St.Francis Hotel Reviews

As a Lifetime Titanium Elite member, I have spent over 3,000 nights in Marriott branded hotels over the past 30 years. Back in the 90's I was a regular at this hotel when I did business in SFO. Naturally, I wanted to return to this Grand Dame of a hotel on my most recent visit.

Sadly to say, my experience was quite underwhelming and downright disappointing. Staying the weekend before the Thanksgiving Holiday, the hotel was practically empty. Despite that, I was offered an upgrade to a better room if I was willing to pay an additional $200++.

As previously mentioned, with 3,000 nights in Marriott properties worldwide, I have gotten some pretty sweet ("suite") upgrades over the years, but have never been asked to pay. I found the lady (Emily) working at the Elite Check in desk to be very "cold' and and not very respectful towards elite members - perhaps she should not work this area. She was also unyielding on the fact that I had to pay for the upgrade and said "that's our policy". By comparison, my last trip to Seoul (JW Marriott) I was upgraded to a 4br Presidential Suite, Hong Kong (Renaissance), a 2br top floor suite, Phuket (Renaissance) private ocean front villa with private pool - none of these upgrades did I pay (or was asked to pay) anything additional.

We were given a tower room on the 29th floor. It did have a nice view of the city, but the room itself was a big "yawn". The furnishings were a bit tattered and "basic" to say the least. They have tried to retrofit the shower with a rain head, but it had low water pressure and the water just fell out.

The bright spot is the location of this hotel. Only 3 blocks from the Powell St. BART station, so if you are flying into/out of SFO, access is easy. The Powell St trolley runs in front of the hotel and it's an easy walk in every direction to most sites and neighborhoods like Chinatown and North Beach.

There are, however, equally as nice or better, hotels nearby. Unfortunately, I when I left this "Grand Dame" this time I said a final goodbye. I will stay at one of the other Marriott branded hotels that are nearby for my next visit.

Fantastic Hotel. Lovely hotel, very clean. Bed was really comfortable, about a foot and a half deep mattress. Bit oldy worldly, very charming. Staff really polite and helpful. Good location in Union Square for all the shops. Really enjoyed my stay here

Nice average prices for hotel rooms brought my family for a trip to San Francisco after so many years was able to book a nice view hotel room. Wonderful view at night time and sun rise.

Was just meeting a friend in the lobby. Love the lobby at Christmas when they have the most incredible gingerbread house!

Friendly, fast, and helpful front desk/check in experience. Very clean and modern

The most complicated elevator floor selection method I've ever experienced. Very intimidating

Great settings unfortunately staff was on strike so there was a bit of a noise

Very beautiful hotel , well-maintained and clean. Had beautiful valet service and the lady answered any questions that I had very friendly Associates.

Not only is the hotel completely unequipped to deal with the strike action outside (which meant there was loud noise in every room from 7am - 10pm) and a lack of facilities running including only limited room cleaning) , but the wider Marriot customer services support team have been totally uncontactable afterwards to deal with things like crediting the loyalty points balance to my account. Repeated messages through their website have been unanswered and I spent 32 minutes on hold this morning before I gave up. I will never stay at a Marriot / SPG hotel again. Please avoid!

Beautiful hotel with lots of history....which was fantastic! Great location just adjacent to Union Square, and walking distance to all San Fran has to offer, including the wharf and business district. Maybe a bit over priced, but you are paying for the "reputation" a bit. Still a great place to stay, with lots of culture and history to take in.

Lovely lobby and service. Rooms are clean, fairly basic. Good wifi and central location.

Beautiful historic hotel in downtown San Francisco right across the street from Union plaza

The service was good, friendly and professional. We had a problem where our shower wasn't working properly, and it was fixed promptly after reporting it. However, the room wasn't quite up to Westin standard. For example, the plug in the bath didn't seal properly; the light fitting above the sink had come away from the ceiling; and the included toiletries didn't include shower gel, only soap.

None of the problems were huge, and the others things like the bed were still really good, but the several small problems made the hotel feel much less luxury than I've come to expect from the Westin.

