ddschur

I lived in the Bay area for many years and know the city well.

I have stayed at the Parc 55 as well and had business associates stay at the Courtyard....do NOT STAY at the Courtyard!

You will be much better off staying at the Parc 55 or some of the other Marriotts mentioned (JW Marriott-Union Square, San Fran Marriott)...and do heed the recommendation for avoiding the Tenderloin.

jasperJ8

sorry, but what is "the Tenderloin"?

jtp1947

To be politically correct, the Tenderloin area is the less desirable section of The City. To be a little more direct, the area has a lot of homeless, hookers, druggies, and strip shows. It isn't nearly as bad as it used to be, but no place for the family.

jtp1947

Stayed at the new Marriott on Sutter the middle of April, just after it opened. There was still minor construction on the first floor, nothing objectionable. Not much of a lobby area, a few couches, tables, and the concierge's table. Upon check in, the staff was very friendly and the front desk attendant upgraded us to a spacious floor on the concierge level. The room, on the 26th floor, was excellent with a great bay view. Only downside to the room was that the bathroom was very small, but adequate. The C/L also had a bay view and had the standard offerings. Breakfast was scrambled eggs, potatoes, juices, breads/pastries, cereals, fresh fruit, no meat. Breakfast ended at 10. There was one large flat panel television and two smaller flat panel televisions. There was an area for computer, but none there and no plans to install them. The staff was very friendly in the C/L. Mid day snacks consisted of fresh fruit, nuts, pretzels, and a fully stocked fridge. The evening appetizers were crackers, cheeses, and one hot item which was very good. Two cakes for evening time dessert. Don't know if it is open on weekends. We didn't eat in the first floor restaurant but it didn't look like anything special. Too many other good places in The City for that. All in all, a very good Marriott in an excellent location. Cable cars right outside your door. We usually stay at the Wharf Marriott, but this one is much nicer.

simong

When I stayed there twice during April I was told there were plans to get a computer installed and they agreed to comp room internet for me.

keeton

I, too, have enjoyed the Parc 55 on many an occasion but there's one itty-bitty problem - it is no longer part of the Marriott family. If earning/burning points are part of the equation, one is SOL here.

I have also stayed at the Courtyard on 2nd, and it is OK if you get a really super deal on it. The decor is up to current Courtyard standards and the rooms have LCD TVs. Unlike most Courtyards, it has a full bar and restaurant. It is a few blocks south of Market St. so you will have about a 10 minute walk to catch BART or the MUNI light rail. It is certainly not a destination property in and of itself unless you have business in the immediate area.

allset2travel

You are right on both counts.
Since this place does not have a CL, and won't comp breakfast on weekend (its now the rule rather than the exception), I will bring my biz elsewhere (a place where I get a better rate)

dalm

I got a good rate on this hotel for August, 2009 - it is presently pricing at about $95/night...but I got a LNF rate that puts it at $85 including taxes. I reserved a couple of rooms for some friends and myself. I want to make sure I don't get grief of the type...."you get what you pay for." Does anyone have any recent experience here (searched and came up with 2000 and 2004 threads). Have they added a CL? Complimentary breakfast for MR Gold? Still noisy? Rooms to avoid? Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

allset2travel

Don't know if you have read this long thread
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...francisco.html

It's been 4 months since my stay, so this might not be current. They did not have a CL, and I don't think they have one now.

As plat (I think it applies to gold as well), I was given free breakfast in the restaurant plus an upgraded room away from the cable car street. The breakfast allowance is up to certain sum of $ (forgot what that was, but was enough for me then). Very good food and service in the restaurant. No such offer for weekend. All this was spelled out at check-in.

I recall plat welcome gift was dismal (should have taken points). No water in room. With an upgraded room, the bathroom was very tight given the sliding door. Annoying "motion-trigger" bathroom light.

You can't go wrong with the rates you paid. Enjoy SF.

troydwhite

The Stanford Court is one of my favorite hotels. $85 is an absolute steal, I think my average rate has been $180-200.

My last stay was in early Nov. They were working on the CL, so it should be open now.

The rooms can be a bit tight, but I like the traditional, classic feel of the rooms, and they've made some nice upgrades to the lobby and restaurant.

I'm a plat, and have always been upgraded to a city view and a larger room, even though that wasn't the rate I had reserved. Last time was upgraded to one of their suites.

It's also a good location. The cable cars run by the hotel, so it's easy to get where you're going, or it's a short walk down the hill to Union Square (coming back up can be a bit steep, but good exercise nonetheless).

Enjoy EssEff.

pitflyer

I stayed at the Courtyard SF Downtown for a week last month on a reward stay. It was a little bit of a walk (10 min as said), but the neighborhood was fine walking right down second. For the cheaper rate/cheaper points I was fine with it. The 10 bus goes right by there, its a little bit of a pain to get back to the hotel but it was easy to get out on (the nature of one way roads in SF)

rln

I stayed at Stanford Court Renaissance this weekend. Quite simply, the staff equalled or surpassed the best I have ever encountered in the Marriott universe.
I was there for two days but any number of staff knew me by name.

I came in past 10:30pm. I learned that the kitchen was closed. I retired to my room and I was delivered a big plate of chicken strips and frys - gratis.

I was told that, as an elite, I was entitled to free internet access. I don't lug a laptop around with me (besides, there's free internet access in the lobby) so I was offered a free in-room movie.

For no apparent reason, I was given 100 bonus points on top of the 500 points for the platinum welcome gift.

The remodeling is great and the workout room is very good.

A club lounge will be opening any time. I have mixed feelings about that as, currently, elites are given $30 credit at breakfast in the restaurant. I can't believe that the lounge offerings will be better than the lemon souffle pancakes with raspberry sauce or the crab omlette with avocado, tomato, and green onions. Still, I suspect I'm in the minority on this point.

I highly recommend this property. I believe it is the best full service option in San Francisco. This summer, the weekend rates are unbelievable - the current promotion offers some rates below $100 a night.

Please give this property - and its staff - an opportunity to provide you with an outstanding stay.

AICML

I received my first upgrade to a suite at the San Francisco Marriott. I was celebrating a special occassion with friends and e-mailed the general manager to let him know. I never received a response back but when I checked in I was told I was upgraded to a suite ^ . The suite was really large and able to accomodate 18 people to lounge in.

The check in staff was great. The location is right across the street from the BART station and next to Westfield Shopping Mall. Union Square is just a couple of blocks up the street. The rooms are typical Marriott.

Big Mo

I'm at the JW right now. Such a strange property. The rooms are very nice with large flatscreens and bathrooms, but otherwise there's really nothing to distinguish this place from a regular f/s Marriott. On the contrary, there's no pool, the fitness center is average, half of the elevators are out of commission indefinitely and, perhaps most relevant to this forum, the C-lounge is pretty bad.

The lounge offerings are as minimal as allowed: continental bfast + scrambled eggs. Multiple items are completely empty at any given time. The attendant said that they "ran out" of bagels 2 days in a row, which is hard to believe. Coffee comes out of a machine that periodically breaks down. Today, the attendant told a guest that he would fix it "when things settle down." There were 9 people in the lounge at the time. I found a couple of used local papers at 8:30 but there were no WSJs or USATs.

ffATLff

Disappointing to hear about the JW, especially since I'm going to stay there at the ned of Sept. But multiple reivew I've read confirm it's only average.

Def like the CY (2nd and Folsom). It is a short walk from Union Square, though. And on weekends, it can be mobbed with San Francisco sports fans.