aasjcflyer

Overnight parking is available at the Embarcadero Center. The rate is $30 per 24 hours.

musikdude

As a diamond, what would a normal diamond upgrade be (w/o using the suite upgrade certificate) if I just had a regular king room booked on a paid stay?

Would it be to the Regency Club balcony king room?

Is the suite upgrade certificate worth it for an upgrade to the Embarcadero suite?

How does one get upgraded to the Balcony suite? (is this the best suite available here??)

Cygnet

Check the Confirmed Diamond Suite Uprade thread for reviews from others who've used it at HR SF. That's what that thread is for.

musikdude

I have secured a Balcony Suite for my stay of 2 nights at this hotel. The Grand Hyatt would be about $80 cheaper to stay at (in an executive suite).

Any reason to 2nd guess my choice??? THX!!

JIMCHI

I have stayed at both hotels many times. I like both, but am somewhat partial to the Grand Hyatt. Location is better (on Union Square) and many more rooms have spectacular views. Rooms & suites at the Hyatt Regency that don't have a bay view really don't face anything except office buildings. I had a suite at the Hyatt Regency which was directly over the cable car terminus- it was terrible, with awful sounding street musicians playing until late at night that could be heard in the suite. The club at the Regency is much bigger and more relaxing and has nice bay views. It used to be a revolving bar & restaurant on top of the hotel; in my twenties, a date and I could wait 30-40 minutes to get on the elevator up to it! It is no longer a bar/restaurant and no longer revolves. The club at the Grand is relatively small but has spectacular north bay views. The executive suite at the Grand is essentially two bedrooms with a connecting door- the parlor part has a dining room table, sofa, coffee table and a couple of chairs and another bathroom.

The lobby of the Hyatt Regency is quite spectacular- it was one of architect John Portman's first Hyatt atrium lobbies (I believe Atlanta was the first) in the 1960's. It still is quite something to see, but also quite noisy. The lobby at the Grand is quite small. A few people have complained it too is noisy. I've stayed at the Grand probably 30 times and frankly I've never seen more than 10 people at most in the lobby - and at most perhaps 7 or 8 in line at the front desk. The lobby is nothing like the Regency and shares a plaza with the Levis store.

Have a wonderful time. I don't think either hotel will disappoint you.

Steph58

I prefer the HR over the Grand, especially after my stay a few weeks ago. The refurbished room at the HR on the 16th floor wowed me. A TV in the bathroom mirror with remote??!! The new decor was very nice. This was the first time I'd been assigned to the Bay Bridge/Market St. side of the hotel; street noise wasn't that bad on the 16th floor, but I can see where it would be on a lower floor. I thought the view from the room was great--office buildings yes (true of any view in SF), but also the Ferry Building & Bay Bridge. I have another stay booked and am going to request the other side (Golden Gate Bridge side) with the balconies. The further your room is from the elevator toward Embarcadero, the better the view (goes for both sides).

RC at the HR, in my opinion, far exceeds the RC at the Grand. I haven't stayed at the Grand recently, but hopefully they've refurbished their rooms, as they used to be very "ho hum". I will say the restaurant at the Grand is much better than the one at HR, if you're going to stay in to eat.

Does anyone know if the suites at the HR are all on a lower floor, such as JIMCHI mentioned? Thinking of using my paper upgrade cert, but not if I get what JIMCHI described.

HunterSFO

I'm at HR SF right now. For some reason I had it in my head that this would be a very mediocre property. NOT SO! The Regency Club here is fantastic! The views from the club are spectacular, the food spread was great, and they also have computers, board games to check out, massage chairs, several flat screen TVs.

I booked the cheapest room, but they upgraded me to Regency Club Balcony King without asking. Addressed by name the whole time. The room has a great view of the bay and city with chairs on the balcony. Big flatscreen tv, and also the mirror in the bathroom is a TV too! The lobby Atrium is spectacular as well and right now all decked out for the holidays. They put an entire "village" display in the middle of the big waterfall in the lobby. They have a live piano player down there and you can still hear it in the hallways wafting up through the atrium.

