If you’re planning a trip to Oakland, take a closer look at the Waterfront Hotel in historic Jack London Square. Not only is this an exceptional Joie de Vivre-branded boutique hotel, it’s also TripAdvisor’s best-valued Oakland hotel. Coupled with magnificent views and excellent service and hospitality, you can’t go wrong with the Waterfront. What’s more, Jack London Square offers you plenty of fun things to do during your stay.
About The Waterfront Hotel
Waterfront Hotel
10 Washington St.
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 836-3800
www.facebook.com/oaklandwaterfronthotel
The flagship hotel in Oakland’s Jack London Square, this nautical-themed Waterfront Hotel is an integral part of Joie de Vivre. As the only shoreline hotel in Jack London Square, Waterfront Hotel is easily accessible by car since it’s right off Highway 880. What’s more, an Amtrak station is minutes away, as well as ferry service to San Francisco. With its proximity to transportation, nightlife and attractions, the Waterfront is an excellent place to stay in the East Bay. Of course, the Waterfront also has a great restaurant at Lungomare.
About Joie de Vivre
Established in San Francisco by Chip Conley in 1987, Joie de Vivre holds California’s largest collection of lifestyle properties. In fact, it’s also the second largest operator of boutiques in the country. More recently, Joie de Vivre expanded outside of California and currently has properties in Chicago, Baltimore and New York. Notable hotel properties under the JdV name include Hotel Vitale and Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco. Outside of the Bay Area are the Ambassador Chicago and Park South Hotel in New York City.
Rooms
The Waterfront Hotel has 145 completely remodeled guestrooms and suites. Each room has a nice view of the Oakland Estuary or Jack London Square. Rooms categories include a 200 sq. ft. queen bed room and 312-sq. ft king bed room with balcony. In addition, there are 640-square foot waterfront suites with king bed. That’s not to mention rooms with accessible features like ADA-compatible showers. Each room and suite comes equipped with a number of impressive amenities. For instance, there are fine furnishings, flat screen TV, and laptop safe. Other amenities are complimentary Wi-Fi, bath products and coffeemaker. In the lobby, there is a nightly fireside wine and cheese hour.
Dog Friendly
The Waterfront Hotel Oakland is dog friendly, with one dog permitted. Furry friends must register at the front desk upon check in and must not be left unattended in the room. A very modest cleaning fee of $25 for every three nights is added to the guest’s charges. Not only is the hotel dog friendly, but Jack London Square is dog friendly. In this case, there are several great walking spots along the Oakland Estuary.
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Specials
The Waterfront Hotel Oakland offers special hotel packages on an ongoing basis. Among the current specials are “Seize the Stay”, with World of Hyatt members receiving a discount of up to 30 percent on stays and “Hassle-Free Parking Package”. Other specials are a “Party Plank Package” for two or more nights and “San Francisco Bay Ferry Package”, with a one-trip ferry ticket per registered adult. You should check with the hotel for any additional specials.
Dining
During your stay, you can enjoy a sumptuous meal from Chef Chris Seyersdahl at Lungomare. As the name suggests it specializes in Italian cusine. On the other hand, continental fare is also available, like salads, sandwiches rib eye and lamb chops. By all means, you will like the Smoked Salmon Panini, Buffalo Mozzarella Margherita and Bucatini alla Bolognese. Of course, there are additional Italian favorites like Ligurian Seafood Stew. Reservations are also available for private dining for up to 40 seated guests.
Breakfast
For breakfast, guests can order gourmet coffee and treats on-the-go at the Café at Lungomare. Seating is available indoors and outdoors for breakfast, as well as the bar counter. Lungomare also has a nice weekend brunch menu, with popular dishes like Egg Florentine and Crab Cake Benedict, in addition to soups, salads, antipasti and gourmet pizza. If you’re a coffee lover, try the Red Bay Coffee, the top rated coffee business in Oakland.
Bar/Evening Dining
In the bar, guests can enjoy an extensive bar menu with premium cocktails, fine wine and crafted beers. Some current cocktail selections are Tuscan Sun with Osocalis brandy and Carpano Antica, and That’s Amaro! with Mount Gay Black Barrel Rum and Carpano Antica.
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Fine Wines
Wines served by glass or bottle are primarily from Italy, such as Le Colline pinot noir, Vigna del Cristo lambrusco and Livio Felluga sauvignon blanc. However, the wine list also includes California wines from Acacia in Carneros, Seghesio in Healdsburg and Joel Gott in St. Helena. The highly rated restaurant/bar also offers an assorted collection of non-alcoholic drinks like iced tea and soft drinks, along with exceptional house made sodas like Mandarin Cream and Basil Ginger Beer.
Services/Amenities
Valet parking, weekday wine and cheese hour and a complimentary weekday shuttle service to downtown Oakland are among the many services and amenities offered from the Waterfront Hotel. Parking is just $32, which is a bargain in comparison to San Francisco hotels that charge $75 or more. Additional services include concierge, luggage storage, business center, complimentary newspapers and room service. A very competitive amenity fee of $15 plus tax per night will be added to the reservation.
Jack London Square Activities
The Waterfront Hotel is close to many popular attractions in Jack London Square. For instance, you could go canoeing or kayaking with California Canoe and Kayak. If you want to stay closer to the hotel, maybe you’d like bowling or playing video games at Plank. In addition, Jack London Square offers wine tasting at Rosenblum Cellars. If that’t not enough, stop by Heinold’s First and Last Chance Saloon. In fact, Heinold’s is the oldest drinking establishment in Oakland.
More Things to Do
Ferry Service to San Francisco
With the Oakland Ferry Terminal just steps away, you can take a ferry to San Francisco. In fact, you can take a ferry to Oracle Park for Giants games or to Chase Center.
Additional Dining and Nightlife
Jack London Square has several dining options to further enhance your stay. For instance, there are seafood restaurants, in addition to a pizza joint and ramen shop. That’s not to mention affordable bites at places like the Plank, Ben & Jerry’s and Heinold’s. For nightlife, there is a movie complex and Yoshi’s is one of the Bay Area’s leading jazz establishments. In like manner are boutique shops, public art and additional attractions like the USS Potomac. If you still need more ideas on what to do, stop by the Visit Oakland office, just footsteps from the entrance to the Waterfront Hotel.
Conference/Meeting Facilities
For special events, wedding receptions and more, the Waterfront Hotel Oakland offers 8,000 square foot of conference and meeting space. Of the 13 meeting and event spaces, the 2,500 square foot Spinnaker is the largest and can accommodate up to 300 guests. Catering services is available through Lungomare. You can contact the hotel directly for complete details for special events, meetings and weddings.
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About The Author:
Randy Yagi is an award-winning freelance writer who served as the National Travel Writer for CBS from 2012-2019. More than 900 of his stories still appear in syndication across 23 CBS websites, including CBS New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco. During his peak years with CBS, Randy had a reported digital audience reach of 489 million and 5.5 million monthly visitors. Additionally, his stories have appeared in the Daily Meal, CBS News, CBS Radio, Engadget and Radio.com. He earned a Media Fellowship from Stanford University in 2012.