That Time Of The Year!

Price : SGD $900 (including tax)

Type of room : King room

Inclusive : none

I booked this room utilizing Citibank Prestige’s 4^th night free.  I chose this hotel mainly for the convenience, Amtrak Thruway Bus (continuation from my Amtrak Coast Starlight trip) stops right in front of the hotel.  I definitely do not want to lug my luggage around San Francisco at 10:30 pm.  I had wanted to book the Club room but as I will be spending most of my time away, I decided to just go for the King Room without any additional options (including breakfast).

The hotel is located conveniently at the junction of Market Street, California Street and Drumm Street and just next to Embarcadero.  The BART, Electric Street car, MUNI Metro and cable car is just at the doorstep of the hotel!  This makes traveling around the city extremely convenient.  The San Francisco Ferry building is just a stone throw away.  Using the above transport options, one can go to Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39, Chinatown, Union Square and other places easily.  There are eateries nearby with Walgreens and 7-Eleven nearby too.

The hotel looks unique in design and the corridor itself is not enclosed unlike most hotels.  The one drawback of this design is that noise from the lobby can reach the room easily (fortunately, there were minimal noise from the lobby after 10pm during my 4 nights stay there).  I had not much opportunities to explore the hotel as all my 3 days in San Francisco were spent outside (hence the decision of not getting the club room).

The room itself is quite spacious (easily 300+ sq. ft.) but shaped oddly.  The room came with a king-sized bed, a simple work desk and a sofa.  There is a fridge which you can use to store items (no minibar) and a large screen LCD TV.  The bathroom is small with a simple tub and no handheld shower.  Our room was located at the second level (effectively 4^th level from the street) overlooking Embarcadero and the Bay Bridge.  The room is also equipped with a Bluetooth-capable speaker (with USB port for charging).

This hotel is excellent for its location due to the many transportation options at its doorstep.  It is also very convenient for those coming into San Francisco via the Amtrak.  The hotel however is a little old and there are many better options around the city (if the above 2 factors are not important).

Value: 4*

Location: 4.5*

Comfort: 3*

Cleanliness: 3.5*