While we were there the hotel was going through some renovations. We didn't hear them, but they affected us indirectly:
- On one of the days there was a ~3 hour power outage that we were not told about ahead of time in the early evening hours.
- Wifi in the room was very spotty, and we were told that this can't be fixed.

The room itself was fine, and the location is great.

Error it was the St. Francis not the Sir Francis who stole my wine. Sam of security would never let this occur. Den of thieves. For years had stored wine in the baggage dept. All the managers knew and allowed them a bottle. Tipped in leaving wine and when removing. Last manager who nobody liked moved all to lost and found and stole it as no one throws away excellent Wine Con. 93 pts and above. Many 95 and above.

The lost anf foind computer shows no record. He probably didn't even wait the 90 days. Tony the most senior employee guards the baggage department like a hawk. Told me one time he stored well over 200 bottles for years and had no objection to my storing the same.

Tricky manager moved wine on Tony's day off. What surprised me neither the manager nor Tony called to let me know in Pebble Beach to come get it. Manager guessed since it was left undisturbed for months, as I was living in France, no one would ask for a bottle or leave some more.

All total were 30 shopping bags full which Tony stored on their side to keep the corks moist. The temperature was ideal and doubt if lost and found was as good. To nobody's surprise the area the manager claim he needed went unfilled.

The room was fairly average, very clean though. The hotel is nicely located in downtown SF, and the staff were super friendly. WiFi is a chargeable extra, and not cheap either.

Big thanks to Ms Michelle Dang for the service, i was accomodated well with my request.

At first, yes we booked the standard room and yes it was so small and cramped. But then i had a concern more with the bed position which was facing directly to the toilet door. For us, it was bad luck and we can't tolerate that. So, i asked Ms Dang to change the room but then i got upgraded instead to King bed room.

The upgraded room was big and so different from what we had before. The bed was king size and so comfortable! I think the bed is what we love from marriot hotels, so goooddd..

The location is very good, across the hotel was union square and few other luxurious stores around. Also big bus/city sightseeing also stops across the hotel. Transport was plenty, cable car, BART, MUNI.. Very convenient!

Would be back again!

Stayed here for 5 days in early September as part of a guy s weekend away. As a Starwood Pro certified travel agent, I have access to special rates for most Starwood properties which is what originally led me to this hotel.

However, after reading about its history, the service and the location of the hotel, I knew that this one was a keeper. Regardless of the price, this is THE hotel to stay at in San Francisco. It s perfectly located.

Situated right off of Union Square, the Westin is:
a block away from a cable car turntable - where you board the famous Cable Cars.
a short cable car ride from Fisherman s Wharf
walking distance to the shopping district
a few blocks from the Powell St BART / Metro station

Since it s so close to the BART station, it s easily accessible via OAK or SFO airports. It s the perfect home base to explore San Francisco.

The room itself was somewhat small, but it s to be expected for a hotel of this age. Built and rebuilt in the early 1900s due to the Great Earthquake in 1906 and subsequent fire, the Westin St. Francis is filled with history. If someone tells you to meet them at the clock, they re referring to the huge grandfather clock in the Westin Lobby that holds quite a story.

The bathroom in our room was amazing. Complete with marble floors, a rain shower with extra shower head and separate bathtub for lounging. The smell of the Westin soap can t be beat!

A small note, but a welcome detail is that the window in the room opened to the outside. A nice change unseen in most modern hotels.

The service was exceptional. The front desk handles crowds well. The concierge was full of information and the bellman were all courteous. This Westin truly has some of the best service of any hotel I ve ever stayed in.

The restaurants and grab n go cafe are both very expensive. A sandwich is $13 and a small Starbucks coffee is $4.25. Seriously.

Next time I m in San Fran, I m definitely staying here again, regardless of price.

I had a nice stay, The room had character, it was clean and accomadating. There was a bit of a view over Union Square and I found it conveniently located to other areas of San Francisco.

Terrible Experience! Not worth it. The room configurations are not good and thin walls mean you get woken up often with noise. The sink kept filling up with foul water and the sink was filthy with hair and dirt.

The very best hotel and location for visiting or business in San Fran.

