turner32

Thanks. I did read this. Was wondering about mini-bar, which isn't mentioned.
Still, JS and club is good enough.

Smorgasbord42

Just stayed over the July 4th weekend (Sat thru Tues). Used AMB cert for second night and Credit Card free night for the third. I'm Spire Ambassador.

Good: I booked a "club" suite to get more value out of the AMB cert. They kept us in the same room for the free night, but without club access. I was quite happy with that.

Bad: They first had us in room 1519. A junior suite with a decent view, but the wall by the bed is literally just the other side of the elevator shaft. So, you hear not only the doors opening and closing on your floor and just above & below, but the elevator motor whine no matter which floor it was stopping at. Called and got moved into another room, which had windows on the front facade, so a slightly better view, but this room was smaller: not a suite, no couch. So that was less comfortable, but better than hearing the elevators going up to the Top of the Mark all night. Nothing done to the room rate, but I figured with the free night including that room it was OK.

Welcome fruit and chocolate was great. Water not replenished automatically after the first night, but a call got two bottles delivered within minutes. Outside the shower door something had been repaired and not put back together well - they pieced the wallpaper back but it was peeling and it looked dirty/moldy at the bottom corner. Since that's across from the toilet, you can't help but stare at it. My wife didn't shower during our stay because it grossed her out.

View from room was great, although SF fog limited the firework viewing. Fairmont lobby just across the street blows away anything in the Mark Hopkins, so don't go there if you want to feel good about where you're staying.

Lounge was pretty good. Nice setup for breakfast, plenty of choices. Note that the lounge is on the first floor and they prohibit taking food out with you (although I did sneak a banana out). Evening spread wasn't bad, either, with open self-serve bar. Lounge food/alcohol closes promptly at 7pm now.

We've stayed on the SF IC (on Howard) before. The Mark Hopkins in Nob Hill is a better location in terms of sightseeing and feeling of safety. The Junior suite at the SF IC we had a few years ago was bigger and cleaner than the Mark Hopkins, but it's a far newer hotel, so that's to be expected.

Tip: If you're staying on the 16th or higher floor, it's often faster to take the leftmost elevator to the 15th and walk up, since that elevator isn't summoned when people click the "T" to go to the Top of the Mark.

clubman

Anyone got some recent experiance here as Spire Ambassador? What's the upgrade policy like, and any chance of getting upgraded to a club room including lounge access if I booked a category below? Any special rate for breakfast for Ambassadors?

foxberg

SF IC on Howard is much, much better the this one. From concierge to service to rooms, to the Micheline Star restaurant. Everything is much better at IC SF. And it's 5 min walk to the Market Street. And you don't have to hike up the Powell to get to the hotel (unless you take UBER every night). How much closer to the downtown can you be? IC SF is, obviously, much newer, much cleaner and much more pleasant to stay at then the ran down outdated MH. And if you are so fascinated with the Top of the Mark - then just go visit it one night. To me it was just meh, nothing to get so excited about. I've been to much better "Top of Whatever" in the world.

Flying Lawyer

To put it plain simple: The IC on Howard is nothing but a good or not too bad hotel (by international, not US standards) and the MH is an institution with quite a bit of morbide charme. Uber? There is another institution called Cable Car stopping in front of it.

foxberg

Yeap, but still $5, I think, up or down.

Flying Lawyer

Discussing about USD 5 is probably the wrong approach when discussing about San Francisco. A MUNiI pass for a few days would be the appropriate choice for you.

foxberg

Obviously, however this was not the point. Let me put it this way, I'd rather take UBER every night to IC SF then get a free ride and stay at IC MH.

Flying Lawyer

It is good to see that different travellers have different preferences. I have stayed a few times at the ICSF and for me it is a CP type of hotel with mediocre view and SOMA is not my most beloved area in town.

Lambers

Anyone know the per-night cost for the lounge here now if you book reward nights? I'm Spire Elite (but not Amb) if that makes any difference. (I'm assuming it doesn't.)

Thanks!

BarryL

Anyone provide any advice? Going to SF next week, want to stay at either IC SF or IC MH. Price is the same.

Just recently signed up for Amb program.

Steph58

The posts above yours accurately describe the pros and cons of each, I think it's probably 50/50 on preference. A matter of weighing the pros and cons mentioned.

Thinking of doing a stay for one of my Accelerate tasks. Stopped in at the MH last weekend to get some info on Club access. To add it is $110 for 2 people, less for 1 person. Slightly less expensive to just book a Club room online if booking a paid rate. Woman at the front desk mentioned (very rapidly) something about Club rooms being next to elevators. From reading these posts I had some familiarity as to what she was saying. I would think just booking a room and adding the breakfast option for much less than $110 would be a better choice. She described the Club breakfast as being continental. She handed me a sheet of paper listing the perks of Club InterContinental. Unless you plan to spend most of your day at the hotel eating & drinking, I don't see it being worth the upcharge.

