The GREATROOM

It’s a free breakfast buffet, I should not expect so much.
When I am at a Hampton Inn, I don’t expect much. But, this is in the Fremont Marriott. The Marriott is supposed to be better than the Hampton Inn. But, the Marriott and the Hampton Inn are on different levels. The Marriott’s breakfast should be a little better. Their breakfast is supposedly cooked by professional chefs and there are supposedly waiters and waitresses that work for tips.
My daughter and I walked in for breakfast on Thursday. They manager there seated us. Our waitress shows up. My daughter asked for a cup of apple juice and I asked for a cup of coffee. Instead we get orange juice.
We then make our way to the buffet to get our food. They have an impressive layout of food. They have their omelet station. The chef can also make waffles upon request. They have the chicken and pork sausages, potatoes, scrambled eggs and fresh fruit. Around the corner, they have their cereals, breads, smoked salmon, and oatmeal. It all seemed pretty impressive.
Unfortunately, the sausages that I had on my plate were cold. I didn’t take the potatoes or the quiche that they served on Thursday. But, my daughter complained to me that they were also cold. The scrambled eggs? The eggs were tasteless and dry.
The bacon, fresh cut fruit and the smoked salmon were good.
Service could have been better. The waitress disappeared and did not clear the dishes off the table. She did however, get me a to go box so that I could bring some food up to my wife.
The next day was a repeat, but, instead of quiche, they had pancakes. Also on the next day, my wife almost did not get to eat breakfast. The manager did not want to give me a box, so that I could take food up to the room for her. He told me that she would have to come down here. But, after requesting again, he relented and gave me a box. It was easier getting a box from the disappearing waitress.
Disappointing experience. It should have been better. Perhaps I was expecting too much from a free breakfast. The room was great. But, the food and service were not. My breakfast is more enjoyable when at a Hampton Inn.

***The GREATROOM is the restaurant in the Marriott Fremont; their breakfast buffet features fairly good made-​to-​order omelets and their waffles are decent too (though they kind of get ruined by the cold syrup); unfortunately, several of their hot breakfast items in the buffet serving dishes are quite bad (cold and soft potatoes, dry scrambled eggs and lukewarm turkey sausages); the bacon was very good – thick, chewy and meaty; service was good; a lot of hotel restaurants serve average to subpar breakfast buffets though I felt this one was a notch below the breakfast buffets offered at other Bay Area Marriott hotels (San Jose Marriott, San Mateo Marriott)***
Free self parking is available.

Took the husb and the kiddo here on Father’s Day for lunch — made a reservation, but it was unnecessary (I suppose Mother’s Day would have been more popular). The room is well-​appointed with lush chairs and seating. It is right next to the lobby with minimal seclusion, so it all kind of bleeds together — which might be strange to some.
The food was very good — and had the price tags to match. We were not disappointed with anything we ordered. Service was on the slow side of normal. Our waitress was knowledgable of the menu — a plus! But forgetful of what was ordered… She was definitely on top of drink refills, that’s for sure — never had to ask.
All in all, it was «A-​ok».