I'm not sure why this hotel would get more than 4 stars. For $350/night it had no minibar, no complimentary water, clogging bathtub, low pressure, fluctuating temperature shower, no restaurant, a strike, bad internet, and little care for their customers. I would have given them 3 stars, but we're optimistic people and had a good time during our stay, despite the problems.

Our stay here was mediocre. My review is based on room 2489, on the 24th floor in the taller building:

The good
- Excellent location, close to restaurants, bars, shopping, fun areas like the cable car, movies, etc.
- The room was really, really big, but we might have gotten a free upgrade, as this floor was advertised as "Starwood preferred members floor".
- The bathroom was spacious too.
- Incredible view of Union Square and downtown. I assume most rooms higher than 23rd floor have views.
- The clock bar. Very nice bar, nice atmosphere, great cocktails.
- The elevators. There are five outside elevators in the new building giving you breathtaking views and a nice roller coaster-like feeling, as they go up and down really fast. One can see these elevators from Union Square looking towards Westin (western side of the square).

The bad
- Non-functional bathroom: very low shower water pressure, with fluctuating temperature (I would have to wait a minute for the water to warm up again), the bathtub tended to clog easily (in desperation I tried moving the water stop lid up and down, and it worked, then I repeated it every day), and had a curtain, not my favorite. One of the two lights was off, it was never replaced. No scale, strange at a high class hotel.
- Bad internet: the most annoying thing was that we would have to renew it daily, by going to some slow sign in page. Trouble is the old connection would end up at random times, sometimes at night, at which point the phones would switch to the data plan, which costs us money. We ended up paying more uselessly. Besides, the connection was somewhat slow, and would disconnect and reconnect all the time. Definitely not the internet you'd expect from a $350/night hotel.
- No minibar service. There was a union strike when we checked in, but they did not restart minibar service even after the strike was over. We got no complimentary water either, even though we were supposed to have it in the room, daily.
- No real restaurant on the venue. Really?? On a $350/night hotel? There is the Oak room restaurant, but it's only open for breakfast, which they have to provide, as that would be too much.
- The reception was hard to reach, in person, as there was a permanent line of clients, either for check-in/check-out, or for other purposes. The reception was easy to reach by phone. But they weren't very helpful when things didn't work, like when the first day they charged us for internet even though it was supposed to be free, nor did they help clarify the situation with the strike. On the contrary, we found a note in the room apologizing for the noise the strikers were making, and instructing us to call the police if it bothered us. Really?? Calling on their clients to solve their problems with their workers? For all I know the workers were right, seeing how the hotel treated their guests.
- There was a general feeling that no one really cared for you. The employees seemed busy all the time.
- The downstairs lobby felt like a busy train station. Maybe not their fault, as this place is historic and many tourists come in just to have a look, but that didn't help us, as clients. We felt like avoiding the lobby. Every time we had to cross it to get outside we would do so in a rush, trying to avoid the mob taking pictures, looking around, walking slowly.

Conclusion
This hotel could be exceptional, as I bet it once was. Yet, it seems to me, those days are past. Being so in the middle of everything, downtown, Union Square, it can afford to be just a good hotel, as it will always have it's share of tourists. I would say avoid, there are many hotels in the same area, at the same price.

Beautiful hotel, wonderful location, amazing staff, and the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in.

First time in San Francisco and Westin. I am impressed how clean, friendly, and secure this place is. I'm glad I stayed here.

Beautiful hotel. Loved every part of our stay. Will absolutely stay here again.

I love the location of the Westin St Francis which is right in the heart of my favorite places in San Francisco.
The workout facility is better and more spacious than most hotels.
The room was good size and the bed was very comfortable.
I will likely return!

I was a little disappointed in the size of the room. It was in an award location between two hallways with a view of an ac unit. I know it's San Francisco, but for $500 a night I expect a little more.

Attended for an event on the 32nd floor. The view was amazing! The event space was nice and the food was pretty good.

Beautiful, historic hotel in the heart of Union Square. Staff was very helpful and accommodating and rooms were well appointed and decent size. It is fairly busy and difficult to get to by car given the location, but overall enjoyed the stay.

