Has anyone stayed at the Casa Loma (very budget)?

Alamo Square!!! Nice area. Close to Hayes Valley. I live locally, so no need for a hotel. But my wife is a volunteer tour guide with SF City Guides, and leads a Victorian House tour in that area.
https://sfcityguides.org/tour/alamo-square/

She won't be leading a tour anytime soon - semi-retired after doing it for 20 years.

Stu Dudley

Fodorites tend to either stay with relatives or book the more expensive lodgings, so you may need to look at other sources. I always scroll through recent customer (not vendor) photos and the 2 and 3 star reviews that customers might have posted on TripAdvisor. One can't always trust the reviews on Expedia, etc. which are often edited.

Having a heater and clean bedding are most important to me.

I like to check the reviews on booking.com because you can't post a review unless you book through the website and actually stay in the property. This reduces phony comments, but you need to carefully read/interpret reviews as there may be criticism based on unrealistic expectations, esp. for a "budget" hotel.

https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/cas...1&#tab-reviews

Unfortunately booking.com, hotels.com, Expedia, etc., do edit the reviews. At least with TripAdvisor they are published verbatim. Of course it always requires critical reading.

I've never had a review edited on booking.com. Maybe I just have a honest face...

I've submitted maybe 35 or 40 reviews on Booking and not a single word has ever been changed. Could happen I guess, but not IME.

I find booking.com to be quite reliable.