My husband and I stayed at the Mark Hopkins for three nights while I was at a conference. The hotel bills itself as four stars, but it really isn't. It's more like two stars. The rooms are absolutely tiny, the lamps are chipped and dusty; the water pressure is poor. There was a phone number scribbled on the wall of our room, in a fairly large way--like four inches high! It was clear housekeeping tried to clean it off, but you could still read it. There are only three elevators for a hotel of this size which meant you had to wait a while for an elevator. The location SEEMS like it would be a plus because you are on the top of Nob Hill. But there is literally nothing around and you can't even get a newspaper or a cup of coffee without schlepping two blocks down very steep hills. My husband and I felt trapped by the location. There is no gift shop in the hotel so if you forget a travel item, be prepared for a fifteen minute hike down a hill to the local Walgreens and then a twenty minute hike back up. The staff, while friendly, also seems a bit unprofessional. As I was checking out, the clerk starts reading all my charges out loud, as in: "Okay, I see you had breakfast for fifty six dollars, you made a charge in the business center for twenty four dollars, etc." Not that I had anything to be embarrassed about, but it was kind of surprising! I said, "You really don't have to read every single charge out loud." On the plus side, it really is pretty spectacular to have a drink at the Top of the Mark. We also had breakfast there (which is the only option in the hotel) and the food was good. Forget trying to get into the Top of the Mark after 7 pm, though. It is jam-packed with forty-five minute waits. Another plus: the beds are comfortable! All in all, there are much better options for San Francisco hotels, and we would choose to stay somewhere that was more centrally located.
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