Location is right in the heart of Union Square. Close to everything and walking distance to great locations. Hotel is beautiful especially the lobby. Room was very spacious and accomdating. Price was high for what it was. There was no special amenities and perks.

Attended a conference at this hotel. The hotel was very large and nice on the inside. Staff seemed very friendly and the hotel was clean and had great ambience.

The worst hotel! It feels so cheap and fake and costs so much money. They even have fake drawers. The room feels cheap. No one helped us with our baggage. The amenities made me feel like a 4 star hotel. Great location but next time I ll stay elsewhere. I felt so cheated. How they turned this historic hotel to a 4 star hotel

finally find this place lol! My mom just piss me off becos I found the wrong place !

Hotel very central and well connected, clean facility and very kind staff. Recommended

Phenomenal and iconic, this hotel has top notch banquet and catering staff. Would suggest for any event looking to wow an audience.

This hotel charges you for everything. Even though you are in the heart of the city of San Francisco. I would stay somewhere else. The staff is courteous.

It's a nice hotel, but the service isn't great. Check out the glass elevator though

Attended a conference here. All the rooms are good, but the floor plan is not so clear. Thus, it takes time to memorize rooms' locations and not easy to find a way to go to a room.

Everything is perfect. Room staff cocktail bar. Easy and convenient. We really enjoyed our stay. Thank you

He went to the Westin St. Francis for a work event. It is convenient and easy to move around. The westin has some nice restaurants and bars.

Wonderful service, excellent rooms and great location

Nice classic hotel, but room was absolutely tiny, and the service staff did not fix my burnt out lightbulb when asked which left me with a pretty dark bathroom.

3 stars for the room
1 star for check-out and parking
1 star for kids friendly
5 stars location
5 stars for service
5 stars room service
Ask for my car to poll outside and a bellmen ;40 minutes later showed up went downstairs to wait in line for my car for over an hour
The manager said it s like that every morning at check out 10:30 am I called I left the hotel at 12:20 late for my 11:30 meeting....
We had to circle the hotel to find the valet parking... and find out over night parking is $80 a night!!!
Then long lines at check in.
Hotel lobby is very clean nice looking very helpful stuff available for you!
Getting to the room with the amazing view elevators .
ROOMS AT THE 23rd floor and above will have a city view and not the next building view. Its worth it to get an upgrade.

Room are nice looking with lots of room
Available ; refrigerator , coffee &tea machine, Internet, tv.
The tv only has few choices no movies channel just local news. Not even kids channel!!!

The room are so out dated there is no option for usb plugs
Only 2 regular plugs available in the room.

Great and fast hot water available
The carpet at the room didn t got clean at all
Lots of hair all over

Tall ceiling throughout the building hallways rooms elevators

Lots of storage options

Room service is fast service

Location of the hotel is great lots of walking distance from the hotel to different activities

Great location to be. Staff was helpful , rooms are a bit on the smaller side

Kind of old but is ok, comfortable bed and renewed bathrooms

A historic hotel that is the perfect mix of old San Francisco charm and modern luxury. Christmas time is extra special with decorations and a lobby display that Christmas traditions are made of. The staff are always friendly and go out of their way to make your visit whether as a guest of the hotel, attending a function or just stopping in for drinks or a bite to eat. In the heart of Union Square you step out of the hotel into the heart of vibrant San Francisco .

Building is beautiful and service is good. However, rooms in the old "landmark" building are dark, cramped, and dated.

Beautiful and historic hotel on Union Square. Nothing but good things to say about this place. Easy to get around, great social lounge, beautiful and comfortable room. Would totally go back again!

Excellent staff, great rooms and a perfect venue for a conference.

Incredibly lovely hotel, great service, unbeatable location.

The newly renovated rooms are really nice! We got a standard queen room and it was a little small but you are mostly paying for the location. Being right next to Union Square is a treat so if you are looking to stay in the area you can't go wrong with the Westin.

Not nearly enough electrical outlets in the rooms, but otherwise a very impressive hotel with a clean and classic feel.

There are protestors here but other than that this hotel is very awesome. Only complaint is they don't have a store in the lobby.