Motel 6 Oakland, CA - Embarcadero

My brother and I have been here for two weeks, and when we tried to extend our stay we were suddenly told we had to leave because guests can’t book longer than two weeks. Nobody mentioned this rule at check-in or during our stay. I tried making a new reservation under my name, but the front desk employee refused and said my brother couldn’t stay. We’re homeless, it was raining, and we had nowhere to go on short notice. I explained that, but he said our situation wasn’t his problem and that we still had to leave. It was deeply upsetting and dismissive. We’ve been respectful, followed the rules, and paid on time. Being homeless is already hard, and being pushed out without warning made us feel discriminated against. I came here during a difficult time, and things were disappointing from the first day. The heater didn’t work, there was no microwave, and the refrigerator was extremely small. None of that matched the booking website, and it made an already stressful situation worse. This whole experience is unacceptable. I’ll be contacting the corporate office with a formal complaint. We thought our business and money mattered here, but it hasn’t felt that way.

I’ve stayed here a few times. It’s affordable, well located, and has a pretty good view. There’s a nice waterside area for a stroll, and you can walk out onto a dock behind the property. It isn’t especially quiet, but it’s not terribly loud either. One of the best Motel 6 places I’ve stayed at. The pet policy is a big draw for me since I sometimes travel with my dogs. You can bring up to two pets if you tell them, and they place a $100 hold on your card, refunded after the stay, though that can take a week or two. This last time, the room I booked wasn’t available. Stephany made sure we got the difference refunded and offered the correct room once it opened up. Since we only had one more night, we decided to stay in the room we’d been given.

I’ve stayed with Motel 6 for years, back when it was known as the most pet-friendly option around. I don’t travel with a pet anymore, but that history kept me loyal. This visit has made that loyalty harder to hold onto. The room was about what I expected for this kind of motel. The front-desk experience was what soured things. Staff were inflexible and nearly rude, and even small problems were difficult to sort out. I asked for a water-view room and was told they wouldn’t know availability until check-in. Later, I was told I’d booked “incorrectly,” so I paid for a more expensive room. The TV didn’t work the first night. Maintenance changed the batteries the next day, but the screen went out completely on night two, and instead of moving me to another room, they told me to wait for maintenance again. The outlet also wouldn’t hold my laptop plug, though I didn’t mind that much and understood what I was paying for. The real issue was the lack of flexibility, empathy, and professionalism. Corporate customer service was polite, but said policies had changed and problems now had to be handled by the individual hotel. When a franchise location falls short, loyal guests like me are left with nowhere to turn. It’s disappointing when a company’s commitment to guests makes long-standing loyalty fade.

The good thing was being right by the lake. The room looked clean, though the floor was filthy. There were lots of homeless people sleeping in the stairways and knocking on doors, and the front desk man was one of the least friendly people I’ve met. There was no refrigerator, so I had to go next door for ice. The listing mentioned coffee in the lobby, but there isn’t a lobby, which meant no coffee.