Mark Hopkins Inter-Continental Hotel Review

The Top of the Mark never disappoints. It's the perfect place for a classy cocktail and some time to unwind.

I recently came here for a dinner party event with my girlfriend. I've always seen the place and thought it looked really cool so I was excited for my visit. Little did I know, I was about to have one of my most annoying experiences with a waiter in my life.

When we arrived we found our way to the event hall easily which was nice. There was free champagne at the event so we headed over to the drinks table and the bar tender was friendly. So far so good.

About 5 minutes after arriving the doors open to the dining area so we head on in. Inside, we find a choose-your-own-seating style Setup and about 20-30 tables with salads, bread and water already placed. We chose a table near the window with a nice view of downtown SF. This is where it all went down hill...

Now mind you, I'm essentially a +1 at this event and not knowing anyone, I'm not going to be the first to dig in and start devouring my food. I'll follow suit and start eating after other people do. It's been about 5-10 minutes after the doors opened and people are still filing in and finding seats. No rush to start eating right? I mean, nobody else had started yet. WRONG-The waiter for our table, a plump, middle aged, balding man, wearing a nametagless typical black and white waiter's outfit walks over, PICKS UP MY NAPKIN, and rudely hands it to me as if to say, "what are you waiting for, start eating!" He then walks away without saying a word. I was very thrown off by what had just happened but I just tried to ignore it. Maybe he just thought I didn't see it there? Wrong again, a mere 30 seconds go by, nobody has started eating yet but the waiter is back. He singles me out of the table and suggests I begin to eat. At this point not a single other person has began to eat and people are still finding their seats! I acknowledge the waiter but sticking with my follow-suit plan I still wait for somebody else to begin first.

A minute passes and the waiter comes back and this time practically commands me to begin eating! Not a single other person has begin eating at this point. Astonished by what is happening, I again acknowledge the waiter but this time uncomfortably begin to eat. Everyone else follows suit.

That's not nearly the end of it though. After I begin eating, the waiter returns every TWO MINUTES to ask if I'm done with the salad. I wanted to say, "I still have a nearly full plate of salad, DOES IT LOOK LIKE I'M DONE?" but the first two times, I politely say no. The third time however, I couldn't take it anymore. I dropped my fork on the plate and, although I would have loved to finish my salad, I sternly responded, "Yeah. I'm done." He picked up my salad and took it away. I had hoped this would be the end of my encounter with this waiter?.

Anyway, as I'd mentioned earlier there was bread to go along with the salad. There were a few different kinds on the table but each person only got one. My girlfriend had just recently had corrective jaw surgery and found that the kind she had was too hard for her to eat. Some time had passed and everyone was sitting now so it was pretty clear that any empty seats weren't going to be filled. I reach over and grab the piece of bread from the empty seat next to me and give it to her, hoping it'd be softer than the kind she had. Almost immediately after grabbing the bread from the empty seat the annoying waiter makes his return and tries to take the bread from the empty seat back!! He was all kinds of upset that the empty seat no longer had a piece of bread! I angrily picked up my girlfriend's original piece of bread, placed it in front of the empty seat, and told the waiter, "There! Now they have bread."

At the risk of writing an entire novel about my experience at this hotel, I'll stop here and just say that this waiter continued this behavior throughout the night. Never in my life have I been more irritated by a waiter anywhere.

Great view, old-world charm. Fun to stay in as a historical hotel.

A little old school place. Clean and friendly vibe.

Greatest time, 100th year birthday LEO GLADIN. GREAT MAN AND FATHER FIGURE.

Amazing room with balcony and jacuzzi. Literally the only downside is the always crowded elevator due to the Top Of The Mark traffic.

Now this was a disappointment. I was here in 2014 and 5 years before and one other time before that and thought this was a great hotel. Well, things have changed. No maintenance. Old carpets and furniture. The A/C really old fashion and impossible to have on or off - too hot or too noisy and a tornado in the room. The bathtub has a sprinkle shower and believe it or not - a curtain. Overpriced restaurants. Looking for something good to say also. Good views and comfortable beds. Now, in the ads and responses to bad or mediocre reviews the hotels refer to their excellent service. We stayed for a week. Several late nights as we came in, no one at the door. One or two people at the reception desk did not lift their head to even look at us or greet us. Most of the times going in and out we opened our door ourselves even when some staff stood around. When we left we passed the lobby, put the bags in the taxi and no one offered us any help. Spoke to a Clef d or concierge - George - that seemed to be the only person understanding the service concept. Clearly not worth the price. Sorry to
see this development.

This often overlooked but never out done hotel is one of the jewels of the city.

Excellent hotel. Great staff. Definitely will stay again !

Pretty dated, if you get a room by the lift it is pretty loud. I was disappointed with the junior suite room right next to the lift. I ended up checking out early and moving hotels. The bed was nice and soft as a bonus.

Lovely luxury hotel, helpful and friendly staff - concierge was fantastically knowledgable! Great location as there is a cable car stop just down the street that will take you to the top of Lombard Street - 'the crookedest street in the word'! Top of the Mark has excellent views, delicious martinis and the atmosphere is pretty relaxed.

Had drinks. Small bar, but friendly professional staff. Gorgeous views. Elevator wait times are excessive.

Well-appointed rooms and elegant decorations. Helpful and friendly staff. Love the location too, the top of Nob Hill provides a great view.