My room is quiet, on the 16th floor. I don't here any street noise - even with the sliding glass door open.

Given how cheap the rooms are hear it is an excellent value.

kevino

Yes, the lounge is very nice, but quite busy in the morning, esp. on the weekends. I agree the balconies are nice.

dtremit

Just completed a stay here; used an upgrade cert and got an Embarcadero Suite (1717) -- one big room with a sitting area and bedroom, great Bay Bridge views, small bathroom with shower only.

For those that have stayed in the "balcony suite" -- is it actually two separate rooms? And if so, did you notice if there was a door for them to connect the living room to a second bedroom? Will be traveling to SF with family later this year, and it'd be convenient to have the ability to get a second connecting bedroom.

aasjcflyer

The balcony suite is 2 seperate rooms and does have a door betwen rooms. Also 2 bathrooms.

DLAtlPdx

Just used a confirmed suite upgrade here and would highly recommend it to anyone else. the TV in the bathroom mirror, as others pointed out, was amazing, and the balcony is quite large -- I was above the cable car terminus but didn't have street noise issue other poster mentioned and the "ding-ding" of the cable car provided a pleasant periodic reminder that I was in SF. As others mentioned, the RC was top-notch, with views of Bay Bridge and good food options, and the health club the usual solid Hyatt fare.

JIMCHI

The cable cars are indeed quaint, but those who are not heavy sleepers should keep in mind that the last cable car departure from in front of the hotel is at 1:00 a.m. There is an arrival or departure about every 10 minutes late at night. And the bells on them are fairly loud. What's "charming" at 6 p.m. can be very disruptive to sleep at midnight or later. There is only a small percentage of rooms in this great hotel which would be affected by this noise.

pagotto

Plus, along with the cable car, an eclectic mix of people tend to hang out next to the cable car, often playing music or singing, sometimes even with a microphone and speaker. Even from the 17th floor, one can at times hear the noise. So, if quiet is important, just ask for a room not overlooking the Bay Bridge.

That said I think this hotel has the best lounge of any hotel in the US - between the views and food (appetizers are quite extensive, although dessert and breakfast are a bit sparse), hard to top it.

By the way, any chance a moderator can correct the typo in the subject (Francisco is has the s and c reversed) - sorry, things like that drive me nuts [and make it harder to search]

Explore

Had a great stay here New Year's Eve with my wife, for a not unreasonable rate. No suite upgrades available, so I requested a north-facing room as close to the Bay as possible. We got 1521, a room at the east end of a row of balconies. (the room in the same position on the 16th floor is 1620, and on the 17th floor 1719 - those are slightly closer to the Bay). No traffic noise this side, but there was late night canned music from Embarcadero Center (probably applicable only on NYE).

We got to witness the excellent fireworks in the Bay, right outside the hotel, through large picture windows at the east end of the hotel. Other 15th floor guests showed up for the 15-minute midnight spectacular. Just prior, I had visited the RC for a flute of champagne, complimentary for all holding RC access. The RC was open until 12:30 am that night, with a prominent local acoustic guitarist, Eddie Pasternak, hired to perform from 9 to midnight. Appetizers and desserts had been extensive, with managers and the executive chef (ex- the QE2 liner and other hotels) frequently present to make sure food was replenished.

Only guests were permitted into the hotel after 6 pm, to prevent the thousands of local fireworks revelers from trying to get a better view for free. Guests wore wrist bands to identify themselves.

The next morning, the RC served a full breakfast, including sausages, bacon, and eggs, until noon. Again management and the chef made frequent rounds.

What a spectacular experience! Thanks so much, HR San Francisco. The hotel was completely sold out that night, hosting a diverse crowd including many locals.

kevino

Explore, thanks for the report. ^^ It's nice that management did something special New Year's Day.

I was there on Christmas Day paying the SFonSale rate. Got the Ice Rink tickets and the $25 food credit. The food charge earned points.