let me start off with the facts: after just being treated crapy by the front desk guy at the hapmton inn around the corner, i was welcomed by rachel (front desk) it was like coming home. My room was clean, my bed was perfect, the smell of the hotel was "like new", the pool, jacuzi, breakfast, dinner, what more could you ask for??? I will gladley and always stay here when needed, no more hotel shopping for me. The price was great, & you get all that!!

This hotel is a couple of years old, but still has that "new" feel. Have stayed in lots of Holiday Inns and would have to say this is my best experience with the brand. Staff was very helpful - changed my room immediately, no questions asked, when original room had strong cigarette smoke smell. Mid-week heavy hors d'oeuvres included beer and wine gratis and allowed me to eat dinner right there, but there are many, many good choices within walking distance. Bed was cushy, room more tastefully decorated than usual Holiday Inn style. Bed seemed just a little short, maybe? Very close to downtown Sac, about 10 minutes on freeway. Can't say enough good about this place.

We met friends at Staybridge for a little getaway. We booked their cheapest rooms, which were mini-suites with one queen bed, plus a pull-out couch that could be made into a bed. There was a kitchen with refrigerator/freezer (including icemaker), 2-burner cooktop, microwave/hood, dishwasher, pans & dishes. This place is designed for longer visits, similar to Extended Stay, but way better. Rooms were pleasantly decorated with yellow walls and mission-style furniture. There were a lot of extra little perks. In-room coffee, tea, and popcorn. Cabinets with actual storage space in the kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom. Lots of nice towels (and more towels available at the pool and fitness room). Free wireless in the room. Price included FULL breakfast, and I mean the real thing--very good. Staff was helpful wherever we encountered them. Our friends left a cellphone in their room, and housekeeping was very prompt to get it to us when we came back for it. The surrounding area is FULL of every conceivable restaurant and retail store. Downtown Sac is 10-15 minutes away by freeway, and Arco Arena and Airport are 5-10 minutes away. We had a great, relaxing time with our friends in the rooms and the jacuzzi. We are due back in Sac in April--Staybridge won us over; we will try to book them again.

I stayed at the Staybridge suites for 2 nights after Thanksgiving. It was just as I expected -- still new, clean, comfortable, well appointed and trouble free.

My room was a small efficiency studio. It had a kitchenette (2 burner stove and a nuke, but without a real oven, sink with disposal, and full size dishwasher) with full utensils, pots and pans, a toaster, and a coffee maker. There was a comfortable queen size bed, with OK pillows (I'm very persnickety about pillows, so I always bring my own anyway). There was an adequately sized desk and various other little tables, and a small sofa. There was also a nice large flat screen LCD TV with a ton of channels. The bathroom was fine, with a nice massaging shower head and curved curtain rod. Everything was clean. If I had next door neighbors, I never heard them.

The only feature that left something to be desired, was the blackout curtains, which allowed bits of light to peek through in the morning. I'm a light sleeper and I like a very dark room. I imagine they are fine for most people, but for me they definitely weren't Hilton dark (IMO, Hiltons have the best blackout curtains in the industry).

There is free breakfast until 10:30 am. I only went the last morning of my stay. Had I known it was so good, I would have gone the first morning as well. There were: eggs, sausage, make-your-own waffles, fresh and canned fruit, three juices, a few different kinds of coffee, oatmeal and assorted cold cereals, yogurt, muffins, pastry, bagels and other toastables, and I'm sure I'm omitting plenty. It was one of the most extensive hotel free breakfast buffets I've ever seen. It added significant value to the already reasonable rates. Apparently, there are evening buffets Tuesday through Thursday as well.

Check in was a breeze. The staff were always pleasant and helpful. When I asked for a 2 pm checkout, I was told I could only get a 1 pm checkout. Then at about 11 am, someone from the front desk called to say that I could stay until 2 pm after all. It was greatly appreciated, and was the kind of attention to detail that surely would have been overlooked in most full service hotels.

Another review mentioned power surges, but I experienced no power related troubles. I always travel with a surge protecting power strip for my laptop, but its fuse never tripped.

The only trouble I experienced was that the free high speed internet was anything but high speed. The internet sometimes cut out intermittently, even though the hotel was nowhere close to capacity occupancy. I ran speed tests and got the same slow speed (120 kbps down/120 kbps up) on both the wired and the wi-fi networks. That's only about 2.5 times the speed of dial-up, and pages take seemingly forever to load. In order to be competitive with other area hotels, they should spring for a little more bandwith.

For those who don't have a computer with them, there are two computers in the business center downstairs which can be used for free, but you may have to wait your turn with a few game playing kids. I didn't print anything, but I was told that printing is free as well.

All in all, this hotel is a real gem for the budget traveller who doesn't want "budget" accommodations. I got a good rate on priceline. However when I checked their website, I found their rate of $73 to be very reasonable for a place like this. These days, I don't think you can do better in the Sacramento area. I'm staying there again next weekend and looking forward to it.