for 3 nights.

Every night I woke up at 3 am, then 6 am to doodle with this stupid old, loud heater. It was so maddingly frustrating.

The problem was the outside temp was 42 degrees so I had the heater set to 72. It would get so hot in the room that I turned it off and went to sleep.

Then the room got freezing cold and I put the heater back on. Then the room got too cold and on and on it went.

I changed rooms and the same thing happened which leads me to believe it might be a problem in all the rooms.

It's such a shame. Much like universities that remodel everything except the lousy student chairs and the lousy temperature settings, hotels today do the same identical thing!

I don't want fancy towels and fancy bedspreads. I want great climate controls and a great desk. That's it. Maybe new carpeting, too.

Everything else about the San Mateo Marriott was impeccably good elsewhere. If you stayed here in the summer, it might be much better.

Anyway, it isn't worth more than $60 a night. I say this because I truly would have enjoyed a new Best Western over this. Save your money and help a missionary or donate it to finding a cure for cancer.