My standard hotel reviews include a breakdown by the following topics. Feel free to skip to whichever section you find most interesting.

  • Highlights
  • Lobby
  • Room
  • Hotel Space / Ambiance
  • Food & Drink
  • Fitness
  • Miscellaneous

 

Highlights: Courtyard by Marriott Richmond Berkeley

This was a quaint little East Bay hotel, about 20 minutes away from Berkeley. Highlights include the very large suite we were in, as well as the annoying fire alarm at 7AM on Sunday morning. What a frustrating experience, most likely due to some damn idiot burning something in a microwave, or worse, smoking it up in their room. Powered through it and got out of there as fast as we could, to a bunch of people in the lobby milling about waiting for the go ahead to go back to their rooms. No explanation, apology, or anything when I called to check out. No breakfast either, don’t bother coming here.

 

LOBBY & CHECK-IN

Lobby is to the left, with two check in desks. Just around the corner is their small market, with snacks, packaged meals, and drinks. Titanium benefits included either $10 at the Market or Bistro (to the right of entrance) or points. We opted for points. No breakfast included. We were upgraded to a King suite, so that was nice.

 

ROOM

Our room was an upgraded king suite. and quite dark when we arrived. It was very large and spacious, with a separate living room, microwave, and refrigerator. The desk was a bit awkwardly placed in the middle with poor lighting, but I was able to move a lamp on top of the desk to improve it.

 

HOTEL SPACE / AMBIANCE

Seeing a larger than normal number of patrons after the fire drill, it ran the gamut from middle aged families, older couples, young millennials (I assume), and more.

 

FOOD & DRINK

We had to rush out in the morning and didn’t check out their Bistro options. However, as mentioned they don’t have breakfast, just a la carte options from the Market or Bistro.

 

FITNESS

Fitness center is located on the first floor, with pool available as well.

 

MISCELLANEOUS

As the lady is making regular weekend trips to Berkeley for a climbing class, my position is to facilitate transport and lodging to the area on a regular basis. Next time, I’ll stay elsewhere, as this was a poor or average experience, at best, even if you exclude the fire alarm – which wouldn’t be the hotel’s fault. Perhaps there are better options, closer to Berkeley. They were able to apply my Marriott gift card so I was able to save another ~9-10% the stay, which is always nice to have.

 

 

Featured Image of a beautiful pool area from the Courtyard by Marriott Richmond Berkeley site. Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links which, should you click through and/or make a purchase, grant me a commission. Also, I only post in the best interest of my readers. Lastly, thank you for supporting my blog and my travels. 

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