777 global mile hound

Appreciate the kind words.Agree a Starwood gain ^
It came at a very well needed time. We also had a major loss this year when the W New Orleans GM Edmund Sulzman went on to another property that is not in the Starwood portfolio of hotels.
I know that many members self included will one day hope to welcome him back to any of the Starwood properties should we be so lucky.

I have always maintained that a hotels general outcome and its true devoted following starts at the top with it's leadership.
Mr.Sulzman is in the Hall of Fame in my book for making happy workers and very satisfied Starwood guests for a number of years.He changed the very fabric of boutique hotels with regard to staff. For years with many boutique brands it was mostly about models waiting for their next modeling or acting audition that might also have much attitude and or a lack of interest in guests..........
I sure hope other W Hotels and will be closely watching W San Francisco I believe the best is yet to come.....Even the Luxury Collection properties could learn from this approach

Cheers

MIKEM

I forgot to add the following to my OP. My boss checks in and goes to the room. He grabs a brew from the in-room frig and notices it is not as cold as he would like. He calls room service and orders a beer - explaining the situation. Five minutes later there is a knock on the door. Two guys have a new, fully stocked, frig and a bucket of ice with six beers in it. They say to him, "sorry for the frig problem, here's a bucket of beer on-the-house." My boss still tells this story - he was very impressed.

777 global mile hound

You have the right audience here. I admire those kinds of stories.
Brilliant gesture. ^
If we can only get the rest of the troops in from other properties for a few refresher courses.
Having had mini bar problems in a number of hotels I would be floored to have such consideration for such a problem.
Usually don't even call to get the problem fixed as it can take hours to resolve if at all.
When I have witnessed that degree of kindness in the past I try to find some way to increase long term business with the property and or purchase more during my stay with other hotel services, food and beverage charges in gratitude.Thanks for the post

g8rjeff

Question: In this forum's opinion, are the suites at the W San Francisco worth 10K Starpoints to guarantee an upgrade? Are the suites nicer? Or are they more of the same, but just larger?

I'm a Platinum SPG member and my reservation indicates that I have a corner room (low floor) already confirmed, but past posts indicate that upgrades beyond a corner room (high floor) are rare due to limited availability.

This one night's stay is the kick-off to a special romantic excurision to the wine country. I don't mind burning the 10K points for my wife, but we're both conscious of "relative value" and don't have to have a suite to enjoy ourselves... but than again ... if they're spectalular, than 10K points would be a bargain.

(Note: My arrival is set for (Wed) March 15th for one night.)

777 global mile hound

In all the years of staying at the W SF as a Platinum I have never received anything but a guest room on a higher floor.
One of the many reasons I have shifted my loyalties around as of late.
However if a suite is important to you I would suggest doing so only because getting one there is like winning the lottery as their inventory for suites is very limited to begin with.

I can say that the hotel has an excellent GM in the last year who has made some strides in everything the hotel has been doing .
I am sorry that I can not advise you on the quality of what suites they do have.I have seen a very small group of FTalkers that have been some of the very the lucky ones.You might do a search and give one of those folks a PM.
Have a great stay
Cheers

vincom

The corner room s are quite nice and spacious already. I normally want a suite, but for a short short stay the corner rooms are just fine to me.

-Vincent

dsmntlr

Congrats on the excursion, sounds like a blast! I've spent a ton of time in SF, both as a traveller and a resident. I think the W is just an ok property IMHO, definitely not my favorite W. I love the modern feel of most W's and they are usually my target. To me W SF feels a little corporate and I'm not a big fan of the SOMA location. For my points I would consider the Westin St. Francis (best location, frequent upgrades). I don't know if you live in the city or not but I think the location and style give you a much more authentic SF experience.

Either way you will have a great time!


John

wildblueyonder

agree, corner rooms are nice, spacious, comfortable... just so you know: afaik, the "suites" are "junior suites" with a regular room and a very separate living room, with a pull-down murphy bed in the living room. in my stays there (would guess 100 or so) i've never actually had a room that i would consider a true suite, e.g., with a dining room, etc., so can't say whether or not they actually have a suite like that.

fwiw, i wouldn't blow 10k points on it for these reasons:
1) as a platinum, i generally always got a corner room on a higher floor...
2) the junior suites are nice, but not that special. and
3) the regular rooms aren't generally bad, although can be small (not nyc small though)

ymmv.

