Decent temporary home away from home in Oakland

November 27, 2007 12:48 PM

Traveling to Oakland (Hayward actually) for business for next week. Need to find a hotel that isn't horrible, and under $140/night (monday-thursday).

Next week I will start my shift doing onsite tech at a division in my company while they are trying to bring on a local person (I live in Seattle). I will be rotating through the area on an every other week basis, with the other tech in Seattle staying when I am back up here, etc. So I am looking to find a decent hotel that has something to do around it at night, but can still get to Hayward (south of the 580/238 junction) pretty easily. I will also be swinging my way up to the Richmond area also. Any help would be much appreciated, as I will probably be doing this for 2 if not more weeks, and I would prefer to find a place I might actually look forward to going home to after work.

posted by mrzarquon to travel & transportation (12 comments total)

If you are going to be doing this for a while try giving the Oakland Marriott a call and see if you can get them to give you a rate at what you're looking for. It's a nice hotel, there is plenty to do downtown and it's about a minute walk from BART. Oakland Marriot's rates look like they are 209/night for this period, but I've talked them much lower for 3+ night stays week after week. the sales manager is who to talk to.

Whomever you go with check the promo's, Marriott has one for bonus points, I'm sure the Sheraton has something going on this time of year.
posted by iamabot at 1:23 PM on November 27, 2007

There are lots of nice boring (in a good way, if that's what you're into) chains in Emeryville. In Oakland there are places downtown, and there's also the Claremont, which is less expensive than you might think..
posted by apostrophe at 1:34 PM on November 27, 2007

For a snarky answer, I'd have to say that I doubt Hayward has any accomodations for *over* $140/night. That said, I'd recommend against staying north of 238 because the traffic is ultra-lame. With the driving time of staying in Oakland you could just as easily stay at the Embassy in Fremont/Union City or any of the other Silicon Valley sleepboxes.
posted by rhizome at 2:17 PM on November 27, 2007

I've never stayed at the Washington Inn, but it's right in downtown Oakland and may be cheaper than the Marriot. I would avoid anything near the airport, because it's just a miserable bunch of hotels and, well, the airport. Downtown will not be hopping, but there are some good bars and restaurants and you can easily BART to Rockridge, downtown Berkeley or the City. The other option would be Jack London Square, there are a couple of somewhat plain hotels there, the Best Western and the Waterfront Plaza. Jack London Square also has a bunch of restaurants and bars (which you can get to from downtown as well), but it's also kind of nice to be out by the water.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:53 PM on November 27, 2007

If you go with Emeryville, you'll be in an area that's mall-like but kind of sterile, boring, or vacant. If you go with downtown Oakland, you'll get some authentic downtown city cool (Luka's bar and grill, for instance) but also some city grit, if that bothers you. Hayward, I don't know at all.

In Emeryville, don't do the Woodfin Suites. Their workers were striking and it was madness up until recently, so I don't know if it will recur. The other ones nearby might be decent.

I've always thought if I was going to stay in a hotel in Oakland, I'd stay in the California Hotel on San Pablo. I'm not positive they are even open, or if it'd be nice inside. But it's such an iconic sign, it might be fun to stay there once.
posted by salvia at 4:43 PM on November 27, 2007

keep in mind what time you have to be at work. it can take 30-45 minutes to get from oakland to hayward in the mornings...

traffic on 880 really sucks.
posted by joeblough at 6:33 PM on November 27, 2007

If you have any trips where you *don't* have to spend a lot of time in Richmond... stay in San Mateo/Foster City! There's a San Mateo Marriott which should be <>
By the way, if you end up in Hayward at mealtime, do try Naked Fish Sushi, Pakwan (for Indian food) or Val's burgers.
posted by synapse at 7:31 PM on November 27, 2007

I... don't know why that comment blew up. Here's the whole thing :

If you have any trips where you *don't* have to spend a lot of time in Richmond... stay in San Mateo/Foster City! There's a San Mateo Marriott which should be under $140, and 20 minutes across the 92 bridge puts you in downtown Hayward. It is totally worth it for a significant increase in good restaurants and fun things to do.

By the way, if you end up in Hayward at mealtime, do try Naked Fish Sushi, Pakwan (for Indian food) or Val's burgers.
posted by synapse at 7:33 PM on November 27, 2007

Alameda might be a good bet, off the beaten path but close to the action. I once stayed at a "suite" hotel there for $80/night. It's changed hands a few times, so I have no idea who owns it now... It was on the water, quiet, and literally just next to the tunnel into Alameda from the Oakland area. A bonus is that it's near a ferry to downtown SF for non-parking fun in the city, if you have play time.
posted by shifafa at 7:41 PM on November 27, 2007

I had a very nice 3 day, 2 night stay at the La Quinta in Hayward, near the Hayward Airport. It had a microwave and mini fridge, which I found very attractive for eating in although they had a nice cafe-ish restaurant, where they served free snacks around 5pm. It had a weight room, too and was reasonably near Winton Blvd and some huge mall, should you need shopping. I stayed there for a business seminar and was very comfortable.
posted by Lynsey at 10:36 PM on November 27, 2007

Thanks for all the suggestions. I figured I would rough it this first time around with the La Quinta in Hayward, it is within non highway distance of my office.

My boss suggested I bring a bullet proof vest (however, I question their sense of daring).
posted by mrzarquon at 10:57 AM on November 28, 2007

i was thinking, if you want to be where the 'action' is, there are perhaps 3 choices: san francisco, berkeley or stanford (palo alto).

SF is just too far away, and berkeley is pretty much oakland from a commute standpoint.

oakland is pretty dangerous at night, and the downtown part pretty much shuts down at 5pm, or so i'm told. north oakland/berkeley is nice but then you have my commute, which sucks, and is highly variable depending on which member of the Raider Nation has decided to flip his car over on 880 that morning. also even north oakland isnt safe anymore. don't get me started.

i think synapse's idea is good, since then you can hit palo alto/stanfurd and other peninsula destinations after work. i think going from the peninsula to hayward is the reverse commute, which helps quite a bit.
posted by joeblough at 12:01 PM on November 28, 2007