ElevatorEnthusiast

Just checked in, and was given one of the xx56 suites. Absolutely amazing balcony and views of the Transamerica Pyramid and the Bay Bridge. The suite also seems recently renovated or at least well-styled.

I also received the aforementioned VIP card - I'm curious what the limits to this are, for sure :-)

ElevatorEnthusiast

The VIP card really is a "get whatever you want" card - this has to be better than the RC selections (Haagen-Dazs bars, assorted pastries, etc.). The breakfast sandwich this morning was also quite tasty - one of the better ones I've had in a while. I did some more comparisons to pictures, and it looks like the Balcony Suite bathrooms have a nicer design than other rooms. I was also very surprised at the wonderful shower pressure last night. The architecture is also stunning and is made even better by the Eclipse sculpture.

DELee

You mean this sculpture?



David

ElevatorEnthusiast

Yep, just as beautiful as ever (but with added multicolor spotlights).

Adelphos

Staying here this week. Weekday breakfast buffet is not available, club appears closed (not a Globalist anyway but asked), no bartender on duty during the week. Upgraded to an OK balcony room. Room somewhat dated. Overall a very barebones operation, especially given growth in midweek business (several business travelers are sitting near me watching baseball having bought beers from the grab and go). I am here for meetings right around here, and the location is top notch, but I would probably avoid this hotel in the current form (Le Meridian, Four Seasons Embarcadero much better options). When I work in SF I would prefer some kind of room service option for breakfast and I don’t think they had that here even prepandemic.

Cool atrium and balcony views though

futuramadramallama

What did this VIP card look like? I was given a semi-professional looking "Globalist Card" at check-in (the kind the hotel may have printed up itself, but was of good quality), but the server took it away at the buffet breakfast. Later, the check-in staff explained the server shouldn't have done that, I should have only needed to show it to her, or something.

A bit dated of a datapoint, but I was here back in August and had a pleasant stay. Would stay again.

Check-In and Room: On check-in was handed a little brown bag of snacks for Globalists. Was upgraded to a Bayview Suite which I found both roomy and comfortably appointed. Room faced Market St and received excellent light during the day. One of the TVs had some issues though, and after calling their contracted technical support (who was very responsive), I learned the issue was actually something the hotel's in-house maintenance ought to fix. Room temperature, water temperature/pressure, wifi, and cleanliness were all fine.

Food and Beverage: Since I was there on a weekend, they were serving the buffet which I thought was pretty good (can post pictures if requested). Eight chafing dishes of hot foods (all the usual suspects, and generally done well), various carbs (white, wheat, sourdough, bagels, croissants, muffins, etc.) to be toasted, various cereals, robust looking cuts of fresh fruits, a few cheeses and cured meats, and juices/tea/coffee. Might've even been yogurt and some dried fruits and nuts. I thought it was a pretty decent spread, and also consistent with an HR breakfast, but a friend who had the same buffet pre-pandemic said it was about a third smaller in selection than before. It was self-seating and self-serving of course, though the server came around at the beginning to check vaccination status, in the middle to bring beverages, and at the end with the bill (nothing to sign for Globalists).

Bar was open nightly while I was there, with ample seating; kitchen open until 10pm or something (probably constantly evolving). Grab-and-go market open broadly, possibly 24/7.

Staff: Front desk and house keeping were pretty good, but the breakfast buffet staff was moderately confused.

Location: I think the location has its merits, and worked well for me (though I could understand other ppl preferring differently). Compared to say, the GH, the HR is in a safer location, has the potential for good water views, and is better connected to public transportation (right on top of the Embarcadero BART, at the terminus of the California Cable-Car line, a block from the Embarcadero Streetcar, and adjacent to Market St and almost every line that's on it). The neighborhood isn't as good for shops and restaurants as other properties would be, but nothing a short walk can't solve. No issue hailing Ubers/Cabs. Area is fairly quiet at night (not a bad thing IMO) but fairly lively during the day.

