nicolas75

The Kimpton Alton Hotel (former Holiday Inn at Fisherman's Wharf) will finally open on 14th May.

Troopers

Received an email for grand opening promotion. Stay 1 night, get 1 night free; book by Sept 1 for stays through April 30, 2022.

CMK10

Stay Report - 11/5 to 11/7

Location: As mentioned the location is the old Holiday Inn on Fisherman's Wharf. It's at the corner of Jones and Beach and has entrances on each street. Nearby are local bus routes as well as the F-Castro Tram which will take you down the Embarcadero. The airport is a half hour away with no traffic and Ubers are very easy to get from here. You can walk to all the local Fisherman's Wharf nonsense but also to a CVS, a Safeway, up to North Beach for much better local food or down to the water. It's a great location.



Hotel: the hotel may have started its life as a Holiday Inn but everything about it screams Kimpton now. There's a lovely lobby with a large seating area, small parking garage, small store selling beer, wine and mixed cocktails as well as snacks and a really good Filipino restaurant, bar and coffee shop. There's also a gym on the first floor and of course bikes and scooters you can borrow. Valet is an eye watering $62 a day.







Check In: A great experience. I called in the afternoon as I wouldn't be arriving into SFO until Midnight. The agent I talked to was very helpful and pre-checked me in. When I arrived at 1 AM everything was ready for me, welcome points already added and keys made. All staff experiences here were wonderful.

Room: Pretty nice. It was large which I appreciated with a desk, arm chair, large TV, real closet and a decent sized bathroom. Water pressure was not great though. Wifi worked well and there was power beside the bed. No noise issues either.







Dining: There's a wine happy hour from 5-6 and you can get free house coffee at the coffee shop. Breakfast at the restaurant was absolutely worth it though.









Resort Fee: Sadly there's a $40 scam fee which entitles you to a $5 credit at the bodega, digital newspapers, premium Wifi and record rentals for the record player in your room. Obviously this negates some aspects of the hotel.

Overall a great stay, I just hate that resort fee.

sfozrhfco

The hotel certainly does have potential but I agree about the scam fee. I wouldn't have as much of a problem with it if you got an equal amount of credit to use at the restaurant or something but paying $40 to get $5 off over priced "snacks" one could get cheaper at a nearby grocery store is truly a scam. After much fighting, they waived it for me as a one time gesture but the fact that as Spire Ambassador, you barely get anything aside from the 600 points, the least they could do is waive the scam fee. Kimptons also have to start granting points for restaurant spend. The quality restaurants are a piece of their branding and yet they give no points for eating there--another lost opportunity to generate revenue and goodwill.

try2cook

I appreciate the review. I'm booked here Dec. 18th and 19th. I find the Guest Amenity Fee sleazy and infuriating. Did you have a car while you were there? Did you use hotel parking or an alternative like Wharf Garage at 350 Beach ($18/day) or Longshoremen at 400 North Point St ($20/day)? If so did you have any problems with break-ins? I want to avoid Alton's $62 parking fee.

CMK10

Sorry I did not have a car. I don't blame you for wanting to avoid the parking fee though the hotel parking is in a covered area very close to the entrance so you might feel safer with your car there and just eating the fee.

slidey

Better to stay at the Kimpton or the HIE next door on points if the points are the same? The scam fee at the Kimpton is putting me off as I dont really like to support that sort of thing.

nineworldseries

Booked at the Hotel Enso (old Hotel Buchanan) that was supposed to open on Dec. 1. It wasn't open the next night on Dec. 2 so I was moved to the Alton instead. I didn't initially care too much, but:

1. They never transferred my IHG number to the new reservation, and even though I asked literally three agents to add it to my new reservation, they never did. So no breakfast or Diamond benefits--great.
2. Location is not as good as Enso in Japantown. I really don't want to stay at the Wharf when I'm in SF. Fortunately the weekend was cold and rainy and no tourist masses there.
3. Pillows were atrocious at the Alton. Flat and worthless.
4. As I was denied Diamond benefits I did not get to try breakfast. Something tells me I never will. Hopefully the Enso (without Scam Fee) will actually open soon.

pichalite

Booked using Chase Reward Night. They charged the junk Urban District Fee of $37.xx. Very disappointed about it. IC Mark Hopkins doesn't charge the junk fee for reward nights. However, it went unavailable as I kept searching for longer in last minute.

Hotel is chic and nice. Long walk to the room depending on where your room is in the property. Elevator kept making loud noises. Most rooms probably won't have any particular view. Walkable to the Wharf, Ghiradelli Square and China Beach. But I wouldn't stay here again considering the junk fee.

Update: GM emailed me after I left a negative review. Refunded me the fee after sending screenshot that showed FREE.