Le Méridien

well, if you want to be treated really badly in a place that doesn't even have the basics on hand, like toothpaste and shaving cream and you like having loud parties next door that management does nothing about, then please stay here. You might just try beating yourself over the head with the hammer, it's more fun.

If your desired hotel location for a long weekend is: 1) quiet and away from the masses 2) 5 minute walk to the California cable car line 3) 5 minute walk to the BART stop 4) $10 cab ride to Pier 39 5) 5 minute walk to the base of Columbus St (into North Beach) This is a great hotel. $40 cab ride from SFO (with tip). My wife and I really like this hotel because it does make you feel comfortable immediately. The concierge desk is non-stop 24/7. They are non-licensed travel agents that worked wonders for the groups that didn't consider where and how before they got to SF.

We booked for mid-August 2007 for a 3 night stay in a Spectacular Room @ 415 sq ft. only to find that it was a bit too small for us. We called the front desk immediately and asked to be upgraded for $50 more per night for the Studio Suite. Bellhop responded within minutes and we were extremely satisfied with our new digs  a corner suite on the 22nd floor. We booked directly from the hotels site and got the 3rd night free deal. With the discount, it came to about $360 per night including taxes & fees. Not bad at all for the room and area I think.
Room 2219 was fantastic. It was just the two of us, but we would be having visitors from the area to come and meet us at the hotel before a night out so it was very nice to have a separate living area from the bedroom. The bathroom was much bigger than the non-suite room too and even had a nice floor to ceiling window view as well. The room had a small patio balcony that overlooked the Embarcadero & Golden Gate Bridge. The bedroom had a lovely view to the Transamerica, Coit Tower and Telegraph Hill. Everything was very clean and décor was contemporary & efficiently done. The hotel staff was very pleasant from the registration  which was pretty effortless  to the concierges, bellhops, housecleaning & the bar wait staff. No complaints about the service or the room at all  both either met or exceeded my expectations.
The only thing that I found rather odd about our experience at the Le Meridien was the elevator. Every time we got in, they were playing some sort of sound&I dont even know what to call it as it wasnt music. It was anything from rainforest sounds, water sounds, Tibetan flute, birds, whales or dolphins, and etc&. I suppose it was better than cheesy elevator music as it always gave us a chuckle although Im not sure if this was the hotel designers original intention.