Miscellaneous: I think there was a small "business center" if you needed to use a computer or print something. The lobby has several seating areas which are suitable for working or lounging. Music is usually playing at a medium volume though. Given the acoustics of the cavernous lobby and its design, it reminded me a lot of the Luxor in Vegas, but with less people and no smoking.

synzero

Just checked in last night to this property. Very brief impressions:

Check in was a bit rushed, no Globalist welcome, I had to ask for explanations of everything, but it was fine. Got the "VIP Card" which she didn't call a "VIP Card", just gave it to me and told me I could use it to get anything at the Market when it was open, and it was grab and go, plus breakfast buffet in the mornings. Suites were totally sold out (I checked), they upgraded us to the best room available, which was a high floor king room with balcony, which had a pretty nice view of both the city (TransAmerica pyramid) and the bay, even if the room felt a little dated and in need of a refresh, and the tub/shower was on the smallish side. Still, it was the best they had and our son was suitably impressed by the view both at night and in the morning.

Breakfast was buffet but very good - panckes, potatoes, chocolate croissant was actually nice and flaky, not a "bun in the shape of a croissant" which is so common in the US, everything very flavorful. We arrived late and the dining area wasn't crowded, and in the giant open air atrium of the hotel it felt decently safe in these COVID times. Just overall, a great Globalist breakfast, all things considered. Too bad it's only on the weekends right now - it's truly a nice perk.

The VIP card entitles you to grab and go "anything" in the Market, and my wife and I were wondering - does that include the big bottles of wine? We didn't push our luck there and just grabbed some salads and sandwiches for later, but we might go for the wine later and see what happens. The grab and go selections seemed pretty good, honestly better than a Club as we could take it back to our room and eat later for lunch or whatever. Not exactly dinner quality food, however.

Overall a pretty nice experience, would stay here again.

synzero

Update after we checked out. The Market VIP card does NOT cover alcohol, but it DOES cover unlimited grab and go food and DOES cover food from the kitchen, not just the grab and go. For example, they have pizza, other sandwiches, burgers, pancakes at breakfast, etc. Much better value than the $25 voucher you get at the nearby Grand Hyatt.

It was a paid stay so we had to pay for self-parking; $30/day (a $5 discount over the $35/night rate at the self parking lot next door).

Location is great, next to the Ferry Building which has a lot of great places to eat and beautiful views of the bay.

HawaiiDave

I've got a 5-night stay here coming up next week and looking forward to trying it out. I usually stay in Oakland at the Waterfront JdV, but plan on riding the ferry over to Alameda for work each day from the HR. This eliminates my need for a rental car too.

Yesterday I got an email from the hotel describing the globalist benefits and welcoming me in advance. The info seems to correlate with whats been recently posted.

bostonpilot

Similar experiences for me from a stay about a week ago. Checked in for a 1 night stay on a Sunday night, was given a XX56 suite which was pretty great. Was given the VIP card since there was no Monday morning buffet. Seemed like a reasonable alternative, but I was surprised how early the pantry closed that night when I went to look for some water. I didn't try and breakfast as I had an early ferry and grabbed food in the Ferry Terninal instead.

All in all, I've never been a huge fan of this property, but it works for what it is for me. I'm going to start having regular flights into SFO and then go to Marin the next day, so easy BART access from the airport and then easy ferry access and reasonable rooms, its works well. Also, the city seemed very very empty still to me, so I'm sure that's not helping them at all.

bigshooter

Have you stayed in other Hyatt properties like Grand Hyatt or Park? I just booked four nights here over New Years on points and a CAT 7 cert i need to burn because rate was high over the weekend, but it just dropped like crazy the last couple of days. Was thinking of Hotel Kabuki as well to see what it's like staying near Japantown, but decided we wanted BART access and can just uber down there once or twice. I may switch to cash or even move over to Grand Hyatt which is actually less expensive.

ElevatorEnthusiast

As a quick callout, the Park Central (soon-to-be Hyatt Regency SOMA) is not a Park Hyatt (or anywhere close to that level). While I haven't stayed in either the Grand or Park Central, I think reviews are generally better for the HR Embarcadero than the Grand Hyatt. The Park Central looks to be nearly finished with their renovations, so you're likely to get a nice renovated room. Personally, I like the Embarcadero location better, but I definitely wouldn't use a Cat 7 certificate on anything in San Francisco.

59Impala

Why not? I typically mainly look at the rates, and during normal times I have regularly seen the HR at almost 700$ before taxes et all. That is worthwhile for me.

skj

When San Francisco properties are that high, it usually means a major conference/trade show, such as OpenWorld or WWDC, is in town. Those events have locked down most of the rooms in the city and surrounding area and you're essentially paying a guaranteed availability rate. You almost certainly won't find award nights available.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Makes sense if you have to be in SF - I was commenting on hotel quality across the board not being high enough for cert usage, IMO.