The Citizen Hotel has an event space on its 7th floor. Yesterday morning at 645am someone began soundchecking for an event that, as it turned out, began at 830am (on a Friday morning). Every few minutes they would blast U2 and "check 1, 2" into the very loud microphone. The room they gave me was on the 10th floor directly above the event area. Two other people in my party (on the 7th fl) itself were also woken up. We'd had a tough week and were very much looking forward to a good night of sleep. At 830am the sound of some large event (applause, crowd laughter, speeches) began. So several issues: why did they not warn me that such an event was scheduled at 830am? More importantly, why would they schedule such an event at 830am when the event area was surrounded by dozens of rooms? I complained and they were relatively friendly, but when they discovered that my room was purchased through Expedia, they suggested there was nothing they could do but they would offer me a $50 credit at their hotel restaurant. This seemed small comfort given that they'd already agreed to comp all three rooms that had problems. I ultimately convinced them to give me equivalent value for the rooms they'd agreed to comp.

So in the end I reached a satisfactory solution, but it was quite surprising that it took so much work on my part (and they did not have a more proactive attitude) and indeed they did not seem particularly apologetic about what I saw as egregiously bad hotel management. Given that they have just opened, you'd expect mix-ups and kinks, but an attitude that does not reflect a particularly enthusiastic attitude toward fixing problems is one that cannot easily be changed. It likely reflects the attitude of senior management and manifests itself in the way staff are hired and trained.

This all said, the rooms were very nice. But I had to work too hard to get satisfaction in the face of a hotel mistake and did not get the good night's sleep that I really needed. A recommendation for the hotel: just because customers purchased nights of stay through Expedia does not mean the hotel should wash itself of responsibility for issues and try to direct customers to deal with Expedia's bureacracy. Please do yourself a favor and work out a policy for handling these sorts of things administratively as I'm sure you will get many customers through web reservations.

Pinch me ... this can't be Sacramento!

I travel there on biz at least once a month. What can I say besides this hotel is just spectacular! It's a grown up, big city kind of experience that oozes the history and charm (who knew!0 of Sacramento. Seriously, this has to be the finest lodging establishment in town, bar none.

Speaking of bars, they have two really good ones. One inside Grange (the restaurant which is amazing in itself) and another perched above the lobby called Scandal. I didn't see anything scandalous take place there, but when the lights go down, one can only imagine!

Room are a little small but sumptous. Comfy beds, vibrant warm colors, cool bathrooms and a big flatscreen TV. And the views were fun. (Hotel is 15 stories tall and the higher you go, the better the views.) The building itself is a historic landmark and despite the newness of the hotel, it feels like its been there for years and steeped in history.

Back to the restaurant --- Grange. I've eaten at all the good places in town and this one ranks among the top three. The chef cooks all things local and deserves the praise he's getting. Try the shortribs or any pasta and you'll be very very happy. They also have a two-story wine tower with the state's best bottlings.

Try this place ... you'll return as I did!

I was looking for a hotel with quality and character and I found it. It was a new hotel in the area and I took a chance and won. It has been retored from an old law office, it was decorated with class and sophication, the towels and bedding were top notch. The service was flawless. The view from the room was of the Ceasar Chavez Plaza and the City Hall, beatifully lit making it a nice walk in the evening. It was a quiet, clean and well maintained hotel, the newspaper in the morning was a nice touch. I would definately recommend to my friends.

I booked a suite at new The Citizen Hotel for New Year's Eve. My husband and I were recently married and didn’t get to take a honeymoon, so this was our exciting getaway. When we got to our room it was clear that the room we reserved was not the room they gave us. We were treated extremely rudely by all staff members and it was obvious that they gave our room to someone else and made no effort to fix the situation. I told them I was disappointed and considering checking out. At that point the manager said that I should check out and refused to speak with me face-to-face. We then left the hotel feeling like we were not citizens at all and that they didn't care about us as guests. I have never been treated that way in my life.