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CA San Francisco Hilton USW


CheapZone
By CheapZone,
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I've stayed here 4 times. All on Priceline bids. I believe I have always paid $65. This is a huge hotel located 2 blocks from Union Square. Very impressive lobby, and three different towers of rooms.

3 out of the 4 stays I have been put in tower 3, which I think is the oldest and seems to have smaller rooms. The other time I stayed in tower 2 which had a bigger and newer room. I believe tower 1 is where all the suites and upgraded rooms are so I've never stayed there. Although I liked tower 2 better, tower 3 rooms are totally fine. But if you are one to care about these types of things I would ask if you could have a tower 1 or 2 room.

All of the rooms I've stayed in had coffeemakers, hairdryers, iron and ironing board, and Neutrogena products. 3 out of 4 had a minibar. The one that didn't have a minibar had a safe instead.

I've always found the staff to be courteous and helpful. One time they happily granted an early check-in even though it was 11 am and check in wasn't until 3. The staff was also very helpful and nice when on one trip I brought along my 18 month old daughter. I know that not every hotel would be happy to have a curious toddler staying with them, so I really appreciated that they seemed to welcome her.

On one of my trips I was into running and used the fitness center each night. It was $8 per day or $18 for three days which is what I paid for. The fitness center is located in "Spa Fusion" which seemed to be very luxurious and nice although I didn't get any spa treatments. It was a brand new fitness center with great machines and hardly anyone else there. (Perhaps because I was staying mid-week?) Each of the treadmills and I think most of the other machines has a TV in it. Remember to bring your own headphones. You can buy them there for $5 but they hurt my ears.

Tower 3 has an outdoor heated pool and a jacuzzi. The pool area has a nice lounge area and has big beach towels for use but it is situated so that it is in the shade of the other nearby big buildings a lot of the day. Too bad.

I usually order room service when I stay there. Has always been fast and friendly. I love the Napa green salad. Yummm. But can't say much for the omelet - were those canned mushrooms?

Oh, and a little tip. Even though each of the towers have their own set of elevators in the lobby they are all connected so you don't have to go all the way downstairs and walk through the lobby in your workout gear or swimsuit if you are trying to get to another tower to use the pool or healthclub. It only took me 4 trips to figure this out. Duh.

Overall, I think this is a great hotel and I have always been happy with my stays.

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  • 4 months later...

Stayed here this past weekend on a Priceline stay for 2 nights and then 2 nights using the VISA promotion (posted on other deals section).

Partner is Hilton Honors Gold (comped) so they put us in Tower 1. View was great (had to move rooms so had both views - second room had a balcony on the 32nd floor).

Hotel was clean, quiet and in a great location. Staff bent over backwards for us - even when I was dealing with them and they did not know my room or my partners status.

Still LOVED the Park Hyatt more a few years ago - but at these prices was very happy with the Hilton.

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  • 2 months later...

The Hilton San Francisco met my expectations. The hotel lobby is attractive, and althrough check-in took some time, the registration and bell staff was curteous and helpful. The location is excellent and its best feature close to restaurants, shopping and transportation. There are homeless begging in the area near the hotel, but never a bother to me. My room in tower 3 was small (no different than most other hotel rooms in SF), but very comfortable with king size bed and 19 inch TV. The bath was fully stocked and the shower massage was very nice. The pool and jacuzzi was a definate advantage. A 4 star rating for Hilton and especially the price is completely appropriate.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...

Just got back from SF and stayed in Hilton for 3 nights. No problem getting Tower 2 and was very pleased with the stay. Hotel is good, room was clean and roomy for 3 as I got 2 queens. Staff is friendly and even got umbrellas for the walk-around in the rain. The place is also quite central and convenient to many places in a short 5 mins walk. Garages right across the hotel were very reasonable - $22.50 inclusive of taxes for 24-hour in/out and the one next door was $12.50 was overnight. I even parked on the street sunday night (need to watch for the streetcleaning side). :)

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  • 4 weeks later...

