Hotel review: La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham San Francisco Airport West

In January 2018, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts announced that it was acquiring La Quinta’s hotel franchise and hotel management businesses for $1.95 billion.

“The addition of La Quinta, one of the largest midscale brands in the industry, will build upon Wyndham Hotel Group’s strong midscale presence, expand its reach further into the fast-growing upper-midscale segment, and position Wyndham Hotel Group to be the preferred partner and accommodations provider of developers and guests,” Wyndham said in a press release at the time.

I had a layover in San Francisco after a flight there from Hong Kong and I was booked to stay in La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham San Francisco Airport West. This is one of two La Quinta properties near San Francisco Airport (I nearly went to the wrong one as I didn’t realise until I got there that there were two). The other is La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham San Francisco Airport North.

The hotel is one of several airport hotels in the area. It has a classic laid-back American feel.

Situated off Route 82, the hotel is three miles from San Francisco International Airport. The hotel offers a free shuttle bus that runs half-hourly. You need to book a seat on this at reception in advance. You have to tip US$1 per bag, so the bus is technically not completely free.

I didn’t know about the free shuttle when I arrived so ended up paying about US$15 for a ride-share.

I had a positive check-in experience, being greeted by a surprisingly chirpy member of reception staff despite the late hour (I checked in around 10pm). He did forget to tell me whether breakfast was included or not, and I had to ask, but he apologised for his oversight.

I was in a Queen Bed Room on the ground floor.

The room was surprisingly spacious.

On each side of the bed, there was a lamp with a snake-shaped reading light that is easy to switch on and off.

The room was tastefully decorated with images of iconic San Franciscan landmarks, such as the Golden Gate Bridge.

In fact, the bridge made an appearance three times, including in the living area…

…and in the bathroom…

While the room wasn’t luxurious by any standards – this is a two-star airport hotel – I found it to be perfectly equipped with everything I needed for my one-night stay. Opposite the bed, there was a television on top of a chest of drawers. To the left of that was an (almost) full-length mirror.

Inside the bottom drawer, I found a spare pillow, though I didn’t need to use it.

There was a lamp on the desk, which had two three-pin sockets as well as one USB socket.

The room had a kitchenette area next to the bathroom. While I didn’t really need to use this during my short stay, it was nice to know it was there. The kitchenette is equipped with a Keurig coffee machine with four coffee capsules: two Rainforest Bold Coffee Royal Cup Signature and two Morning Edition Blend Decaf Medium Roast Coffee.

There was also a microwave which, again, I didn’t need to use, but it was nice to have available.

To the left of the kitchenette was the bathroom. The shower was spacious and had good water pressure.

Here is a look at the sink…

Toiletries were from Pantene and included:

• Fresh & Clean Soothing Body Lotion
• Daily Moisture Renewal Conditioner
• Daily Moisture Renewal Shampoo
• Fresh & Clean Energizing Body Wash

You also get a Fresh & Clean Revitalizing Massage Bar.

The toilet was clean and functional.

My favourite part of my stay was the breakfast. It was a full buffet with no table service, though in classic American fashion, there is a tip jar in case you want to leave a gratuity for the staff laying out the buffet.

I woke early due to the jetlag and had some time to kill before my flight, so I ensconced myself at the back of the breakfast room with a book and read, ate and people watched for a couple of hours.

The breakfast room was small, but it only got about half full and wasn’t too noisy. The food selection was all-American and included a section where you can make your own waffles.

There were also sachets of instant miso soup available, which contrasted oddly with the rest of the breakfast fare. Perhaps the hotel has a lot of Japanese guests on layovers.

There were also peeled boiled eggs and apples.

I liked the tower of Kellogg’s cereal, which included some guilty pleasures like Fruit Loops.

The hot food included both regular sausage and vegetarian sausage, as well as scrambled eggs and apple filled pancakes.

There was a good selection of hot drinks, including seven different types of tea. Coffeemate syrup with three different flavours was also available.

Coffee was from a flask dispenser and included dark, house and decaf. The fourth dispenser contained hot water. There were takeaway cups available for the coffee.

There were also three types of juice available: apple, cranberry and passion orange mango.

It was a little disconcerting to see the below sign, informing me that my breakfast might give me cancer.

While my stay was so short that I didn’t have time to try any of the leisure facilities, I did notice that the hotel has a nice swimming pool with deckchairs.

For a one-night layover near San Francisco International Airport, you can’t go wrong with this hotel. The room was comfortable, quiet and well-equipped, so that I got a good night’s sleep. The hearty breakfast gives you a good start to the morning and the convenient shuttle bus means you can easily zip back to the airport for your flight.

• Best for…a comfortable and convenient place to stay during a layover at San Francisco International Airport
• Don’t miss…the hearty all-American breakfast
• Price… One night in a Queen Bed room starts at US$239
• Contact… 1390 El Camino Real, Millbrae, CA 94030, United States