Tl;dr – If you’re visiting the sunnier side of the Bay, the Kissel Oakland is a solid choice for your home base.
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After a few days of wine tasting in Walla Walla, it was on to the Bay Area, specifically Oakland – a city I know well as a past resident. For our accommodations, I chose the Kissel Uptown Oakland. Located right on Broadway, the Kissel Uptown Oakland is an upscale, centrally located hotel conveniently situated for all your Oakland adventures. It’s clutch for another reason. As a Category-4 hotel, the Kissel makes for a great use of a Hyatt Free Night 1-4 Award. That’s exactly how I booked our three-night stay, which I enjoyed. Let’s dive into the review.
Getting In and Location
After arriving from SFO, the hotel’s lobby is bright and spacious.
You’ll find the main restaurant off to the left of the front desk.
As a member of Hyatt’s soft brand, The Unbound Collection, The Kissel is an independent hotel and has more freedom in its operations, including localized offerings. Thus, I acknowledge Kissel’s management for providing some reasonably tangible benefits as part of its destination fee.
Of course, as a Hyatt Globalist, the destination fee is waived, and you’re also entitled to complimentary breakfast.
Check-in was breezy, and I received a complimentary upgrade to a suite.
I mentioned the convenience of the location, and it’s worth elaborating on this. The Kissel is just a few blocks off of Grand Avenue and one longer block away from Telegraph Avenue. There are ample restaurants nearby, as well as music venues if you are in town for a show. It’s about a 10-minute walk to one side of Lake Merritt, and it’ll take you about the same time to walk to the nearest BART station (19th Street) if you’re hoping to catch public transportation into San Francisco (or elsewhere around the Bay Area).
Indeed, the Kissel is a great jumping-off point to uncover some of the underrated aspects of Oakland. You can leave the hotel and hop an Uber down to the waterfront to have lunch in Jack London Square.
Then, work it off on a picturesque hike amongst the redwoods at one of the East Bay Regional Parks up in the hills.
And as it is Oakland, you can always find a trusty delicious taco truck for some post-hike eats.
The Room
The Suite, located on the fifth floor, was extremely spacious.
The room offered views of the surrounding buildings in Oakland’s uptown area.
The king bed was cozy. Across the room was a couch and a chair that we used as seating for a take-out meal. To the left of the seating area is the spacious bathroom, featuring a soaking tub and a plush cotton robe.
We used the tall closet to stash our wine haul from Walla Walla. Hanging up in the closet was the second robe.
The hotel takes pride in being eco-forward. As such, each room comes with two reusable aluminum water bottles, which can be refilled at the water stations located on each floor.
Amenities
The hotel’s gym, located on the 3rd floor, is quite robust considering its size. There is equipment for strength, cardio, and functional training. A midday visit is preferable, as it can be tight during the peak morning and evening hours.
There’s also a ‘Refuge,’ which is an interior courtyard with seating. The space can be used for anything from meditation to simply relaxing with a glass of wine or a book.
Dining
Otto’s is the hotel’s restaurant, which serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I only ate breakfast there, to-go style, and the food was super tasty.
I also ordered some margaritas to accompany our take-out feast the first night, which were OK.
The High 5ive Rooftop Bar was closed during our visit, so I didn’t have a chance to check it out. Here are a few stock photos from the website.
Service
The service was strong. Everyone from the front desk team to the restaurant staff was friendly and helpful. This was a notable takeaway from the stay and a big reason why I’d consider staying here again on a future visit to the Bay.
Conclusion
The Kissel Uptown might be a new dark horse candidate for a Free Night 1-4 Award. If you have any visits to the Bay Area that’d be better served by staying in Oakland rather than San Francisco, I highly recommend giving the Kissel a look.
You can find all the reviews from this Walla Walla to Lodi wine trip here.
