This stay was a mixed bag and bottom line is I would look for a different option next time. The space was nice but Vacasa has really gone downhill.
PROS
-Nice location. We've stayed at the Embarcadero before and really like it. Great amenities and right on the marina.
-Dog friendly.
-Great bathroom. My tall husband loved all the room in the shower.
-Top level (no stomping above you, good view).
-Windows did a good job of keeping marina and sea lion noise out.
-Good price but now I know why.
CONS
-Rug is filthy and needs to be thrown out. Multiple stains. Socks get brown right away. I didn't even want my dog sleeping on it.
-There is no manual. This was needed for the very confusing heating situation, bathroom floors, and TV. Would be convenient for things like dinner suggestions and check out instructions, though those can be found online.
-Heating situation very, very confusing and ineffective. There is a thermostat which seemed to do nothing. I messaged Vacasa and a person apparently in India gave me repetitive, unhelpful, and generic advice ("kindly locate the Nest thermostat.." [it wasn't a digital Nest, it was a manual Cadet]; "kindly locate the breaker box" [there is no breaker box in the unit, it is in a different unit]). At one point I had to ask her if she even knew where I was staying, it was so weird and unhelpful, and wasted a lot of time. I gave up with her and tried to figure it out. The one single heat register on the furthest wall at the end of the hallway finally did seem to ineffectively kick on but it made alarming rattling noises, and the wall around it seemed rather scorched, so I reached out again. She said she was contacting local staff. I never heard from "local staff" and when I followed up on the last day after giving up completely, I was just given generic apologies and excuses. There is an electric fireplace that did work well and this what we used to heat the unit.
-Similar experience with the "heated floors". There is a separate thermostat in the bathroom for the supposed heated floors. It was blinking and had a million options. I spent quite a bit of time trying to program it and I really thought I had it at one point but nothing happened. I reached out to Vacasa but you can probably fill in the blanks at this point. She even tried to tell me radiant heat takes a long time. I've been on heated floors plenty and these were just super cold the whole time. I gave up. Manual sure would have been helpful!
-No bath mats. Had to use most of our hand towels on the floor. (Shower has no door which is a nice design but floors get very wet.) Only three towels.
-Bathroom privacy. The bathroom is beautiful but note that there is no glass in the window, only shades. I tried to determine this ahead of time reading the reviews and looking at the pictures so let me tell you- the only thing between you and the rest of the studio is shades. So turn up the TV..?
Also be aware that they provide plates and cups but the only place to wash them is the bathroom sink. There was no coffee or tea provided for even the first morning so I had to go to the front desk to ask. The front desk guy was very helpful. Vacasa used to offer more soaps and a little felt bag, but everything has been way pared down to one mini bar of soap and one little shampoo and conditioner. Worked for our brief weekend. A suggestion would be another hook in the bathroom and definitely one at the door. I wipe my dog's feet before entering and there was no where to hang her towel, a leash, or a wet jacket when entering the suite. My husband was also surprised there was no fan in the bathroom for all that condensation.
We love the Embarcadero but I would be looking at other options first next time, rather than this studio. A lot of this would be moot if Vacasa was like it was...