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Burlington Hotel
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13 reviews for Burlington Hotel
When I came to Port Costa to patronize one of the town's like, three business establishments this past weekend, I really didn't think I'd be spending the night, much less in this flea pit. But oh, how very, very wrong I was.
After a few too many drinks at the Warehouse Cafe across the street, I somehow woke up in this brothel-turned-hotel, or as other Yelpers have put it, the whore-tel. Instead of having numbered rooms, every room is named after a working girl. So more specifically, I actually woke up inside of Ethyl. That's right, not Ethyl as in I Love Lucy Ethel, but Ethyl as in Ethyl Alcohol kind of Ethyl, and boy, is Ethyl ever a filthy girl.
When I woke up, the first thoughts that popped into my head were, "Where am I?" and "How did I get here?", but those thoughts quickly subsided when I became infatuated with the many mysterious stains on the ceiling. One stain in particular looked spider-shaped, possibly a crack, but at second glance, it turns out that it was actually a spider, and just a few minutes later, that spider started fighting with two other spiders, possibly over a turf/stain.
Other things that I noticed: My headboard was partially burnt and had transparent, sticky, red goo on it. The dresser was disgusting, but it matched the headboard. There was a rusted, vintage Haas & Sons truffle tin on it. My blanket was covered in stains and had what looked like dried salad on it. There were air fresheners all over the place, as if they would help. The window sill was covered in cobwebs. There were no amenities whatsoever -- no soap, no toothbrushes, no towels, no trashcans and definitely no TV or fridge. I was surprised that there was even toilet paper.
And the strangest part? My probably 200 square feet bedroom, including the bathroom, had six doors in it. Three doors in the bathroom, two of which were locked, and three in the main room. One was to get out to the hallway, one was for a closet, and the third had a table in it and could connect to the other room. I'm really curious about the other two doors in the bathroom.
The hallways were covered in blindingly disgusting, yet awesome, mismatched, velvet flocked wallpaper, and contain weird, old decor. There was a magazine with Teddy Kennedy in his heyday on the cover sitting on one of the tables. On the walls were creepy paintings of children from probably the 1800's. Why there are pictures of children on the walls of a former brothel we'll never know.
If you choose to stay here, sober, and at your own will, well, then you're just weird, but more power to you. People probably only stay here if they plan on getting hammered at the Warehouse, or in my case, after getting accidentally hammered.
I know that I've probably made this place sound really unsavory, but I can't help but give it five stars because of the Burlington's *awesome* factor. This is seriously one of the coolest, and most trippiest places that I've ever been. I can't say that I'd jump at a second chance to stay here, but I'd love to visit it again as a museum and take pictures because it's oh-so-fascinating. That, or I accidentally get hammered at the Warehouse again.
By the way, if you're curious about the history of the Burlington, this is a really, really interesting article: http://www.sfgate.com/...
Did I really just spend $60 to stay here? Yes, yes I did.
After an evening of imbibing next door at the Warehouse with some fellow Yelpers I was happy to crash in Victoria's room. The place is old, creepy, and shabby but the room was relatively clean especially if you are judging while highly intoxicated. The bed was ridiculously small. I am 5'4" and just fit.
5 stars for being a prime spot to have a drunken, hedonistic night of fun. Enjoy the walk of shame in the morning.
peace, love, and good booze ~ chase
A girl was recently beaten and robbed in the parking lot that they make available to their patrons. Afterward, the only thing she requested of them was to have lights installed in their parking lot as it is currently unlit, which is why these events happened to her (the assailants attacked her once, left her as a bloody mess, and then came back again to harm her some more). The police took forever to arrive at the scene, which by the time they arrived the assailants were gone. Worse yet they seem to know who the assailants are... as "oh it's those kids that hang out in the parking lot." They need to do something about this, either do as she requests and install lights in the parking lot or just go down to the parking lot themselves and beat the crap out of those kids.
The Burlington Hotel is a hidden gem amidst the hustle and bustle of the Bay Area.
