TimMeineke

Just returned from a two night stay the Saturday and Sunday nights of Labor Day, one of which was a FWN. Was "upgraded" to a 19th floor "deluxe" room, with two double beds (was travelling with Mrs Meineke & 5 yr old Tim Jr). Overall this is a very nice hotel, but for the cost, I prefer the W. Some highlights:
- the butler brought us a cord to plug my wife's Iphone into the sound system. Not the best sound, but to a Luddite like me it seemed pretty cool. Apparently a lot of people must take the cord because they reminded us several times that there was a $25 charge if not returned
- the gym was very nice, but of course Tim Jr was not allowed in there (can't they open up the yoga room or something for kids to play in?)
- we went to breakfast at the hotel restaurant. It was good but not great
- self-serve coffee (and to me this is more important than free) just outside the restaurant, with 2%, half and half, skim & soy milk was a nice touch
- the pool is good for laps. On Sunday afternoon it was packed with kids, on Monday morning we had the place to ourselves
- the men's area of the spa is very nice - a great jacuzzi, steam room and sauna
- we parked at the Jessie Square garage half a block up on 3rd for $25 a night
- I highly recommend the Grove, a casual (counter service & they give you a number) restaurant with delicious food right across the street. I think they are open from 7am to 11pm. Only 3.5 stars on yelp but I really enjoyed it

claes059

Does the restaurant still only offers a la carte? Or do the have a small buffet? Does the menu or buffet offer any healthy products?
When I was in the St Regis last December I did not like the breakfast ( no healthy food and overpriced for the continental, no buffet)

TimMeineke

No buffet, the continental breakfast choice is not that healthy nor are any of the other items, really

habshabs444

I also just returned from a 2 night stay over the long wknd courtesy of the FWN promo after staying the previous 2 nights at the Westin in Napa. Per my earlier post, I paid an extra $100 for a guaranteed upgrade to a Metropolitan suite and it was well worth every penny especially given that the room was free to begin with!

In the weeks prior to my stay, I had had some correspondence with the concierge regarding some requests as I had planned to get engaged on the Saturday night. They completely bent over backwards for me and everything was perfect. Sure, ordering anything there was pricey, but what does anyone expect.

The complimentary car service in the Bentley to dinner was also a great touch. Although it could be argued whether paying full rack rate for this suite was worth it relative to the Westin up the street, overall I thought the service was impeccable.

SNA_Flyer

Couldn't agree more. After a couple of stays at the St. Regis and many more stays at the W, the latter wins hands down. I won't be back to the St. Regis unless the W is sold out.

andrewpartyman

I just returned from a 3 night Labor Day weekend stay. My only complaint is check in was sloppy. There was absolutely no separate area for Gold/Platinums to check in but also no recognition of my status when I did check in. Check out was the same: 1 lady working the desk with a long line. Man the counter when there's an onslaught of check outs.

I agree, the Grove across the street is great. They are a quick casual restaurant with very good food at a great price. I ate there every morning for breakfast and a dinner or two. I parked my rental car up the road for $20/night just across from the Westin that is right up the road.

All in all, nothing special to write home about. I only stayed at the St. Regis courtesy of the free weekend night promo, never would have paid for the room. In my opinion the room was on par with an average Westin, nothing premium to pay for.

ps9a

With which "average Westin" would you put this hotel on par?

crazywudsl

Value-wise, it seems people prefer the W. My question to those who have stayed at both is using a FreeWeekendStay voucher where the cost is the same...Does the W still win or is the St. Regis then slightly a better hotel.
Will be staying with my wife and 2 young boys (ages 5 & 7) where the availability of a pool that is good for kids to play in would be optimal...ie. I don't need a pool that only has lap lanes or restricts usage to adults only if applicable.

ramalama8

I have the same question, except leave the kids out of it - none here (not yet anyway, although just today my wife told me she thinks she's pregnant). Taking the cost completely out of it, which is the nicest SPG hotel in all of SFO?

andrewpartyman

I used my free weekend night vouchers at the St. Regis San Fran because I wanted to get the most bang for my buck from Starwood. Naturally, I assumed the St. Regis was the hotel to go with (stay 3x at a Sheraton, cash it in at a St. Regis--does it get any better?). However, I probably would have done the W next door being that I am a young professional. Didn't check out the pool at the W (not sure if they have one) but as I stated, I wasn't too impressed with the St. Regis in San Fran. The rooms were nothing special and service was nothing to write home about. In fact, out of 45 separate stays at SPG properties in the past 12 months on 5 continents at Le Meridien's, Westins, and the occasional Sheraton, I waited the longest at the St. Regis San Fran to both check in and check out. Not to gripe, but I just wasn't that impressed. From a sightseeing perspective, staying at the Westin St. Francis on Union Square would have been most convenient (hop on hop off buses right there). To each his own...

chanp

Got an Astor suite upgrade last night. Usual stay, it was good.

sfosolo

I booked a FWN for the Sunday night of the Labor Day weekend. Shortly before checking in at about 6 PM, I checked the SPG website and found Astor suites (eligible for Plat upgrade) and also Metropolitan suites (not eligible for Plat upgrade) available for revenue booking.

