HepperSchepp

Haha I agree. I'm not messing with that stupid thing in the morning.. Just find me a Dunkin Donuts.

777 global mile hound

My hat is of to all of you for not asking for your money back. :-: ^
What a forgiving ,loyal and kind group you are to Hilton
This hotel has the gall to ask for these rates without even a mini bar in the room?
I would rather be at a Hilton Garden Inn.
Solid 3 star with 5 star dreams and prices IMO
And then the problems and defects you all experienced? /yikes
I will not be staying there at present based on the reports here.
Thank you all for saving me the aggravation and expense.
My gratitude to all the posters here.I was close to booking a week there in the coming days

I am going to save a lot of many and head back to the Park Hyatt or the Grand where they do virtually everything well and for less then the average daily rate posted on the H website
The W would also be an excellent choice in comparison
Here's to hope the hotel will get the house in order along with priorities that make for satisfied customers.I am a huger supporter of HH to I might add

Once again your recent comments
*Room very modern style - no plasma tv as yet
*Room keys don't work
*Bathroom is small - still with old light switch -
*Marks on new 'velvet' wallpaper and marks on furniture by TV
notice expensive rates for this part of town
*Ordered ice - doesn't arrive.
*Room service arrives in 20 mins -non menu times but luke warm
*Parking (mandatory valet) was $42 PLUS another $5.88 parking tax!
*No in-room coffee -- a BIG minus for this caffeine addict who doesn't want to travel 22 floors down to get some in the AM!
*No in-room mini-bar or fridge
*Quite a bit of street noise facing the main drag in North Beach on a Saturday night (Harleys roaring up and down, etc.
*Funky elevators -- I and at least 4-5 other parties I encountered going up/down the elevators had trouble getting the elevators to stop on their chosen floor
*Slow phone responses:
*No bathrobes

Added amenity: construction noise too at these costs ?
A category 6 ? And potential point increases perhaps coming this June?



Quotes
I'd suggest that we not make any judgments for about 60 days, because there's still a lot of workers coming and going, and that means it's not really "ready for prime time" yet.

For 99 dollars perhaps agreed


Quotes
I'm going to give them another shot at the end of March for another leisure weekend stay
WHY ? Maybe you will get lucky for three hundred or four hundred dollars a night ?

eurousair

Any recent stay reports?
Any help and update on the situation with this Hilton would be highly appreciated!

uthornsgo

I too have a stay coming up the last weekend in March. Looking forward to checking this out for myself.

SuperSnoop

One more thing that I forget to mention...I hate the shower.

It's just a regular tub/shower with the arching shower curtain, but the inside of the tub is about 4 inches taller than the bathroom floor. So, while the shower curtain perfectly meets the floor on the outside, you're walking all over it in the tub. Plus, the shower head was about even with my chin. At 5' 10", that was quite a challenge.

Oregonflyer

I just spent a night at the new Hilton Financial District (on Kearny) in San Francisco. This is a trip report:

Making the reservation (and explaining their very high rates): "We consider ourselves to be one of the two best hotels in San Francisco."


Getting to the Hotel: As I got into the taxi at the aiport, the driver said "oh, that's the old Holiday Inn." Not the best start.

Checking in: Sorry, we are full. No upgrades available. The lounge is not operational yet so here are breakfast coupons. After some small talk found out they did a $40 million remodel.

Entering the Room: Rooms are still being remodelled. Construction noise in the hall. Very nicely furnished but small. Well, it looks like a Holiday Inn sized room. The windows are terrible, there is no view (tops of buildings) and the noise from the city is unbearable. No double paned windows!

Changing the room: (Called to find a quieter room): Given room on other side of building facing the bay. Gorgeous view. If you go to hotels for the view, this is worth it. Also a tad bit quieter, but still not what I would expect. Cocnierge explains that the original windows opened and the city law prohibits windows that open in hotels for safety reasons. Since guests like windows that open, they grandfathered in the old ones and didn't change them. Maybe, but double glazed windows add to the comfort of the stay and save energy and the old ones don't fit. Also found out that the top two floors, where all the suites are, are still under construction. Why didn't they tell me that at check-in instead of saying they were full and no upgrades were available? Not a good sign!

The Lobby. Very nice. Wireless Internet (as in the rooms, for the usual $9.95 per day from Wayport.) A Tully's instead of a Starbucks. Not my choice, but I never got to try their coffee because the "just ran out" of soy milk (which I use).

