I was back again at the StR San Francisco for the second time this year for Labor Day weekend on a 3 night award stay. (I also had been back in July for 3 nights on a paid stay with my husband.)

This time I was alone, coming up to see the UNC-Cal football game with some friends. Because I was alone, I'd told the hotel there was no need to upgrade me to my "regular" Metropolitan Suite and that a regular room or Astor Suite with great air con and blackout shades would be more than sufficient. Of course, the hotel upgraded me to my Metropolitan Suite anyway--several weeks in advance as it were.

As always, my stay was absolutely wonderful. The hotel always makes me feel like I'm at my second home, and the staff always makes me feel like I'm part of the family. 

Check In

I arrived at about 12:10 pm and was told it may be a few hours before my suite was ready--but they would try to make that a priority. (I'd previously submitted and been declied for a Your24 request for 12:00 pm check in, so this was expected.) So I went to have a relaxing lunch in the lobby bar.

While eating my lunch, I received a notification from the Marriott apps on both my iPad and phone indicating that my room was ready at 12:53 pm. I'd say that was impressive.

While ordering and eating lunch, I saw and briefly caught up with the hotel manager and GM, and one of the new front office supervisors came over to introduce himself. Like I said, this place feels like family. 

By 1:15 pm or so, I was in my suite. Not too shabby.

Room

My previous reviews have all the photos of "my" Metropolitan Suite, including the blackout shades that had been installed specifically for me in 2016. 

But here are a few fresh shots. I lowered the blinds so the afternoon sun wouldn't warm the living room too much!

As always, the suite is so incredibly comfortable. My friends who visited with me all agreed that it felt like a very nice and spacious one bedroom apartment. 

There was the usual welcome amenity:

And even a nice note and chocolates from the GM:

As always, the air con worked wonders. They had set the air con to 65 F in anticipation of my love of a cold room:

I asked the engineers to VIP the thermostats for both the living room and bedroom to get the room as cold as possible. I'd say they did the trick when it got down to 63 F. 

Service

Service was wonderful, though there were a few hiccups.

My turndown service repeatedly forgot to close the blackout curtains. As this suite is the only one to have those blackout curtains, I wasn't surprised the first night...but after reminding my butler, I would have expected that to be remedied the second and third nights. It wasn't. A slight miss.

Otherwise, service was fabulous. Housekeeping was great aside from the blackout curtains.

Service at the lobby bar for my arrival lunch was great. I wasn't thrilled with the chicken on my house salad, so the server quickly brought me fresh chicken (and offered to replace the whole salad). 

The butler service was as fabulous as usual. One of my favorite butlers, Abhishek, unpacked me on arrival, and brought me iced coffe on arrival and regular French press coffee each morning. Another lovely butler packed me up on my final day. 

I always order my coffee with hot milk. They got it right every time.

In room dining service was particularly great. I met a lovely server, Amile, who was not only very timely and conscientious, but also was just a delight to speak with. She brought almost all of my room service orders (and I ordered room service quite a few times!).

Everyone was so friendly and helpful.

The concierge team, always impressive, again was so helpful for this stay. The team arranged dinners for me and my friends at both 3* Benu and 1* Mourad, as well as a VIP table at Charmaine's bar at the Proper Hotel--one of the biggest and hotspots in town. 

Service here is always extraordinary. It was again.

Dining

While I had most dinners and lunches outside the hotel, I always avail myself of room service whenever I can.

My arrival lunch at the lobby bar was lovely--they replaced the chicken for me very quickly when I asked.

I had in room dining for all of my 3 breakfasts:

The waffle here is sublime.

One night I felt like a light dinner, so I ordered the quesadilla and delicious chocolate cake:

And on my last night, I felt like something after midnight and ordered up a cheeseburger. Totally hit the spot!

We also met up in the lobby bar before our dinner at nearby Mourad and had drinks. The Manhattan here at the StR lobby bar is vastly superior to the one I had at Charmaine's at the Proper.

The food and beverage here are just fantastic. I've never been disappointed with the food and drink here, to be honest.

Location

As I've said many times before, I absolutely love the hotel's SoMa location.

It was a 5 min walk around 2 blocks to 3* Benu. it was a 2 min walk around the block to 1* Mourad.

It's basically across the street from SFMOMA and 1* In Situ, where I also often dine. The Moscone Center is just a block away, and the Yerba Buena gardens are across the street.

It was only a 15 min walk back from Charmaine's at the San Francisco Proper hotel. It's a mere 10 min walk to Union Square. It's just a 15-20 min walk to the Ferry Building and wharf. 

It's also just a 15-20 min usual drive to and from SFO--though you gotta be careful about Giants games!

Overall

There's a reason this is my favorite hotel in the USA. I love the hotel's clean, modern style (even as it is slated to undergo a renovation in 2019). I love the hotel location. I love the service and food and beverage. I love the hotels's elite recognition. I love the hotel's amenities and friendliness. I love the hotel's staff. It doesn't get much better than this.