CA San Francisco Inn at the Opera Civic Center

[Colfax]

The main reason people stay at Inn at the Opera is its proximity to SF's arts district. The Opera House, Symphony Hall, and Herbst Theater are a block away, in a part of town where there aren't many hotels. The hotel has positioned itself as a haven for performing arts patrons and artists. The hotel restaurant is called Ovation at the Opera. The hotel room types are "Ballet", "Concerto", and "Opera". All the art in the rooms and public spaces depicts dancers, musicians, and opera. At the continental breakfast I overheard snippets of conversation from three parties seated near me and they all were discussing movies seen, concerts attended, books read. The hotel has a quiet and refined air, very different from the hurlyburly around Union Square.

The hotel is seven stories, built in 1927. There are only 8 rooms per floor. There's one small elevator with a capacity of four. Valet parking is $25/night but the hotel is in an area of SF where the streets aren't metered and I was able to park on the street for free, a half block from the hotel. I was there on a Tuesday night. The parking situation is much tighter on weekends, when there are events at the concert halls.

I was looking forward to this stay, especially after reading TripAdvisor reviews, which are very good and don't appear manufactured. The hotel is rated 4.5 (out of 5) and #28 out of 250 SF hotels in popularity. I'm sorry I didn't enjoy an excellent stay though, due to my room, which was a 1.5* room in a 3.5* hotel. Yes, I got the "Hotwire room".

My room was small, very small. I'll estimate 150 square feet. The double bed almost filled the room with 2-3 feet of clearance between the bed and wall on both sides. The room had one chair, a small stand for the alarm clock, and an oversized bureau with drawers and a small TV. The bureau was too large for the room and one of the bureau doors wouldn't swing open more than 1/3 because it was blocked by the foot of the bed. The TV wasn't visible from the only chair. You had to be in bed to see the TV. There was no table or desk at all, and no room for one, or for a second chair. No hard surface where you could set up a laptop or write a letter. There was a small fridge and microwave, plates and silverware, but no place to put your heated food, other than on the bed. The electric baseboard heater was broken and a portable space heater on wheels was in the room. The room was claustrophobic and I was by myself. I can't imagine two people sharing this room.

The next morning I looked at two other rooms on my floor. The maids keep the doors open while they clean. Those rooms were MUCH larger and nicer than mine. Those are the rooms that the people writing 4.5* reviews stay in. One was a full suite with separate living room and bed room and two bathrooms. The other was a single room but at least 50% larger than mine with a table and chairs and room to walk around.

I found a blueprint of the hotel's layout on the wall and it appears there's only one small room per floor. On the night I stayed the hotel was charging $87.20 for my room and the larger rooms and suites were $135 and $140. I've been seeing this hotel on Hotwire for a couple months now and usually the price is around $100-110. I paid $54. I wonder now if they're selling the suites when the price is $100 and the tiny rooms when the price is in the $50's. $100 is more than the rack rate for the small rooms.

Usually I'm fairly assertive about asking for a different room when I'm not happy, and I'm not sure why I accepted my room without protest this time. Because I was just there one night, I suppose, and I knew I wasn't going to be in the room much other than to sleep. The hotel staff strives to please and I wonder if they would have upgraded me to a larger room on request. Even with a $25 upgrade fee the large suite would have been a bargain at $79.

Overall I liked the hotel but not my room. Inn at the Opera is a unique place and I'm glad I spent a night. I wouldn't stay again though unless I was assured a larger room or suite, which probably means booking conventionally.