We recently stayed with a group of eight for a friend's birthday. We were not disappointed. The Burlington Hotel is full of creepy, cheesy goodness. Apparently, it used to be a bordello back in the late 1800s-early 1900s, so some of the rooms have bathrooms and some do not (when making reservations be sure to request a room with a bathroom). The rooms, and the entire building, has a very eerie and authentic feel. The beds are creaky and warped, the wallpaper is peeling, and everything smells musty and old. Very nice. Be sure to bring your own bedding and get ready to party. This place would be great for ghost hunters or party groups, but likely not a good spot otherwise.
Yes, it's dirty. Yes, it's old. Yes, the furniture is rickety. But would it have any charm otherwise?
Oh, if you need to check in and out, be sure to go to the bar across the street as there's no lobby in the Burlington.
I stayed here during the weekend for a friend's birthday caravan. The hotel looks totally awesome because it's got tacky velvet wallpaper and a huge dark, creepy mirror on the third floor. I stayed in Nell, which was probably among the smallest rooms, for $29. The mattress was one of those old, squeaky spring mattresses that was pretty uncomfortable to sleep on, and I can imagine how rough it'd be to share with a toss-and-turner. I was also super cold. Here are some tips for staying at the hotel:
* Make sure to specify whether you want a room with a bathroom -- it's more expensive, but worth it to some people.
* Bring your own toothpaste and shampoo. The only things you'll find in your room are a towel and a bar of soap for each person.
* Bring warm pajamas. Don't be an idiot and bring a tank top to sleep in like I did. It's an old building with single-paned windows, no heating and a thin blanket.
* Consider staying elsewhere if you get super pissed off about loud hotel guests. We had a dance party in Milly until about 2 am, and nobody asked us to quiet down. Also, my neighbors were playing bad metal until about 4.
* Not all rooms have that awesome tacky red wallpaper. If that's what you want (for photography purposes or whatever), you should probably ask for it when reserving a room.
* You miiiiight want to bring your own sheets.
So my stay here wasn't my most luxurious hotel experience, by a long shot. But It was certainly an experience. I think I might come here again to do some shooting.
threw a big party here in around 1998 or so. We had every room except Fanny, which is the one room you don't want, and that other room that the prostitutes use. (I heard from one of the bartenders that Fanny smells the way it does because the owner's brother lived there for a few years.) I can't think of the big room's name but that's where we had the dance party. In the morning we actually cleaned the place. I had brought a vacuum cleaner, I'm not kidding you, because I can't fucking stand walking around on dirty carpet, and we left the place looking a lot better.
Do come here for a party or with someone you're really hot for. Don't come here at the end of a relationship. The place is way too faded and tawdry for that. It's highly recommended that you bring your own sheets, some spa shoes, your Holga and lots of film, costumes, some sort of sanitary wipes, whiskey, cards, antique pajamas, fresh flowers, what-have-you.
UPDATE: Can someone confirm the rumors that the Burlington is being renovated? I hope someone is going to do a good job of it, i.e., replace the carpets and the beds, but leave the wallpaper and the grafitti. Looks like it's time for a last hoorah out there......
Port Costa is a tiny, one-strip town on the Carquinez Strait. Rumor has it that the Burlington Hotel used to be a bordello back when the town was a major grain port at the end of the 19th century. To be honest, it's difficult to imagine Port Costa as a major anything these days. The shipping lanes changed and the wharves that were once there have disappeared. Roughly 250 inhabitants still call P.C. home and it has a sort of coarse charm of days gone by.
If you can deal with funk and are looking for a crazy place to have a soiree, you should check this place out. I was recently there for a party and was prepared for an old school brothel in a state of decay (normally dirt and disorder do not intrigue me). This vibe lent itself perfectly to the party's theme; think seedy and threadbare rest home somewhere between Miami and Louisiana. Yeah, it was an interesting party...
Most of the rooms don't have bathrooms and their former brothel occupant's names remain on the doors. Decor includes paint by numbers paintings of alpine meadows, ruffled gingham cat decorations, an occasional doily, some spiders, used ashtrays, and furniture that is reminiscent of white trash grandparents. I would really like a reproduction of the painting downstairs, the striking piece of a naked young man aside his donkey, tres classy! It was reasonably priced about $50/room and that left some big rooms left over as communal party/dance rooms.