Top of the Mark is a great place for pre-dinner drinks. Service was quick and we got seated very quick on a Friday night. Fantastic view!

Luxory but old fashioned. Nice location on top of Nob Hill. Beautiful view from Top of Mark restaurant

Overall it was typical overnight hotel stay, simply in an older classic building in the heart of beautiful SF. Wait staff was always very helpful and very pleasant; however, upon my departure the front desk staff was just so unfortunately rude and condescending about their knowledge of hotel guidelines versus how they may shift while guests are staying for a meeting/conference such as myself, it just left a huge negative mark for me.

Excellent staff service, spacious rooms, club lounge, with good variety and quality

Beautiful, huge and very luxurious. The drinks were pricey but it's the Mark Hopkins what do you expect? Never seen the rooms but I've been to the bar and dining areas and they are amazing.

Went there for a quick visit and a bite to eat. Food was great and liked the look of the place.

Beautiful hotel. Old world charm, terrific service. Can't wait to come back

The Fairmont Hotel if you've never seen it walking there and check it out it's amazing make sure you walk through the front door though

This Nob Hill sentinel is a San Francisco landmark. It s worth checking out the lobby, enjoying a drink at the bar at the top or maybe dining there. The hotel is still exclusive, elegant and expensive, but I get the feeling it s but a shadow of what it was in its glory days when sailors left a bottle of wine to drink upon their return from WW II which naturally many never did.

Excellent old style San Francisco hotel. Top of the hill with great views of the city.

Friendly service. Beds could be a bit more comfortable. Older hotel, but in a good way with character. Right next to two trolley line stops so get your Muni passport to visit the tourist spots!

Great location! Walking distance to Union Square. A bit hilly around the hotel, so good exercise.

It's a magnificent location! I was pretty I under impressed w the accommodations,but it's an old hotel. The staff was great and the view was very nice. Overall, it was nice, no complaints.

Staff was very friendly. Tourist crowd but everyone was welcomed and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and a great view. Would definitely recommend. Cocktails were not too fancy or artisan, just good well made classics.

We ate delicious chocolate cake and the view was awesome. But the prices are as high as the hotel.

Well located, comfortable rooms and excellent breakfast

The first night I stayed at the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins for work, I wandered up to the Top of the Mark to watch the sunset. I ended up talking to George, the manager, for one & a half hours. Of course, during this time he stepped away when he needed to do his manager responsibilities. We had such an enjoyable conversation about San Francisco, the surrounding areas and life. He gave me an interesting run down of the San Francisco history and buildings / bridges we could see from the Top of the Mark. He also took the time to write winery recommendations for me when he found out I had never been to Northern California and was planning to extend my work trip to explore during the weekend. George was the highlight of my stay in the Intercontinental / San Francisco. For the weekend, I left the Mark Hopkins to stay in a nearby hotel steps away on a personal trip; I came back to the Top of the Mark with my boyfriend (who met me for the weekend from Cambridge, MA) because I wanted to grab some food and drinks there and let him meet George. Great service, food & drinks! I never actually bought anything the first time I was there because I was so exhausted, but George made me feel very welcome. George, thank you!!

Old outdated rooms. Shower pressure is really poor and the hotel charges extortionate amount for accepting packages for guests. Never seen this type of service anywhere else. Be advised of room dining charges as well $20 dish could easily turn to $50

It was top 5 stars hotel. antique furnitures. good decoration, awesome services

I loved the old and classic hotel, the bad thing is that it had no breakfast included, and the layout of the rooms was rare. Very friendly staff.

As an Intercontinental, I was underwhelmed. But the bed was very comfy and the towels were great. Poor on paper goods, like tissues and toilet paper - felt like a low end motel. Why are there steps up to the front doors? = awkward to get my wheeled luggage to the doors. The Old mail chute at the elevators is cool. The lobby is underwhelming - again, for an Intercontinental. I would maybe rate them higher under another name! but they just don't live up to the Intercontinental reputation in my mind.

We had a lovely stay at this hotel while in San Francisco for work. The room was great, the food was lovely, and the lobby was gorgeous BUT it was the staff that truly made our stay. Special shoutout to Albert for being so accommodating, and to every other person who took the time to wave back at my 9 month old every time he waved.

Checkin was very slow, everything costs too much and no free wifi

Guest services is really good, but the hotel is very old. Small, dark elevators and older rooms. The AC took a long time to cool off our warm room.

Historic hotel in Nob Hill, San Francisco, opened in 1926.
In this hotel, the famous Catalan musician Xavier Cugat, "The Rhumba King", and his orchestra performed.
Comfortable rooms and spectacular views of the city from the cafeteria called "TOP OF THE MARK".

There is nothing like the mark Hopkins Is place is just great good food good action and very classy definitely a must visit

Enjoyed my stay. Bathroom is a great size, especially considering the age of the hotel. Very friendly and helpful staff.

we got a room and could hear a sound of elevator moving..... im angry because i feel like they already knew the issue and gave us this room. room number is 619. if anybody get this room, its because they ignore u

The brunch buffet on Sundays is wonderful. Everything from bacon & eggs to Soy Ginger sea bass and even caviar. Dress in your finest clothes and enjoy their on-the-house champagne.

Older but spacious room. Not ideal location for business.

Beautiful hotel, great location near Union Square, easy access to China Town, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39 and the Ferry Building/ Embarcadero! The staff here were also very professional and helpful.