We stayed here for 4 nights. The hotel was extremely busy (apparently fully booked) during our stay although once out of the lobby area we did not see or hear many other guests. We did not avail ourselves of the morning coffee (tried it on day one and it wasn’t particularly nice coffee) or the ‘managers evening wine reception’. In our opinion, a bit of faux Italian décor, some nice throw pillows on the bed and smaller than average rooms doesn’t really stretch to “European-style Boutique Hotel”. This hotel can trade on its location which, although a rather ugly and unappealing area full of tacky tourist shops, predictable chain restaurants and large number of tour groups, is an excellent base to explore the city.
We booked a non-smoking room with a king sized bed. We asked for a room on the top floor and preferably not facing the street. Although our room was indeed non-smoking (more of that later) and we had a king size bed we ended up on the 3rd floor and our room, facing Mason Street, overlooked a concrete multi-story parking lot (although if you stood at the window you could see the Coit Tower which was a nicer view!). Five minutes spent unpacking in our room and we soon found out why we had been recommended to ask for a room not facing the street. The noise was terrible and even when closed, the windows (old, thin and full of condensation) provided no insulation. There were no curtains (just sliding wooden shutters that we had to shove a chair against to make sure they were closed properly) which didn’t help. I asked the front desk whether we could move rooms. The woman was very helpful and said that as they had declared a number of rooms non-smoking she could offer me a room on the 2nd floor which would be much quieter as it faced a wall. Alarm bells rang in my head when she said they had made rooms non-smoking but I agreed to go and look. As soon as she opened the door the smell of stale smoke hit me and I said that if that was all they could offer then we would stay where we were. She told me that due to the high number of non-smoking rooms requested they had to make more rooms available. So be warned if you ask for a non-smoking room!! Also, avoid rooms on the ground floor facing Mason Street – not only will the street noise be terrible but there is a permanent smell of stale urine along that sidewalk.
Our room was small by American standards although the mirrored wall (thankfully behind the bed!) made it look larger and bright furnishings helped. Our a/c unit worked although was noisy when put onto the cool setting. We kept it on the fan setting as it seemed to help to drown out the street noise – garbage collection at 6am was particularly nice! Room could have benefited from fresh paint and our carpet had a large iron burn and was damp under the a/c unit. Closet was small and would not hold our bags. Bathroom was adequate and clean and there was a hairdryer. In room safe would have been nice addition. Bed was comfortable & we were not bothered by noise from other bedrooms.
Attached restaurant was overpriced and food looked average. We had breakfast there one day and it was nothing special. Boudin Bakery an excellent nearby option for breakfast/lunch and with Trader Joes right next door you should not need to avail yourself of the very expensive mini bar in the rooms. For much better Italian food head up to North Beach – 5 to 10 minute walk – where you will find a good choice of independent restaurants and cafes around the Colombus Ave/Washington Square area. You will be surrounded by locals (rather than tour groups) and will have a more realistic Italian experience. And if you really can’t live without burgers, don’t go to the usual chains, make the 5 minute walk to Burgermeister at 759 Columbus.
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