Some of the rooms have a musty odor, others are nearly normal, and some smell like an old cat lady's house. Don't complain though, it all adds to the authenticity. Strangely enough, I slept like a log that night.
I chatted with a pleasant local gentleman who helps run the place. He recommend that we watch the door at night to keep the riffraff from crashing the party and walking off with our booze. Oh, and yeah, they have swinging parties there too (wink, wink), if you're looking for that sort of thing. 3 very unique stars.
Remember Freddie Kruger? Or the hotel in the Shining?
A bit old, a bit dirty, and a bit run down. and a bit scary too. it remind me of a horror movie. its Victorian styled building, old rusty framed mirrors, old musty carpet, and couches from the probably the 80s gives this place its "charm" i supposed.
but i'm just one one member of a larger group of people that frequent this place: drunk, stumbly, and looking for a hang out spot because the Warehouse just closed.
other groups include: bikers, transients, nazi crack addicts, and drifters. maybe tourists are in there somewhere, too.
hey, Burlington Hotel prevents me from drunk driving!
Creepy? Yes. Haunty? Yes. Dirty? Yes. One time when we stayed there some young girls were filming a video in one room, they were all dressed in lingerie. Some friends kept pretending that they were lost and walked into the "video shoot" room. I guess it was pretty ridiculous in there. I love this place. I have to admit I was a little concerned that I might discover I have pubic lice or something after I slept there, but I was probably sweating out enough alcohol from the Warehouse to kill them off. My friend Jay found a pair of wet Daisy Duke lady biker shorts hanging over his shower when they opened their room.
Class! I want to go back there for my honeymoon....Oh, and the drive back is winding and hilly so you might have to pull over several times to barf out the car door like I did.
Kinda dirty. Kinda worn out. The bed's are too small for 2 people to sleep comfortably, and ours was pretty worn out. The bathroom's down the hall.
It's musty smelling. The art on the walls is 1960s kitsch. The wallpaper is that 1960's-Victorian-revival velvet flocked stuff. The mirrors on the walls are corroding. (All these things give it a really cool haunted house feel.)
The whole place reminds me of something out of my childhood, which was early 1970s counterculture. Thrift store furnishings= comfy, and useable- you don't have to worry about white carpets or drink rings on the furniture. Of course, no one else has either, so you have 30 years? 100 years? of hard use in every room. Also, there's a train that comes by, horn a-blowing, every few hours, all night long.
The last time I stayed here was a few years ago. The downstairs of the Burlington wasn't open, but you could see through the door that it used to be an old west style saloon with the stairs going up the back to the hotel, a la "She Done Him Wrong." It would be great if they'd open it back up.
The Burlington rooms were renting for $19/ night (cash only) when I went, though we got the "69er special" - (previously the 49er special) which got you a room for the night and a fairly decent dinner. You get the hotel key from the Warehouse bartender. (tangent: The Warehouse bartenders all have way more personality than I'm used to- nice treat! And it's an alcohol friendly town- they're okay with you wandering across the street to your hotel in an inebriated state with your drink still in hand. ) Anyway, the bartender handed us all the keys and told us to pick a room we liked and bring the rest back- it was that kind of place. I hope it still is.
All in all, I was pretty happy here, but there's a good chance that says more about my low standards than about the Burlington.
First time I ever went to the Warehouse it was for an East Bay Rats motorcycle gang BBQ. I got drunk as hell with the wife of this jagoff guy who I could not stand. She dragged me across the street and f***ed me within an inch of my life in one of the rooms and we didn't even pay. They were divorced shortly thereafter, from what I heard. The guy and his wife I mean. That's a five star experience.
Great for a cheap, dirty night out on the weekend. Be sure to get a room with its own private bath or you'll be forced to share one with the oodles of drunk people who stream over from the Warehouse cafe at three in the morning.
Awhile ago this hotel joined with the Warehouse Cafe across the street and for $50 you got a night at the hotel, and a steak and lobster dinner for two at the cafe. I like heading of the beaten track for a little East Bay exploration. The Cafe was a treat and a great people watching spot.
