I'm used to getting bargain rates at old grand hotels in cities, and finding them sadly deteriorating, and located in no-longer-desirable locations. I got a bargain rate here, and expected the same, but found the public spaces and my room in great shape and looking glorious. And the location, central and right at a BART (rail system) station, is terrific, not only for business and sightseeing in the city, but also for catching an early morning flight, or arriving late at night.

I read in some other reviews complaints about the lack of a view from some rooms. It's a hilly city, and this is at the bottom of the hills, so there's nothing to get a view unless you were in a much taller building or on the water. Agreed, don't stay here if you are looking for a view, but hotels with views won't be as central and easy to get to.

I do agree with the complaint that the soundproofing between rooms could be better. I could hear my neighbor sniffling at night. I think it was just the door that can join the two rooms into a suite that wasn't soundproofed well. That would be worth fixing.

Note that although they don't have coffee in the rooms and breakfast is pricey there is free coffee in the lobby, or at least there was when I was there.

The hotel has great public spaces but the rooms need updating. The decor and furniture in the room need to go and the bathroom although clean enough needs a major overhaul. The indoor pool is fantastic and it is close to great shopping. The staff is attentive and very accommodating. If I were to rate only the staff then this hotel would get an excellent rating but the rooms were very disappointing considering the grand public spaces that greet you as you walk in.

From the doorman at the beautiful golden door to the conceriage to the pool in the sky, to the grand buffet under the stained glass dome in the Garden Court, we loved everything about this hotel. As everyone has written before, the staff is beyond courteous and extremely friendly. The attendant at the spa/pool was very welcoming with chilled water bottles, freshly folded towels and crisp apples. Everyone we dealt with at the conceriage desk was informative and knowledgeable, and could even tell we didn't want a lot of extra information, just wanted our questions answered. The hotel itself is gorgeous, but then we love older hotels for all the history and special decor. We did upgrade to get a larger room, and it was plenty big enough. The bath was large and well appointed with upscale bath products. The location was great with cable cars and buses right in front as well as the BART. We didn't take the BART but it was there. There are enough stores, restaurants, lounges open in the evening that it didn't feel closed up and quiet and night, which I was expecting. Like everywhere we visited in SF, there were many homeless looking for money and cigarettes in the area. The buffet in the Garden Court was expensive, but also very good, as was the service. We would recommend this to anyone who prefers the style of an older hotel and excellent service.

This hotel has some fantastic positive characteristics. The train stop from the airport puts you right in front of the hotel (10 steps, no more). This is a fast, convenient, and very inexpensive at $16.50 for a roundtrip to and from the airport. I was in town for a conference, and the Moscone centre is about an 8 minute walk away.

Check-in is quite efficient, and the staff member I dealt with (for both check-in and check-out) was very thorough.

The room itself had high ceilings, and the furnishings were quite nice. My room had a wet carpet, which to me meant they had just washed it. It wasn't a problem. The bed was fine, and I would say it was comparable to the Westin bed. The linens were a step above Westin.

The biggest negative was the bathroom. I don't recall the last time I have seen a Starwood hotel that had rusty fixtures and mold in the bathtub. There was a fair bit of mold throughout the bathroom, and was a real turn-off. I didn't see the mold until late at night, and I was frankly too tired to kick up a fuss, so I lived with it for the three nights and mornings I had to bathe there.

With my status, internet is included, and it worked well for me during the entire stay. The fitness area was good. I only made it here twice, and although the controls on a couple of the machines didn't work, it wasn't very crowded, and there was a decent selection of free weights, resistance machines, and cardio machines. The fitness room looks over the pool, and that appeared to be a good size for a work-out.

The breakfast was included in my rate. I think if you had to pay for this, it would be very expensive, given the number of choices within a short walking distance of this hotel. However, you don't really pay for the food. The food was good, no doubt, but the room where they serve the breakfast is very grand and beautiful. It's a great way to start the day, particularly if you can schedule business meetings there. It really gives a great impression to your business partners. The breakfast rate made up for the fact there is no coffee in the room.

My ratings would have been higher, if not for the cleanliness issue, so if you come here and have a spotless room, I would suspect you would think this is a solid 4 star hotel.