Hampton Inn Oakland Downtown-City Center

The rooms were clean and roomy, and both the staff and the room were great. Parking is valet only, and some rooms look out onto the alley. It's close to Chinatown and easy to reach from the freeway.

The room was clean and fairly cozy, and the location was decent, with quick BART access and good parts of town nearby without being in a terrible area. Breakfast was included and the food was fine, but the coffee was undrinkable. They say you can get fresh towels during your stay, but when I asked a housekeeper for clean ones, she made it a big hassle and acted like I was imposing. That was disappointing and unnecessary. Just an okay stay, and I'm not sure I'd return.

I was in town for work for two nights this month. When I first entered the room, there was an odd smell that I thought might be mildew or mold, but I didn't consider it a big deal. That night, I noticed a strong urine odor while trying to sleep. I left early for work the next day, then came back at 6 p.m. and asked a coworker to check the bed because I thought the smell might be in my head. We found urine on the left side of the box spring, apparently from a previous guest. The staff member at the front desk brushed off my call, saying it was too late to bring it up, and assumed I'd done it myself. She told me to put up with it for the last night. I'd traveled five hours for this work trip and didn't want to spend both nights sleeping on urine. After two coworkers spoke with her, I was moved to another room, where the sunshade didn't work. They offered free water to make up for the awful room and experience, how sweet. If sleeping on someone else's bodily fluids doesn't bother you, fine, but for a work trip, dealing with the attitude and urine is not worth it. Book somewhere else.

The room was a good price, and the location is probably just a block from wherever you're headed. My main complaint was the parking arrangement: there's no suitable parking available, so expect to pay $50 for a third-party valet. I also found blood splatter before finishing this review, which brought my rating down to three.