Affordable Union Square Hotel and other San Francisco, CA Hotel/Accommodation Reviews

Occupying a whole city block the Hilton is conveniently located on the edge of Union Square.
I have stayed in this hotel three times: in a standard room, a club level room and a junior suite. The junior suite gives the best value of money while the club room access is a joke. You have to pay for drinks at the club and the breakfast don't even offer prepared eggs.

Rooms are clean, amenities are ample, the bar downstairs is reasonably priced and within 5 minute walk you are at Union Square. When you get out from the main entrance, to the left is Tenderloin, San Francisco's bad neighbourhood. Don't go there at night, but during the day there are many ethnic restaurants that are worth trying out.

Considering price, location, room quality and amenities I will stay here again in the future.


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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$80-120  » Currency Converter
Phone: 415-771-1400
Address: 333 O'Farrell St., San Francisco, CA 94102
Directions: O'Farrell / Mason - Just Southwest of Union Square
Website: http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/SFOFHHH-Hilton-San-Francisco-California/index.do;jsessionid=96FD23E3F9268A22C0A75B4F18ED8B71.etc33?ctyhocn=SFOFH

Stayed here for 4 days and I regret not having stayed here in my previous 3 visits to San Francisco.

Mark Hopkins is just simply, "excellent".

First, the location. It is located on Nob Hill at California/Powell. So you can jump on the cable car right outside the hotel doors. Also, you can walk 3 blocks South to Union Square; or four blocks Northeast to Chinatown. View from the room is also great as Nob Hill area has nice buildings and streets. Depending on your room you might also get a view of the Financial District with the iconic Trans America pyramid.

Secondly, the room itself: wonderful! I booked a king deluxe and the room was about 350sqft, richly appointed and decorated. The bed, lazy chair and working chair were all super comfortable. The bathroom has marble bath, amenities were ample and there's enough space to move about even with a room service table in the room.

Thirdly, service. Top of the Mark, the famous martini jazz lounge sits on top of this hotel, and the in-room dining menu left nothing to complain: I had breakfast and tea, both were superb.

Fourth: atmosphere. Most of the customers were either business people, or 'older' couple on vacation. Hence, the hotel is pretty quiet (i.e. no college students partying).

Finally: rate. It ain't cheap, but at $200/night the deluxe king room is, in my opinion, a great deal!

The only little thing that one might complain is the hike back up Nob Hill to the hotel - but hey, you can always jump on the cable car!


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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$180 and up  » Currency Converter
Phone: 415-392-3434
Address: 999 California Street
Directions: California/Powell
Website: www.san-francisco.intercontinental.com/

This hotel used to be called the "Argent" but has been purchased by the Starwood group.
Stayed here for 3 nights around Thanksgiving holiday:

Room - very good
Rather small (around 250sqft) but very modern with fresh clean colors of white and pastel. The large screen flat screen TV was great, so was the in-room Starbucks coffee. Bed and lazy chair were both very comfy

Location - very good
Located on Market & Third, which means you are about 5 minutes from Westfield (Bloomingdale's) on foot, and about 10 minutes from Union Square. BART station Montgomery is 1 block away

Service - good
24 hour room service, fitness center (which I did not use) and a business center. The only complaint I have regarding service is they charge a lot of money for using the internet ($15/day, I'm more used to paying $10).

Price - very good
I arrived on a Saturday and was eligible for their "3 nights for the price of 2" promotion and paid around $150/night - all inclusive.

Overall - very good
I will definitely use this hotel again.

Miscellaneous: the whole building is non-smoking, which sucked (well for me at least...)


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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$120-180  » Currency Converter
Phone: (415) 974-6400
Address: 50 third street
Directions: Market & Third
Website: westinsf.com

Stayed 3 nights during Thanksgiving at this charming, if somewhat old, hotel. I stayed at their 1-bedroom suite:

Room - Good
The 1-bedroom suite was about 500sqft and was richly appointed. Dining table, couch, work table, 2 TV's, two sink in the bathroom and a jacuzzi tub. Some of the furnitures need updating though, as they are showing signs of wear.

Service - Average
Service at this hotel was a bit mixed. For example, they have coffee & tea in the morning and wine reception in the evening: nice. But they don't have a coffee maker in the suite?
Also, the L'Occitane soap bars are nice, but shouldn't you provide even a basic bubble bath liquid soap when there's a jacuzzi in the room?
The free wireless internet is nice though (albeit a bit slow).

Location - Very Good
Located at Post & Taylor - it's a short 5 minutes walk to Union Square. If you walk West a block or so there's a bunch of ethnic restaurants that are really good.

Price - Good
Paid about $325/night for the 1-bedroom suite; it's hard to find a suite under $400 in downtown San Francisco.

Overall - Good
I will consider coming back here, although it will not be my first choice.

Miscellaneous:
The building is non-smoking, which kinda sucks (for me!)


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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$120-180  » Currency Converter
Phone: (415) 563-0303
Address: 545 Post St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Directions: Post & Taylor
Website: prescotthotel.com

Stayed for three nights after Thanksgiving in this old hotel on Montgomery & Market. It is a wonderful >100 yr old building that has been restored recently. Think marble staircases and glass dome dining room :)

Room - Very good
I stayed at their cheapest room - it is probably about 300sqft which is not bad for a downtown San Francisco hotel. What it lacks in space they try to compensate with furnishings. The bed is very comfortable and so is the work chair. The bathroom has marble sink and the door and wall are thick so I don't hear anything from the rooms next door, apart from when they turn the shower on.

Service - average
No coffee maker in the room, the fridge is not stocked (no mini bar) and internet costs $17/day, although noticeably faster than most hotels (stable download at 100kbps). 24 hr room service is nice albeit pricey.

Location - superb
On the corner of Market St. and New Montgomery St. 5+ mins walk to Union Square and Westfield Shopping Center. 10+ mins walk to Chinatown, 15 mins walk to North Beach and the Ferry Building/Embarcadero.
The Montgomery BART station is right outside the hotel entrance on Market St., which means getting from and to SFO is a piece of cake.

Price - very good
I booked it early and got the room for $145/night; a great deal for a hotel of this stature.

Overall - very good
I will consider staying here again, if I can get the similar deal.


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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$120-180  » Currency Converter
Phone: (415) 512-1111
Address: 2 New Montgomery St, San Francisco, CA 94105
Directions: on Market & Montgomery
Website: http://www.sfpalace.com/

This is a very famous hotel, its location is superb and the building is historic.
No wonder they are able to charge such a high price for what in my opinion are mediocre rooms.

Rooms:
Small, and a bit outdated. It's a good thing they have a nice new flat screen HDTV. That sorts of made up the size and the distinctly average bathroom.
I was already upgraded to their tower room. I can imagine that the standard room in their historic building to be even smaller.

Price:
This should be assessed relative to the room. I paid $200/night. I have no problem paying that kind of money if the room is at least 400sqft and nicely appointed. It wasn't. Thus, I think this hotel is overpriced.

Service:
Probably the one of the bright spots of this hotel. The posh Michael Mina restaurant is located here; and the Clock Bar is a very nice looking bar/lounge. The staff is also very knowledgeable and friendly.

Location:
Being right at Union Square is one of this hotel's best selling points. I however, don't care too much for it. Union squire is always very crowded and there are always beggars loitering around the area. I like staying near Union Square, just not at Union Square.

Overall:
6 out of 10. Decent, but not more than that.


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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$180 and up  » Currency Converter
Phone: (415) 397-7000
Address: 335 Powell St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Website: http://www.westinstfrancis.com/