darcyt

Is the facility fee waived for plats?

eleventy

My company's beancounters start complaining if you pay over about $400/night in SF. That wasn't a whole lot of headroom to begin with sometimes, and the facility fee shrinks it to the point of nonexistence. Looks like it's going to be the Sheraton in Fisherman's Wharf (and the tourist-infested F line) from now on if I want to stay in a Starwood hotel...

I've got a stay in the Park Central next week, but wasn't assessed the facility fee at booking so we'll see. Surely they won't surprise me with it, right?

MSPeconomist

There might be corporate rate contracts that specify no "resort" fees.

eleventy

Looks like it's still there, on my company's rate at least. It's kind of sneaky though. If I book under the normal prepaid rate, it shows up under "Base room rate excludes:," but under the corporate rate, I have to click on the "Show exclusions" link to show it. When I hit the reserve button, it's only included on the non-corporate rate. I'll report back on Sunday

The funny thing is that I would have probably accepted it if they'd done this honestly and just raised the room rate, or at least been able to make a case to work about "rising hotel costs" or something. Things are expensive in SF and are only getting worse.

flyerbjorn

I've spent a few weeks at the Park Central this year and I'm starting to really like it. Assuming rates remain reasonable, this is where I'll stay in SF from now on.

One week, I brought my wife and young kids and booked a suite. It was perfect for what we needed. We asked for a fridge and a microwave, which was quickly delivered to the room. Another week, I was by myself and got one of the renovated (Premium?) rooms on a high floor and it was awesome. Felt like a different property. The room had a nice and modern feel to it.

Random comments:

• The hotel has removed the minibars, which doesn't bother me at all, since I prefer getting a draft beer from the bar and bring it to the room.
• I really like the (free for platinum) breakfast. They keep improving it. Last time, they had a Nespresso machine. This time, they had a freshly squeezed orange juice machine.
• The taxi rank outside and the proximity to MUNI makes it easy to get around.
• The property treats returning business guests nicely. I'm getting to know the staff and some of them now recognise me from earlier stays.
• The valet parking is something like $60 a day. When I have a car, I park it in the Moscone Center car park down the street, which charges per hour. I usually pay $13 overnight, or about $30 per 24 hours.

Regarding the resort fee, I just include it when I compare the pricing of the various hotels in SF. So far this year, the Park has been cheaper than other SPG properties, except for Fisherman's Wharf of course. It was significantly cheaper ($250 vs. $450) when booking a suite for a week.

beachfan

Is it the Heavenly bed and bedding here?

flyerbjorn

It used to be a Westin, so the beds must be Heavenly beds. I haven't noticed any major changes after the rebranding.

The top floor premium rooms are newly renovated and may have newer beds, I'm not sure.

eleventy

Sure enough, no facility fee on my bill. Thanks, negotiated rate.

khabah

I may have missed this, but is this hotel going to remain part of SPG as an unbranded property or is it going under another umbrella? The owners could throw a touch of work into the property and turn it into a Tribute - would be nice to see it under a specific SPG brand rather than floating around the system.

khabah

SpicyMeatball

Used to stay here a lot as Westin Market Street, and many times after the change to Park Central. I used to find good deals here, but now as a category 6, the prices have gone up significantly. We get nothing in return. Unfortunately I'll need to look at Hilton or Marriott properties for most SF stays now.

Also the resort fee at this hotel is completely asinine.

flyerbjorn

Using my corporate rate, I'm no longer charged the facilities fee either.

eleventy

This hotel has started participating in Make A Green Choice, but they kept the Park Preserve branding. I normally leave the sign out so that housekeeping doesn't wake me up (I tend to sleep in a bit) and to my surprise, I found a card slipped under my door that said it was worth 500 starpoints or $5 at MaSo.

alanslegal

Thinking of staying here in two weeks times; as a Platinum is it still the full buffet breakfast as the breakfast amenity?

flyerbjorn

Officially, the platinum breakfast is all the cold items on the breakfast buffet, with a $5 upgrade fee to include the hot items. In practice, I've never paid the $5 when I'm by myself.

alanslegal

Thank you for your reply. We have decided to stay at The Palace instead. We found an awesome rate the the Park Central, it was $130+tax+facility fee per night on a Z4H rate. Then I lucked into a BRG approval at The Palace where after all taxes are applied, it is about US$25 more per night.