San Francisco (CA) hotels & places to stay

I stayed at Hotel Nikko recently for three nights. I’ve stayed in San Francisco to visit our daughter many times, typically at the Westin St Francis. For this stay, I decided to try Hotel Nikko and am so glad I did! The room I had was beautifully appointed, the staff, from the front desk to the doorman and housekeeping were incredibly helpful, fun and thoughtful. I stopped by the front desk to let them know that they had made this stay one of the best San Francisco experiences I’ve ever had in the city. The hotel is modern, the elevators swift, the staff delightful and helpful without being intrusive, the rooms so quiet and comfortable, the location so convenient to everything downtown - just a fabulous experience for a visitor to this lovely city. They represent the best this city has to offer. I’ve found a new favorite and will definitely stay here when next I visit! I would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone visiting! Thank you Hotel Nikko!

We rolled into San Francisco on an evening flight and we waited for an hour before the shuttle showed up standing in the cold. We called a few times but it only came an hour later. As we got into the hotel, the front desk lady told me sh couldn't find my reservation and later we realised that I had booked the hotel a day later (I made a mistake and booked the room for a day later because I failed to consider that we flew out on a red-eye flight) The very nice lady let us check in and asked me to sort it out with Agoda and in the meantime. I called Agoda.com on my Skype using the wonderful free wifi in the room (it was excellent connection) and sort it out with the Agoda officer within mins and I didn't get any extra charges. Excellent customer service. Thumbs up to both the hotel and Agoda!!

Ideally located for the LGBTQIA+/Leather/kink traveller, the Hotel Whitcomb is directly opposite Sam’s Diner, has a BART station just steps away, a leisurely half hour stroll to the Castro, and only a few blocks from Mr S Leather and Wicked Grounds. The room was clean and well presented, with beautifully comfortable beds. Some reviews have talked about street noise and safety - I heard none of the former, and though the number of homeless people is shocking, this seems like a significant issue city-wide. I did not feel unsafe walking alone, late at night, along Market St to the hotel. I anticipate returning to Hotel Whitcomb on my next visit to San Francisco.

The hotel was very clean and had modern facilities. The location was great -- very near the BART, Muni stations and the shopping center. Although the general area is not considered that safe, the short walking distance to the hotel from public transportation and shopping establishments helped us feel more secure. The room was fairly large and the beds and pillows were very comfortable. The hotel staff was also very friendly and accommodating. The wifi was good. Overall, we had an excellent stay. We will most likely book the same hotel on our next trip to San Francisco.

Granted: the area - at the edge of the Tenderloin - may not the best, but given the (for European standards) simply insane prices for hotel rooms elsewhere in San Francisco, this was excellent value for money. In contrast to many other - much more expensive - hotels I've seen in the city, which claim to be newly built or renovated but already have a somewhat shabby look and feel, the room and the entire hotel were impeccably clean and modern. Also, instead of the usual 'minibar-rip-off', there were gratuitous water and snacks in the room. And last but definitely not least, while I cannot say that the personnel at other SF hotels was unfriendly, the staff here was exceptionally nice and helpful (thank you for that!). I will definitely stay here again on my next visit.

No hotel in San Francisco is cheap. Especially one so close to tourist areas like this one is. They will all try to nickel and dime you, charging US$5 for a bottle of water, and this place is no exception. So I certainly can’t say that this place was a good value... especially after paying almost US$70 to park overnight. Besides the typical San Francisco exorbitance, the hotel was great. Comfortable, good staff, and it’s location so close to fisherman’s wharf was perfect... As long as you’re willing to pay typical San Fran prices, than this place is a great choice. For the more budget conscious, you might want to try across the street at the Holiday Inn.

Very nice hotel. Room was spacious, bathroom had nice facilities, and more importantly it was clean! Staff were also very friendly and accommodating. Two downfalls are that the carparking fee of $25 per day is quite steep as there is no other place to park within the area and the other downfall is that the hotel is quite far from San Francisco city. Nevertheless, the hotel is really nice and definately worth the money. I would still rate it 4-5/5.

Stayed here to attend a conference in San Francisco. Staff were very friendly and accommodating, and even allowed for me to check in early (even though I just asked for them to store my bags first). The room was a bit small, but that was expected. I also didn't mind as I was not in my room most of the time.The sink was outside of the bathroom, which I found a bit odd. I found the room to be spotless! The location was very central and within walking distance of the Union Square and restaurants. I will definitely stay here again.

At the arrival we had a surprise of 30 USD per day as facility fee!? and then we have received our room at the ground floor (this was even lower Than the ground floor.) Then we have requested another room and they provided immediately on 3rd floor. The Hotel should not have 4* we had better equipment/cleaner/modern room in 2-3* hotels during our US trip. The hotel does not really have any special service only the location. This is really close to everything so very convenient for a few day SF trip. The room windows are quite old so prepare for lots of noises especially during the night. Screaming/traffic etc is really disturbing. Overall I am satisfied due to the location and cleaness of the room but definetly overrated and overpriced hotel in San Francisco.

We decided to stay at the Mystic Hotel whilst in San Francisco for our honeymoon. The staff were courteous and helpful, the hotel is in an excellent location, breakfast daily was more than adequate and filled us up well beyond lunchtime, the rooms were very clean and tidy and there were complimentary choc chip cookie's available each day (the cherry on the top). You will not be disappointed if you stay here!

