Had planned to use this hotel as my base and ride the BART back and forth into downtown SF for business to avoid the outrageous hotel rates in SF. Got to the SF airport and called the hotel to request the shuttle and was told the shuttle was out of service and they would reimburse me for the cab fare. Figured the shuttle must have broken down or something, no big deal. Got to the hotel and found out the shuttle was going to be out of service for the foreseeable future even though there were two busses parked at the back of the lot. Explained that I was going to need multiple trips to-from the airport and it was suggested that I use the city bus. The nearest stop is only about a block away. Not exactly what I had in mind when I decided to stay in the hotel. The bus was okay, only cost $2 each way, took 10-15 minutes, probably ran as often as the shuttle would have, and the driver on the first trip was very helpful in letting me know where to get off at the airport. However, the published bus schedule did not seem to have a whole lot of relationship to when the bus showed up. You just had to go the stop and wait for the next bus to come by which, during busy times, is every 20-30 minutes. I had an early morning departure my last day and the hotel arranged for and paid for a car to take me. Don’t know how long it will be before the shuttle is back in service. If you are just making one round trip from-to the airport, the current arrangement is probably better than a shuttle since you take a taxi or car when you need it, don’t have to wait around for the shuttle, and the hotel picks up the cost. However, if you plan to make multiple trips and end up using the bus, it is a bit of a pain in the rear.

So now that you have heard my grip, let’s get on with reviewing the hotel. It is a petty typical Quality Inn. The hotel appeared to be well maintained and clean even though it was showing some minor wear and tear. The room was nice sized and well equipped. In addition to the bed, which was just okay, there was a couch, a work desk, a refrigerator, a microwave, and a coffee pot. The internet connection (wired not wifi) is included. I used it quite a bit and it was always fast. The room appeared clean. However, when I first entered it, it did not smell very good. Could not quite pin down the odor but think it was musty smell with a bit of air freshener to cover it up. The bathroom had a strong musty odor but there was no evidence of mold or other source. I was able to work in the room with the window open which helped quite a bit. Unfortunately, my room faced Airport Blvd which is quite busy and there is no way I could sleep with the window open. I was gone during the day but the same thing with respect to odors when I came back in the evening. The closed window did do a good job of blocking out the street noise.

The trash in the bathroom had not been emptied from the previous guest and the trash can was about half full. There was a partially used sample bottle of shampoo in the shower. Just back of the toilet seat several long coarse black hairs were very plain to see. Clearly the bathroom had not been thoroughly cleaned. The bathroom was appropriately serviced the next day but the long hairs on the toilet remained. It appears there are some problems with housekeeping which was rather surprising given how clean the hotel appeared, in general.

The front desk staff was friendly, efficient, and helpful and I interacted with 3 or 4 different people during my stay. The breakfast was decent. Several hot items plus the usual cereals, yogurt, pastries, juices, fruit, etc. Certainly plenty to get a good start in the morning.

You have to walk a ways to get to a restaurant, except for McDonalds which is across the street. Never did really figure out whether it was a safe neighborhood at night. There is a lot of road traffic, particularly on Airport Blvd, but when I was walking to go eat at night or to catch the bus early in the morning, I was absolutely the only person in sight on the side walk or at the bus stop. Nothing at all threatening but a definitely a bit spooky.

There are a about a half dozen other hotels in the same general area. If I have reason to use a SF airport hotel in the future, I will probably try out a different one. However, if the Quality Inn were the only place available, I would be okay going back.