Crowne Plaza San Francisco Airport / Burlingame
The Crowne Plaza is located at Airport Blvd. near the highway 101 to San Jose and the international airport SFO. It is a ten storey building, probably built in the seventies or eighties. It has 309 rooms and was renovated in 2003.
The hotel runs a shuttle to the airport, which is shared with the nearby Holiday Inn Express and the Embassy Suites. It departs every twenty minutes at the airport or the hotel between 05.00 in the morning and 22.00 in the evening. If you need a shuttle later or earlier, you can call the hotel using the courtesy phone in one of the waiting boots at the airport or ask the concierge in the hotel.
If you enter the hotel you are standing in the small lobby with the check in area right across the entrance. At the left side are a few seats available. In a separate area on the right hand side are a few more seats and some internet pc available where you can check mails.
The restaurant called West Bay Cafe is left hand side and in front of the hotel building in a smaller one storey building; it could be reached directly from the lobby. It looks nice with a bar area and a seating area. I have not been there, but took a quick look. It is open from 06.30 to 22.00. Also on the ground floor are a number of meetings rooms of different seize. Laid a bit further back of the main area are the gym and the pool.
The gym is small and has only a few machines. But I have never seen anybody in it during my three nights at this hotel. Therefore I tend to think seize might be okay. The equipment is not brand new, but it is more than sufficient for a work out or some training.
The pool, open from 05.30 to 23.00, is shaped like a trapeze. The Jacuzzi is small and only for four persons. I personally think that this probably already might be one too much to really relax in this area. Deckchairs and towels area available, but there is no shower and only one restroom to change clothes at the pool. This is a disadvantage and I really think at least one shower should be available at a pool. Also this area was a bit cool, so I did not spend much time outside pool and Jacuzzi.
But I would like to point out, that I was there on a really rainy weekend and that one could easily went down to the pool with the bathrobe and shoes from your room as one had not to pass the public areas that often.
The executive lounge is located on the 10th floor and has a few seats and tables, a huge TV and some lounge chairs. It’s small and basic. It is open during the week from 6.00 to 9.00 in the morning and from 7.00 to 10.00 on the weekend. It is not open in the evening. Breakfast offered there is a continental one with coffee and tea, yoghurt, milk, bottles juices, pastries, toast and jam and marmalade, honey and peanut butter. Nothing special, but okay.
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Crowne Plaza Hotel San Francisco-Intl Airport
stays 22 February 2008
Club Floor Lounge
Arrival Date: 22 February 2008
Departure Date: 25 February 2008
Room type booked: Standard
Rate Plan: Advanced Purchase Rate & Special Advantage Rate
Room Number: 1021
Room Rate: 90.00 / 96.52 / 146.00 USD
Status of Guest Program: Platinum
I had originally booked two nights starting 23 February but added another night before my originally booked stay booking on the day of arrival.
I arrived at the United Terminal in SFO and went straight to the stop of the hotel shuttles. I was informed that the hotel runs a scheduled shuttle and therefore decided to wait for the shuttle instead calling the hotel. I took less than ten minutes and the shuttle appeared and I was on my way to the hotel.
I was welcomed at the hotel in a friendly but a bit too reserved way. I was checked in and asked to combine the two reservations. I was told I had a room on the 10th floor but was not told that this was an upgrade to Executive Floor. No information was given about opening times of gym and pool. Somehow I prefer to get an explanation about what I was given and the features of the hotel.
Well, I discovered myself that Executive Level comes with free breakfast in the Lounge.
The room was facing the front of the hotel, just opposite the entrance to the Executive Lounge. But that did not mean much traffic, as there is an additional door to the corridor in front of the elevators.
The room is shaped in the classical hotel room style. You enter the room and found yourself in the small corridor with the entrance to the bathroom.
The bathroom is, like the whole room, renovated and had a sink with a huge mirror, a toilet and a bath. In addition there was a small mirror for make up or shaving in the morning / evening. A board made of glass was over the toilet with was set a bit in an angle, so it was a nicer style. The area around the sink was big enough to store personal things like toothbrush or shaver. The shower curtain was okay and the shower head was the Crowne Plaza shower head with a massage function. Unfortunately either the water
pressure was low or the temperature low. It seems to be a bit of a problem of staying in higher floors. A bathrobe was available, but no slippers.
The wardrobe was in the corridor and the hairdryer was also stored in it – but one could plug it off course in the bathroom. Also the ironing board and iron could be found there.
The room was of smaller seize, but nicely decorated. On the right side was the bed with two bedside tables with reading lamps. On the left one was placed a phone while a CD-Player / Radio / Alarm Clock combination was on the other one. Around the bed was a wooden decoration with some sort of night illumination, which was nice. A lounge chair was standing in front of the window. On the other side was the desk with the other phone and another lamp. Left hand side of the desk was the board with TV and tea and coffee
facilities stored. The later one came on a tray and could be put in the room near a plug. The nearest plug was on the desk, but that means one had no plug to use for e.g. a laptop.
In the room were an eyemask and a CD with relaxing music to help to fall easier asleep. A nice touch, although did not use them. The bed was comfortable but a bit too soft from my point of view. And like in the most hotels the number of pillows was too high. But it was different types of pillows lying on the bed.
A turndown service was offered in the late afternoon with came with a bottle of water and closing the window shades and turning the light in the room on.
The agent at check in was friendly during my visits down there and to combine the two reservations were not a problem. She had blocked the room at the first day after I went down there again to make sure the two reservations were combined. I was told to check out and in and could stay in the room on the next day.
At the first night I found an invoice under my door, but not so for the next two nights.
Check out was a bit slow; I had to ask for the invoice.
It was a very pleasant stay and the hotel is for sure one of the better properties in the IHG chain in the US. An upgrade as Platinum to Executive Floor is a nice touch for the frequent guests, especially as the hotel is pretty nice and newly renovated. Although breakfast on the executive level is basic, it is nice to have it. The downsides are the small gym and to have no shower at the pool and only a restroom as changing room.
