Extended Stay America San Rafael Francisco Blvd Ea

For $137 for one night, this was a letdown. The room lamp didn’t work, the ceiling light flickered the whole time, and the key card only worked about every other attempt. I’ve never stayed somewhere that didn’t provide shampoo. There was just one little bar of soap for everything. Breakfast was nearly laughable: all they had was coffee, and it tasted like faintly colored water. Definitely not worth the money.

I come here often for work, and it’s good value when I’m working in town. The rooms are clean, the pillows are really comfortable, and the staff are very friendly. There’s enough parking, Target is very close, and eateries aren’t far away. Quite a few local places will deliver food to your room.

If you need a quiet night, this place isn’t for you. Contractors and road crews staying for the week drink and smoke heavily, make a lot of noise, play loud Latin music with bass, and yell in Spanish down the hall. The freeway is loud on the west side, there are noisy people behind the building through much of the day and night, and dog poop is everywhere. Vehicles have also been broken into. The only positive for me is that the rooms are nice, though the water pressure is painfully low. Parking is a mess, with large trucks, pickups with trailers, and haulers taking up about half the spaces. Management doesn’t address it, though those vehicles should be on the street in front of the hotel. Sidewalks and the lot are always dirty because of some of the residents. One elevator is always out, so each ride can mean a wait of over five minutes. It’s shared with staff who can’t or won’t speak English, and there’s a maintenance man who seems creepy and is always smoking by the back entrance. People also smoke right outside the doors, despite having to go 100 feet from both entrances and two extra exit doors. That maintenance guy is always watching, which feels weird. The complimentary breakfast is a joke. The coffee is nasty brown water, the packaged muffins are dry, the oatmeal is always gone, and the coffee runs out before 8:30 a.m. The coffee is really terrible. Key cards stop working unexpectedly, so you have to go to guest services, where service is often slow or absent. Sometimes one employee is handling a line of people. It’s especially frustrating when you’re carrying bags and can’t get into your room.

The cleanest ESA I’ve stayed at by far. The staff are helpful and friendly, and the rooms are spacious and well equipped. I’ll definitely stay here again when I’m working in the area.