When I checked in, I received an upgraded room on a high-floor room. I asked about Astor suites and was told that there were none available for upgrade. When I got to the room, I called the Platinum concierge and asked to verify the availability of Astor suites. The Plat concierge could see availability and called the front desk. I was on hold for some time during the discussion with the front desk. When the Plat concierge came back, she apologized that she was not able to get me upgraded to an Astor suite and volunteered that she did not have a clear idea why. She said she had been told that “guests who book Astor suites would be automatically upgraded to Metropolitan suites.” That did not make sense to either of us and so I asked to open a customer care complaint file.

After re-reading this thread, that response sounds like the same problem peteropny reported last Sept (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/12334772-post117.html )

A couple of days later I received a polite email from the front desk manager. The relevant language is posted below:

“I would also like to sincerely apologize that we were not able to upgrade you to an Astor suite during your recent visit. We appreciate loyalty of our Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum members and always do our best to upgrade them to the best available rooms. Though Astor Suites are one of the room upgrade options we have for our platinum members, the upgrade is not always guaranteed. In situations where we are fully committed on suites or forecasted to sell them at their full prices, we upgrade our platinum members to the next best room category.”

I checked with customer care and learned that the front desk manager had forwarded the email along with a request to close the complaint file. I discussed the response with the customer care representative and since the e-mail did not address the question of why Astor suites were available for revenue sale but not for Plat upgrade, the customer care complaint was re-opened.

A few days later I received an email from the director of front office. Again the email was polite and the relevant language is posted below:

“Please accept our most profuse apologies regarding the miscommunication of Astor suite availability during your recent stay at The St. Regis San Francisco. The update of our inventory had experienced a time lapse, thus showing availability via external booking channels while the suites were indeed committed for that evening. Nonetheless, your experience is certainly not the level of service we aspire to nor what our guests have a right to expect. Rest assured I have discussed the issue with my revenue management team.”

It’s unclear what involvement the revenue management team might have had. Was it a recurrence of the computer problem from the same time last year? Are Plats on FWN awards being treated differently?

Perhaps the Lurkers have more insight.

JFKSFOLAX_friend

LOL. You don't need a Lurker to chime in...nor do I expect them to. I mean, what do you expect them to say?

There is a 99% chance, in my opinion, that the hotel is completely lying.

We should start a list....

Reasons properties give to deny an upgrade to the "best available room at check-in, including select suites":

1) Our external inventory channels are not up to date. You are seeing a suite that has already been committed/sold.
2) Even though spg.com shows a suite available, it has not been cleaned yet (it was not available at check-in)
3) There is a maintenance issue with the room and it has been pulled out of service (even though it still appears on spg.com)

People can feel free to add to this list.

I was really indifferent toward Hyatt's system of giving 4 guaranteed suite vouchers per year to its Diamond members...but, I think that might be a good idea. Starwood properties just have too many easy reasons they can give to deny "the best available room at check-in, including select suites." There is basically a list of excuses they can give and Platinum members really can't dispute them.

If an SPG Platinum Concierge calls the property, all the property has to say is that the room is out of service or not cleaned or has already been sold. Case closed. No further avenue for dispute...whether or not the front desk is lying. It's just wayyyy too easy for a hotel to deny promised benefits.

tommy777

My goodness.. The Westin St. Francis is one of the worst SPG properties in San Fran. I've only stayed there 3 times, never upgraded, crappy rooms. It's also 5-10 minutes walking distance from the St. Regis and the W.
But like you said, each his own, please use/waste your free nights at the St. Francis, our corp rate there is 125

Funny, I was thinking the same thing.. I would love to hear some examples, because I sure haven't seen a Westin room or suite even getting close to the St. Regis San Fran.


I don't like what I'm reading here. I have a paid booking coming up in a couple of weeks and my expectations are pretty high from my great experiences earlier this year... Will definitely write a review..

tommy777

Well, it's now mid September and I still have all 4 of my Diamond upgrades in my account... Availability is controlled by the Hyatt properties and it usually stinks. I do agree its a good idea, but I'm sure the properties that are screwing us on upgrades now will keep blocking confirmed upgrade to suite availability if vouchers are introduced