Cartwright in SF and calistoga ??s PLEASE
 

Has anyone stayed at the Cartwright in SF, and we want to try a spa in the Calistoga area. Is it best/cheapest to stay at a spa with a package deal for services and massages, etc?

Yes, I stayed at the Cartwright in 1999. It is a boutique hotel and as such the rooms were small but clean and neat and the furniture was antiquey. I had a big brass bed that I almost had to jump onto (and I'm tall!!!). The location was fantastic - so central to the shopping area at Union Square and the Cable cars. The staff were very, very nice. Also a continental breakfast was included in the price and tea/coffee was available all day in the sitting room off the lobby. Oh, and the fruit in the bowl on the reception desk was for hotel clientele. There are probably better choices around but I found it perfectly nice. Enjoy your trip <BR> <BR>Anne in Perth, Australia

Stayed at the Cartwright in Feb. The room and bath were very small, but everything was clean. The location is great. I wasn't impressed with the service. The concierge was dishonest about needing reservations (it was Feb. and the atttraction was deserted), I assume because he gets a commission. He also insisted on getting us a cab back to the airport. The cab was really a limo that has a deal with the hotel. We asked first if he charged the same as a taxi. Both the concierge and driver said yes. Once on our way, the driver said he'd have to check the cost (on his walkie talkie) as this was his first day. He ended up requesting a fee $10-$12 more than a taxi. He relented, but it left a bad taste about the Cartwright and their service.

I stayed at the Cartwright a few years ago at the suggestion of friends. I agree with the above that it was clean (and I always feel that if that's the best thing you can say about a place, it must not be very good). I would disagree with the others about the rooms being "small". Our room was "tiny!" We could not find a place to even put a suitcase, yet alone try to get into the bed from one side. You can do much better for the price. Even some of the main hotels in the area-- the Grand Hyatt for example may have specials that will come very close to matching the standard price at the Cartwright. I have also been told that the Hotel Florence where Kuleto's restaurant is, although similar to Cartwright in price and size is much nicer and has slightly larger rooms, but I can not speak from personal experience.

Patrick said it: the rooms are tiny. And we stayed there before Christmas, trying to wrap packages for the kids in Sunnyvale. Yikes! One year we stayed at the Donatello, which is in the same area and the room, I swear was 3X the size (and lovely) (but we were on a two for one deal, or some such).