The Washington Inn

I did not stay at this hotel but the sheer experience I had on the phone (Saturday night Jan 9^th, 1000pm) the clerk answering the phone was short, seemed annoyed, no manners, and his professionalism was non existent. I called Red Lion Oakland Airport and they repeated everything back, confirmed, send an email and was clear about the 24 hour cancelation policy. Washington Inn, you can increase your professionalism. It’s not the old building, nor the sink in the bedroom, it’s the people who operate the hotel, the front desk people are the ones that can make or break a sale. I was on the phone and I didn’t want to stay there just by talking to the front desk. So I canceled my reservation shortly after booking with red lion for the same rate.

Had a good stay here this past weekend. The front desk person NYLE was very nice & informative. The room was clean, weird how the sink was not in the bathroom but that’s okay. Had a weird smell but I’m sure it’s due to it being an old building. There’s free wifi & breakfast which is nice, but their wifi connection is really slow. You can opt for a faster speed for an additional fee. It also would have been nice to have a microwave or refrigerator.

I gave this place a shot despite the mixed reviews in hopes that it was great.
The lobby is attended by a relatively unfriendly staff who sit at the bar.
Once you get your keys, you go up this very sketchy elevator to your room.
The hallways to the rooms are definitely dated. Lighting fixtures are a brownish color, carpeting and walls are old.
The room itself is just okay — it is very dark. And the placement of everything didn’t seem to make sense. Ranging from the sink which is oddly placed in the room and not the bathroom, the night stand and desk being on top of each other, a TV placed on top of a very short chest, and a Narnia-​esque closet in the middle of the room.
The wifi is pretty bad.
Hotel has a different smell to it. Not bad, but part old building, part covered by Febreeze.
If money isn’t a huge object, I would definitely recommend spending the extra $ 30 or so to stay at the Marriott across the street.

Bad: The hair dryer in my room was broken and they could not fix or replace it. My hairstyle definitely suffered while on this mini vacation. I booked this on Priceline and was promised a restaurant, but the restaurant and bar were CLOSED ON SATURDAY and NO ROOM SERVICE either. Very disappointing. They also boasted free Internet, but I was not able to connect in two days here. The room was small and the sink was in main room, not the bathroom (old fashioned cute, but not convenient).
Good: Location, location, location was great– right in downtown. Classic building was kinda cute, but not kept up well enough.

We stayed here for 2 nights and were quite pleased. It’s located right across from the convention center. Parking was available in the convention structure. The staff was very pleasant. The rooms were old but kept clean and had everything we needed. My kids loved the old elevator… old and creaky but charming. Walking distance to restaurants. The bar hours in the lobby were not ideal. It was usually closed and seemed to only be open for a bit around 5pm. The breakfast layout was a simple continental style but good for a grab and go breakfast.

The hotel is in a great and safe location. The convention center is across the street and it is located right in the middle of an art district. The hotel is obviously old but has that great old charm. The elevator was not working during our one night stay at all sooo we had to walk up the tiny 1900’s staircase with our not so tiny 2015 suitcases. The room was cute both modern and old mix. Our bed was too close to the wall so you really only had one side to get on both sides of the bed unless. The bathroom was modern the bedroom had a pedestal sink. The wifi was very good I had some work to do and the wifi was better then a lot of the big chain hotels. The staff was very nice. The bar, was opened only for a few hours and certainly not the few hours I wished they were. Would I stay there again? Probably, the price was great and the old charm was worth the few annoyances.

I’m giving 3 stars for location and the room was pretty decent and clean. The double bed rooms are pretty small but didn’t spend too much time there so it was fine. Yes the hotel is old so foundation shit is a bit outdated but had character and was pretty. I took away two stars for customer service. The older guy that was there Friday afternoon was kinda rude and seem annoyed we were bothering him. The younger guy Saturday was worse and creepy. He watched me sit at the bar and sat there too until I asked about bartender and then he decided to tell me the bar was closed he was just hanging out instead of being at front desk. Ok… Anyway there were a few different things that I didn’t appreciate but for the price and clean rooms it wasn’t too bad as long as you avoid the men that work there.

