Best Western Hotel California

Value for money

We were unhappy with the Vietnamese front manager who was not customer friendly at all...she hardly smiles. She has no business doing frontline work at all. The other hotel staff however are wonderful. The location while excellent is noisy until wee hours in the morning.Value for money...

Skip this one

This place was awful from the first greeting, which was lukewarm and unenthusiastic to the room and surroundings itself. Noise, noise and more noise! The place needs serious soundproofing. You’re in the Tenderloin, not the most amenable section of SF. The elevator was broke down so I had to hike 6 flights every evening. Not conducive to walking around the City sightseeing. The hotel is tatty and needs a makeover, not at all like the pics.

Very nice Hotel in a San Fran hot spot

Nice decor, fantatsic location and very clean. Great choice, would always choose it again.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

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Disappointed

My first trip to San Francisco. Overall impression was poor. Very tatty and worn. No vending or room service.Staff were very pleasant and helpful (I was stuck for over an hour down at the piers trying to get a cab. I called the hotel and they sent me a cab).

Very noisey

The staff was very helpful and the room was very clean. The shower was awful because you could not regulate the temperature of the water very easily. Convenient location to Union Sq. but the street noise in the room was horrible. No air conditioning.

Central Location

This is a nice hotel for it’s age. It is an easy walk to reach the Muni Station or the cable cars. The staff members are very polite and willing to answer questions and give directions and you are very close to the financial and theater district.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

If you want to catch the cable cars, or any of the Muni systems it is best to go to the visiters center and purchase a passport. Also, to catch the cable cars do not wait at the very end of the line. It is much faster to walk to the next stop and have your passport or money ready, they do check for it.

very tiny room

in my itinerary they said "queen bed" but instead i got "full size"...no A/C..loud noisy from streets and bars around the hotel...very small room, but what can we expect, it’s san francisco...the internet was very slow..

Traveler's tip on local attractions

easy walk to anywhere..only couple blocks to union square, market street etc

Nice hotel

Depending on what side you are on in this hotel, it is near a city fire station with sirens going off at least 2 to 3 times a night. Double pane windows would be nice along with an air conditioner, over all I would stay here again but I would get ear plugs first.

Not a Happy Camper

Upon check-in finding that the "Secure" Parking would cost $26.00 A DAY or $33.00 A DAY for valet I was very upset. Their description of available services, accommodations, etc. that led us to book our stay did not indicate such charges. I was therefore forced to take the valet option as I could not walk the 5 or more blocks to park it myself "if I could find parking on my own. As my vehicle is a "Classic" Cadillac convertible Allante I was not willing to "take my chances". When I was preparing to check out the Desk Clerk was unable to honor my request to have my car brought up at the time requested because it takes 15 minutes to do so and my request was made to her at 10:00 for 10:30, therefore "you have to come back at 10:15 and make your request for 10:30." Beside the lack of Air Conditioning (Another thing not listed on the amenities), the noise level of the traffic on Geary Street, and the drunks from the bar was of such a level till 0400 each morning that you could not hear the TV, let alone sleep. The Hotel itself was very nice in appearance and it is quite evident the retro efforts are well done. By the way, this is the second survey filed with the "Expedia Service Center" - How many more may I expect???

Not Recommended

Be aware this is an older hotel: wooden floors you can hear people walking by your door and above. Air conditioning would have been nice, especially in the afternoons. Elevator has maximum capacity of 4 people. Day time front desk personnel could learn to smile more. The graveyard person was friendly. Get to the wine tasting early since wine glasses are limited, nothing worse than using paper cups! Cheese will run out quickly, too. You’d think the restaurant next door would accomodate, but no. Tasting is located in lobby across from front desk. There are 2 computer to use, one sits directly at front desk (no chair), the other is upstairs (mezzanine level) they are very slow.

Traveler's tip on shopping

Hotels is an easy 3 blocks from Powell Street and Union Square.

Too much street noise!!!

We had a HORRIBLE noise issue! Our room was unairconditioned so we needed the windows open for temperature control. Even though we were on the top floor on Geary Street,the noise was impossible to block out(even with windows shut). During the night, the police sirens and street fights were so loud I was unable to sleep. Can’t recommend this hotel to anybody, unless they are deaf!

