Hilton Garden Inn San Francisco Airport / Burlingame
The Hilton Garden Inn is located in Burlingame at the San Francisco Bay next to many other airport hotels. The hotel has five floors with the restaurant in the usual Hilton Garden Inn Pavilion in front of the main building. The hotel is the typical Hilton Garden Inn building and does not differ from the many other hotels of the chain in the US and Canada.
The hotel offers a free shuttle to San Francisco airport from 04:50 to 23:50 and free parking with sufficient space on the lot.
The hotel has 132 rooms and suites. There are no other room categories than standard rooms and suites (except of course accessible rooms).
One enters the hotel through the typical “Hilton Garden Inn Pavilion” with the restaurant on the right side and the lobby / socializing are with arm chairs and tables on the left side. The check in desk is opposite the entrance. There are two check-in desks available but in off peak time the desk is usually only staffed with one agent. The pavilion pantry is next to the check in desk and open 24 hours 7 days a week.
The design is also no change from the usual standardized design of the many other Hilton Garden Inn Hotels in the US and Canada. Comfortable sofas and lounge chairs in bright colors and flower arrangements. A fireplace was also available.
The elevators to reach the floors with the rooms were located in a hallway behind the check in desk.
Located on the ground floor is also the small indoor pool with Jacuzzi and a small gym, separated from the pool area by a glass wall The equipment in the gym is modern and in very good shape with two treadmills, two steppers and one bike. Machines for body building are missing though. Water and towels are provided by the hotel for guests using the pool area and gym. The gym is open 24/7 while the pool is only open from 06:00 to 23:00.
The hotel offers three meeting rooms for up to 80 persons (or for 100 persons, if arranged as reception) on the ground floor and two boardrooms for 10 persons. All meetings rooms are located on the ground floor. Also located on the ground floor is the Business Center which offers a PC, Xerox machine, among others and is open 24/7.
The Great American Grill Restaurant is open for breakfast from 06:00 to 10:00 on weekdays and from 06:00 to 11:00 on weekends. Breakfast consists of the usual selection of yoghurt, fruits, cereals, bagels, juice and hot items, which are prepared in the kitchen and not available on the buffet for self service. The restaurant is also open for dinner from 17:00 to 22:30. The food is okay, but there are a number of restaurants close to the hotel which offer a wider array of dishes than the hotel restaurant does.
visited on USA and Canada with LH & BA
stays June 10, 2012 -
direct link to hotel
Hilton Garden Inn San Francisco Airport/Burlingame
Arrival Date: June 10, 2012
Departure Date: June 11, 2012
Room type booked: Standard
Rate Plan: AAA Rate
Room Number: 317
Room Rate: 94.00 USD (excluding taxes)
Status of Guest Program: Diamond
I arrived at the hotel around 11:30 in the morning. I did not expect that I could check in but asking never hurts and so I approached the check-in desk. The agent on duty welcomed me in the hotel. He retrieved the reservation and asked if I would like to have a room, since there was a room available right now. He asked for my ID which was checked and wanted to have a look at my AAA card, which he photo-copied. This was a first for
me. While I am used to show my card occasionally the card was actually never copied. I got also a voucher for breakfast together with the usual welcome letter. The agent asked me if I like to take the two water bottles as amenity right away. I agreed and so I got them and there was no need for a voucher.
The room had no real hallway; one was right in the room with the closet next to the entrance door and the entrance to the bathroom on the opposite side
The bathroom had the new amenities by ‘rainkissed leaves’ and small, medium and large sized towels were provided for three guests. The bathroom looked like many bathrooms in Hilton Garden Inn with the big mirror behind the sink. The tap was better designed and placed than the one in the Hilton Garden Inn in Palm Springs / Rancho Mirage. The showerhead had a massage function but the water pressure was quite low. Shower curtain and head were in good shape. The area around the bath had no tiles but some sort of
wipe clean plastic elements. Two lamps were on both side of the mirror and the lighting was sufficient. The hairdryer was one of the cheaper wall mounted ones.
The room featured the usual board with fridge, microwave and coffee machine at the entrance. On a sideboard was the flat TV and the desk was placed next to the window, which could not be opened. The windows were soundproofed as there was not much noise to be heard in the room from the highway next to the hotel or arriving and departing planes. The bed along with two nightstands was placed opposite the TV. The Hilton alarm clock and one telephone were placed one the nightstand. A second phone was placed on the
desk. A small table with an arm chair and another lamp was in one corner of the room.
The desk was large enough to spread out the working materials along with a laptop. One socket was in the socket of the lamp but that was all. A least one more charging outlet would have been nice given the number of gadgets which needed to be charged one carries along on a journey.-In so far it was helpful that the adapter of my laptop could also be used to charge a USB device.
The internet connection was good, the speed sufficient for a VPN connection.
The air condition was controlled automatically with the unit placed under the window. Unfortunately this means one was constantly having the cold stream of air from the air condition unit blowing on the back while working at the desk. In so far it was again either working or air condition but not both. The unit was one of the quieter units compared to the wall mounted ones but of course it could be noticed quite well if turned on.
The room was okay sized and clean and all the hidden corners had no dust. The mattress was okay, and it was one of the newer ones which could be adjusted from soft to hard by a knob at the side.
The room was shaped and designed like the average and typical Hilton Garden Inn room using a warm color scheme with variation of brown as the most dominant color. Pictures at the wall gave the room a nice touch. There was however again a mirror behind the working desk, which I dislike.
Service in the restaurant was average, one attendant was not very friendly at the beginning and she seems not to understand that I did not want to have any warm food like omelette, waffles and asked several times if I had decided which hot item I had chosen for breakfast. Not sure, if she did not understand what I was saying or did not realize that I was not interested in having a hot (and unhealthy) warm dish from the menu. Anyway, her mood changed a bit later and she was a bit friendlier. She and her colleague
were at least attentive and frequent refilling of coffee was offered as well as used dished were cleared away quickly.
I had received the folio during the night and it was correct and therefore no problems occurred during check out. The agent wishes me a safe onward journey.
An average stay in a typical Hilton Garden Inn. The hotel is convenient located if one needs easy access to freeways in and around the Bay Area and / or easy access to SFO. It is however not the best hotel for a visit to downtown San Francisco. Given the rates at the hotel at the Bay Area and in close proximity to the airport, it is not always the best choice and the Hilton has quite offers even lower rates but parking at the Hilton is not free. In so far I will stay there again, but the hotel might not be my
first choice simply for the reason that the Hilton offers better value for money especially for someone holding top tier with HHonors.
