W San Francisco

Excellent service and very friendly staff. We came to W hotel to celebrate birthday, and the hotel staff went above and beyond to surprise us with room upgrade and birthday cake & Champaign. The room (corner studip) has spectacular view, and in room services are timely and provided at high quality. Special thanks to Sean and Mariella for making the experience wonderful, couldn't ask for more during this stay and would definitely recommend W SF to anyone who wants to stay at SOMA area in SF.

I waited a week for a post-stay survey to share this information and never received one, which is reflective of how much the hotel cares about its guests. I booked a $170/night rate for two nights, and with LOTS of added fees (and nothing additional charged to the room), the bill came out to $880 for the two nights. I’m an Ambassador Elite, which was never recognized during my stay. I certainly did not feel my business was appreciated regardless of status. This is a cheap, turn & burn hotel desperately in need of a deep cleaning and a renovation. During check-in, I was asked for the purpose of my visit, and I said that I was evacuating from the fires in Los Angeles. The front desk agent informed me that my neighborhood was not affected by the fires. I told him that I live in an evacuation zone, and asked if he was familiar with Los Angeles. He was not, and perhaps he should not comment on things he’s not familiar with. There was zero compassion for my situation, and W should consider offering some to guests advising that they are staying at the property because they’ve been evacuated from their homes. Aside from the lack of hospitality upon arrival, and the feeling of being completely ripped-off, the thing I will most remember about my stay is the EXTREMELY scented room. When I walked in, the room smelled as though an entire aerosol can of fragrance spray had exploded, along with strong smells of cleaning products. The windows do not open even an inch, and the HVAC system is tiny and ineffective at both ventilation and temperature regulation. There is maybe a 8” by 8” square vent near the minibar that did not seem to circulate air. When I brought the issue to the hotel, they were very unhelpful, mentioning that I should have booked a fragrance-free room, and that it’s the W’s “signature scent”. I requested to leave the hotel and stay at another Bonvoy property three times, each of which inquiry was ignored. Meanwhile, the rest of the hotel smelled much more reasonable. Unfortunately, the best remedy seemed to be airing out my room by keeping the door open for several hours each day. On the third day, the headache-inducing scent lessened, and a smell of strong mold took over - it was evident that so much scent spray was used to attempt to cover up the underlying problem of mold. One day while the door was open, a housekeeper walked by and asked if I needed something. I told her I was airing out the smell, and she told me that she did not like the smell either. Additionally, there were a few flies in the room during my stay - perhaps they were drawn to the mold. The furniture reminded me of a cheesy nightclub and would look better in the dark - it showed some heavy wear. During both arrival and departure, I had three large bags (two on wheels) and a 20lb dog. I was never once offered assistance with luggage, and I unloaded and loaded my vehicle while the hotel staff stared at me. I booked this hotel in part because of the advertised “paw program” on the W Hotel’s website, advertising many dog amenities including “a welcome packet with toys, treats, a specialized W Hotels pet tag, clean-up bags, a custom pet bed, food and water bowls, and turndown treats just for the furry kind.” This hotel did not actually participate in this program, despite advertising it on their website, and only was able to deliver a very overstuffed square pillow after I requested twice. The pillow was so over-stuffed that it did not function as a dog bed, and it just took up space in the small room. The dog fee was a flat $100 plus a $25 “cleaning fee” for each night, a total of $150++. Strange that they charge a cleaning fee despite not cleaning the room anytime during the stay - where does that money go? The gym is very dark and does not have a Peloton. The bike it does offer is broken without any kind of signage - the pedals were locked into place. I visited the fitness center fully intending to work out, and after observing the condition of it, left and went to Equinox. When I attempted taking my dog out one morning, a bald security guard (?) in a branded W sweatsuit SCREAMED at me stating “YOU CAN’T BE HERE” - apparently hotel guests are not able to take a left out the exit door, only a right. There is no signage to this effect. He stared at me in an intimidating manner until I walked out to the sidewalk. Hospitality abounds. In addition to pre-authorizing my card at check-in, the hotel took $300 each night ($600 total) without advising me of this amount. Both $300 charges are still pending on my card a week later. Based on the terrible service from the other departments, I dined elsewhere. The resort fee held no value aside from “free WiFi”. Apparently it formerly held food & beverage credit and tickets to cultural activities but no longer includes these things, it’s just an extra fee. Positives - it was pretty quiet from the hallways & street. Perhaps there weren’t many guests there. I would absolutely not consider staying here again. Better options are most other hotels in the city - my favorites are the St. Regis or Palace if you need to be in this immediate area or prefer Bonvoy, but the Fairmont is my preference in SF - I stayed there for the rest of the week and should have booked it to begin with. Don’t make the same mistake as me!

Back here for work for the third time, and I still absolutely hate it. The staff is nice, and the catering is decent, but this whole place needs to be gutted. You can tell it was the spot in the early 2000s, but now everything—from the lobby to the rooms—is just dingy and worn. Found hairs in my shower and all over the bathroom, and my colleagues had the same experience—one even had to switch rooms because of bugs. Eek!

The service was some of the best I’ve received at any hotel. Adriana at the front desk went above and beyond to make my stay great. I really appreciated how attentive she was during the checkin process and throughout the stay. Will definitely be back!

Cannot rave about this hotel enough. Stayed there for my birthday weekend and they did not disappoint. Once they realized it was my birthday when I checked in until I checked out-it seemed as if all the staff knew it was my birthday and they went out of their way to make it special! The room was impeccable and properly taken care of each day. The location was extremely convenient to catch a street car or a cable car and a short walk to the Ferry Building. If you are looking for a place to stay that will take care of you and convenient-this is the place!