The Donatello Hotel

Excellent experience

A quiet, friendly atmosphere, near Union Square

Delightful Hotel at Union Square

Large room with all amenities and very confortable bed. Windows actually open to the street if you need some city sounds (can be noisy if you face the street). Service was excellent. Great location for walking around that part of town. Good restaurants and bars all around the hotel.

Nice Stay

We were very happy with this hotel. The room was clean, comfortable and roomy. The staff was friendly & helpful. Has a nice piano bar, perfect for after dinner drinks.

Would return to The Donatello...but bring your ear plugs

The Donatello is in a wonderfully convenient location in the Union Square area. However, you have to be willing to put up with street noise late at night due to garbage trucks and loud/rowdy young folks at the nightclub across the street. My earplugs blocked most of the noise, but my husband did not use them and suffered. Despite that, he said he would definitely return.The hotel itself is very comfortable and the rooms are BIG and comfortable. The staff is great.

Christine

Absolutely LOVED the Donatello. I can’t wait to go back.

Very Disappointed

Although the Donatello is in a very convenient location, and the rooms were fundamentally clean and comfortable, the basic service was very disappointing. First, the website promoted a complimentary breakfast which turned out to be a very meager motel-style continental breakfast for a charge of $7 per person. My advice - walk a block to any of the diners down the street for a much better deal. Second, a stop at the concierge desk for a promised "welcome package" was actually an opportunity for the hotel to try to up-sell its timeshare program. I found this shocking and insulting. Third, on a raining morning, the hotel would not call me a taxi, and after a half-hearted attempt to hail one, gave up and told me I was on my own. I ended up walking two blocks in the rain to the Hilton where the doorman gladly hailed me a cab. Overall, I was stunned by the poor and insulting service at the Donatello, and I won’t be back.

Can’t Wait to go back to San Fran and the Donatello!

Perfect location! We walked to Union Square, took the transit and even walked to Fisherman’s Wharf! Everyone at the Donatella were friendly! We used the Club: fitness room, played cards, got our coffee each morning and chatted with the concierge. The rooms were spacious, had refrig, microwave, all dishes, utensils! Perfect!!! Added pleasure: turndown service w/delicious chocolate each evening!

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

Check with the concierge for tips on any local atractions and information on transit tickets (the streetcar and trolley are a must!) There is so much to do so pace yourself. Walking is wonderful, but be sure to wear comfortable shoes as the area is very hilly.

Wonderful staff, wonderful location

Loved the hotel, the staff, and the location. Very centrally located to everything we wanted to see and do in San Fran. The only negative about the room was that the windows didn’t seem sealed very well and we heard some of noise outside throughout the night. Every staff person that we dealt with at the hotel were an absolute pleasure to deal with. We’d stay here again without hesitation.

loved it

great location,great service,loved the mini kitchen,great value

very happy

we had a great time staying at the donatello. the room was comfy and clean, also it has a mini kitchen; sink, microwave, fridge, dishes and cutlery. this was very useful when u were traveling on a budget! the staff was very helpful and polite. the location coudnt be more perfect, it was next to union sq. we would definitely go back again!

Really Impressed

Awesome hotel with great rooms for a bargain price.

100% RECOMENDED

THE DONATELLO IS REALLY WELL LOCATED, JUST ONE BLOCK FROM UNION SQUARE AND NEAR BUSES AND CABLE CARS STOPS. THE HOTEL IS VERY COMFORTABLE AND THE SERVICE IS GREAT. I DEFINATELY WOULD GET BACK TO THE DONATELLO.

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

GET THE CITY PASS, IT’S A MUST. IF YOU ARE TO STAY AT THE DONATELLO, ASK IN ADVANCE FOR ATTRACTIONS WITH THEM BEFORE YOU GET TICKETS IN ADVANCE BECAUSE THEY HAVE A SPECIAL SERVICE FOR IT.

Beautiful hotel, great location-will return!

We live in the Bay Area & have stayed in numerous downtown SF hotels. Our room at The Donatello was clean,comfortable & spacious. It was myself & 2 teenage girls (they have lots of baggage!) but we had plenty of room. The beds were very comfortable. Great location for shopping & restaurants galore - we walked everywhere. Will definitely stay here again!

Great stay

Stayed with my family. Centrally located to everything and great rooms for families.

good value, great location

great location. free Internet, clean and spacious room.nice breakfast.k staff very helpful they can book you any kind of activity you need from a tour to a restaurant. good value. highly recommended. only thing i didn’t like is the charge for parking. they as for 28$ a day when you can park down the street for 15$.

