Sacramento, California / Homewood Suites by Hilton Sacramento (SMF) Airport-Natomas

September 2016, Weekday, 1-night, King Studio #309

I stayed in this Homewood Suites in 2012, when it was brand new. The guestroom I had this stay was pretty much the same as the one I had last time.

Arrival and check-in

When I arrived, the front desk agent offered me bottled water. I received another bottle of water and Milano cookies in the guestroom.

View from living room window; HIX pool visible

Sacramento, California - SMF Airport / Holiday Inn Express & Suites Sacramento Airport Natomas

April 2016, Weekday, 1-night, 2-Queen beds guestroom 313

I have previously stayed in two SMF airport hotels: Fairfield Inn & Suites, not located near this hotel, and Homewood Suites, which is located next to this Holiday Inn Express. I chose Holiday Inn Express this time because they offered 24-hour shuttle service, and they had the best rate.

Sunset from guestroom over Homewood Suites - where I stayed in 2012

Arrival and status perks

I do not expect to receive a guestroom upgrade every time I stay in a hotel, and that is not the factor the most affects my satisfaction. I did not receive an upgraded guestroom during this stay, and my experience at this hotel was better than it had been at the other hotels I have stayed in in this area. 

Sign where I waited for the shuttle

Sacramento, California / Embassy Suites by Hilton Sacramento Riverfront Promenade

April 2016, Weekend/weekday, 3 nights, 2 double beds - guestroom #712

View from guestroom 712

Arrival and status perks

I arrived at the Embassy Suites from the airport after dark (around 10:00 p.m.) on a Sunday evening. My updated Garmin GPS could not find the hotel address when I entered it; however, after I did a search for the hotel name, it came up--with the exact same address I had been inputting! Go figure.

My key packet had not been prepared, and the front desk agent did not tell me what kind of guestroom she was assigning me. I inquired about the guestroom and floor, and she said she was assigning me a double bed suite on the 5th floor. I asked if this hotel has a Hilton Honors floor, or if a guestroom was available on the top floor. She reassigned me a room on the 7th floor (this hotel has 8 floors), although she did not answer my question about a Hilton Honors floor. When I asked about a different guestroom type, she curtly said, "That's the room type you reserved." Wow! She did not even offer me the option to pay for an upgrade. I would have reserved a king bed guestroom to begin with, if the cost had not been ridiculously high for my 3-night stay. It was almost $200 a night for a room with two double beds, and $28 more for a king guestroom.

I received the 500 bonus points in my profile for my on-property Gold perk; however, I did not receive two bottles of water. I should have asked for them the next morning, as the employee working in the early mornings was more accommodating than the employee who assisted me at check-in.

Sacramento, California / Fairfield Inn & Suites Sacramento Airport Natomas

August 2012, One-night, Weekday, King suite #318

Status perks

As a Platinum member, the agent at check-in asked if I wanted bonus points or an item from the gift shop. I did not initially receive an upgraded room, or even my preferred guestroom type. I was assigned a guestroom with two double beds, which I did not realize until after I arrived at the room. I then returned to the front desk to ask if a king room was available. My profile preferences are for a king room on a high floor; however, I had booked the least expensive room type at the last minute. I had checked out of the nearby Homewood Suites with the hopes of catching an early flight home. That did not work out, and I had a room reserved at this hotel, just in case.

view from entrance hall

Guestroom #318

This king suite is located next to the elevator, and the head of the bed was against the same wall. I was worried that the elevator noise might be bothersome; however, I did not hear any noise from the elevator or from the hallway at any time during my stay.

dry bar

There was a short hallway into the guestroom where the dry bar items were located: microwave, mini-fridge, and single serve coffee maker with dry condiments. The spacious bathroom was also located off this hall, next to the entrance door. The heavy bathroom door would not stay open. Fortunately, there was a footpad on the door, so I could prop it open. This may have also helped block out any hallway noise, since the door opened across the front of the entrance door.

The living room area included a couch, soft chair, desk and chair, end and coffee tables, lamps, a flatscreen TV, and plenty of storage cupboards. There was an ethernet cord and telephone on the desk. A second telephone was on a nightstand in the bedroom.

The bedroom area contained a second flatsceen TV in a stand with more storage,  a suitcase bench, nightstands with lamps and an alarm clock, a closet, and king size bed. There were plenty of outlets in the living room; however, there were not any visible outlets in the bedroom. There was one available outlet behind the nightstand, although it was not easy to reach.

The guestroom was clean, and the bedding and amenities were satisfactory.

Food & Beverage

I checked out of this hotel before breakfast was setup in the morning. In the dining area, I observed fresh apples in a bowl,  and the locked beverage and sandwich cooler had been unlocked, although there were not any breakfast sandwiches out yet at 4 AM. Since I live in the eastern time zone, 4 AM is not really that early for me.

I had returned my rental car when I tried to catch a flight home the day before, so my evening dining choices were limited. I saw three choices within walking distance: a truck stop type restaurant across the expressway on/off road, Burger King, and Black Bear Diner. Employees at the hotel had told me that the Black Bear Diner was fantastic. It was acceptable, although I would not classify it as fantastic or even good. I guess it depends what you like. I think if I had ordered a burger, I would have liked the food better. I should have followed my instincts and ordered a burger after seeing the many burger choices on the menu. Other than the plethora of burger choices, this restaurant was just like Cracker Barrel (not a restaurant I would normally choose to dine in), right down to the corn muffins, and the "pay at the register on your way out" setup. I do think that this restaurant was probably the best choice of the three located near this hotel.

Fitness center
The fitness center contained a couple of cardio machines, and a working TV on the wall. It overlooked the outside pool. The room smelled kind of musty, and it was extremely hot. I observed an air freshener on the drinking fountain in the fitness center. Another drinking fountain was located in the hallway outside the fitness center.