Then we went across the street to the Fairmont to attend a show which brought us to the area. Yes, the huge lobby of the Fairmont far surpasses the IC MH. Fairmont was beautifully decorated for the holidays, but like a scene from kids gone wild -- visiting Santa.

wilma

Stayed here recently on a BOGO ambassador weekend.reserved a club room and they upgraded us to a executive room next to the elevator. We went the room and it was way too loud with elevator whining so we asked for something else, executive rooms are nice and large but too noisy as they are all next to the elevator. The manager on duty offered us a special upgrade to a terrace suite since no other suites were available, great! Then he calls back 15 minutes later and says “ sorry the terrace suite is too much of an upgrade so you can’t have it unless you pay the difference!” Really? He then claimed he found us a great club room with a wonderful view and would send the keys up. We waited for 45 minutes and no keys so we gathered our luggage and went to the front desk that was now mobbed with people trying to check in. Someone gives us the keys to our new room and says “ oh, the bellman forgot to deliver your keys.” Ugh. We get to the new room and it was a basic small room with no view so i guess we got the special downgrade from the terrace suite! We called the front desk to speak to a manager and they promised one would call us right back, nope. terrible, tacky service. Finally a manager found us in the club, and she somehow found us a lovely room with a nice view, but it was way too much work to get an ambassador upgrade. The club is lovely here but not sure i want to stay here again.

patmcpsu

Personally, I am a huge fan of this hotel. Then again, I'm admittedly a sucker for historic hotels. For what it's worth, my wife an I stayed in the Executive Room and the elevator noise, while slightly audible, wasn't enough to disturb our sleep (and we're light sleepers) or comfort.

It sounds like you were given the automatic Ambassador upgrade that you were entitled to, but the upgraded room was located next to the elevator. It's a fair disclaimer to warn everyone that Executive Rooms are next to the elevator, and that the elevator creates noise. However, all hotels have rooms next to elevators, and I don't believe it's fair to write-off the entire hotel because of this. I understand you were frustrated that it took a while to be re-assigned a room, but once you turn-down your assigned room at a busy hotel, all bets are off. Maybe I'm a pushover, but I tend to keep the room I'm given as long as it's the room-category I'm entitled to and the cleanliness/maintenance is satisfactory. Perhaps if I know the hotel is half-empty, I would consider declining my assigned room and playing the field.

A fair caveat could be: if you want an upgraded room that's not next to an elevator, book an Executive Room and get upgraded to the next category above that. I understand this costs more money, but it comes down to how much you value absolute silence in your room.

Steph58

Had a pleasant stay here for our anniversary, right after New Years. Thought the hotel would be empty based on the very low rate and date, but there seemed to be a fair amount of post-holiday tourists. Hotel was still decorated for the holidays, which was nice. Booked the lowest priced room and definitely received an upgrade to room 1532. Not obsessing about how many categories up, but I'm guessing it was more than one. King bed with nice view of Grace Cathedral and sliver of the bay, far from elevators. Received Ambassador amenities plus bottle of Prosecco for anniversary. Room was tidy with a desk, bathtub/shower combo. Mattress was really hard (uncomfortable) and not the cloud-like type we've had at other IHG properties,

When I booked I wasn't able to add breakfast for $29 to my prepaid nonrefundable rate; asked at the front desk and they added it for about +$40. Buffet breakfast is $32 pp so we saved a little. Food and selection was okay, not remarkable. Night prior we went to Top of the Mark for a drink and appetizer, food was delicious. Pages of fancy, fun, holiday, festive drinks on the menu which were not as grand in reality as their menu descriptions. Had visited the MH for holiday high tea a few days prior; again, food was delicious and was a hidden gem in the realm of holidays teas in this city--reasonably priced compared to others and easily bookable.

Tip on parking, do it yourself at the Crocker Garage for $40 (valet) and save $25 vs. the hotel price. Crocker Garage is just across the street. If using BART get off at Embarcadero, walk over to the Hyatt Regency, and get a taxi for $6.50 up the hills to the Mark Hopkins. The hills to reach the hotel are only for the very fit & ambitious! I saw mention of a hotel towncar in the hotel desktop info book which stated it goes to the financial district and Union Square--I don't know the details but would be worth asking about if staying more than one night. Without walking up/down the hills, the only other restaurants are at the other hotels--the Fairmont and Stanford Court.