I stayed at The Westin St. Francis last weekend to celebrate my 1 year wedding anniversary. Normally when I stay in S.F. I stay over at the Hilton on O'Farrell, however considering the special occasion, I decided to upgrade just a bit. BAD DECISION!
First let me say that the hotel is AMAZING. The exterior looks like an old 1920's Chicago style hotel. The restaurant, Michael Mina, is a Michelin Star rated restaurant, the bar atmosphere is phenomenal, and the lobby was buzzing with life. Our room was pretty nice. It had a flat panel, heavy blackout drapes and a decent enough bathroom. Unfortunately the walls were PAPER THIN. The both nights we stayed at the hotel, we were startled out of a deep sleep at around 3am by what seemed to be club goers returning from Ruby Skye around the corner. The people yelling and screaming was absolutely ridiculous. It keep me up most of the night.
Another MAJOR issue I had with the hotel was their parking situation. I rented a car, because I wanted the flexibility of getting around the city. Unfortunately, this folly cost me an extra $100. The hotel charges $49/night for guest parking which is the same price they charge non-guests. Not to mention everytime we wanted to leave, we were forced to wait over 15 min for our car to be returned from the valet only garage. What made matters even worse was the "tip fishing" by the valets. I don't mind slipping folks a tip that give great service, however don't overdue the clearing of the throat and the hand gestures.
All in all, I will probably never stay at the Westin St. Francis unless it is in a suite in the new tower. However the $49/night will likely keep me at the Hilton from now on which is only 2 blocks west of the St. Francis.
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