San Francisco’s Marriot Marquis is a welcome place to rest after a tough flight or a long day at a conference, just be careful when you take on the coffee machine.
The first impression of the Marriot Marquis San Francisco when you step out of a cab is that it is a very busy place. Being situated next to the city’s Moscone Centre makes it is the centre for the convention trade which overruns the hotel when a big convention like Dreamforce is on.
Something all major conference destinations do well is dealing with crowds and the Marquis is no exception. The reception desk is efficient, fast and friendly – right down to having no problem with a check-in earlier than the stipulated 4pm. Exactly what a traveller needs after a cramped 13 hour flight.
The room
A standard room at the Marquis is a comfortable size with a genuine king sized bed. Beside the bed is a clock radio that is simple to set and actually works, this is something many other hotels should take note of.
There’s plenty of room to spread out with a good sized bath, plenty of storage space and a deep wardrobe. In the wardrobe is the standard digital safe for valuables.
On the TV there is the usual range of cable TV, free to air stations and in-house movies. Interestingly the cable selection included Russia Today but not the BBC World Service or Al-Jazeera.
Power sockets are plentiful including two mounted on the writing desk for easy laptop charging. Wireless networking, which costs an extra $14.95 a day, gives reasonable download speeds and is more than adequate for most cloud computing tasks.
The Coffee Machine of Doom
Unlike the user friendly beside clock the one cup drip coffee machines are quite possibly the most difficult devices ever installed in a hotel room.
Thinking the first one was broken, I sent it back. It turned out it wasn’t but I never quite got the knack of figuring out how to work them.
Along with being horribly user unfriendly, the disposable cartridges in the thing are horribly environmentally unfriendly. Generally give the things a miss and visit one of the many good coffee shops in the neighbourhood.
Fitness Centre
The fourth floor fitness centre features the usual range of equipment but in a complex the size of the Marriott expect it to be busy at peak times, at 7am the place was packed.
Upstairs on the fifth floor is a respectable 30ft swimming pool which doesn’t get too busy, however more than four lap swimmers at one time will be difficult. The pool is quite shallow at one end and enthusiastic tumble turners should take care at the end of their laps. Note the pool opens at 6am, half an hour after the rest of the fitness centre.
Location
For attending conferences at Moscone the location is unbeatable and being right on Market Street in downtown San Francisco with Union Square, Westfields and all the major shopping outlets close by.
Harbourside tourist attractions are some distance from the hotel although the Marriot is close to the Powell terminus of the city’s iconic cable cars to Fisherman’s Wharf. The vintage K-Line street car service also runs to Fisherman’s Wharf via the Embarcadero waterfront.
Both the BART and Metro are around the corner at the Powell Street Station – the BART takes half an hour to San Francisco airport but it’s unlikely you’ll need that if you can afford to stay at the Marriot. Cabs to the hotel are around $65 including a 20% tip.
Overall
It’s difficult to fault the hotel as the service is friendly and efficient while the rooms are comfortable with all the features required for a good business stay.
Overall, if you’re not on a tight budget and you’re attending a conference at the Moscone Centre or have business in the SoMA district then the Marriot Marquis is a good choice. If you’re in San Francisco for the tourist experience or you have business in the Financial District then you’ll probably find hotels closer to what you’re in town for.
Paul travelled to San Francisco and stayed at the Marriott courtesy of Salesforce to attend their Dreamforce conference.
Marriott Marquis is considered as one of the busiest hotel in San Francisco. It is the best hotel for any conventions, business affairs and meetings. I feel you Paul with the coffee machine because I also experience it and I lost my patience. The hotel is quite expensive but it still worth the stopover.