Dates of stay - April 24 to April 28, 2005

This is my last night here, thought I'd put in my review now while I'm still here. I arrived late Sunday night and was given room in Tower 3, I didn't feel the need to upgrade or ask for Tower 2 (I was tired and ready to crash) The room I got (14th floor) was non-smoking as I requested and had a king bed. It was close to the elevator, but around the corner and a few doors down (was quiet) The room had a nice size flat screen television and a mini bar, which I never used. Other than the room needing some new carpet, everything else in it was just fine. High speed Internet access was great ($9.95 a day), and I was able to VPN into work and keep in touch with what was going on (after all I am on a business trip!) The walk to the Moscone West where the Veritas Vision conference was held, was very managable. Location was great, very close to everything I needed, including public transportation. I wonder why some give this hotel bad reviews, it worked out great for me and at $75 a night I consider it a really good deal. I would stay here again, for the right price of course.

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  • 7 months later...

My parents just returned from San Francisco where they stayed in the HILTON on O'Farrell for 4 nights (which i booked for them on Priceline). It seemed to be a busy night for the hotel and my parents received a close to the ground suite overlooking a rooftop and the backs of a bunch of buidlings: as depressing as a view could be. I believe the term is getting 'Pricelined' I suggested they ask for a change of rooms and the HILTON moved them to a new room within 5 minutes - 35th floor with a suite overlooking the whole city and the bay. Spectacular!. They could not have been happier.

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  • 1 year later...

My priceline rate for the evening of Thu 3/22 was $80, $99.28 including taxes/fees.

My brother and I knew we'd be arriving late, and were only using the hotel as an overnight stop before heading to San Jose the next afternoon. With that in mind, our only priorities were to have a comfortable and relaxing stay in a central location (in case we wanted to stroll around the next morning).

Pros:

- Only took about 15 mins drive from the airport (albeit without traffic).

- Arrived at 1030pm, and checked right into a room in Tower 3. It was clean and spacious, even with two full beds.

- concierge was really helpful and made several calls to try and find us a place to eat at that hour. As it was, we ended up deciding against a proper meal and just went to one of the many diners within 2-3 blocks.

- Wifi is free in the lobby and common areas

- Location was central and convenient to just about all SF attractions.

Cons:

- View was drab in tower 3 (looking at the backs of the other towers); we didnt care, but if you did, then i would do as others suggest and ask for Tower 1 or 2 rooms

- Internet access (wired and/or wifi) is not free; think its $10-15/day

- Parking is ABSURD - $45/day after taxes; if it hadnt been so late, we would have gone elsewhere in the neighborhood. Public garages, including the one across the street, are closer to $20/day.

Overall a great price and fully met our needs. I'd def stay there again.

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  • 2 months later...

Stayed here for one night, June 4, 2007 for a Priceline bid of $75. I checked in early and it was no problem. Asked for a high floor and was given a room with a beautiful view on the 28th floor of Tower 1. I wouldn't have know about the quality of the different towers if I had not read these reviews prior to my stay so "Thanks, Better Bidding."

This is truly a huge hotel but it is within walking distance of a lot of sights and all the public transportation. I generally like a smaller property but this one was crawling with security who were pleasant and helpful.

My room was around the corner and across the hall from the elevator but it was not a noise problem. The bed was comfortable and the room was very nice. I enjoyed my stay here and the savings made it even more enjoyable.

The night I stayed here I decided to spend another night in the city so I bid for another night and won the 4 Star Renaissance Stanford Court on Nob Hill for $78.

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  • 5 months later...

This was my first disappointment booking a room through Priceline. The concierge staff were snotty, but the bell staff were terrific. Check-in was okay but my upgrade to a better room in Tower 2 using our Hilton Gold Status found us on the lowest floor with no view and two rooms away from the elevator. The rooms were clean but ugly, and the heater didn't seem to work well. Quite honestly, I've stayed at much better 2 star hotels in smalltown rural Canada.

