I admit that 3 stars is only my opinion, for other people probably might be better.
I've booked this hotel as part of a package (flight + hotel) from British Airways.
First of all, location is not the best unless you have a car or use a lot of taxis. It's an elegant area, and yes, it's at walking distance from Union Square, and even The Embarcadero, but once you add the hills, it's not that easy, going up is almost impossible.
The building is magnificent, and the lobby is greatly and classically decorated, maybe a bit too much for me, I prefer a more modern and minimalist approach.
The corridors are seemed a bit creepy to me, so high and wide, dimly lighted and almost always deserted.
Our room was on the third floor, facing the front of the building. Too noisy at the early evenings, with all the traffic and the whistling. We arrived around 7pm and we were desperate to have some rest after a 10 hours flight and 8 hours difference from London (it was like 1am to us), which proved difficult with all that noise. No double glazing on the windows.
The room was big, but poorly decorated in my opinion, the high ceiling and the wallpaper colour plus the old-style furniture, gave a old, depressing tone. There was also a big closet including safe and iron, that was a plus.
The bathroom was also big, with a smallish tub, but the shower system was kid of weird, and not in the best state. Water took a long time to drain, and the tub would be partially filled while showering. Water pressure and temperature was excellent.
I found an old towel and some hairs right next to the tub.
Another problem was noise coming from the bathroom next door, we could hear the toilet or the shower as if we were there, and that is really annoying if your neighbour takes a shower at 6am.
In room wireless internet was fast and reliable, and free if you are a member of their club, so I recommend everyone to enroll before staying so you can have internet access for free.
Even though we hadn't much contact with staff (check-in and out was a breeze), they were very attentive and friendly, although when we asked for an extra blanket we had to wait for about an hour for it.
As I said, not my type of hotel, probably I would have liked the tower (which is a modern building) much more, for people looking for very classic, old-fashioned property, it might be perfect.
hotel reviews