We've stayed at the Embassy Suites in Lake Tahoe, Monterey and La Jolla and found each to be extremely pleasant. But, this 1 night stay in Sacramento was horrible.

Upon arriving, the valets were extremely helpful about taking our car, but left us (and our bags in the valet parking area) wondering where the bell hops were. With 2 pre-school aged children, we have a lot of luggage to cart around. Needless to say, after standing around for 10 minutes waiting, we just carted everything into the lobby ourselves.

Check-in wasn't much better. They don't have a way to queue in line because the check-in desk is extremely small and very close to the lobby doors so the queue was a jumbled mess.

Finally, after checking in, we were pleasantly surprised with the our room (which we paid extra for to have a view of Sac River and the Tower Bridge on the 7th floor), well, on first look. The accomodations LOOK nice, but are of such poor quality. My son tried to open a drawer and the knob just came right off. After looking around, I noticed that knobs were missing on other furniture as well. The doors of tv cabinet in the bedroom aren't able to open fully (one was blocked by the closet so it seemed like it was only 1/2 open and the other just stopped about 3/4 of the way open.) It was just a dangerous situation with our 2 kids running around. I was afraid one of them would catch the corner in the eye. Our room had 2 double beds. The beds were horribly uncomforable with a hug sagging middle on each.

Now, beware if you have small children and you are staying here. With a river view, you also get a lot of noise and music. There was an event at Raley Field (which is directly across the river from the Embassy Suites) and we could hear loud noises & music from that all night. With 2 small children that we're trying to put to sleep at 8:30pm - loud noises and music at 10pm (kids are still up complaining about the noise) there's a problem. We all just fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. We would have requested a different room, but at this point with all our our stuff spread all out we just didn't bother.

Also, at around 9pm, as a couple of large ferries approached the Tower Bridge, the sound of their horns blowing was soooooo loud. It sounded like it was coming from the next room. Literally, it startled us out of bed to see what the noise was. After running to the window, we all got to watch the Tower Bridge rise up to allow the ferries to pass under. It was a highlight for the kids, though I'd have rather had them in bed sleeping.

Also, the Embassy Suites is literally right next to a train track! Because our kids love trains, it was a highlight - but if you have small children that you're trying to put down for a nap in the afternoon beware! We made the mistake of having our window open but after the smell of the smoke from the train came in, we quickly shut it. And even with the window closed, you'll definitely hear the train whistle and the train as it goes by.

The breakfast was just okay. It just didn't seem up to the standards of other Embassy Suites we've stayed at.

The hotel staff doesn't seem to enjoy working there - literally, no one smiles around here and they don't acknowledge you at all as you walk through the hotel. I guess because we've had such pleasant experiences with the staff at the the other Embassy Suites, it was such a disapointment.

I would have given this a 1 star rating instead of 2 but for a few redeeming qualities. Yes, there are some good things about this hotel. It has a great view of the Sac River and Tower Bridge. You're literally steps away from the river. It would be a great place to stay if you're older or you don't have children you're trying to put to bed early. Its very close to all the fun of Old Sacramento.

FYI, Joe's Crab Shack is an entertaining place to take kids to eat (and the food is decent). There's a lot to see (hanging from the ceilings) and its loud so no one notices if your child is making noise.