While the location, room and amenities were all good to great at the Handlery, my check in experience left a dark cloud over the rest of my stay that never dissipated. I booked the Rooftop Garden Suite at the Handlery San Francisco for 2012-03-03. I had considered booking the previous day (Friday) but sadly it was more expensive and already booked, besides which I had a previous engagement. When I arrived at the hotel to check in, the staff were unable to locate my reservation. After some back room consultations, the front desk rep produced records showing that I hadn't checked in the previous night, and so my reservation had been canceled and I'd been charged for a "no show". Of course, I hadn't checked in the previous night because I'd been several hundred miles away in my own bed, exactly as planned. After another fifteen minute wait, the rep informed me that the suite was free tonight (obviously a surprise, given I'd booked it) and he'd be happy to rent it to me for an additional two hundred dollars. (This actually ended up coming out to about $260 because of something about pre-discount taxes and surcharges), so I ended up out of pocket about $625 for one night in this admittedly rather nice room. But not $625 nice. Not even close. I was very very tempted to cancel my week long stay with Handlery after this experience, but the difficulty of finding a better place to stay during the Game Developers Conference was daunting. I know for certain though that unless things have changed significantly I will not be returning to Handlery San Francisco or visiting Handlery San Diego any time soon, including for next year's GDC.
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