Hotel Griffon

Good, but with some reservations

The Hotel Griffon, in the Embarcadero area of San Francisco, is conveniently located for a variety of needs and interests. Most importantly for us, it was not too far from the South Beach section where our daughter lives. The hotel is fine if you do not mind exceptionally small rooms. This was the feature that I did not much care for, though my wife was not bothered by it. The hotel is an old one and so small rooms are to be expected. But I really could have used a bit more "elbow room." The restaurant Perry’s is right there in the hotel. In the rear of the restaurant one could have a perfectly acceptable complimentary breakfast in the mornings. An excellent Mexican restaurant is right next door, and several other restaurants are within easy walking distance from the front door of the hotel. For a modest fee, we got a very comfortable limousine from the hotel to the SF airport, much better than taking the Super Shuttle or a taxi. We enjoyed our stay and the service was very good indeed.

nice hotel

would go back

A little small for the money

The rooms are served by one tiny elevator that takes a while to arrive. In one side, out the other when going to main floor. The cost is high relative to the size. I much prefer the Fairmont. We stayed at the Griffon to be near AT&T Park to watch the series against the Dodgers. Will try another place next year.

My favorite San Francisco hotel

Very cozy Botique hotel. Tiny rooms but great ambiance. Location great for walking, catching bart and other transit. Many Great restaurants within 1 block. This is my 3rd visit

Traveler's tip on local attractions

Right across from the Ferry Building

Noisy weekend room

Stayed on a Friday & Saturday night. Asked for a quiet room, didn’t need a view but got the room right above the entrance on the street across from the banquet hall that was having a party all night. Valets parking cars, drunks stumbling out of bars and this pounding music from across the street! Do not stay in the rooms on the street if you want any sleep.

GREAT SPOT

What a great location right next to the water. A little noisy as far a street traffic but a cute boutique that I will stay at again. Great restaurant adjacent...

nice little hotel close to ballpark

very clean, small rooms but close to AT&T Park and several good restaurants. Also great Farmers Market at nearby Ferry Building on Saturday a.m., lots of energy, good food and great local produce

Traveler's tip on dining

check out the nearby Epic Roasthouse for an amazing meal with fantastic service..just across the embarcadero (on water side) from the hotel

Nice quaint hotel in good location

I would say this is a very quaint little high end hotel. I enjoyed my stay in the nicely appointed room. The only issue I had was that the room seemed a bit small to me. It could be b/c this is San Fran and everything is small and cramped, but the room did feel small with the king size bed in it. It was however very nicely decorated and everything felt new and comfortable. I’d definitely stay again next time I’m in SF.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

Parking is $40 a night and they just park it outside across the street or in the parking structure down the street. You could save yourself some cash if you just parked it yourself. Its not very far away at all.

Room was not accomodating for a business traveler

5 days in the hotel while traveling on business. Desk area was the size of a snack table. Lamp, phone etc had to be removed to accommodate my PC. Area was so narrow that chair had to be pushed to the end of the bed in order to move. TV was mounted above the sink,same room as the bed,no chair other than desk. Window faced brick walls/windows so curtains were always closed.

Traveler's tip for business travelers

The hotel is quite lovely however a business traveler needs to make certain when checking in that you must have adequate work space. Room was always clean and the staff was delightful and helpful.

Great Hotel for the price I paid.

Great Hotel for the price I paid. The room was a bit small but clean and elegant. Totally satisfied and would love to stay here again.

griffon a little bit tired

Nice restaurant, good service, great location but rooms are a little bit tired

Convenient location

Good hotel location for job I needed to complete on Market St.

Traveler's tip on dining

Plenty of good eating locations within walking distance.

Business by the bay

Great boutique hotel on the bay and within walking distance of business in the financial district. Morning runs on the Embarcadero; European style breakfast buffet on each floor. Only negative is that the lobby was undergoing renovation. I’m sure rates will go up when they are done.

Good hotel, good location

An $8 cab ride to Chinatown, Union Square. Across the street from the Ferry Building/Farmer’s Market. 20-30 minute walk to Pier 39. Hotel is right on the Embarcadero. Room was very small but had nice bedding. There weren’t extra pillows so we used the decorative pillows from the window seat under the bed pillows. Breakfast is served on each floor---danishes, muffins, fruit, juice, milk, yogurt. Apples at the front desk. Free paper. Free bottled water every afternoon. Cool, flat screen TV. Helpful, pleasant staff.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

Quick cab ride to Caltrain station---Caltrain got us to the San Jose airport in an hour for $7.50. MUCH cheaper than Super Shuttle or a taxi.

