Delta King

From our room at the back of the steamship on the 3rd floor, we had big windows looking toward Tower Bridge and across the river to the sea lions on the dock. The room was spacious, very clean, and the bed was comfortable. Housekeeping freshened it up nicely when we asked. There was hot water in the shower and everything we needed, including great coffee and tea. We upgraded because we planned a longer stay, and I’m glad we did. Valet parking handled our early departure without any trouble. Pilothouse Restaurant was a quick walk onboard, and Old Sac was easy to get to. A perfect riverside retreat in so many ways!

I’m built like a gorilla, and this old boat made that obvious. The doorways are low, the halls narrow, and the bathrooms tight. I had to turn sideways to brush my teeth because my shoulders hit both walls, and in the shower I couldn’t turn quickly and had to duck to wash my hair under the low ceiling. The room itself is small but manageable. The staff were awesome, kind, and very helpful. Parking isn’t at the hotel, and a larger or taller vehicle can be a challenge. Expect to walk two blocks from a parking area below street level. Smaller cars can use valet parking. There are no elevators, and the floors slope, with stairs that are off camber. It was fun and worth experiencing, especially if you’re into history. Just go in with a historic eye and take it for what it is.

This is a well-kept early 20th century paddle-wheeler with a real local history, and there’s an overall cool factor that makes up for some small drawbacks. The staff were good and it was clean. The climate control was a bit quirky, people sometimes walk along the deck outside your window, and the bathroom is small. It’s a stateroom on a boat that used to be an overnight ferry, so keep that in mind. The deck outside the bar has the best river view in Old Town, and many of the rooms do too.

Old Sacramento is a neat area, but the “experience” wasn’t worth the headache for me. I won’t be back. We stayed for the novelty and found the rooms incredibly tiny, with nowhere to move or store luggage. The noise was awful. Wherever you are on that ship, you hear everything above, below, and around you. We were put in the front room by the front desk and reception. They wouldn’t move us unless we paid a fee about as much as the room, so we were stuck with terrible noise. But I suspect any room would’ve been noisy. The rooms are dated with hardly any ventilation, and the heat/AC had only two settings, much too hot or much too cold. My girlfriend said the lack of ventilation really affected her hair. The local seals barked all night and into the morning. Depending on how you see it, we were either unlucky or lucky with the season. The restaurant’s food and service were both very poor. We asked a waiter for the check, waited 15 minutes, then I went to the bar to ask for it and close out. He just sat on his phone and watched. Hotel and restaurant service were consistently awful.