Holiday Inn & Suites San Mateo-San Francisco SFO, an IHG Hotel

We stayed here for business on Wednesday, September 20 in room 1326 in the main building. To be honest, I had very low expectations and was expecting the worst. What a lovely surprise, it was not horrible and we might stay here again.

Pros:
Room was spacious with a desk and desk chair, along with a dinning table and two more chairs
Tip: I asked to stay in the main building, felt safer.
Outstanding AC, got the room nice and cool
Great water pressure and temperature
Windows open a bit
Comfortable beds with a variety of soft to firm pillows
Dove products
Microwave, fridge and coffee maker
Outstanding service at the front desk, they let me check in and out an hour early and late
Lots of quiet places to work on the first floor; business center and different nooks and crannies
Fast, consistent internet
Decent parking for $17
Breakfast, bar and bistro available
Sauna
Easy drive to SFO, SF and SJ

Cons:
Location is a little rough, but I never felt unsafe
It could be a bit cleaner, under beds, behind doors but NOT disgusting
Older TV with remote, I couldn’t change the input to HDMI to watch from my computer
No USB outlets near the bed only one plug
There was a bit of a musty smell, but the place is super old, not a huge deal
Gym was lame; small w/o treadmill, equipment broken, and no free weights below 20 lbs.
Some random / abandoned looking cars in the parking lot, so I parked in the front where I could keep an eye on my car
A little tricky to get to from 101 South

I paid for a two queen bed room and they only gave me a one queen bed room. They denied that I booked/paid for it during check in at night and I wasn’t going to change hotel as my kids are already tired. The next day they said that because I stayed in the one bed queen, I had agreed to it and they will not correct/reimburse the higher rate that I paid.

I do not recommend due to the shady bait and switch and run around.

We haven't even been here for more than 3 minutes and pool is broken. There's no way they can switch us to a different days inn hotel because we booked online. I'm not happy. We solely came here for the purpose of a pool because we don't have one me and my friend and we're really unhappy about that. We had to go to outside to use and pay for a public pool. Anyways not staff fault, they was nice.

Didn’t have high expectations; yet they fell short, really short! I was travelling solo for business and stayed at this (h?) motel for a week.

The room was decently sized with a desk, closet and sofas. The heating worked but the bathroom door was broken (didn’t really matter to me). There is no room service to order. Accessibility is good.

Had requested for daily house keeping which the front desk promptly wrote down but no one turned up to clean the room or replace towels/sheets. After the 2nd day, reminded the front desk again (they don’t pick up when you call!), and managed to get new towels and sheets. The entire week I stayed, housekeeping graced my room with their presence only once! There was a couple of spiders in the bathroom on the first day which I killed and left on the floor which was thankfully cleaned up when the house keeping did happen.

I had given up on housekeeping and kept the room tidy by myself and managed with the towels I had. But the biggest shock came to me when I packed to leave - I found a pair of slippers, that weren’t mine, under the sofa! I had lived with someone else’s shoes in my room all week!

Credit where it’s due: the breakfast was good, the Wi-Fi speedy enough to get work done (though with frequent disconnections) and the staff always friendly (just not following up on the help one requests).

Would’ve been a 1 star rating, if not for the breakfast. Experience was consistent with the other colleagues who stayed along with me for the week. Might only work for overnight business stays - otherwise please stay away!

Was there for a business trip. The room I got was in another building which was a hassel for the items I had to lug around. The bathroom had no glass or separation from the toilet. It also didn't have a vent in the bathroom so it smelled like mold. The breakfast is not included. It's extra. On the weekends there's loud noise from the neighborhood.

Clean and efficient. Friendly front desk. My only question is about the pole lamp by the table by the microwave. It wasn't plugged in, because there was no available outlet. That side of the room was somewhat dark. Oh, and only one side of the bed had USB charging port. Otherwise, it was a comfortable room. Thank you.

Decent and clean room, and is close to the airport. No airport shuttle or continental breakfast. Parking was $17usd. Was a bit of a walk to any restaurants, markets, etc. There seemed to be a large park close by, and the pedestrian bridge to cross the freeway was also close. Overall got the job done

The price is cheap, but the location is not convenient in the suburbs.
Receipt was not issued due to trouble.

Don't stay here found roaches in our room. Rooms didn't seem clean at all. We stayed 2 nights and room wasn't cleaned at all while we stayed here.

Good cozy hotel in a confidently placed location about 30 minutes from the GG Bridge and 30 minutes from San Jose. It was ideal for my vacation, and the staff was super friendly. There is a diner that offers breakfast for dine in, but it isn't free. There is a gym, pool, and plenty of parking.

15 minutes away from airport.
Our suite was a bit worn down and we had no shower curtain. The whole bathroom was under water after showering.

Do not waste your money. As soon as you walk into the lobby there is a stinky musty smell. Our room also has this weird smell, towels had stains, carpet was gross with stains as well. Elevators need maintenance. Everything is broken and chipped. Water piling up in the bathtubs. The hallways and elevators smell SO bad. This is the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed at and it’s not cheap either. Needs major renovations, everything looks like it’s 50 years old. Motel standards. Extremely Disappointing, wish I spent a few more bucks to stay at a Hilton!

The best aspect of this hotel is the location. Close to SFO and other major cities.

The room was spacious yet cramped. The sitting area was large but the entrance to the bathroom was awkward. It was placed so that a large person would have to be very careful when entering.

The shower/tub didn't have a textured bottom. The footing is slippery when wet. Not good for people with compromised knees.

The primary reason for terrible service was that the power flickered out about 11pm. Then 5 minutes later the phone rings. No one there. Rings again and no one there. This happens every hour from 11pm to 3am. We unplugged the phones and tried to sleep. The night was ruined, so we got up, showered and left for the next destination.

THEY DO NOT HAVE AN AIRPORT SHUTTLE. The only reason that I booked at this hotel was that they are listed on the SFO website as a hotel with a free airport shuttle. This is not correct. There was no notice during the booking process, nor was it stated explicitly in my original confirmation email. It was only explicitly stated in an email from the hotel AFTER it was too late to cancel. The staff say that it was posted on the website, but I didn’t search the website to confirm. I didn’t expect that a hotel listed as “SFO” would not have a shuttle when SFO states that they do.

The room was clean and spacious for 4 women. Front desk did not answer the phone when we called, but they were very responsive when we walked down from our room. We asked for extra blankets and plastic flatware, and they quickly provided them. We would stay there again. Parking was convenient.
Downtown San Mateo has great restaurants and is only a few minutes away. San Francisco was also easily accessed as well.

We were amazed about the low price, and frankly, this place was super clean, and we were exceptionally pleased! We were putting it on a map for return the next time we’re in the area