SF Hilton (O'Farrell Street) -- to stay or not to stay, that is the question
Written: Nov 18 '08 (Updated Nov 19 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy access to public transit and 'tourist' attractions, good selection and view at restaurant
Cons: You might have to sell your car to pay for parking, NOTHING is free
The Bottom Line: If you can find a reasonably priced room, this is an excellent place to stay. The only drawback is that you may pay for things which are usually free.
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| attickah's Full Review: Hilton San Francisco |
I have stayed in this hotel two separate occasions now while in San Francisco for leisure-travel, at the end of 2007 summer and at the beginning of summer in 2008. Both times I have been pleased with the quality of the accommodations, though the first time was in the midst of their renovations which meant parts of the hotel were much more noisy or harder to navigate through than they should have been.
What's to love:
-The location of this hotel is excellent, placing you easy walking distance to public transit (BART, Muni, Cable Cars, etc.), drug stores (in case you forgot anything at home and/or suddenly have a need of allergy medication), and several varieties of ATM.
-The restaurant in the top floor of the hotel has an excellent view on clear or partly-clear mornings and offers a wide variety of foods (hot and cold cereals, eggs made to your order, french toast/waffles, yogurt, fresh fruit, etc.) in their breakfast buffet.
-The staff were courteous to both my travelling companion and I, answering our questions and offering directions or help when requested. Even though we purchased our hotel via travelocity/expedia (or a similar site), we were not made to feel like 'second-class citizens'. The rate we got via that special beat what we found in many lower-quality (fewer stars) hotels in the Bay Area and gave us much nicer sleeping accommodations to boot.
What's to hate:
-The parking fees in San Francisco in general will make your wallet scream for mercy if you're from out-of-town. The ramp in this hotel is definitely not the exception to that rule.
-Coming from the Midwest where Super 8 motels offer a pretty fair variety of freebies for staying with them (free local calls, most offer free wireless internet, free/discounted parking rates, free continental breakfasts), it was somewhat disappointing the lack of 'perks' at this luxury hotel. I realize you get what you pay for in terms of quality (the mattress in the Hilton was about twice as nice as mine at home) and that California is not the Midwest but it was still a little disappointing that the Hilton seemed so desperate for profits that it charged for everything.
-The elevators can be a bit interesting to navigate. But if you can remember which floors you can transfer elevators on, it's not terribly complicated to get around in the place.
Anything else to say about the place?
Both times our accommodations were clean and furnished in typical hotel style. The beds were comfortable with both pillows and towels in plentiful supply. In both cases, a small safe was included in the room where valuables could be locked up which was much more convinient than having safe-deposit boxes down in the lobby.
The room we chose both times had one king-size bed, which meant there was also the requisite small table and pair of chairs--and markedly little open space in the room. The smaller rooms here are not for entertaining in (I have not seen the interior of any of the suites), as space is a precious commodity, but they work well for one or two people who need a place to sleep for a few nights and want a comfortable place to do so.
The lobby is fairly large and usually somewhat busy, but even at its peak we only had to spend about 5 minutes in line to speak to someone at the front desk because they seem to keep the desk well-staffed. The persons behind the desk were also legitimately busy working with other guests, rather than wasting time while we waited.
My overall impression of this hotel was quite positive. I only wish some of the other places I stayed were this smooth, polished, and well-run.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
attickah
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Location: The land of the ice and snow
Reviews written: 15
Trusted by: 2 members
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