Will probably look at booking in the Embarcadero/Union Square East the next time we are in San Francisco City, otherwise we'd probably stay near family by booking in the SFO zone.

Proud to be Canadian!

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  • 1 year later...

This was my first booked priceline trip. I won the Hilton at $74 and was thrilled. I checked in after midnight and was given a choice of two queens or a king. I asked for the room with the best view. I was given a king room on the 17th floor in the third tower. My room had not been updated and did not have a flat sceen TV. It was very small, but I assumed hotels in San Fanscisco to be similar to NYC hotel rooms. The view was terrible as it overlooked the roof top of another building. Paper thin walls and you could hear conversations and the television in the next room. When I took a shower I went to turn off the water and the water would not stop running. However, the hotel staff responded quickly and fixed the problem. I recieved a follow up call the next day to ensure the problem had been corrected. I wish I had read the reviews prior to arriving and would have requested another tower as the reviews indicate better views with updated rooms in tower I and II. I think I was given the priceline room as the agent indicated I was a priceline customer. The hotel staff was great and booked us on a wonderul wine tour. They made recommendations and reservations for dinner for us nightly. I was fine with the location as there seems to be homeless people in most parts of San Franscisco. They seem to be harmless. Additionally, the location was within walking distance to great shopping, Chinatown, Bart and the Powell St Cable Car. You can get to the hotel from the airport via Bart for under six dollars and our cab was $37. The walk to the Bart requires you carry your luggage down a hilly street for a couple of blocks so we again opted for the cab on the way back to the airport. We loved riding the Powel-Hyde cable car for great views of the city. It stops around Lombard Street if you are up to walking down the crookedest street in the world. We walked to Chinatown which was about a 15 minute walk, but allowed us to explore the city. Chinatown is full of junk shops, but we loved the tea tasting tea rooms that gave you samples and taught you how to brew tea correctly. Vital Tea Leaf was my favorite tea shop. We found the Cookie Factory in a back alley and enjoyed watching them hand make each cookie as we sampled the fresh treats. This is a quick and fun stop. If you buy some cookies he throws in some fresh treats to nibble on as tour the city. The hotel is walking distance to many resturants. We ate a First Crush around the corner from the hotel. It was expensive, but pretty good. Servings are small, but the quality of the food was above average. But for the foodie make a reservation two months in advance at at Gary Danko. If you are by yourself you can eat at the bar with no reservation. A three course meal will cost around $70, but was by far the best meal I had during my stay. We at at an all you can eat Indian resturant across the street from the hotel. It was inexpensive and your typical Indian affair. The cost was $28 for the both of us. One of the highlights of the trip was the hotel booked wine tour. We stopped at two beautiful wineries in Sonoma and a Champaigne winery in Nappa. It included wine tasting fee's and a wonderful lunch in Sonoma for $95 per person. There was so much to do in San Franscisco and I loved only spending $74.00 for our hotel as it allowed me to spend more money on other things. Just be sure you ask for an updated room in Tower I or II for even a better stay.

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  • 5 months later...

We spent 8 days in California, in five different hotels. This hotel was the least liked one we stayed in. We were in the older tower 3 on the 16th floor. When getting off the elevator, the hallway to the room smelled like a port-a-potty. Luckily the room didn't smell, or we'd have asked for a different one. The rooms are quite small. The hotel likes to nickel and dime you to death, and nothing comes complimentary. The Starbucks in the lobby is by far the most expensive one we found in the whole city. Parking is $52 a night. Luckily, you can park across the street on the south side of the hotel for $25/night, or on the north side for $29 a night. Three of the other four hotels we stayed in were far superior (Best Western, Embassy Suites, and Radisson). The Super 8 we stayed in was comparable to the Hilton.

Having said that, the price was hard to beat at $82 a night (including taxes). In the future though, I would not stay there again unless I was strictly using public transportation. If I'm going to have to pay to park, I'd much rather stay at the airport Radisson for $20 less a night and then drive for 12 minutes to get to the city. The airport Radisson was a much nicer hotel. I'll be placing a review about it soon.

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