Sleeping: Nice bed, but hard to do with all the noise. This is still a Holiday Inn IMHO. The walls are very thin so you can hear neighbors pulling the shades! And there is a lot of traffic noise, and they left the motel-style coke machines and ice makers at the end of every hall. Give me a break! Four star? No way!

Fitness Center: Mostly treadmills, some bikes, some weights, everything new, blasting TV, somewhat small for a hotel this size. Just fine, but nothing special. Once again, the size is probably a hold-over from the property's days as a Holiday Inn.

Shower: The shower head is really low! Kind of bizarre. Must be left over from the Holiday Inn again.

Breakfast: Choice of free continental breakfast with Diamond coupon or $11.00 credit (cheapest item is $12.00 and coffee is $4.00). The continental breakfast was cottage cheese, packaged pastries and a plate of fruit. I've seen better in by far in Best Westerns and Holiday Inns. So I went over tot he restaurant. Long wait for a waiter who did not speak English and I had to stop three times from giving me coffee. I ordered a poached egg, and when it came the waiter swiftly removed my spoon, so I had to borrow one from the next table to eat it. Where were these people trained?

CONCLUSION: This is a dressed up and overpriced Holiday Inn with a great view on one side. It's fine for people who don't mind a lot of noise. Maybe in a month or two they will have completed the remodel and the Concierge Level will be worth it, but I am sure the price will be astronomical, even for San Francisco. This is a great disappointment. It does not live up to its self-image.

Eastbay1K

You sure this isn't what the agent said?

Points Scrounger

Coincidentally, I'll be there then, too! I booked a net-direct just before reading this thread.

eurousair

Stayed at the property last week.
Very nice modern design and some rooms have great city views.
I had a flat screen TV and a pretty decent continental breakfarst was included for Diamond members.
Location right in Chinatown with North Beach and financial district 5 minutes walking distance is outstanding.
Only downside the Executive Lounge is not opened yet but they are planning on opening one in the near future.
Definitely not a bad option and nicer designed rooms than the other downtown Hilton.

DC Wolf

I just returned from a stay at the new Hilton. I travel to SF about once a month, so I'm happy to have another option for my trips. The Hilton on O'Farrell is good, but it is so big, I often get exhausted by the effort it takes to get from point A to point B in that property. The Fisherman's Wharf location is completely off my list due to a horrible experience I had there.

So, I was pleased to find the new property and was pleasantly surprised by it. I agree with some of the postings above - but I think you'll find the property is getting closer to being "up to par".

• There is still not an Executive Floor and Lounge, but they told me it would be ready in literally one to two weeks. I was given the standard "we want to make sure it is perfect for you line".
• I agree that the staff go far above and beyond to tend to the guests' needs. Every staff member I encountered was incredibly pleasant and willing to help.
• The concierge (I cannot remember her name - Alicia maybe - she has short brown hair) is WONDERFUL..
• I love that the property is entirely smoke free. I wish more hotels would do this.

• I also had the amazing view of Coit Tower and the Bay. I think this must be the "upgrade" they are giving to Diamonds. I'm curious to know if they have larger rooms on site that will eventually be the upgrade or not.
• I really liked the room layout. The work area is incredible. You have so much space to spread out and can really get work done. The desk chair is incredibly comfortable. I also had problems with the internet service and had to pay on line to log on. I hope they get this worked out.
• The lack of a mini bar and coffee pot are just plain weird - I wonder if they will fix that.
• My room still lacked a bathrobe and plasma tv.
• The bed was great - wonderful linens - tons of fluffy pillows - good mattress.

I definitely can see this new property becoming my SF home away from home.

I also discovered the R&G Lounge about a block away from the hotel - fantastic Chinese food and loved by the locals. I went two nights this week. My second night - they gave me a 10% discount for being a Hilton guest, so be sure to ask for that.

I also love Franchino in North Beach a couple of doors up from Stinking Rose. It's a really small family owned restaurant - awesome gnocci!

elbidercni

Just stayed there last week. It is very new, very clean. My hairdryer still had plastic on it - I had to unwrap it. Seems like they may be opening up things as they get them finished. There seemed to be a little construction going on in the hallway.

Nice views from the rooms.

