Great location (Bush @ Grant) next to the Chinatown Gate. Offers rooms with bath or with shared bath. No prolem getting into heated bathroom, not real busy. Shower stall, toilet, sink only, no tub. Reasonably clean and modern. No problem with water temp/pressure in 5th floor bath.
Corner room #517 very basic, 12x14 with closet, sink, medicine cabinet, small elec wall heater, twin beds, nightstand, 1 wooden chair, 1 lamp, plus ceiling light. TV did not work; desk clerk said we could change rooms, but TV there might not work. Two large windows w/very dusty mini-blinds. Street noises easlily heard, with windows closed, but that's life in the big city (sirens, clock chime, trucks, even loud pedestrians).

This is by far the cheapest hotel I've found in SF, even cheaper than the so called hostels close by.
The staff is extremely nice and helpful, and even though they were very booked, they somehow managed to extend our stay not by one, but three whole nights because we enjoyed the place and the prices so much.
The room is nice and clean. And yes, you can hear other people in the surrounding rooms, like if they are talking loudly or showering. But that didn't bother me at all, it's part of the traveling experience and I slept just fine.
Yes, the bed was squeaky - aren't they always, even at fancy places? The main thing is that it was clean and comfortable.

As for breakfast - its not a feast - what do you expect at 60 dollars pr night for a room? BUT they do have the world's best muffins every single morning and I got an addiction while staying there. There's muffins and bagels and toast. We usually bought yoghurt and fruit the night before which we ate with the offered breakfast. worked just fine.
awesome location.
But of course, you get what you pay for, so if you would like wi-fi in the room, a dead silent room and an awesome breakfast go to the other side of the street to Triton and pay 4 times the amount.

If location and price are the most important factors, and if you can pretty much fall asleep anywhere, then go ahead and stay at the Hotel Astoria. But if you have to have a good night sleep then you are taking a chance. I am sensitive to the noise around me so this was not the right hotel for me. I could deal with the old funky room, the antique TV (no remote), the smell, the broken deadbolt, the leaking toilet (even it that meant having to turn off the water at night to avoid listening to the constant dripping), the pitiful breakfast not available before 8 am (thank god for Starbucks across the street, and the many wonderful cafés around), the lack of Wifi in the bedroom (I can't even remember last time I stayed in a hotel that did not have wifi in each room), but I could not deal with the walls so thin that I could hear my neighbor talking loudly, then snoring, and each time his bed was squeaking so bad that it startled me everytime he turned around in his bed...My bed was just as noisy, so I am sure he could hear me as well... The staff was nice enough to give me a different room (with no neighbors) the next morning, but no, I would not stay there again, because I just can’t enjoy a great location if I haven’t slept at night.

Great location reasonable prices great for a weekend in the city. Walking distance from union square, just at the gate of China town if you use the hop on hop of city tour one of the stops is right in front of the hotel
Shuttle service is a plus. ...