INTERCONTINENTAL SAN FRANCISCO Luxe

Had my annual visit this weekend - still a great hotel with great staff. Bay to Breakers ran right pass the hotel. Lobby is under construction. The biggest surprise is that the tissues in the bathroom is the kind that you only find at low end properties - the kind that breaks apart as you use it. What is going on'

I had a seminar for 3 days and my family (wife + 3 girls under 5) joined me for a long weekend. The first day was horrible from check in to wrong bedroom given (one king so our toddler had to spend the first night on the floor in a little cabin we made for her to make it fun) and no internet, no bed sheets for the cribs, no extra towels for the girls... Really bad start, but after an email to the front desk Evan Turell stepped it up and took our case under control to make it perfectly right so that's why the review is not bad. So make sure to get things cleared up if you are travelling with your family! Apart from that it's great because walking distance to the best playground of SF and to other convenience shopping but also 5min walk to Whole Foods!

I was in town for only 2 nights and decided to stay at the intercontinental since they offered a great deal and it was close to where I needed to be. This was the 2nd time staying here in 2 years and much has changed. My first complaint was the horrible stench of cats in which I am allergic in the first 2 rooms. Most times I can be around cats and not have a reaction. My wife and I stay in many pet friendly hotels with our dogs (best Western, etc) and I've never had issues with allergies as I had here. The first room the stench was strong and I noticed the smell within the first few seconds. They were very accommodating and moved me to another room on the 8th floor which was not better and within 15 minutes I had a sore throat and eyes were burning. The last room they moved me to was on one of the top floors and it was better since perhaps they must keep the pets on lower floors. Overall the staff was friendly and accommodating. A couple of other disappointments were the internet which was spotty and most times painfully slow which I ended up using the wifi hotspot on my phone most of the time which speeds were much better than the hotel. Also the hot water on my last day was struggling to make it out of the faucets and shower heads and the water kept spitting out and it was tough to get a steady stream of hot water. Some good points, the staff was friendly and the breakfast buffet was outstanding. I strongly feel that a 4 or 5 star rating is a stretch for this hotel.

Arrived at 9-30am and were allocated our room immediately. It was a lovely spacious, corner, junior suite with a King size bed. Both the bed and the pillows were very comfortable too-something not always experienced in hotels! It had a large television. The bathroom was large with a walk in shower and a bath. We had booked access to the Club Lounge and that was very nice too. There was a good selection of hot and cold food at breakfast, soup and crackers for lunch, delicious afternoon tea,"hors d'oeuvres" in the evening which actually included hot food and brownies and cookies with liqueurs later in the evening. There were alcoholic drinks during "hors d'oeuvres" time and coffee and soft drinks were available all day. When we checked out, we did not want to leave the hotel until early afternoon and were told that, even though we had checked out, we would be welcome to continue to use the Club Lounge until we departed. Did not use the restaurant or spa so can not comment on those. All staff were extremely nice to us but special mention must go to J.D. on Reception, Luis in the Club Lounge and a wonderful concierge, Hilga Africa.

I arrived late on Monday night for a 2 night stayed. I was upgraded to a corner junior suite with city view. Unfortunately, I got really sick that night and spent the first night at the emergency room. Still the upgrade was very much appreciated. Also, the person that checked me in was very patient in answering all my questions. After settling in my room, I realized I had forgotten to bring the wall plug for my cellphone charger cord. I called down to concierge and she basically told me that there is not an USB port in the room and my only option is to charge my phone downstairs where they offer charging stations. I couldn't believe this given the class and price of this hotel. Luckily, after searching the room, I realized there was indeed an USB charging port on the docking station. I'm glad I looked around and didn't just take her word for it. All in all, the suite is very modern and well appointed for San Francisco. I like this Intercontinental Hotel over the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins in San Francisco. However, I find the hospitality industry as a whole in San Francisco to really lack the above and beyond service level that you would otherwise receive in other parts of the country. In summary, I would stay here again.