Truly, the heart of San Francisco—- I had my hesitations of going to such a fancy hotel. First, most hotels— have that modern and future feel, however the Fairmont in San Francisco is Not like that. This carries heart and soul. A place that makes you feel you deeper in San Francisco, you felt you went in to a time machine. The Fairmont is truly a vacation and experience within itself. I can say, it’s clean, service is excellent—but it’s when you walk in you feel, a part of present history. Everything about this place was perfect, from the service to the room. I have never (ever) stayed in a place that made me feel like a VIP, a movie, a time era, and a comfortable hotel all at once. We had an amazing time— and we only look forward to come back to San Francisco, to just stay at the Fairmont. Truly, a unique experience. (Kudos to Blanca and the front desk team)

Experience a downtown San Francisco hotel at the King George Hotel. Within the Union Square neighborhood, the King George Hotel is a unique boutique hotel in San Francisco offering comfortable accommodations with a European flair at affordable rates. This convenient San Francisco hotel is a short walk away from restaurants, shopping, theaters, the Moscone Convention Center and San Francisco’s world famous cable car line to the iconic Fisherman’s Wharf.

I checked in on Nov. 9, 2012 at the Embassy Hotel in San Francisco for 3 nights with some Mongolian friends. We were on our way back to Ulaanbaatar from a conference and tour in Las Vegas. Our San Francisco experience was a turn-around from the highly charged Vegas town. From the Vegas impersonal atmosphere, we were greeted each day by Embassy Hotel staff who always asked what they could offer, from keeping our luggage in a room when we arrived early for check-in to carting them to our rooms and reminding us of breakfast at the ground floor. The hotel has a vintage ambience, old wall paintings, an elevator only two meters wide that you have to pull and lock the outer door with a small glass window before the inner steel door shuts and you feel the car creak and rise. The hotel is of stone and wood and soft –colored rooms and clean well-lighted bathrooms whose design from floor tiles to plumbing obviously have seen history in the past twenty years or so. Most guests I saw were families or groups of young friends. For my Mongolian friends who enjoyed buying things to bring home, malls and small shops were all within minutes of walking. Before the shops open, we would leisurely walk to the City Hall area and watch bikers, joggers and seniors bundled for the cold. It was the Fisherman’s Wharf at night for seafood and souvenirs. In the few minutes of walk from the hotel down Turk street you would feel a quaint Asian atmosphere, unexpected in my early notion of this American tourist area. For a short stay, the Embassy hotel offers a relaxed peek of the urban and quaint in San Francisco .

Very nice and clean. Super friendly and helpfull staff, Thu Nhi, she´s the best..! Excellent location!! But... they charge us at the end $ 22 dollars PER DAY for WiFi service, what is RIDICULOUS when you´re paying that kind of rate, it is NOT a cheap place, and WIFI is a service they should provide for free...! Our time in San Francisco was great and Stanford hotel was very convenient, but, this charge for WIFI, was very disappointing....

We booked the Griffon for our first few days in California, and having stayed there we booked it again for our last days (in between we did a road trip) because it was pretty much perfect for us. The location is excellent, just a few blocks from the 'Ferry Building' which is a 'must visit' destination but also a great place to go for coffee, lunch, dinner, etc. and one and a half blocks from 'Market Street' which is probably the biggest shopping street, which also takes you to the cable car turnaround and so on. You can easily (and very happily/pleasantly) walk all the way around 'fisherman's wharf' from the Griffon. The front desk staff and concierge were all lovely and helpful. One big plus is the on-site bar/restaurant, Perry's. Perry's seem to have a few bar/restaurants in San Francisco and must have some sort of agreement to operate in the Griffon and it's a plus over most 'in-house' operators, and is also very much a destination for people not staying in the hotel, somewhere you feel comfortable having breakfast, sitting at the bar with a beer and a meal, sitting in the dining area having a couple or friends or family dinner, we found it ideal. The bedrooms are on the small side but this seems to be the norm in San Francisco, and you don't *need* more space, that's just a nice to have. Be aware that the vanity unit/washbasin is in the bedroom (well in our room it was, it's not universal), not in the bathroom, which is a little 'unusual' but didn't mar the stay for us. The aircon was good, the shower good, the usual flat screen TV etc. Many people moan there are 'too many homeless people in this area' when reviewing San Fran hotels, but I didn't find this to be the case around the Griffon, I think you'll encounter that if you are right on the tourist streets rather than two blocks off. The pricing was also pretty good compared to San Fran norms, I wouldn't call the Griffon cheap, not at all by 'other places standards' but for San Fran it's very reasonable. I kn

This was a great place for our family. The location was perfect for us, it was in a clean and safe area with lots of shopping and restaurants within walking distance and a Target/Trader Joe’s less than a mile away. It was just off the Bay Bridge entrance and very easy to get into San Francisco and to all the touristy areas, Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39, China Town and downtown/Financial District. The room was spacious and we loved having the living room/kitchen area separate from bedroom. The breakfast was fresh and had lots of options. If you have a car with you parking is $15 per night. I would definitely stay here again with my family or if traveling for work!

Stayed for 5 nights. Staff is friendly and helpful. Hotel also provides a jug and water coolers. Very ideal if you are there for business since it's just a couple of blocks to the financial district. Chinatown is just next to it, if you fancy chinese food. The retail area is very much within walking distance too. The room cleaning wasn't up to standard though. The housekeeping crew would only do my bed and ensure the toilet bowl was clean. No dusting or carpet vacuuming. Not sure if it was because I didn't leave any tip for the housekeeping lady.