Review: The Westin Sacramento

The Westin Sacramento is located about 15 minutes away from Sacramento Airport. Although I’d tried the Sheraton Grand Sacramento the year prior and had a good stay, I had a 5:45 am flight out and figured the Westin at about 10 miles away would be a good choice. The property used to be a boutique hotel called the Le Rivage, which was built in 2008 to the tune of $28 million. About 3 years ago Starwood took over the hotel and renovated it to turn it into a Westin.

Self-parking was $10 and easy to find just to the right of the entrance. I arrived at the hotel late and there was just one spot left.

I’d received an email in advance of my arrival to let me know that I’d already been upgraded to a Jr Suite so after walking in to reception it was just a few minutes before I had my key in hand.

My room was on the top floor, which was actually the 3rd floor. I have a habit of looking at the floorplan on the back of the door as soon as I get in the room. Although there was no floorplan on the back of the door it was located on the wall.

The bathroom was nice, actually much nicer than I had expected. There was even a freestanding tub that had quaint claw feet!

The shower was large and there was a scale just outside.

There were a bunch of towels in the bathroom. I counted 6 large, 3 small, several washcloths and a mat. The toilet had a separate alcove but didn’t have a closing door. Not a big deal to me but some would find it inconvenient.

French doors in the hallway opened to reveal a bathrobe and a small but functional closet.

The bed had good, soft down pillows and duvet. Bedside lights were easy to switch off at the base, and the clock radio was easy enough to disconnect.

There was a sitting area next to the bed, along with a table in between the couch and chair.

Two bottles of Dasani water were on the chest so I put them in the fridge to chill.

Although I didn’t use the desk I noticed that there were two outlets just above that came in handy for charging devices.

There was a fireplace! It was warm enough in the room that I didn’t need to turn it on but if I had wanted to a simple dial allowed a timed flame for up to an hour. The fireplace gave the room a cozy feel.

Stepping outside on the balcony I twisted my head to look up. The room was directly below the Westin sign, which was a cool vantage point. It also looked out over the valet parking area which was quiet.

The view included some tall city buildings in the distance, and looked out over the river. Fire pits down by the water glowed orange

I got ready for bed and turned out the lights. I heard a loud humming sound so I turned it back to on to investigate. The fridge was the problem but the plug was solidly behind the cabinet. Instead of unplugging it I simply turned the temperature dial all the way to off and that stopped the noise.

However, some people in the next room decided to have a party. It was already past midnight and on a Thursday night so it wasn’t as if it was a weekend. After trying in vain to ignore the noise my husband finally called down to the front desk to kindly request that they put an end to the jubilation. After the phone call it still took a long time before there was any change. The noise stopped so long afterwards that he considered making a second call, which was only slightly before it was time to get up for the flight.

Needless to say it wasn’t a restful night.

I was disappointed that the hotel hadn’t intervened quicker to get the folks next door to pipe down. Seeing as it was just on the third floor rather than the 15th, I would have thought that they would have been alerted to the issue sooner. If there hadn’t been the noise problem I would have enjoyed the hotel stay much more. The bed was comfortable, the view was lovely, and even though the weather was too warm to make use of the fireplace it would have been a cozy addition to a wintertime stay.

The Westin Sacramento is a SPG Category 4 property, requiring 10,000 Starpoints for a free night.