We spent 5 nights there for our winter break vacation so the kids could see some gold rush sites and visit the state capitol. The room setup was excellent for a family of 4 - we had a river view room with 2 beds and the living room had a pullout sofa bed.

The room was spacious and had nice touches like large flat screen TVs and an MP3 player hookup on the clock radio. The breakfast was included and was excellent - self-serve except if you wanted omelettes cooked to order, with a wide variety of choices. The food could have been better (it was excellent for a pre-prepared buffet) but the convenience couldn't be topped.

The parking was outrageously expensive, but I knew that up front and just figured I'd live with it. The valets were generally prompt with bringing the car up front.

The location is wonderful as you can walk to Old Sacramento and to the Capitol - we even walked on to Sutter's Fort from the Capitol, but that was a bit of a hike for the kids.

The business center is small and self serve (2 computers and printers) but is free, so printing boarding passes the night before we left was easy enough.

I really enjoy this hotel. It is convenient to several attractons in Sacramento and the Capitol. Its across the street from Old Sacramento. The staff is great and helpful. The breakfast buffet is really good. Parking price is a bit steep.

My husband and I wanted to do something special with the kids for New Years Eve, so we booked a room here since it is located right on the river, next to the tower bridge where they do the fireworks and because it's right next to Old Town Sacramento. We had a N facing room which is the front of the hotel. We were on the 7th floor in the NW corner and could see the Tower Bridge and the former Money Store building from our room. The W side faces the river but all the rooms are also next to the elevators. We were able to check in early and check in was quick and easy. We thought the room was nice, comfortable and clean. We had a great time and great food at Joe's Crab Shack which is only a 2 min walk from the hotel. We walked around Old Town and took a carriage ride that went all the way to the Capital. Our driver was great and gave as lots of historical information along the way. The kids really enjoyed this. We took the kids swimming in the indoor pool. It's a pretty small pool and with the hotel being sold out for New Years, the pool and hot tub were packed with kids, but still a good time! I totally dropped the ball and did not get dinner reservations anywhere in Old Town or at the hotels resturant so we decided on room service. It was really fast, only 30 minutes, and the food was hot and tasty. At nine o'clock we went outside to watch the fireworks, which were very well done! The hotels location was very convenient for this, just right out the front door and a few steps to the left. With it being New Years Eve we expected to see people partying and intoxicated people and we did but we did not encounter anyone too out of line, but we also stayed in our room after the 9:00 pm fireworks since we were with the kids. One minor draw back we noticed, the walls are kind of thin or else our neighbors were just really loud, but at 2:30 a.m we were awoken by a very energetic 3-way. My husband and I actually found it pretty amuzing for the first 5 mintes but after 45 minutes it got pretty old. Especially the banging against the wall and one of the women liked to scream the F word a lot! Man am I glad the kids were sound asleep in the other room cuz that I would not have been able to explain away! We had the cook to order breakfast in the am and it was quite good and we found seating in the resturant. Our only real issue was with the valet. It took 30 minutes for them to bring our car out so defiantely call ahead so you don't have to wait. Overall we had a fantastic time and really enjoyed this hotel for our family New Year's Eve celebration!

THE GOOD

The hotel is very close to the train museum which is why we stayed here. With two young kids, we couldn't resist going to the Polar Express event offered at the train museum and this hotel is just blocks away....very convenient. The hotel itself packs some nice amenities including an indoor pool, a basic fitness room, and a rather outstanding complimentary breakfast buffett. The expanse of the hotel lobby was quite promising; it had a little hint of a nice resort. I should also note that our initial interactions with the hotel team were very positive in that the reservationist was very accomodating and the valet seemed helpful and concerned about us. The room set up was nice; we liked having a separate sleeping area from the living room.

THE BAD

After our initial positive service experience, the rest of the services we were provided was spotty at best. Our room key was de-magnetized somehow while we were at the pool and it took 3 calls and finally a trip to the front desk to get some attention. Not very service oriented. I was actualy told "that someone was on the way" but no-one ever came. I could actually see 3 employees at the front desk (2 at the resgistration booth and 1 security guard) just standing there while we were waiting.....no hustle....Poor guest focus.

The room itself was musty and the shower head suffered from some caked on mildew. And then again, let me mention housekeeping service. Neither our room nor our travel companions' rooms were cleaned. Housekeeping conveniently comes by just as we return from a day out with the kids (approximately 6 hours of being away) and then asks if we'd like to have our room serviced. Wonderful, just as the boys are nodding off for a nap. We probably would have given them the benefit of the doubt had our friends not suffered the same issue. Poor guest focus.

THE UGLY

There were very few smiles given by the employees here. Not sure what the deal is with that.. Everything just seemed so unwelcoming. Exactly the opposite of what I would expect from someone in the hospitality industry.

To top it off, the bell staff lied to us. I won't go into the any more details on that as it will just get me going again.....but it was consistent with what I was coming to expect from the staff here.

IN CONCLUSION

For the price point, I wasn't expecting 5 star anything, but I did have some basic expectations. I rated this a "2" because we did enjoy the breakfast and the size of the room. Unless there is some compelling reason in the future, we will not be staying at am Embassy Suites again.