Sorry about the headline on the last post but this seems important. SF Chronicle this am had story of single woman on business staying at this hotel. She was held for four hours and raped by a man who talked his way into her hotel room at 11 am posing as a hotel employee. Security might still be lax(?) or intensely beefed up.

Dreadful.I under no circumstances open my door.The best thing to do is call the front desk.I am sad to see this woman suffered.It is truly dispicable.

From reading this board you'd almost conclude that's it's a good day when this DOESN'T happen at EVERY hotel in the Union Square area, and that the Union Sq problems have probably simply spilled over to the Financial District. SOMA's next, then FW.

I agree with BeachBoi - it's never a good idea to open your hotel room door without knowing who is on the other side. If someone knocks and says he or she is a hotel employee and you haven't requested anything from the hotel, you should always call the front desk to find out if they sent someone up.

Rwilliams, you obviosly don't live in SF and don't visit often - it's not an everyday event. And by the way the hotel where it happened is not even in the Union Square area. Security lax? Is there a single hotel where you can't just walk in without being stopped? Any large hotel has several entrances opened to everybody.

Gee, how terrible. I always thought that Union Square, the Mission, South of Market, and Tenderloin were the not so safe parts of town. I guess that the criminal elements are starting to spread to other parts of SF.

(The police have changed thier story since PamSF posted). The women knew her attacker. She was not a random tourist who got attacked--she worked in San Francisco and apparently was mixed up in some ugly business. Police are now stating that the man never posed as security. Just wanted to let you all know since some people already seem parinoid about safety in San Francisco.

Today's SF Chronicle says the victim was a hooker who already knew her attacker. Like the previous poster stated, the man did not pose as a hotel employee, but rather was dressed in a business suit.

Today's SF Chronicle says the victim was a hooker who already knew her attacker. Like the previous poster stated, the man did not pose as a hotel employee, but rather was dressed in a business suit. Also, the original story was the man held her for four hours. Now, however, the information published is that he was in the room for one hour and he had a gun.

The sad fact is that this kind of stuff can happen anywhere - nice neighborhoods and not-so-nice neighborhoods, small towns and large cities. We all need to be careful.

In every hotel I have ever stayed, anybody can walk into the hotel, guest or not. The club floors are the only ones that are restricted access.

Several years ago there was a murder at a hotel my husband and I were staying in - while we were staying there! This was a nice hotel in a nice area. Bad things can happen anywhere.