BlissWorld

I would go for the corner room over the suite. You are going to get a small living area in the suite + sirius satellite radio + pretty good entertainment system. Worth 10K points? No

The corner rooms (the ones I've stayed) are next to the emergency stairs. Therefore, you have NO neighbors. To me, that's better than the presidential suite. You will have a small/tiny sitting area by the window in the corner room. Ask for one facing the bay bridge. It's very nice in the evening. The corner room is more intimate for you and your wife. Ask for the rose petal service

Anyway, I have to strongly disagree with the other poster that Westin St. Francis is in a better area. I was a SF resident for 5 years and trust me when I say Union Sq. is touristy and crowded beyond control. You seriously don't want to drag your luggage from Powell BART station over an ocean of people to get to Westin. You also don't want to add another 30 minutes to your taxi ride because you will have to be stuck on market trying to get to around Powell. TOO MANY PEOPLE!

W is on the quiet side of downtown. You will have no problem walking to your hotel from Montgomery BART or a quick taxi ride.

I'd imagine you want a relatively quiet and romantic getaway. AVOID union sq. --- it's just your avg chain stores that you can get elsewhere (for shopping). I would do Sunday brunch in Noe Valley, Cafe/gallary hunt + nice afternoon walk at Golden Gate Park, and BART to Rockridge (Berkeley) to an unique and ethnic dinner experience and experience what SF really has to offer from a local's point of view, not some chained out tiring scene.

Nevertheless, W is a good choice ^

Eastbay1K

I once had a real suite at the W. It was a spectacular room. I believe it was on the top floor (or maybe 1 lower), with a nice bedroom, large living room, and little kitchenette area. Memmmmreeeeessssss......of the suite I left behind....

dsmntlr

To each their own I guess. The W is close to SFMOMA and a teen crowded movie theater. There's really nothing charming about it, again IMHO.

Staying in Union Square is touristy because it's the heart of the city. Staying on Central Park in NY is touristy as well, as is shopping on 5th Ave. I still stay there. You can walk from the Westin St. Francis to a couple of the best restaurants in the city. Le Colonial, which is also a lot of fun upstairs on Fri/Sat nights, http://www.lecolonialsf.com. There is a French lunch place directly across the square on Maiden Lane, Mocca. Expensive but worth it, get the Steak Sandwich!! Farallon is adjacent to the hotel across the street on the North side of the hotel. http://www.farallonrestaurant.com/ It's my personal favorite SF restaurant.

Enjoy your time in SF, no matter where you end up!

John

ldsant

I think you're already seeing a pattern here, but as somebody who loves the W SF (mainly due to their staff!), I would not spend the 10K here. First of all, you will have a spacious room. Secondly, you're in San Francisco for one night - you probably won't be in the room all that much anyway

As far as location - I think that it's very well located - easy to get everywhere. Plus, the museum, gardens, etc. are literally right around the corner. The St. Francis imo is tired, worn, small rooms, and the staff is less than welcoming. The location is good though - you can walk everywhere in San Francisco so unless you're at the W in Silicon Valley I think you'll be fine

toolz

I used to stay at the hotel very frequently and out of all my stays, was probably upgraded to a "suite" three or four times over the course of several years. Usually for 1-2 night stays mid-week.

If you are going to use more points, I'd consider staying at the St. Regis SF next door. I recently stayed there during a very busy conference and they were still able to upgrade me to a nice suite.

Enjoy.

stephem

I've gotten a few suite upgrades here this last year and the description above as a bedroom and a "very separate" living room area is right on. These suites really feel like two joined rooms as opposed to a palatial open room. So I'd rate it as nice from a space standpoint (like if you were bringing your children) but not great from a luxury standpoint. The ones I've gotten have been way up on the top floors, which is nice from a view and noise standpoint. I was happy to get the upgrade, but I dont think I would say it would be worth 10k points. I would see if you can use fewer points for a high floor corner with a bay view. That's actually where I like to be. There is a fire station on the south side of the building and if you are a lower floor this might bother you, it definitely bothers me. This place does fill up and as a Plat I have been shoved in some very mediocre rooms when checking in very early or very late, but generally they do set Plats into nicer rooms (view, height, layout, etc).

Eastbay1K

You can walk almost anywhere a tourist would generally go...... While SF is compact, I wouldn't recommend walking to the Zoo from here