W Hotel San Francisco, San Francisco

Called to make some inquiries (ie car rental options, pet free rooms) and spoke with the Whatever/Whenever concierge (Florina) however I apparently taxed her patience after asking the first question and she hung up on me. Prior to that it was clear that she could not have been bothered to assist me. I did phone back and spoke with a Manager who said that he would speak to her although he did not take me contact information to follow up. Since I was informed by the manager that there is often only one concierge on site I was reluctant to reserve in the off chance that I would need assistance. The manager did provide answers to my questions but at no time did he offer to make my reservation so I let it go and booked somewhere else. It was my impression that the Whatever/Whenever is on their terms and not much more than a catchy marketing ploy that they use with the hope that their guests need Nothing/Nowhere. I hope that if you do stay, it is a lovely experience.

The staff was rude, you could never find a doorman. They had a coporate event downstairs that went until late in the night and we could not get any sleep. The food was extremelly overpriced, and the lack of available staff was overwhelming. For the money the Palace Hotel, Fairmount, FourSeasons or the Hilton is a better hotel for the money.

rooms were dark, i mean 40 watt bulbs, tiny rooms, we got lost in the lobby, and they place was trying to be too cool, tiny tiny rooms, dark spaces, great food in the restr. claustrophobic to say the least. Smallest hotel rooms I have ever stayed in..Poor value, bad hotel

The experience is different for any other hotel, I feel it was made to indulge you with all your senses , great music , beautiful view from the room, which was nicely decorated. It's a hotel for young spirited, not conventional people. It also has a great sense of privacy too. You will not feel bored if you are on your own. I think it's worth the money and time and definitely would go back: If you have the money Indulge yourself

Avoid Starwood hotels, especially the W After being driven out of the $600 a night Starwood St. Regis in San Francisco because the heat wouldn’t work in either of the rooms they gave me, I registered in the Starwood $400 a night San Francisco W, at 181 3rd St, down the street where the heat did work. The W has all kinds of cutsie nonsense that gets in the way of comprehension. The operator answers with “what is your wish.” My wish of course is that she would answer with “operator.” The Internet service costs $15 a day but it stinks. Much better speed is available for free at any $150 a night motel. It would not run consistently faster than 200 kilobits per second which 20 or 30 times slower than a typical home DSL line. My slingbox would not work and it took forever to download files. W Internet is a small step above using a phone modem. Apparently the W is on an insane drive to save electricity. The room lighting is terrible. I happened to have a light meter with me so I took some measurements. At the work desk the illumination was 22 lux. There is no lamp or light anyplace near the desk. 22 lux is considered to be a light level suitable for inactive areas of warehouses. Offices work spaces are supposed to have 500 lux. If you want to read in bed at the W the light level is about 90 lux, a low but not impossible level for reading. The window benches have their own light which is so dim as to provide only 15 lux. The only place in the room with decent illumination was near the bathroom mirror where it reached 400 lux. The telephone in my W room started beeping at 3 AM for no apparent reason that I could discern even after several minutes of deciphering the instructions on the telephone printed in tiny, low-contrast type. Yes, I had my reading glasses on. It wouldn’t stop beeping even when I unplugged the connecting wires. I called the “what is your wish” lady to ask what do to. She didn’t know but offered to send someone to the room. Apparently calling the operator stopped the beeping. My next step would have been to put the telephone in the hall. The room was nicely furnished, even beautiful. But if they can’t get lighting, Internet and telephone right why would you want to stay in this expensive hotel?

I did not stay in this hotel, only went there to possibly meet up with a video game developer for a press thing but it did not pan out. Nonetheless, the lobby of this hotel was very nice.

I loved it, any San Francisco Hotel I can take my dog and children to and be treated so well is great for all of us. It was worth the money and the location was great

Guest service, comfort, innovation, consistency...I can continue to count the many ways I love the W Hotel in SF. This is the best bang for your buck when searching for upscale hotels in Frisco. I live approx. 15 miles away and I stay at the W when a night in the city is called for. Don't go anywhere else....unless of course you're looking for rooms $10k and up...but the W is still an option. LOVE THIS PLACE...YOU WILL TOO!

good location if you want to be close to downtown, moma, embarcadero etc. nice bar right as you walk in. clean, new, good staff. will stay here again.

We had a great 3 day stay here but could not understand the endless fire sirens until we walked around the side of the hotel. There is a fire station right next door. You will listen to sirens round the clock. Ask for a room on a high floor! The rooms are great--we especially enjoyed the illuminated Buddha statue in ours. The waiters in the lobby bar are very good-as were the drinks. We didn't find the lobby staff as attentive or helpful. There are times when you just want to take a cab instead of walking. We were repeatedly told that destinations were only a 15 minute walk. That's great in tennis shoes--and horrible in heels. The Bliss Spa is exquisite--one of the best facials I've ever had. Overall, the W gets high marks.