I stayed at the Hilton San Francisco for a week in July 2008. My partner was attending a conference at the Moscone Center so I tagged along from the free trip.

The hotel is located at the edge of the Tenderloin (a rundown area blighted with graffiti, homelessness and crime). However, on the other side of the hotel is Union Square - and area chock full of shopping and dining.

The cable cars are mere blocks away, as is Market Street (where underground MUNI trains, BART trains, and above-ground trolleys run). Location-wise, this hotel can't be beat. You can walk to Nob Hill, Union Square, SOMA, the Financial District, Chinatown and even the Embarcadero quite easily.

This is the largest hotel in the city with numerous towers. I stayed on the 33rd floor of the 46 story tower (Tower 1, I believe). We had a spectacular view of the downtown skyline and bay. The room was your typical corporate hotel.

The decor was clean and contemporary with two queen beds, a TV (in an armoire), a desk, and a chair. There was a mini-bar/fridge and an enormous closet (at least 6 feet long). The bathroom was a decent size and fully modern with enough room for two people to get ready. It was an average sized room (I believe the rooms at the Westin Argent, though similar in layout, are a bit larger).

My partner is a member of their rewards program so we were able to take advantage of some of the hotel's perks:

1 - every afternoon (from 5:00 - 7:00PM, I believe) there are free appetizers and beverages in the 45th floor lounge.

2 - every morning there was free continental breakfast in the same lounge (cereals, oatmeal, bagels, english muffins, juice, fruit, etc...)

3 - the gym facility, though small, was incredibly nice with clean, well-designed showering facilities.

There is also a restaurant/bar on the 46th floor that we went to for drinks one night (with nearly 365 views of the bay area).

There is also a rooftop pool (in one of the shorter towers on the 16th floor). Unfortunately, it's frequently in the shade of the taller towers so it can be a bit chilly during a typical San Francisco summer day.

The check-in in the massive lobby was quick and easy (for a hotel of it's size, they managed to handle the crowds well).

The only negatives to the hotel that I could find are:

1 - proximity to the Tenderloin
2 - the elevators to the tallest tower can be confusing since it's a large back of elevators and some go express to the upper levels (others serve the lower floors only). Since it's all along one wall, we almost always shared the elevator with people who couldn't get to the floor they wanted.

Recommended: Yes