Starwood Preferred Guest - San Fran - Westin St Francis or W

All -

1) spending one night
2) cost not an issue, has to be one of these two
3) I'm Platinum
4) I arrive mid-afternoon, with nothing to do

Guidance appreciated, as always - Jamie

All -

1) spending one night
2) cost not an issue, has to be one of these two
3) I'm Platinum
4) I arrive mid-afternoon, with nothing to do

Guidance appreciated, as always - Jamie

They're reasonably close to each other, so location is not much of an issue. The styles are veeerrrrrry different. St. Francis very much older and more traditional. W is like the others, very contemporary. I'd guess the average age difference of the guests to be at least 20+ years.

People here have complained about Platinum upgrades at the St. Francis and seem to prefer The Palace for this reason. I've stayed at the W once and thought it was a great hotel and received a very nice upgrade. I can't compare that to the St. Francis, as I haven't stayed there since I was Platinum.

For me, personally, if cost wasn't an issue, I'd definitely go with the W, but then I like W's and prefer that style to the more traditional style of the St. Francis (though I'd go to the bar at the St. Franics for a martini -- it's one of the grandest lobby bars in the US -- truly magnificent).

You arrive mid-afternoon with nothing to do in one of the most vibrant cities in the US?! GET OUT OF YOUR HOTEL ROOM and visit all that SF has to offer :)

As far as hotels, I think that the staff at the SF W is probably one of the best groups of hotel employees I have ever come across. I've stayed at the St. Francis and wasn't all that impressed except that the location is wonderful.

I just stayed at the W as a "Gold". (Had been SPG Plat since day 1 of the program ... until last week.) I have stayed at both plenty of times as a plat.

The StF lobby bar of which he speaks about is no more. The Compass Rose is now Restaurant Michael Mina. It has made for an odd lobby in the main entrance from Powell St. The restaurant itself is supposed to be one of the absolute top restaurants in the US right now. I have reservations there in a couple of weeks.

Cost not an issue? The W.

However, I have a few criticisms from this weekend (I just checked out a couple hours ago).

(1) I thought the W beds had the pillow top built in. This bed just wasn't nearly as comfortable as in the past. There was a loose-fitting pillow top on the mattress, and it slid around a bit, and it wasn't all that great.

(2) I was on a low floor, and fire engines kept me up last night several times. Much worse last night than Saturday night.

(3) I don't know when turndown service went from standard, to "on request only" - or maybe that's because I'm now just a lowly gold.

. . .The StF lobby bar of which he speaks about is no more. The Compass Rose is now Restaurant Michael Mina. It has made for an odd lobby in the main entrance from Powell St. . .

How sad :( . What a fantastic bar it was - such history and grandeur. I'm sure the Michael Mina restaurant returns more $$ per square foot, but the elimination of the Compass Rose is truly sad.

Although this thread begins by comparing the Palace and the W, there is relevant info re: the St. Francis and the W.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=400657&page=1&pp=15

Hope it helps.