Ashleyann B.
Yelp
The location is the best thing about this place! Hotel Arcata is within walking distance to a bunch of places to eat, drink, snack, and get groceries from. Hell, if you don't wanna walk or drive out for dinner, there's a decent Japanese restaurant downstairs open from 4-8pm.
I stayed here twice: first in room 208 then in room 308. Both rooms are "standard triple rooms," which accommodate three people in one twin bed and one queen bed. Both rooms accommodated us well but are pretty small. Both stays were during the week, but I paid different prices: room 208 was $105/night for 3 nights because I booked this room a little last minute, whereas room 308 was $145/night for 4 nights and I booked this stay pretty far ahead in advance. While location is great and service was nice too, this place is more "worth it" at the $105/night price point than the $145/night price.
The complaints about the noise hold true, especially if your rooms are facing the street. That is the case for rooms 208 and rooms 308. We were able to hear all of the cars and noise along the streets, and the noise was amplified more when we left the windows open for air. I can't imagine how much louder it would be during a non-Covid time. This hotel is fairly old--the vintage charm outside and inside should be a reminder of its age. If it isn't, then the thin walls and the bathroom set-up will remind you. We're able to hear our neighbors through the walls if they're blasting music or talking or laughing really loud. Bring earplugs if you're sensitive to sound.
The bathrooms have a pretty old-looking tub, but the water pressure is awesome! A few things to note about the bathrooms for rooms 208 and rooms 308:
- sinks are located outside of the bathroom
- room 208 has a tissue dispenser next to the sink, whereas room 308's tissue dispenser is in the bathroom itself
- I think room 308 had a mirror in front of the sink and room 208 didn't
- the bathroom door to room 308 does not have a lock!
The hotel also doesn't have dedicated parking space, but the hotel gives you a permit that will allow you to park overnight along the streets outside of the plaza area until 11am. I was a bit on edge after reading that people have had their cars broken into, but just make sure you have nothing to show in your car. One of the perks of having a room that faced a side street was that my partner and I were able to park our cars overnight in an area where we can see our cars right outside the window.
Don't expect stellar wifi here. Their website says "high-speed wifi" but that's a blatant lie. When I stayed in room 208, I had difficulties with the wifi when I was doing work from home tasks. Wifi was barely enough to get my work done, but it did disconnect on and off a lot. I think room 308 had better wifi but that doesn't make the wifi any better.
Other things to note about this place:
- no mini fridge (we brought our own cooler to compensate and used the hotel ice)
- no microwave
- no daily room cleaning at the moment due to Covid
- there's a TV in this room if you want to set up a game console for your stay
- I've read complaints about the beds but my group agreed that they were all comfortable and kept us pretty warm
- I appreciate the historical aspect of this hotel in that the pictures displayed in the hallways highlight a lot of localized redwood and tribal history. If you're killing time inside, give some of your attention to this "gallery."
- for some reason, their official website doesn't pop up on the search engine; I have to go to Wikipedia to access it
- didn't have the chance to ask if their complementary gym pass to The Club in McKinleyville was still available