I'd give this hotel a ten if I could. I am an old lady (in my (cough) 50s) and paid incredibly lower fees for this hotel than other hotels I've stayed in, and had a much better experience.
I found this hotel, by looking at the Yelp reviews... and it is living up to the enthusiastic reviews.
We were thrilled as soon as we drove up....reserved parking for guests in the small private lot for this retro hotel RIGHT IN FRONT of the hotel. . . how cool is it to not have to deal with valet, park yourself right out front? And in San Francisco too!
Orlando was at the front desk when we arrived. He was awesome - friendly, helpful. He acted as if we were old friends.... So warm!
I had spoken to him on the phone before the trip, and he remembered our conversation. I'm such a trouble maker, wanting to change my plans at the last minute. I had booked the hotel starting for a certain date, and asked last minute if it would be possible to come in earlier for an extra night and stay in a special suite / room for my baby's bday, and then switch to the "regular" room that I had booked for five days. He not only got me the great special room I wanted, but he also was able to get me a very, very nice rate for a room that ordinarily $400, even though we were coming in for a Saturday night . . . I was so surprised and pleased when I got the confirming email.
The amazing suite - with a separate seating / living room area from the master bedroom has a super cool, retro vibe, and a small out door patio.
The coolest part of the suite (Room 43) was that in the master bedroom has a WORKING LP player with several old school LPs - AWESOME! We played Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor..... baby wanted to save Luther Vandross for later lol....
Orlando had recommended some special restaurants for baby's bday. We decided we would check out the hotel restaurant since it was right there, get a drink and then go to the other restaurants .
The restaurant, Chambers, is a beautiful, romantic venue, with amazing yelp reviews. We ended up scrapping our plans to move onto another place and ordered appetizers and drinks there, which were delicious. (This is another yelp review). I mention our trip to the beautiful restaurant because towards the end of our evening, our server brought over a delicious chocolate dessert with a candle on top. "How did you know it was his birthday?!" I asked.... Our server said that Orlando had been in earlier and saw us there, and had them bring it for baby's birthday. ISN'T THAT SWEET?
I moved into the King deluxe room this afternoon. No extra living area, or LP player, but this is still wonderful. Lots of windows. This room, has a cool wrap around large outside deck that gives it an open feel if I felt like it, I would be able to leave fido outside.
Oh, somewhere I read there was no dog fee but apparently there is. This is no biggie, I would prefer of course not to pay a fee, but it seems nominal - I think they said it was $25.
The hotel is in the Tenderloin area, which is a little rougher, in terms of many homeless camped out on the streets. Some are mentally ill, and I heard some dude yelling loudly as he walked by. We walked this morning to a restaurant in lower Nob Hill less than a mile a way, and had to maneuver amongst the tents, and other places where you shouldn't step. Ick. So, if that bothers you, beware. Orlando also suggested just Ubering it, and I think that should have been what we should have done.
There are however the BEST Vietnamese sandwich places in SF (I did my Yelp research!) - both right across the street from the hotel! (As is a small liquor store where I bought some supplies). If you love Vietnamese sandwiches, and spring rolls like I do, you will be in heaven!
My meeting is by City Hall which is only three blocks away, so I'm gonna walk! I'm not going to have to pay those expensive parking fees like I did last year, which is a huge plus.
For years I've had to come to San Francisco for trainings. I've stayed in many other hotels, AirBnB, in and out of the city, and this by far is the best, and where I intend to stay when I visit SF in the future for sure. read more