Not as sophisticated as the SF Hilton, but a decent hotel. Seems like they are trying. ^

GolfTravelr

I will echo many of the dissenters on this thread. While the location is marvelous, I had a disasterous stay there in January. Possibly the worst hotel stay I have had ever. No hot water (shower valve improperly adjusted....had to actually go to another room to shower in the morning as no engineering personnel where available), no mini bar, no coffee pot, non-functioning ice machine on floor, wireless internet not functioning, bill was wrong not once, not twice, but three times and the noise outside my Coit Towers room was deafening at 5:00 am.

Wrote to the HH customer service center with a very detailed outline of the problemsand received at polite reply that the GM would contact me within three business days. Now nearly three months later, nothing. Wrote the HH customer service center again stating I had heard nothing from the hotel and was informed I would receive a free night voucher. Once again, three months later, nothing.

With rates well above other fine properties in SFO, I will go out of my way to avoid the Hilton SFO Financial District.

Points Scrounger

I just came off a back-to back stay at Hilton O’Farrell (OF) followed by the Financial District (FD) location. Some comparisons:
Ironically, the FD property seems much more cool/trendy/laid back than the other, which seemed to attract more traditional businesspersons. No OF lounge access given as a lowly Gold; I did not ask as I did not really care. FD had no lounge. Check-in was pleasant at equally both. I was given breakfast certs at each property, and a Tower Room (21st Floor) at OF – I could not tell at FD whether I had been officially “upgraded”; however, I was put in a Coit Tower view room as comprehensively described in previous posts. Glad I had been forewarned about the “missing” coffeemaker; the tap water got hot enough to make tea in their over-size drink glasses, but it wasn’t quite the same thing. OF provides a Post-Em sticker for one bottle of mini-bar water; FD (having no mini-bars) provides two half-bottles gratis, as well as two tanks ($4.50 each). I had very noisy neighbors at OF location, so the FD stays seemed much quieter.

OF pros (for me) were location and coupon for fantastic buffet breakfast downstairs. OF cons were smaller room for higher price. (I’m leaving aside the lounge access issue)
FD pros (for me) were larger room- I was on vacation, but hands-down this would have been a much nicer place to get work done – and relative price (this was a mattress run of sorts). Major con was the “breakfast”: sugary pastries, croissants, three kinds of diced fruit (in separate bowls) and some cottage cheese, as well as coffee, tea, and juices (orange and grapefruit). Voucher also good for $6.00 off the menu at restaurant next door – better deal IMHO though still kind of stingy.
The staff at both properties were equally professional.

Prices paid were $199 at OF (double points and miles rate) and $158 (Net Direct) at FD. The under-door folio at latter was ambiguously crediting my room pre-payment. I stopped by to check-out in person to discuss the matter. Clerk immediately agreed that I should be [clearly] credited for the room itself, and three minutes later I had a folio that not only showed just my incidentals as “to be settled to credit card,” but gave the correct total points/miles for all charges as a footnote.

Dined at R & G Lounge that night with a friend prior to a nearby theater performance. Very good food, along with a nicely-priced bottle of pinot noir, for a decent overall tab. I was told no Hilton discount when I asked, but no big deal. We arrived on a Friday evening at 5:30 and the place was clearly filling up fast!

SanDiego1K

What is the closest BART station to either Hilton? I've never used BART, and wonder if it is the best way to come from SFO. Is it walkable to either from the BART station? If not, are there taxis at the station?

If we need to park a car overnight, which hotel is the best? We don't need to use hotel parking, but would like as economical parking as possible within 5 to 10 blocks of the hotel.

JDiver

The Financial District hotel is seven blocks and a bit north from Market Street - BART basically runs under Market. Montgomery Street (at 2nd St.) station you would walk s.w. on Market to Third Street (cross and it becomes Kearny) cross Market and walk north up Kearny to the hotel. Taxis may cruise by... and Muni bus (#15 would take you to Kearny and Clay, which iirc is closest to the hotel at 750 Kearny) proceed up Kearny from the Kearny at Geary bus stop. I believe you can save a grandiose 25 cents off the $1.50 Muni ticket price by getting a coupon before exiting BART, as shown here.

To the SF Hilton, from Powell St. station it is easy to walk n. on Powell, left on O'Farrell. Perhaps 4-5 blocks, easy with wheeled luggage.

Intermodal transit and collaborative models appear to not be much of the mix here. Entirely too many "turfs" and "silos."