Originally Posted by lesteryen
I stayed at the Westin St. Francis in the past weekend (March 11-13). I booked a Heavenly Weekend package, which included Standard Room accommodation, American buffet breakfast, daily newspaper and late check-out at 4pm.
I really find the Westin St. Francis to be centrally located, however, I am not satisfied with the service that it has provided during my stay. As a Starwood Preferred Gold Member, I queued at the Starwood Preferred Guest Line for check-in. There was a family checking in at the SPG counter and the receptionist responsible for the SPG members was busy helping them check in. Me and a bunch of SPG members stood on the line, but the other receptionists did not notice our presence and continue helping other normal non-SPG members check in. They should have let us jumped the queue and get our room as soon as possible.
I have requested a month ago and phoned the hotel several times stating my request to have a room at the Tower Wing. The receptionist told me that the hotel was fully booked and she could only upgrade me to a larger room at the Main Building with 2 double beds. My room was on the fifth floor of the Main Building and got some street views. It was pretty big in size and I found the bathroom to be pretty good. The Westin Heavenly Bed was very comfortable and I slept very well for the 2 nights at the Westin St. Francis.
The American breakfast buffet at the Oak Room was lousy. This is a Westin hotel and the buffet breakfast had very limited choices of food. I think they should definitely improve the breakfast as it is definitely not up to the Westin standards.
In conclusion, I think the hotel has an excellent location, but the service and the breakfast need to be greatly improved.
As they say, YMMY.
I'm sorry to hear of your frustrations at the St. Francis. I just experienced my first stay at the St. Francis this weekend on a two-night weekend certificate stay and had a very different experience.
First, I found the SPG line to be very helpful. Importantly, they actually man it, which is more than I can say for 95% of the Starwoods (or Hiltons, for that matter -- yeah, yeah, I'm thinking HHonors check-in) properties at which I have stayed. Check-in was quick and efficient and faster than the regular line.
As a Plat. member I was upgraded from the basic award room (one double bed in original or Main hotel -- 175-200 sq. ft.) to a spacious king room on 24th floor of the tower with a nice east bay view.
Two things really impressed me at this property. First, the level of service and attention to the customer was consistently high -- from the front desk, bellman, room service, etc. Everyone was courteous, professional and extremely helpful. I'm tired of hotels where the staff can smile and be friendly, but they can't even assist you with the basics.
Second was room service. This is an area that disappoints and frustrates so many times. However, every time I called they promised delivery w/i 25 minutes (and it was a busy weekend). And, every single time, they beat that promise by 5-10 minutes. And the order takers were knowledgable. I mentioned the name of a wine and they immediately knew it was a sauvignon blanc. At many hotels, the room service people don't know an SB from a cabernet sauvignon ( I lost count how many time I order SB and get a red!).
And for the final room service triumph! The last morning, I decided to go down to the Oak Room for breakfast. There was a long line, so I decide to grab a Chronicle and go back to my room and order room service. I decided to order eggs benedict. Now, usually, I never order EB in my room because, by the time the server brings the order to the room under cover, the yolks continue to cook and harden. However, given my positive previous experience, I decided to put them to the test. And they delivered with flying colors! The yolks remained runny. And they served the hollandaise on the side. Nice touch.
In fairness, my room upgrade is probably the difference between Plat. and Gold (esp. on a busy weekend), but the service angle is not. And, if they promised a paper as part of the package, it should've been delivered. As a Plat., I didn't receive a paper -- even though some Westins do offer a Sunday paper (e.g. Portland, OR). And, if the buffet was not satisfying, they should have allowed you to to credit that vaue against any item on the menu.
All in all, the St. Francis has my attention and will be seriously considered for all future SF trips.