A wonderful hotel in a historic building, nestled in Old Oakland and across the street from the convention center. When you walk into the lobby you will find that they kept a lot of the original charm of an older, elegant building. The staff is friendly and accommodating. The rooms, though on the smaller size, are charming, neat and clean. Quite a few trendy bars and restaurants in the immediate area so you don’t have to venture far to get a drink or enjoy a good meal. This is a definite re-​visit for me next time I’m in Oakland and a great alternative to the large chain hotels.

Stayed overnight for a business meeting the next day.
Be it that it is in old Oakland, definitely has that early century historic feel and look, but of course they have managed to update it room-​wise and such while keeping up that old charm.
PROS
–Staff was great. Smooth sailing aside from the fact my company prepaid my hotel room
–Room was well appointed for its size, pretty up to date for the most part
–DirecTV in the rooms! That’s a first. Its always that crappy cable I usually come across.
–Breakfast: not a whole lot of choices but it filled me. (Cereal, breads, bagels, pastries, coffee, OJ)
–Nice historical looking staircase that won’t leave you very winded if the little old elevator seems too sketch for you.
–Good water pressure in the shower
–A short walk to good eating or drinking joints. (May post review for Pacific Coast Brewery right behind the hotel)
CONS
–Had a window view of the central atrium to other windows (draped shut luckily) and a glass roof below. You’ll get this on the inner side rooms.
–Wifi was lackluster at best.
–Shower tile looked dated but it did add to that historic vibe.
–Some minor cosmetic issues like some switch plates coming off the wall, sink stopper coming apart
–Mattress seemed too flat but it was clean
–A bit steep cover charge ($ 15) for the parking pass card to get out of the convention center garage. It is cheaper than paying full ticket price, and the lot is secured, but still not sure of reasoning on that.
Overall, its a nice old hotel with that old school flavor yet keeps it up to make sure you’re not cringing in disgust and its close to the night life downtown.
-

The room was a little funky, with steps down that the front desk helpfully warns you of when you check in so you don’t trip in the dark. The place has character. The room is small but well appointed, well decorated, and has a comfortable bed and pillows. The location is great, near restaurants and about a block from BART. If you like quirky old buildings, you’ll like this hotel. It has a great vibe; I was able to get great sleep, and the price was very reasonable.

I do not really get the one star reviews of this hotel. This is my second stay here, and is my new favorite place.
I have also stayed in the Marriott right across the street for an event, so if you want corporate comfort, it is merely steps away.
However, if you are coming to Oakland to enjoy a weekend of hanging out and want your hotel to be part of the charm, Washington Inn is a little gem, clean and fun. It is just as quiet as the place across the street, and I think the rooms are nicer.
Yes, the TV and wifi are a little antiquated, but I come to visit here to go outside and do stuff.
Ignore the one star reviews and check this place out.

I had read several reviews here on Unilocal,both good and bad, and decided to give this hotel a chance. Bad idea!!! The staff was nice enough, but the hotel is rundown, has poorly laid out rooms with the sink separate from the rest of the bathroom (why!!!), uncomfortable beds, and just bare minimum accommodations. The windows don’t even have screens, which is crazy dangerous! Also, when we returned from a fabulous dinner, we were greeted with a very loud private party in the lobby, which we could feel and hear from our room. We ended up changing rooms to another floor and switching hotels the following day. Never in my life have I done that! Save yourself a disappointing experience and stay somewhere else!

