I needed a hotel in San Francisco on Wednesday night, and probably should have booked it more than a day in advance. I checked about a month ago and rates were crazy, so I figured I’d come back and book closer to the date. What I failed to consider is that this is one of the busiest weeks of the year in San Francisco, with all the stuff going on this weekend.
So on Tuesday I noticed that everything in the city was either $500+ per night or sold out, so instead looked near the airport, since my flight was only arriving late at night. Even airport hotels were $300+ per night, so I settled on the Four Points by Sheraton San Francisco Airport, which was a mere 4,000 Starpoints per night. Given the paid rate of $343+ per night, it seemed like a no brainer, and on a cent per point basis was my best hotel redemption ever.
Rate options
The shuttle runs from the airport every 20 minutes, and I only had to wait about 10 minutes before one of the shuttles arrived. The Four Points is the first stop, and maybe a five minute ride from the airport.
Hotel exterior
Hotel exterior
The lobby felt a bit “aged,” though on the plus side check-in was efficient and my key card was already pre-made. The hotel was sold out so no upgrades were available.
Lobby
Lobby
I was assigned room 303, on the third floor.
Hallway
While the public areas of the hotel felt old and weren’t exactly nice, the room was at least recently renovated, and was quite nice. It featured a comfortable queen bed, desk, and flat screen TV.
Entrance
Room
Bed
TV
Desk
The room boasted breathtaking and panoramic views of a Shell gas station.
View from the room
The bathroom was simple with a sink, toilet, and shower.
Sink
The water pressure and temperature in the shower were excellent, though the shower head was at most five feet off the ground. The hotel also had dispensers instead of bottles of toiletries.
Shower
Dispensers
At check-in I had the choice between breakfast and 250 Starpoints as my Platinum amenity. I initially selected breakfast as my amenity, for which I was given this card:
Breakfast options
I wasn’t really hungry in the morning (especially after seeing what my choices were) so didn’t have breakfast, and instead asked them to swap out the points at check-out.
The hotel also had a simple gym.
Gym
On the whole the hotel felt a bit shabby all around, and was probably the least upscale Starwood hotel I’ve ever stayed at. Then again, it was my first stay at a Four Points, and I realize they’re competing more with Holiday Inn Express and Hampton Inn than Westins and Hyatts. The whole hotel did smell kind of like bad breath, and I was chewing gum most of the time, so doubt it was me. 😉
Anyway, there are definitely nicer SFO area hotels, like the Hyatt Regency. At the end of the day this is a clean, simple hotel, and I’d probably only return if I were in a similar situation where I could book this place for 4,000 Starpoints and the alternatives were $300+ per night.
Folks were at sfo overnight on Tues. Had trouble getting them a cheap room. Now I know why!
@george: right, I guess biotech is an industry - but it wasn't when that sign was put up!
I call this property the 2 points SFO, because it doesn't merit the extra 2 points.
Like Ric, I have been upgraded to the bi-level loft room, which I absolutely hated. You could not do everything on one level. wifi wasn't working when I was there, so you had to use the desk for internet on one level and the rest of the stuff was on the other level.
I hated that hotel and at...
I call this property the 2 points SFO, because it doesn't merit the extra 2 points.
Like Ric, I have been upgraded to the bi-level loft room, which I absolutely hated. You could not do everything on one level. wifi wasn't working when I was there, so you had to use the desk for internet on one level and the rest of the stuff was on the other level.
I hated that hotel and at the time, Starwood had the old Sheraton Gateway hotel which was a much better cheap backup option as rooms there were usually available for around $100 or so per night. That property is now a Hilton. (And I recommend it if you need Hilton stays, they did a nice renovation, has a nice exec club, nice breakfast.)
None of them compare to the SFO Hyatt IMHO.
Haven't tried the new Aloft yet, but when I looked rates were equal or higher than the full service Westin SFO, which provides breakfast for platinums. Westin SFO is an ok hotel with great beds, etc, nothing special except for their breakfast benefit (no, not the normal one, all plats get breakfast at this property.) When there's availability, I can get this property for around $140++ at my corp rate.
-David
@snic. biotech
@lucky +1 for that Aloft. It just opened a few weeks ago and it is awesome :D Next time.
The loft suite faces the side of the hotel. For a nothing special 4 Points, that suite was certainly a novelty.
They do have a shuttle that's shared with several other hotels.
Coins, at least you didn't get a rear facing (highway) view.
@Lucky
I hope you're sticking around this weekend for all the fun in San Francisco. There are literally 100's of events happening in this city this weekend from sporting events, music festivals, cultural celebrations, etc, and a lot of them are free!
Safe Travels, if not
Hyatt regency Sfo for 8000 is not bad either
"The room boasted breathtaking and panoramic views of a Shell gas station" ... not to mention view of the sign proclaiming South San Francisco as "The Industrial City." Always cracks me up. What industries are left in South SF?
@ Chris -- I probably could have, but for an extra 3,000 points I could have saved $180+ (when you factor in tax), so outright redeeming points seemed like the best option.
@ BenjaminN -- I don't! :D
@ TJ -- Was hoping to try Aloft but it was sold out.
Try the new Aloft SFO Apt next time! It just opened in September and seems a class above all the tired airport hotels @SFO.
There are so much stuff going on this week in the Bay Area.
How do you like our gas prices right now?
Ben, the prices were because it is Oracle OpenWorld in SF this week.
weird with the dispenser ... i stayed there in June and had actual bottles or tubes. But yes i can understand the value of this hotel. I stayed during the US Open and that was $300+/night as well.
@ShaneInTulsa -- I certainly hope that someone else is paying for your gas. That Shell station charges outrageous prices. If you have a Costco membership, you can save about 40 cents per gallon, and it's closer to the airport!
I know that Shell well. It's my go to gas station when I fly in and out of SFO.
When I want to stay near SFO, I typically stay at the Hilton. Diamond upgrades are frequent and you get great bay views with aircraft landings. For an avgeek, it's a killer place.
Given you have a Hilton Credit Card, you should use your points and stay there one night. It's fabulous.
Could you have redeemed 1,000 SPG points to secure 50% of the rack rate? If my math is correct, that would have given you a $164.50 room rate and a redemption of over 16 cents/point
Welcome to SF during Open World, not to mention all the other festivates gearing up for this weekend.
Perhaps an upgrade would have changed your opinion of the hotel, but probably not.
I have stayed at this Four Points more than a dozen times. I picked up loads of points and free nights with SPG on $80 stays.
The best thing about this hotel the past several years was free parking. This year they added $10 per night charge. The other Starwood Hotels at the airport have always charged for parking.
You missed...
Perhaps an upgrade would have changed your opinion of the hotel, but probably not.
I have stayed at this Four Points more than a dozen times. I picked up loads of points and free nights with SPG on $80 stays.
The best thing about this hotel the past several years was free parking. This year they added $10 per night charge. The other Starwood Hotels at the airport have always charged for parking.
You missed out on the upgrade to the bi-level loft with the living room downstairs and bedroom upstairs.
These rooms are one of the largest rooms I have had at Four Points anywhere.
I thought I had a review of the hotel on my blog, but I can't locate one.
welcome to the glamorous world of business travel. Often this level of hotel is all that your company's per diem will allow. At least the shower was hot, the room was clean, and no one next door kept you up all night with blaring music, partying, etc. Four Points are almost always are a great budget alternative when you just need a place to rest your head.