The Hotel location relative to the
Starting/Finish line
of the San Francisco Marathon and the rest of Downtown
5 Embarcadero
Next to Ferry Building start staging area
Disappointment with the hotel - lovely
atrium. But no grace period for slower runners to go back to take
shower and change after strict noon checkout rule. AFTER noon it's $75
late fee. After 2 hrs after noon,
runner guest have to pay for another full day, over $200. Since the marathon
starts for slower runners (I
was in starting "Wave 8") later, say 6-6:30 a.m., if I just made the
time limit of 6 hours (which I thought could
be a scenario with all those rolling hills that SF is famous for), I'd make it
to the finish line at after noon. It
turned out, however, that I surprised myself and came in at 11 a.m., ample time
to take a shower and check out
prior to noon. So I ended up retrieving my carry-on bag at the Bell Hop, then
sneaking a change of clothes
(for the air travel back to Honolulu that day), in one of the hotel's restroom
toilet stalls. It was definitely a
new experience, going from guest with luxury accommodations to feeling homeless
and sneaking use of one
of the basement restrooms. I just couldn't see paying $75 to take a
shower. As sponsoring hotel of the
marathon, probably having a hand in positioning the Start/Finish Line at its
doorstep, you'd think Hyatt
would be more accommodating to the runners. Evidently nobody thought these
time frames out. In fact,
when I checked in, red-eyed from a no sleeper night flight from Honolulu, the
front desk didn't have a
clue where the starting line was. Hey folks, how about a staff meeting
prior to the big event so front line
employees know upcoming "most frequently asked questions" soon to
bombard them.