Had to come up to Oakland for business and there was a convention so the other hotels were either booked out or way too expensive. So I found this place. The price was very competitive.
It’s an older building that has been renovated but kept a lot of it’s charm. I booked the King suite which is basically a bedroom and an adjacent office/​sitting room. Weird thing is the door opens in to the bedroom then you walk through to the extra room. There is a tv (old school non HD) in both rooms and a desk, mini fridge, microwave oven, and couch in the other. Another weird thing is the sink is across from the bed opposite from and obviously outside of the bathroom.
Also being an older building there is a musty sorta damp smell to everything.
There is free wifi but it is so slow that I tried 4 times to run a speedtest and I could not even get any results. They did say they were having router issues today. Of course the day I really need to be online. I’m now doing half my work on my phone and half on my laptop.
You can tell money was spent on certain things and others were left alone. I really hope they continue to update the place there is potential. But it is hard when there is a huge Marriott across the street and who really comes to Oakland unless they have to.
Oh yea. There’s a VHS player…

Pros: Good location; friendly staff
Cons: almost zero internet access, even if you pay for the upgraded package; the price during the Bar Exam is absurd (~$ 180); the sheets are not comfortable.

Warm up your flux-​capacitors and prepare yourself for a wondrous journey back in time (figuratively)!
Forget those clean, we’ll lit, modern hotel lobbies an come enjoy the historic charm of Old Oakland’s Washington Inn. Don’t forget to grab your favorite post-​prohibition libation on your way to the check in desk.
To get to your room choose the elevator «thrill ride» if you are a smack-​danger-​in-​the-​face adrenalin junky, or you can take the more mundane path up the tiny stairwell.
I chose the stairs for the exercise. (so does the staff)
As I approached my room, the hotel’s aromas overtook my senses and brought my thoughts back to my grandma’s attic where I would be sent to «go and think about it». Lovely.
The room was great! Luxury accommodations lovingly recreated to show the best available from the post WW1 period, bourgeoisie perfection!
My room was upgraded with its own communal shower and commode, but for some reason there was only one shower head. They conveniently located the sink right next to the bed, just in case I needed to wash up in the middle of the night, just like Bonnie and Clyde!
The only thing in the room that threw me off was the 80’s style television and VCR (!?!) There was no need to watch tv with all of the interesting sights to see in Old Oakland right outside.
The fantasy endures, but coming back to reality the only misfortune you’ll find here is parking your Delorean. There is no parking available at the hotel, which actually fits into the «fend for yourself» theme of the roarin’ 40’s. I liked the sightseeing tour I embarked on as I drove around the one way streets while searching for a place to park my motor coach for the night, I do so love games.
I thoroughly enjoyed my stay, the staff was great, the room comfortable and the extras were priceless.

Well me and my mom are taking a trip down the coast of California, (we’re from vegas!). Looking at the website, my mom thought this would be an amazing spot! We walk in, looks … «historic» to say the least? The elevator looked and sounded like it was straight out of a 40’s movie, kind of sketch. Well we got in the room and it was A LOT smaller than expected. Definitely not what we expected. But we said oh well. it cant be bad.
Later on in the night I go to wash my hands, and there were chips in the sink… like no one had washed it. The drain was also clogged so we couldnt even do anything about it… Thats when we began noticing everything else. There was long hair all over the shower (we had not used it, and didnt intend to at this point). And there was something on the sheets. May have been a bloody boogie? not sure. ANDDD there was a pesky fly in our room that we could find it to kill it, and on every floor in the hotel. Either way we were completely grossed out.
We went down and informed the front desk clerk and he was very helpful! (it may have been 2am by this time) We informed him of the issues and that we would not be staying for the whole amount of time. The next morning the housekeeping manager explained that she was not working the day before but who ever was had slacked because many of the rooms had issues like this.
It wouldve been nice if it wasnt dirty! Great location, just not for us. Needed serious updates in the rooms. I doubt we will ever stay there again.

Hate it!!! OLD DIRTY STANK HOTEL! Payed 120 for a room plus 30 for parking??? The comforter was ripped? Sheets were stained bed uncomfortable TV was super old school. The drawers were not emptied n someones condom wrappers were left. I mean the worst place i ever stayed! Furniture was prehistoric … The construction started at 7am n they kept banging hammers all damn morning. Just UGH!!! Never again will i ever stay here. N i mean NEVER!

We booked a room online using expedia. It said there was parking, it was down two blocks and the staff didn’t offer to help with our bags.
Then we went to check in and we were told their key maker wasn’t working and only staff could give us access to our room. We decide to give it a chance because the lobby looked cute.
We get upstairs to our room, after the staff continued to ignore our suitcase, and the room was terrible. The sink was in the main room, there was make-​up on one of the pillow cases and heavy scuff marks on all of the walls. We did not end up staying in the room.

