'Metrosexy'
Written: May 21 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Very comfortable rooms, great seating area, trendy crowd
Cons: A bit Pricey
The Bottom Line: Give it a shot
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| barthalkid's Full Review: W San Francisco |
Recently, I have had the chance of stay at the W Hotel San Francisco. In my opinion, Starwood group (Westin, St Regis, Sheraton, W, Luxury Collection) has some of the best hotels in the country. I usually only stay with them since they offer excellent service and accommodations.
Location
The W Hotel is located next to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), and directly across from Sony Metreon (So if you want to catch a movie, just walk a block South!). It is not too far away from Union Square, SF's shopping district (10 miuntes walk). Subways-BART and underground metro-MUNI are only a block away, and will take you to almost everywhere in the city. You might see homeless people walking around here and there, but that's just San Francisco, it's not that hotel is in a bad area.
Hotel Lobby/General
W hotel is not your typical 4-star hotel. Starwood group actually does a pretty good job in making all of the hotels different. W hotel is modern and hip. St Regis and Luxury Collection have that classic, Las Vegas Gold color feel, and Westin and Sheraton are somewhere in between, your average great hotels.
The hotel Lobby was accented with contemporary and modern furnishings. Like other reviewers had mentioned, it's somewhat dark in the hotel, but only to compliment the atmosphere. It had a comfortable seating area adjacent to a bar. This attracts many of the local young and good looking crowd. Most people dress to impress. You might feel a little out of place wearing a T-shirt and shorts. OK, I must explain something here. As a bay area resident, most people here tend to 'dress up' when we go to the city (San Francisco) from other areas. It's just a San Francisco thing. The W hotel bar is actually a very popular gathering place for the locals, so again, that's the reason why you might feel a little out of place but by all means, no one really cares in San Francisco.
Service/Staff
Most staffs I encountered were friendly and helpful, but not exceptional. They seemed to be willing to accommodate anything that I needed.
Rooms
I stayed in a Spectacular room on the 20th floor. The room size was not big, but very comfortable for 2 people. There were many typical hotel amenities--tv, cd player, fridge, etc. The rooms were kept well although there were some luggage-scratch marks. Matching the hotel theme, the room was furnished in dark wood and dark picture frames with San Francisco photos. Instead of a typical chair, there was a very comfortable sitting area (it's one of those bay sitting area elevated from the floor with comfortable pads to sit on with pillows and blankets next to a big window looking over the city and Twin Peaks.) This was my FAVORITE part of the hotel--the sitting area. I LOVED IT. The beds had feather pillows and down comforters---very very comfortable. The bathroom was small but with contemporary designs--a green bowl was substituted in place of a typical sink (its still a sink). Plenty of space to put your personal amenities. They included Aveda bath products (You might be surprised, that if you go to the Aveda store, those little bottles of shampoo cost 5-7 dollars a bottle)
Restaurant
There is a restaurant in the hotel. I did not eat there, however. There are so many fantastic restaurants in San Francisco, I went elsewhere. I would recommend getting a taxi to take you to the North Beach area or Nob Hill, where many of the top rated restaurants are located.
Parking
Don't park in downtown San Francisco period. Many parking garages charge up to $25 for 4 hours of parking! If you are going to get a car, I would recommend parking and leaving your car at the BART station (subway/metro) in Daly City, Colma, or even places in the East Bay, and take the train into the city. If you are flying into SFO, BART will directly take you from the airport to downtown San Francisco--2 block away from the hotel, very convenient. I would not recommend driving in the city. Take advantage of the public transportation, which is very safe and useful in San Francisco.
Overall
I personally think this is a great place to stay. I really like the contemporary design. The beds are very comfortable and I LOVE the window seating area. I would recommend staying at this hotel, but explore other areas in San Francisco. I think you would greatly enjoy your stay.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
barthalkid
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Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 0 members
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