Cathedral Hill Hotel - cheap hotel but fun location
Written: Oct 06 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good location, near mass transit, cheap
Cons: Small, plain rooms
The Bottom Line: If money is an issue for a visit to San Francisco, stay here. It's cheap and it is located near some fun stuff
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| j.aron's Full Review: Cathedral Hill Hotel |
If your are interested in seeing the city of San Francisco while saving a buck, then stay at the Cathedral Hill. When it comes to price it is really hard to beat $70/night. I'm not sure if that is the best rate in town but it's a far cry from the most expensive joints. I used Expedia, as I do for all my traveling needs, to book the rooms.
The Cathedral Hill exterior is reminiscent of late 1950's / early 1960's architecture, it's ugly. Straight gray walls with only windows and rows of small balconies decorate the structure. If it wasn't for the large yellow sign and lit canopy, you would think it was a government office of some sort. After walking under the canopy and entering the front doors it all changes. The lobby is classy, dark woods and chandelier. As you enter you will pass the concierge, who will be happy to sell you a city tour or tell you the easiest way to take the bus anywhere, on your right. On your left are a hair salon, a gift shop (with full of San Francisco trinkets), and a car rental agency. Passing the stairs that head up to conference rooms and the fitness center is the front desk and a reasonable size lobby, with large couches and chairs that are convertible and a good spot to sit and plan the day or read the newspaper, and the front desk.
As you walk to the elevators you pass the Hilltop Bar and Grill, a small bar matching the decor of the lobby but with less lighting and enough televisions to give it a sports bar fell. Due to California law about smoking inside public areas, there is a patio seating available. You pass the patio's umbrellas as you enter under the canopy. The service is friendly and drinks are nice here but a little pricey compared to what you can get a few blocks away.
Across from the bank of elevators is the Hilltop restaurant. This restaurant is similar to most cheap to mid-range price hotels, clean but not very note worthy, at least for breakfast which is the only meal I had here. The Hilltop restaurant has a morning buffet that was small but tasty, eggs, sausage, bacon, cereals, etc.. The buffet had a great variety of berries and melons, which for me meant that I didn't quadruple my cholesterol levels during my feast.
The elevators up to the rooms are by far the low point of the hotel. The elevators had an uneasy feeling about them and during my stay one was always being repaired and the others would get jammed from too many people cramming into them.
Once up to the rooms, the price of the hotel is apparent. The rooms were small and had two double beds for four people (from looking at other hotels on Expedia, this seems to be the standard in San Francisco). Besides that the rooms were clean and plan with the standard cable television, desk, coffee maker and hair drier. If you want to stay all day in the room you might want to find a larger and spacious place. But the beds were nice to sleep upon after a long day about the town.
Also there is an outdoor heated pool and heating is needed in the summer in San Francisco. The pool is located in a nice courtyard that is on the backside of the hotel. I didn't go swimming but took a walk around the pool and it was clean and not used much.
If you have a car, there is a parking structure below the hotel that you can use for $17/day with all the drive in and out you want. Many hotels in San Francisco have charge parking and the price of the Cathedral Hill was about the same as everyone else.
But lets talk about location, it's the best part of the hotel. Cathedral Hill is located on the corner of Van Ness and Geary which are major bus lines and it is easy to jump on a bus and get anywhere in the city that you couldn't walk to. Besides access to mass transit, there are lots of restaurants and bars located within walking distance. These spots are filled with local color ranging from gay bars to yuppie establishments to ethnic food of all types. If you have a hard time finding something you might like feel free to ask someone. Almost every night we went out on the town we ended up with a few San Francisco locals who were more then willing to show us around the town and their favorite spots. Two spots that I enjoyed within walking distance were the Bell Tower and the Lush, completely different views of the night life of San Francisco.
This review was finished/updated on 10/6/02.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
j.aron
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Location: Hot Sulphur Springs, CO, USA
Reviews written: 39
Trusted by: 15 members
About Me:
Biography being updated and cleaning up stuff from a long break from Epinions.
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