kgkg

Thanks! I will book JW then.

9volt

Is the free breakfast benefit restricted to the lounge? Or can you take it in the restaurant as well?

Kacee

Restaurant breakfast? At a domestic JW? You're kidding, right? This property doesn't even give you breakfast when the lounge is closed.

anchor79

any post COVID stay report at this property?

bsdstone

Headed to SF in August with my family (wife, two teenagers, and 80 year old in-laws). Having lounge access is a nice convenient option for us, especially for breakfast. Anyone know if the lounge is open post covid? Assuming as lifetime platinum we get access...deciding between here and the Grand Hyatt.
Any input is greatly appreciated.
ETA: I have SNA's to burn....any idea what the upgrades are? Mostly looking for more space.

Kacee

Neither a great choice right now (if ever they were). Lounges closed. Lounge at JW was never very good - just a big conference space set up to provide cheap assembly-line breakfast for the 100s of elites this property typically gets, especially during the summer.

bsdstone

OK, I'll bite...why are neither a good choice?

I'm not overly familiar with SF, haven't been in about 10 years. Is the location bad? Property bad?

WasKnown

Not sure what the other poster thoughts are but IMO as someone that has only stayed here pre-pandemic:

The location is fine and the property is fine but SF hotels (including the St. Regis) still haven’t fully reopened. SF is what it is right now. Not a super pleasant place but not the lawless wasteland people like Chamath make it out to be.

This JW was never anything special and is IMO a quintessential example of Marriott positioning the JW flag as just Marriott+ (Tho in this case it’s more like Marriott + 0.0000001). I would never pay extra for it.

Kacee

That was based on your interest in a lounge, as lounge is currently closed at both JW and GH. The downtown SF hotels have been very slow to reopen any dining; blame it on lack of convention business and that the past 16 months have been a complete bloodbath for downtown SF properties. When I was last at GH (about 2 months back), they also had only limited floors open.

If you can get a really good rate at either, the location is central (and much less awful/depressning than it was say three months ago). Just don't be surprised by lack of amenities (such as on property dining).A shame because as Pan Pacific this was one of the better hotels in the city. What Marriott's done here is even worse than what LM did to the Park Hyatt.

ElevatorEnthusiast

A few updates from my stay:

• Upgraded to a Studio Suite the day of arrival - basically a big corner room with a comfy sectional couch on one side
• Cleanliness issue (stain) with top bed linens taken care of quickly by Housekeeping
• Bed was exceedingly comfortable - perfect thickness of covers, very lux sheets, great pillows, great mattress
• I've never seen a mattress underside as clean as this one
• Noise isolation with connecting room and outside quite poor - didn't bother me, though
• Shower pretty good - nothing spectacular, but definitely not bad

Now, the lounge is still closed all the time, and the property is on the breakfast exempt list, so no Elite breakfast (just an extra 1000 points). However, the $25 destination fee includes a $25 nightly F&B credit. If you're one person and you don't get any drinks, you can get a pretty tasty breakfast with that credit. The American breakfast is $26 (other options were mostly cheaper), so with tax and 20% tip, I only had to pay $8.44. Now, coffee is $10, so don't order coffee at the restaurant (especially as free coffee is served just across the lobby in the morning). The hashbrowns were really good. The destination fee also includes nightly desserts, some kind of drink, and a mid-day snack at very specific hours.

Frankly, the bed was so good that I would return if the price made sense in comparison to other area hotels. For a solo traveler, the breakfast issue can be worked around.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Some photos (thanks to DELee for my weekly reminder)!

Kacee

Having stayed many times when this was the Pan Pacific, those photos make me cringe. It's just a shame what Marriott did to this property, which was previously one of the classiest in the city.

And sorry, but being forced to pay a $25 destination fee, and then getting it back as a F&B credit, is no substitute for an actual elite breakfast benefit.

ElevatorEnthusiast

While I never had the opportunity to stay here as the Pan Pacific, I agree that the JW "style" is definitely subjective - there are aspects here that match other JWs, and I love the atrium. I don't think the property screamed style, though, but the room was generally comfortable.

I definitely don't disagree on the breakfast point - this is definitely not a property that has any intentions of being overly generous with the breakfast benefit (I've had good experiences with some breakfast-exempt properties (Marriott Copley) and bad with others (Boston Long Wharf)). It's workable for a single traveler as you have to pay the destination fee anyway, but the principle of things can leave a bit of a sour taste.

dgreen12

Marriott just manages it. The owner establishes expectations. And the owner is a large REIT.

Here's their other properties to potentially avoid:

https://www.pkhotelsandresorts.com/portfolio

MisterE

I had a nice stay here in 2019 (so, pre-pandemic) and am planning another trip to SF this Fall (5 nights, travelling on my own, Titanium member). The Westin St Francis is just around the corner and the rates are much the same.

Any comments on which might be better in a post pandemic world?