I love the St. Regis SF and also have complaints
I've been staying at the St. Regis SF since it opened and have had perhaps 20 stays. When I first stayed there I was a SPG Gold and they always upgraded (either independently or by my request) me to a corner premier room on a high floor. The corner rooms are larger, with a lounging chair and a long hall way.
As a "regular" at the hotel, I'm treated very well by the front desk, concierge, and bellmen, they all know me by name and are very helpful. I've been platinum for about three years. To my surprise, during that time I've only been offered upgrades to Astor suites a couple of times. Truth be told, I hate the Astor suites, they are on the wrong side of the building with a lousy view, and the sleeping area has a problem with noise coming from some loud club at night. Since then I've turned down "upgrades" to Astor Suites and prefer the high floor corner rooms that I received as a Gold. When it's just not me traveling, I go for a Platinum upsell to a high floor, Yerba Buena Park view Metropolitan Suite.
Recently, the St. Regis has been quite full and I've been staying at the W Hotel next door. I've been more consistently upgraded there to high floor "Extreme Wow Suites" or high floor "Fantastic Corner Rooms". Though quite different in character, I find my experience with the W to be "almost as good" as the St. Regis. Either one works for me.