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

1.try the SPA. it’s complimentary and a great way to relax after a long day on the the streets. 2.if you are planing to visit Alcatraz, book weeks ahead. almost impossible to get tickets even for 3-4 days ahead.

Showing its age

I think the D is showing its age. Rooms need some serious redecorating and the service staff could use some training in current hotel service and support not the way it was 10 years ago. Movies would be nice also. Can’t remember the last time I stayed at a hotel of 3 star or above that didn’t have movies to purchase. And their "wireless internet" was too weak to get a signal. I actually went on-line using the signal from a nearby Kimpton (I’m a Kimpton In-Touch member so have userID and password) that was 4 times stronger and worked great. Having stayed before, this time was a disappointment.

Nice Hotel, conveniently located

The Donatello was a wonderful place to stay. Great location, friendly staff. My only complaint was the WiFi service was slow as molasses when it worked at all.

Nice boutique hotel

Love staying here; the rooms are good-sized and comfortable. Having a microwave, refrigerator, and toaster, (and the coffeepot of course) is a plus, especially if you want to store perishables or have breakfast in the room without paying room services prices. The hotel is now owned by a vacation-resort company and they do try to to sell you on that, but it’s easily sidestepped. A few spots could have used a new coat of paint.

Did Not Meet My Expectations

This hotel has a lot of assets - its location is really great, it was affordable during my stay, and the room was large and comfortable. However, I choose this hotel from among other similarly-priced options for 2 primary reasons: free internet and "included" continental breakfast - since these are both expenses that can add up after several days. The free wireless internet was free, but the reception in my room was weak and occasionally unavailable. The "included" continental breakfast actually costs $4.00. That’s not expensive, but it’s not an impressive continental and I felt as though their advertising was dishonest in that the breakfast was not free. Finally, because the Donatello is a "Shell Vacation Property," we were subjected to a rather strong sales pitch from the concierge to attend a time share presentation during our visit.

Traveler's tip on dining

Try breakfast at the Ferry Terminal Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning - delicious and the farmer’s market is a feast for the senses.

Great hotel

The Donatello has well-appointed rooms, friendly and helpful staff, and a great location. The facility is well-kept and clean. We would definitely stay in this hotel on another visit.

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

No need to have car if you stay here. The hotel is close to shopping and dining, and very convenient to both public transportation and taxi stand. If you need a car for a day, rental agencies are conveniently located.

Perfect Hotel and Location!

The room was sooooo spacious and clean, with windows all along one side, view of street/Union Square. Loved the frig/microwave/coffee area, with plates & utensils for eating in. We had a sofa, sitting area that made the room for 3 very comfortable. We’d return in a minute! Also, the concierge & registration staff were all above expectations!!

The trip to Alcatraz was a must---our teenagers loved the tour and the boat trip to the island. (You need to buy tickets online ahead---often they are sold out on the same day or day after.) Went on the Ghost Hunt (found online)--an evening walk (about 1 mile or more) starting at a "haunted Victorian Mansion" in Pacific Heights, and a docent walks you through the streets past Victorian houses sharing stories about local ghosts---kids enjoyed that!

Great location!

My husband, son and I stayed at the Donatello on a recent stay in San Fransisco. This was my first time in San Fransisco, so we loved being a block away from the trolley car stop which took us straight down to Fisherman’s Wharf. The location was unbeatable! Chinatown, shopping, restaurants all within a short walk or trolley car ride. We had a nice king sized bed with a sleeper sofa in our room for our son. The room wasn’t huge, but a nice size for downtown San Fransisco! The Donatello is an excellent small boutique hotel in a prime location and we found a great rate through Expedia!

Excellent hotel with great location

We really enjoyed the hotel. The breakfast was adequate and the staff was very helpful. The only complaint that I would have is that the hotel is affiliated with the Shell Vacation Club and they’ll try to get you to attend a meeting to explain the program to you. The "welcome gift" is just a way to get you to come down and have the concierge try to talk you into this. We got several phone calls from the concierge trying to get us to attend. We would still go back there--we would just tell them we weren’t interested so they wouldn’t bother us about it.

Great service and great location!

The staff was friendly and efficient. They went out of their way to assure comfort and satisfaction. The room was clean and attended carefully each day of my five-day stay. I highly recommend this hotel to visitors to San Francisco.

best valuse for money hotel

i was very satisfied with every thing only the break fast could have had more items and the lady sarah at the concierge should be more honest and warm over all absoltley it is value for money