It is a grand and imposing looking hotel. There are plenty of gilded furniture pieces. The public spaces are well kept. The staff cannot be nicer and courteous. The BART station is in front of the hotel. Union Square is only a 3-4 blocks away as well as the Ferry Building.
However, if you are picky about how the room looks and the condition that it is in, then I think it might dampen your overall experience. My junior suite is big enough, but the furniture is falling apart. The bottom level of the end tables collapses with the weight of one book. The ceiling paint is cracking/peeling, the walls have red streaks what looked like somebody running a lipstick across it. The bathroom faucet is loose and leaky, the mattress needs to be replaced, and the carpet is showing its age.
It is not the most expensive hotel in town, it is close to the downtown and financial districts of the city. You can walk to many attractions. If the price is right, I wouldn't mind staying here again. However, better upkeep of the rooms would have made staying at the hotel a much nicer and grander experience.

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.