This isn't just a boat, it's the sister ship to the one that cruises the Mississippi, except that this one stays docked. Try this hotel if you're looking for a destination. It is only a couple of steps from Old Sac, with it's shops and food and music, but we chose the Delta King for our anniversary because we wanted a unique experience, and we weren't disappointed. The chef's tasting menu at the on-site Pilothouse Restaurant with paired wines was very excellent- anyone who chooses a Rombauer chardonnay to pair with fish knows what they're doing. Watching the sun set and then the moon set over the river from the veranda outside our room made the finish to our evening special.
Yes, the rooms are on the small side (it's a boat), and if you're over 6'5", you won't fit into the shower, but it's a boat, which means it's ON the water, and the history and ambiance is what sets this hotel apart.

The hotel was quaint and cozy. The staff were all professional and very helpful. I enjoyed my and would defiantly stay again.

I thought this would be a fun place to stay, on a old stationary riverboat in the middle of Old Town Sacramento. I even paid extra for a riverside room with a better view.

When I got there, we were given a dockside room, with only a partial riverview (if you go outside and crane your neck). This was even though we paid extra for a riverside room and the hotel was pretty empty (off season).

The rooms were small, but cute. A little musty and no A/C (there is a small electric room heater, but we didn't use it).

We recently spent a weekend in Sacramento and stayed aboard the historic Delta King, a riverboat converted to a floating hotel that is permanently moored adjacent to Front Street in Old Sacramento. Upon check-in we were upgraded to a larger room, which turned out to be a very good thing, as even the larger room was quite small.

I should probably make the most important point first. The Delta King is a converted 1920s paddle-wheel steamboat, and therefore does not have to meet building standards. So rooms are small, ceilings are low, floors are uneven, plumbing is sometimes dysfunctional, and walls are thin. At various times since the 1920s the boat has been in California, in British Columbia, and even underwater (yes, sunk in port for several months in the 1980s). So staying at the Delta King is definitely a unique experience. If you are looking for a hotel dressed up like a boat, what you will find is a boat dressed up like a hotel, so you may want to look elsewhere.

Other than the historical significance, probably the best thing about the Delta King is the Pilothouse restaurant, which is hard to beat for a romantic evening dinner, and offers a full menu as well as a tasting menu with matched wine and food.

But there are a lot of drawbacks to the Delta King. Probably the most significant is the noise. I have stayed in approximately 200 different hotels around the world. The Delta King is by far the noisiest hotel I have ever stayed in. Part of this is external: the Delta King is moored right next to a train station (local tourist train rides) with frequent train horns blaring, and it is right next to Old Sac, where drunken tourists are screaming, singing, and enjoying loud music. Another source of the noise is internal: everything on the Delta King makes noise. People walking by your door sound like they are a military marching unit. When people use the restroom in the next room, you worry that you will get splashed. It is that loud.

The amount of internal noise depends on how busy the hotel is, but it is at least above average for noise even when there are few people around. The amount of external noise depends largely on the night when you stay. Saturday night is horrible. Sunday night is pretty mellow. Of course, Sunday night is mellow because everything closes early. So plan your trip accordingly. Also, plan to stick close to Old Sacramento, because parking is basically valet-only and it's not a simple matter to go in and out.

Overall, the Delta King is a quirky and unique converted boat in an interesting tourist area of Sacramento, which is both its charm and its undoing as an operating hotel property.