Kissel Uptown Oakland, in the Unbound Collection by Hyatt

I really liked the room setup and terrace.

Excellent staff and service. Nice Hotel well maintained. We enjoyed the restaurant for lunch and breakfast, and would certainly return again

Trendy, classy, in the best part of the city walking distance to restaurants and cafes

The staff are wonderful! Very nice hotel. Location is nice and our short stay went great.

We've stayed at this property several times and it's always a great experience. Helpful and friendly staff, many which remember us from our past visits. We highly recommend this property and we look forward to more visits in the future as well!

I loved the gentleman named John who helped us load our luggage and valet services. He was hands down my favorite part of our stay. He was so kind, he knew everyone and made sure we knew where we were going and how to get there safely. Give him a raise. I also loved Angie, our server at the restaurant. We had breakfast there one day and she was so kind to us and efficient. She made our morning so much more enjoyable.

Did not have breakfast. Yet I did eat lunch on the day I arrived. Superb! Wonderful waiter. Also loved your SENIOR Bellman. A lovely gentleman.

Overview and Location

We loved our stay at the Kissel Uptown Oakland for two nights (April 17-19) with a group of friends, coming together for a special event. We rented two rooms. We were treated very well. We would stay again. The hotel's location in the heart of Uptown Oakland proved to be one of its greatest strengths. From the moment we arrived, we discovered just how walkable and vibrant this neighborhood truly is. AMazing Climbing GYM! Great restaurants. BART nearby. Tons of shows. Outdoor music. We loved it. The staff was excellent—kind, down to earth, and genuinely helpful throughout our stay.

During our stay, we spent our days exploring everything within easy reach. We grabbed coffee and smoothies nearby, caught shows at the fox theatre and took time to tour the area's impressive architecture. A few blocks away, Whole Foods made for convenient shopping. the fridge is large enough to hold a good amount of food. The neighborhood was alive and accessible—we felt safe it was exactly what you want from a hotel location.

Getting around was seamless. We parked easily in the YMCA lot across the street and also took advantage of public transportation to reach the hotel and explore further. Whether you're coming by car or transit, Kissel Uptown puts you in the perfect spot to experience Oakland's most dynamic neighborhood. The hotel itself became less about where we slept and more about the ideal base camp for our urban adventure.

The hotel rooftop appears to offer outside space, but access is limited. While the hotel hosted an event on the rooftop, we could not gain access. There is one place you can sit outside near the gym. Unless the a patio is part of your room package, you won't have casual access to an outdoor space.

The gym is well-equipped with excellent machines, but it needs ventilation. A overwhelming strong smell of rubber mats and vinyl without any way to open a window or door meant we did not use the gym. Generally the hotel needs someone paying attention to airflow.

Room Quality

The rooms ( double queen and king urban and king uptown) were large and comfortable. The windows opened, allowing us to pull fresh air through the rooms.

Noise and Resolution

On our first night, guests in the room above us were up quite late. While they weren't playing music loudly, the constant door banging from what seemed to be air suction was disruptive and disrupted our sleep. I eventually got up, found earplugs, and solved the situation myself.

The next night, the hotel proactively moved us to a different floor and secured a nearby room for our second party. This was excellent service recovery.

Check-in Timing Note

Our second room wasn't going to be available until 5pm, which could be problematic at this hotel. Since members of this system can have checkout as late as 4pm, rooms may not be available until 5pm. However, the staff shifted us to a new room and let us check in as soon as those rooms became available, so this wasn't an issue for us.

Parking

Parking was easy and only $35 overnight in the lot across the street.

Overall Assessment and Recommendation

Kissel Uptown Oakland shines as a location-based choice. The Uptown neighborhood is genuinely walkable and vibrant—coffee shops, architecture, entertainment, and shopping are all within reach. The staff deserves particular praise for their attentive service recovery when addressing our noise issue.

However, the hotel has a few notable drawbacks. The gym's ventilation problem is serious enough to make it unusable, and the rooftop's limited access disappoints given its prominent marketing. Room quality is solid, but these facility issues prevent a good SPA recommendation.

Book this hotel if: You prioritize neighborhood and ease of location and walkability over on-site amenities, and you appreciate a kind responsive, helpful staff.

Skip it if: You plan to use this gym or expect full access to advertised amenities like the rooftop.

For a special event or neighborhood exploration, it's a solid choice. Just manage expectations about the facilities. And bring earplugs just in case. But its worth it!

Beds were comfortable.

Service top-notch. Staff were kind and caring. High-quality food at restaurant. Discounts at bars, restuarant in hotel and more.

Beautiful hotel that exceeded my expectations. Loved all the functional details in the room. Definitely recommend a stay here!

First, let's review the positives about the Kissel. The staff goes above and beyond to assist guests and fulfill their needs. The room was spacious and the bed was comfortable -- all good things. Now, the negatives: we asked for an accessible room, and what we were assured was accessible was a disaster waiting to happen, with a knee-high bathtub, grab bars at waist height and grab bars on one side of the toilet and then behind it for some reason. The room also had no closet, chest of drawers or dresser. It had some sort of small wicker wardrobe that did not have the ability to hang clothes so that they did not extend beyond the wardrobe. If you are only there for a night, it probably does not matter, but if you need to hang clothes or put away clothes for a few nights you are left with few options. The space in the refrigerator was ridiculous -- it was so shallow, we had to lay very narrow juice bottles, from the lobby, on their sides to keep them cold. There was no room for anything other than the two bottles and a very small Ziplock bag of medicine. The reusable water bottles were nice until you try to refill them, and realize that you must fill a glass with water first and then pour it into the bottle. I don't like to use glass glasses in a hotel room -- you do not know how sterile they are, and I would rather not take my chances. So, service I would give a 100 -- room features -- a 50.

Aaron at the front desk made my experience fantastic as I had a few issues with my stay and he helped me with each one and even used creative thinking to help me fix my issues. He made the experience a great one and did a fantastic job in ensuring that I had a great experience as a globalist.

Generally speaking, the hotel is in a good location (5 blocks or so from the Bart station which I used throughout my stay) and nearby good food/breweries. Hotel room (I had an uptown king room) was clean and great. Breakfast at Otto's is fine and I ate dinner there once and the smashburger was fantastic.

Overall great stay and service at the front desk (huge shout out to Aaron and also Marva was great) made it a fantastic one.