Good Deal

The hotel is very good located and we had a very good stay. The rooms look good and are comfortable and clean. If we come back to SFO we will stay at Griffon again.

Griffon is great small hotel.

It was clean, friendly and located near all the action in San Francisco.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

Great view of the Bay Bridge if you have a room in the back of the hotel.

Enjoyable, friendly, convenient

Classy small hotel in a perfect location for enjoying all SF has to offer. The completion of the restaurant will complete the package. The room was tiny, and there was no view, neither of which detracted from the experience. If an issue next time, I will pay for a larger room with a view. Excellent staff, both helpful and knowledgeable. I’ll certainly stay there again.

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

Ask about the room size and view if an issue.

Not ideal for a female business traveler

My interior room (small window facing a dark narrow space) would work well for a tourist that doesn’t care about a view. My biggest complaints as a business traveler: (1) my at&t cell phone did not work in my room (I had to go out to the hallway and walk toward the window to make a call) and to use the room phone was very expensive, (2) there is no business center, so I had to go to a copy center to print and copy, (3) the light level in the room was very, very low - the lowest I have seen in a hotel in the last year or two, which was not nice to do work and was especially horrible for applying make-up, (4) there was no full length mirror, (5) the desk was tiny, (6) the wireless internet was very weak, which caused occassional glitches with vpn. The nice things: (1) huge dell flat screen TV, (2) robes and complimentary coffee and cookies in the room, (3) very comfortable bed, (4) in a prime location, (5) free breakfast includes high quality pastries, cheese, cold cuts, fresh fruit, nice assortment of fruit and vegetable juices.

Traveler's tip on dining

A few steps to a couple blocks away from three Zagat top-rated restaurants: Shanghai 1930, Yank Sing, and Boulevard. Get your own reservations several days before your trip.

Living in a prison cell

The ’deluxe’ room was small with a window that looked onto a brick wall some three feet away. It was like being in a prison cell. The hotel staff were pleasant and helpful and moved me to another room, which was identical! Good to have free Internet access , but I would never stay there again.

Great small scale hotel in great location

The location could not be better, it is just off the waterfront and convenient to many locations and the train. The rooms are small, but comfortable. Retaining exposed brick and oversized windows gives it a very unique feel.

Great for the price...

Hotel Griffon is a boutique type hotel in an excellent location close to SF’s main waterfront attractions. The overall appearance of the hotel is great, nice linens, clean room, friendly and helpful staff. The only down side was the smell of our room, odd, and the cleanliness of the glasses in the room. However, staff was helpful in replacing them an providing us with extra pillows and towels ASAP. Would definitely recommend as a fairly priced hotel in a highly priced city.

Traveler's tip

PARKING IS A PAIN! If you don’t use the hotel’s parking at $40 valet per overnight, with in/out privileges, you have to pay a nearby lot for about $20 overnight, wo in/out privileges. We tried parking at the many, many meters around the hotel instead and ended up getting about $80 of parking tickets on our 2 night stay! Be careful where you park, read the signs all around you, not just at the meters, or you may just want to bite the bullet and pay the overnight costs.

Would stay here again

To sum it up... Great experience. Extremely comfortable beds. Rooms are smaller than average for an American hotel - reminds me of Europe and the Middle East - but the quality of the place is astounding. Would stay here again. A+.

Great location. Very nice boutique hotel. Also affordable.

This hotel was one of the best SF hotels I’ve stayed in (and I’ve stayed in a ton since I am there for business at least 6 times per year.) The Griffon was clean, semi-luxurious, well staffed and in a great location--very close to the BART. The room was small, but fine for 1 person. The bath products were high quality. The only thing I did not appreciate was the crappy breakfast they offered. It consisted of oranges with seeds, the cheapest "pastries" they could find, and some yogurt. A lot of cheaper hotels offer much better breakfasts! That really irritated me.

Great hotel, great value, great staff.

Wonderful hotel, we were upgraded to a king view suite free of charge. Spacious room with a great view, great for kids. Nice, less crowded neighborhood of SF. We spend a lot of time in SF down from the North Bay and this is one of the best hotels for the price that we have stayed at.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

Park a few blocks down at for a lot less than valet.

Looking forward to you new restaurant opening...

The only downside was that there was no restaurant, which was apparently being renovated. The location was great and the staff were very professional. We definitely will return. The TV didn’t have a good CNN connection, but that was just my attachment to a clear picture. Thanks again, Tenzin