This is one of the most incompetent and unprofessional hotels ever. I cannot speak for the accommodations itself, but what I can speak on is the terrible, amateur customer service. I booked a room and tried to cancel the reservation in accordance with the hotel cancelation policy, but wasn’t able to get through to anyone! The phone was busy for hours. The restaurant’s phone line was even busy (called in hopes that they could transfer me to the front desk). I emailed just in case, but I knew I couldn’t count on it. As I continued to call for hours and hours, I luckily had a friend in the area who physically went to the hotel to make the cancelation with me on the other line. We explained the situation and said that the room was canceled and a note was left to explain the situation (because by this time I was outside the scope of the cancelation policy, but since it wasn’t my fault I couldn’t get through to them that the cancelation should go through). I eventually got an email confirmation about the cancelation.
fast forward a few weeks. I check my credit card statement and notice that the hotel charged me for the room. Thinking that it was a quick fix and not a big deal I give the hotel a call and ask them to fix it and give me my refund. The person on the phone said that it will take a couple days for the refund to post. Okay, that makes sense and I’m okay with that.
Now fast forward another couple weeks. I check my credit card statement to make sure that the refund was issued. Nope! In fact the hotel charged me again! I won’t lie I was a little irritated, but decided that maybe they accidentally charged me again instead of giving my a refund. I call and explain the situation and I got the same answer that the refund will be posted in a couple of days.
Now fast forward a weekend. Same story, credit card statement doesn’t reflect a refund from the hotel. I call and ask for the manager (who is the only person who can issue refunds) and the front desk person states the manager has left for the day (this is 3pm). I leave a message (along with my name and #) with front desk about my situation. No one called me back.
The next day, I call and ask for the manager. The gentleman informs me that the manager only works at night/​graveyard shift and that’s probably why no one called me. Well, you guys have my email address, the manager could have emailed me or something. I again leave my info with front desk and told him to tell the manager to call me as soon as s/​he gets on shift. I ask for the manager’s name and front desk refuses to provide me that name because it’s against policy (really?! That honestly sounds a bit odd). It’s been over a month now. I shouldn’t have to deal with something that should’ve been taken care of a long time ago.
Now I get a call saying that my cancelation wasn’t according to policy (because I had made the reservation online I had to cancel it online). I was traveling and didn’t have internet access. I thought calling would be the best and most direct. I shouldn’t be penalized for not being able to cancel because the phone lines were busy. I was assured I would get my refund. If I wasn’t assured my refund I would have stayed at this crummy place.
I did eventually get my refunds, but it took way too long and I felt they thought if they ignored me long enough I would forget about it.

Simply the best place to stay in Oakland. We see a lot of shows at Fox and Paramount, and I used to stay in San Francisco– We grew tired of the late night commute~ After reading a few reviews here and there, I decided on this place. its noisy, on the weekday mornings, (I havent stayed a weekend) yes fine– but I’m just there to sleep and leave. Oakland is quite the peaceful city at night– I slept with the windows wide opened, no worries.
The place is near BART and across from the Convention Center– If you are driving, you will pay for parking (cheaper than SF!) and park on the 3^rd floor in the garage across the street. The staff is great. I found the GM very helpful, and appreciated his suggestions on where to eat.
I like to check out Chinatown a few blocks away in the early mornings!
Check out the lamb sliders at the pub behind the place. Room service is available pretty late into the night– food is beyond decent~ check out that chicken sandwich or burger. There’s also a Smart and Final next door.
There’s a kick ass bar, I have not actually sat in– but its old fashion, and the barkeep was sweet. I’m sure the drinks are as wonderful as the décor.
This is an old place… with wonderfully firm mattresses. Its a bit weird to have the sink located outside the bathroom, but what the hell? Free coffee, internet and a pretty decent breakfast in the a.m. This will always be the «go-​to» spot.