Business center
Two computers and a printer were located on a counter in the lobby across from the front desk. I observed tape and paper clips in the area, although other business supplies were not provided. I used a stapler and scissors at the front desk.

Shuttle

I had to wait until 3 AM the morning of my departure to find out if I would be able to get on the first flight out of SMF for no charge (the flight I had booked was not until afternoon). Before I went to bed the night before, I told the front desk agent that I might want to get on the first airport shuttle at 4 AM, and that I would not know until morning. I asked if this would be a problem, and I was told no. It almost did turn out to be a problem, and there were other guests that did encounter a problem trying to get on this shuttle.

After I confirmed that I could get on the early flight that morning, I called the front desk, and asked to get on the 4 AM shuttle. I went to the lobby 10 to 15 minutes early so I could print my boarding pass (and, because when I called, the employee had said that the shuttle leaves right on time!). Since the business center is located in the lobby, I overheard other guests trying to get on the same shuttle. One guest came to the lobby, and another one called. I heard the employee tell both guests that the shuttle was full, and that the next one did not leave until 4:30. The guest in the lobby hung around just in case. After we were all on the bus (8 of us and our luggage), they squeezed the guest waiting in the lobby on board too. During this time, the employees kept saying that the shuttle holds nine, and that it was full.

It was a good thing that the airport was not too far away, because the bus barely held nine. We were packed in that bus, and all of the guests were of average size; we did not have any oversized passengers on board.

Sacramento, California / Homewood Suites Sacramento Airport Natomas

August 2012, Weekday, 3-nights, King studio #329

Status perks

I received the bonus points I have chosen for my on-property benefit. 

kitchen view from couch

Guestroom

The guestroom was a standard Homewood Suites studio suite on the top floor. I had originally been assigned a studio suite on the second floor overlooking the courtyard. My profile preferences are for a high floor room away from the elevator. Since top floor rooms tend to be quieter, I inquired if a top floor room was available at check-in. The agent said he could reassign me to this room, but that it was on the expressway side of the building.

view from entrance

I happily accepted the top floor room. The courtyard view is nicer; however, when a hotel is full (as this one was), guests often congregate in the courtyard after the evening social, and traffic noise does not usually bother me.

view from couch--bathroom on right

The kitchen area of the guestroom contained a sink and dishwasher with supplies, full size fridge, microwave, stovetop, dishes in the cupboard, coffeepot with supplies, and a table with two chairs. Microwave popcorn was not provided, as it usually is. When I asked about this at the front desk later, I was told that the hotel was out of popcorn, and that I could choose an item from the gift shop.

view from bed

A full size sofa, desk and chair, and flatscreen TV on an armoire, were located between the kitchen area and the king size bed. Two nightstands, lamps, an alarm clock, and a telephone were located next to the bed. The two large windows had screens in them, and they could be opened.

The bathroom shower area contained the toilet, and a tub with shower. The bathroom vanity, and a large closet with glass doors, were both located outside this area.

outside bathroom area

The bed was comfortable, and it was quiet in the guestroom. The lighting was good, and there were plenty of outlets available. There was an ethernet cord and second telephone provided on the desk.

My guestroom was not cleaned after my first stayover night. It is possible this had something to do with the guestroom change I had made at check-in. I had to call the front desk after arriving in my guestroom because I could not access the Internet with this guestroom number, so it appeared as though they did not change their records correctly after the room reassignment. I inquired about housekeeping when I went to the front desk to get coffee for the second morning, and the agent said he would take care of it. My guestroom was cleaned the next day.

Food & Beverage
Complimentary freshments each evening included: fresh salad, soda, beer, and wine. I did not notice what kind of beer was available, although I did observe Coke brand cans with ice for the soda option.

The salad was fresh, and the topping ingredients were slightly varied each night. I thought the salad offering was good. Hot food items were also served each evening. Chicken was served the first night, meatball subs the next evening, and chili with fries the last night. The hot food containers looked scarce as the evening progressed. Items were well stocked when the evening social began; however, when I went to the lodge room a couple of times more than an hour after the evening social had started, I observed empty or nearly empty serving dishes. I did not stick around to see if or when these were refilled.

Breakfast in the morning consisted of: scrambled eggs, potatoes, breads, cereals, cut/canned fruit, fresh bananas, milk, juices, coffee, and tea.

Fitness center
The fitness center contained three cardio machines with cardio theater. One of the treadmills did not work the first day, and all of the machines had been turned off the second day that I tried to use them. The employee at the front desk that morning was able to get both treadmills working, although he could not get the stair stepper to work. He commented that this happens infrequently enough for him to forget how each machine operates. The posted sign on the fitness center said that it did not open until 6 AM; however, there was already one guest using the room when I arrived at 5:30 the first morning. Another guest also arrived before 6 AM that day. The fitness center is not close to any guestrooms.

Pool and outside area
This hotel has an outside pool, hot tub, basketball hoop, grills, and plenty of spacious sitting areas. I was only outside in the courtyard once to do some work on my laptop. The Internet connection was good in the courtyard, and the table seating was comfortable. Although I did not use any of the other amenities, everything looked clean and well maintained.

Misc.
This hotel is a newer hotel in an area that was still being built up at the time of my stay. It offered easy access to the expressway and main roads without a lot of traffic. There is a Holiday Inn Express and a Hampton Inn next door, and a couple restaurants within walking distance. Most of the restaurants were chain type restaurants (Sizzler, iHop, KFC, Panda Express…), although there was also one unique restaurant [Malabar] where I dined one day. I had the Mahi Mahi from the lunch menu, which was excellent.

The hotel has an airport shuttle, although I did not use it.