I was pleasantly surprised with my stay at this hotel. I wasn't expecting much but had a very good experience at this property. I checked in at 5 PM after a quick flight from Ontario. The entrance to the hotel was a bit tough to figure out due a unique left hand turn lane. Parking was free and there were plenty of spots. The design of the entrance forces one to walk around the Porte Coche to enter if one parks in the front lot.
The lobby entrance is very bright and relatively welcoming. The front desk is set up with two stations as one enters into the hotel. There is a little snack shop off the lobby as well as a computer station. The restaurant/bar is a few steps from the front desk and a straight shot from the entrance.
I was checked in by the manager and my Starwood Perferred Guest card placed me on the fourth floor. This was the SPG floor, which surprised me, since I got my room at a significantly reduced rate. I was very pleased when I opened the door to my room. It was large and well appointed. The room had two extremely comfortable queen beds, a nice size desk, a flat screen tv, coffe maker, and good lighting. I appreciated the free wi-fi as well.
The room does not have a refrigerator nor could the hotel accomodate that request. I am diabetic so I had to rely on an ice bucket to keep my insulin cool. The management should make note of this and buy some refrigerators. In addition, the room only had a shower and not a bath. The shower was large and had great water pressure, but I like taking baths so this was disappointing as well. On the upside, the bathroom amenities were of high quality and as were the towels.
Noise was not much of an issue for me. The hotel is over the flight path from Sacramento Airport and I did hear occassionally hear planes but no car noise at all. I did not hear room doors slam or housekeeping in the morning. The hotel seemed pretty empty. Without any noise, I slept very, very well.
There is a small gym on the first floor with reasonably nice aerobic equiptment that comes with small tv screens. Free weights were available as well to use. There were no towels to dry off the equipment and no staff ever came in to check. They have a small pool and whirlpool outside. It was way too cold and windy for my use, but it did look sufficient.
I did eat dinner in the hotel. The food was mediocre at best and the service from the bartender was much to be desired. He was not customer friendly in any way and spent some of his time chatting on his cell phone. The sandwich I ordered was under ten dollars but I probably would drive somewhere to eat or bring something back to my room. The service made the dining experience pathetic and the food isnt worth being treated unattentively.
I did not eat breakfast at the hotel but did notice it was over ten dollars to eat at their buffet. On a plus side the hotel is close to the airport and to downtown. One needs a car to get downtown but its very close. They offer shuttle service to the airport.
Overall, I really enjoyed my stay. I am not sure I would want to pay rack rates for this property, which I have seen as high as $170.00 but I would stay here again at the discounted rate I got this hotel for. I think its a find in the Natomas area, and only hope more stores/restaurants will be built to offer guests more choices and options for dining.
In addition, I hope the management of this property reads tripadvisor.com and gets rid of the unfriendly bartender and buys some mini-fridges for guests.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.