y2k1jetta

I have been staying in San Francisco since Jan 2008.

I have been staying at the JW Marriott, the SF Marriott on 4th St,
and the Courtyard on 2nd and Folsom the past 11 weeks and here is some info on the hotels.

SF Marriott - 4th St
Pros - great location, nice lounge, clean rooms, great gym, walgreens on the corner, many restaurants in the area, about 3 starbucks in the area, LCD tv's in room, a lot of cabs out front, close to cable cars and union square, good shopping, convenient stores close by for toiletries and treats

Cons - expensive for what it is($220.00), parking is about $50.00 a night, TV channels in room change really slow, no free Internet, busy hotel(a lot of people), food is ok , overpriced cocktails(surprised?), pillows are very soft with , shower heads are pathetic with bad water pressure, too many elevator stops, staff is not that cordial, way too many homeless freaks that pester the heck out of you, no late checkouts

Rate *** out of 5 stars

JW Marriott - 500 Post St.
Pros - great lounge food, great location at Union Square, good restaurants in the area,
attentive staff, quiet rooms, covered drop off and pick up, great pillows, rain shower head, nice bathrooms, smart concierge, convenient stores close by for toiletries and treats, some street parking, LCD wide screens with input controls, late checkout (2:30pm)

Cons - lobby under renovation (2 more months), expensive to park, lounge drinks expensive, $45.00 a night, way too many homeless freaks that pester the heck out of you, about $255.00 a night, no Free Internet, low pressure, maid staff is slow and tuck down service was at 9:30pm (lol), corner of building seemed to be always windy(colder), slow elevators, not a lot cabs at front door

Rate **** out of 5 stars

Courtyard Marriott - 299 2nd St.
Pros - recently renovated, good location, good restaurant choices close by, good price for me $180.00, street parking in the area, convenient store across the street for toiletries, booze, snacks, Starbucks inside lobby, good staff, great bartenders, good breakfast food, LCD TV's top floors, FREE Internet, some good view rooms, a lot of taxi stops

Cons - Busy corner with a lot buses, $45.00 overnight parking, cheap TV's on lower floors, horrible desk chairs, 100 year old pillows, beds need some new mattresses, louder hallways, thin walls, slow elevators, some bad tv reception, expensive food for a Courtyard, slow check-in, top floors seem to pick up air conditioning noise so be prepared to use ear plugs, bad water pressure, small Best Western type bathrooms

Rate *** out of 5 stars (because it may be the nicest CY I have stayed in)

Enjoy San Francisco!

sandyweb33

Thanks for an update. Next time ask for my cousin, Alan, at the SF Marriott Concierge desk. He knows his stuff!

NDDomer86

My experiences pretty much match yours spot on (although homeless folk don't really bother me as I did an eight week social justice internship through my previous university) with exception to the late checkout. I received a 6pm checkout at both the San Francisco Marriott and the JW Marriott (of course this may have been due to the fact that I looked and sounded like hell and was running a 104 fever). As far as the overpricing, remember that this is California, and even moreso than that, it is the Bay Area, one of the most expensive places in the nation.

VA1379

I think $220 at the SF Marriott is a good deal for a weekday stay. The going rate in metro DC is around $299-319, with no corporate discounts. For $40 extra, it is worth it over a CY. The CY you described sounds second rate compared to ones I have stayed at in Florida and Virginia. Also, rates in SF tend to zoom up if the city is packed with conventions.

Is the concierge lounge for the SF Marriott still on the 18th floor? I recall the hotel was supposed to enlarge it after my last stay there in 2006, when they were overwhelmed with elite guests.

If you want cheap lounge drinks, you should stay at the SF Marriott. Prices might have gone up since my last stay, but I remember that beer was $3 and wine was $4 in August 2006. The SF Marriott is a large convention hotel, but you don't hear as many ambulances compared with staying at the JW Marriott. Light sleepers might want to take that into account.

ohmark

Nicest???

y2k1jetta

My company corp rate is anywhere from 209.00 to 239.00 for SF Marriott. Yes the lounge is on the 18th floor and can be very busy M-TH for breakfast.

I have stayed at some pretty bad CY's. Dallas, Marina Del Rey, Indy, Phoenix and the SF one is very nice and clean, probably because it was just renovated. All of SF hotels have quite a few conventioners but that comes with SF in general near the Moscone.

CY - Nicest, as far as furniture, layout, clean and modern, not worn down. But still not a FS Marriott.

The SF Marriott Lounge booze prices are pretty good, compared to JW, but I'm spoiled as Hyatt's is free.

TravellerOnline

Nice report. Thanks.

ambrogz

thanks

ambrogz

1, which of them would have executive lounge with free breakfast
2, do they have see / water view?
we are going there in dec 2008


thanks

edstorm

both hotels are pretty far from the bay but I once got a suite at the sf marriott that had a pretty good unobstructed view of the bay from afar.


The JW marriott's open side faces a different direction so you actually face away from the bay in the best city view rooms.


I stay in the JW marriott quite a bit and I love it. Service is good, TVs are huge 42"! and they all have HD. in contrast, the SF Marriott has 32" even in the suite rooms. It looked really weird in the living room of the suite i have to say.

There is a really good parking spot down from the JW marriott on o'ffarrel and post which has an evening special of $15 for 6pm to 9am. I usually park there.

All the marriott hotels in SF are undergoing renovations so a warning. The rooms are ready in the SF marriott and JW but the stanford court renaissance has yet to get the upgrade.

The only flaw I need to add about the JW is the lack on a gym similar to the SF marriott or renaissance clubsport in Walnut creek.

Executive lounges? I personally like the JW lounge better and the breakfast is nicer but then again, the lounge in the SF marriott that I went to was a makeshift I believe since they were renovating.

All the renovations should be done by end of May i believe.

Hope this helps.

rylan

I've stayed at the SF Airport Marriott a few times. Nice airy lobby, resonable priced drinks at the bar, resonable parking. Very comfortable rooms with the super comfortable bedding and nice shower. My view was overlooking the edge of the bay towards the airport. They must have some soundproof windows, since I could see planes but couldn't hear a thing.
It does feel like a maze walking through the hallways to find the rooms though since its an oddly shaped hotel.

patchan8984

I cant find these two union square properties (or SF Marriott for that case) for 11/1-11/2 when theres a huge halloween bash at the Westin Saint Francis...does anyone know why or is this just a fluke?

NDDomer86

The Parc55 hotel is no longer associated with the Marriott brand.

patchan8984

Right and it seems its Renaissance Stanford Court but the rooms are said to be 245sqft seem to be a bit small. At first I was showing Ritz Carlton available and now its gone again...how frustrating.

On a seperate note, does Ritz Carlton give full MR benfis?

stratofortress

Not only do they not give full benefits, they give NO benefits...