A Bargain!

A nice clean, quaint and small San Francisco hotel. Every afternoon @ 5 (no charge) they bring out some nondescript white & red wine, cheese and crackers. There are several excellent restaurants within 2 blocks. We came in from the airport on the BART and walked up from Powell and Market. Did the same going back to the airport. PS: They really do provide a chilled glass of tequila when you check in.

Cute LITTLE san fran hotel

Tiny rooms but great location! Clean and neat little hotel!

Will stay there again.

Very well maintained hotel for its age. The staff were second to none.

Traveler's tip on dining

During our 4 day 3 night stay we never ate at the hotel but it’s restaurant was always busy. There are several restaurants within walking distance of The Hotel California Best Western. We always chose those that the locals frequent and were very happy with all of our meals and the service. We stayed away from the eateries that had very few or no customers.

great place

they offer you a shot of tequila as soon as you check in. but they decided to paint the elevator on sunday morning so no one could use it and the staircase was super narrow so if you had bags it was difficult to get by passing people. that was my only complaint. cute place, fun area, friendly staff. oh but worst pillows ever! bring your own :D

Traveler's tip

sorry didnt see much of the city. was there for outside lands fest. but public transportation was awesome!

Cozy Hotel California

We stayed for 3 nights, and the service was great. The safe and the shower needed a bit of fixing in the room, but easy fixes while we were out. The bed was comfortable as was the room, although small it was cozy. Staff was very helpful and told me to call them if I ever got lost around the city. Great location in the heart of San Francisco. I would go back!

Great time.

Had nothing but a positive experience there, particularly given the very reasonable price. My room, a suite with a king in one room and queen in the other was perfect for my needs. The staff was very accommodating, and the feel of the place was very low-key and fun. Highly recommended. One negative that bothered my friend was garbage pickup outside at 6 AM, but I slept through it.

Very nice

The room was well decorated, different from the usual and the price was nice

San Francisco Best Western

Wonderful hotel, very clean. Great location. Good restaurants and shopping. Awesome staff. Terrible workout room... but after walking up and down the hills, who needs to work out? :)

A little gem

This is a great hotel for a stay in San Fran. It is a quick walk from the main area of union sq and not too hilly(approx 7 mins). The staff were extremely helpful especially the wait staff. The lift is very old but it works fine. Initally we thought the room wasn’t very sound proof through the windows but realised on the last day that the window hadn’t been fully closed, you need to opush really hard to get it to lock properly. Apart from that it was a very plesant hotel.

Good value and location

A hotel with character and good location. Reasonably priced. Complimentary wine, cheese, and grapes at happy hour is a very welcomed touch! Not your typical chain hotel. Room is small, but was enough for us. No AC, but there is a ceiling fan. Reasonable parking garage a few doors down that is cheaper than the hotel’s parking. We would go back.

Ok for a one night stay

Stayed for a one night stay as we ran the SF Marathon. Room was very clean and had a NYC feel to it. Our room had no towels and immediately someone was sent up to provide towels. Front desk and staff very nice and friendly. Expensive parking and turns out there parking structure is located four blocks away, when I could have parked at a parking structure around the block for half the price. Didn’t get a good nights sleep as you could hear sirens, traffic, and people out in the streets late at night being loud. Overall room was clean and well kept

Staff friendly and helpful room -beautiful

Great coffee in AM, wine in early evening, beautiful room - bright,clean, pretty. Great value

Traveler's tip on recreational activities

Ask for suite

BW Average

I had to book a flight and hotel package 2days before this trip so I didnt have much choice. The establishment is very old and need to be renovated. What I didnt like it the most was my room had such a thin wall and the door so I could hear what my neighbor guests are up to, people walking down the hallway and so on. I give a credit to very friendly, SVC minded staffs.

Friendly service

Our stay at the Best Western exceeded my expectations. The pictures from the internet were accurate. It was an old building but nicely renovated. The staff were friendly and helpful. They made us feel welcomed and valued. Gave good information concerning transportation connections and entertainment. I will definitely stay there again when I visit Sans Francisco