Hadabuck

I have booked a room at the Fairmont hotel in SF for a few days in early April. I was looking thru this message board and have seen lots of recommendations for SF hotels. I have yet to see a recommendation for the Fairmont, is there a good reason?

Help???

OaktownTraveler

It is EXPENSIVE. Folks on these boards tend to be more MODERATE to BUDGET focused when it comes to hotels.

There are many exceptions and you will hear from them.

I have stayed at the Fairmont Hotel in SF a few times. It is good. Nothing extra special and certainly nothing inferior.

I would stay there again.

Enjoy your stay.

Oaktown Traveler

Suzie

Fairmont is beautiful and conveniently located. You can catch the Cable Car just down the block at Powell or walk gingerly down the steeeeep hill to Union Square. We stayed across the street at the Mark Hopkins and went to the Fairmont to enjoy drinks in the Tonga Room which was really funnnnnn! The lobby is just beautiful.

We also walked everywhere including China Town. You'll love the hotel.

bayareamama

I have to say I love the Fairmont in San Francisco. It's a beautiful, historic hotel. I will also say it has been a little while since we stayed the night there, so hopefully someone who has stayed there more recently can help you too. We live in the area and I have visited a number of times for different functions. In addition, my husband and I spent our wedding night there a number of years ago. Obviously, I don't know your interests or plans while in San Francisco to comment on the location for you. It's located on top of nob hill, which I think is a great location. This may mean more walking than other locations though, depending where you are spending your time. For instance, if you plan to shop and spend time near Union Square, it is a short walk down the hill, but this also means you will have a short but steep walk back up the hill. I think it's a nice walk, but others might not. Of course, you can also catch a cable car right outside the hotel, or bus or cab it wherever you need to go. Hope this helps.

bayareamama

Oaktown and Suzie chimed in while I was posting, so you've got more uptodate info already

gualalalisa

I always stay at the Fairmont when I visit the city of my birth, San Francisco - in fact, I'm staying there for a week at the end of the month.

For my review, go to Hotels "Rants & Raves" section on this board. Suzie and Bayaremama are right. For this native, the Fairmont (especially the original building) is the place to get a true San Francisco experience.

Have fun!

kimamom

The Fairmont is where we will be staying sometime this year when we visit this area. Isn't the old Venetian Room where Tony Bennett first sang, " I Left My Heart in SF?"

There's some pretty cool history in this place!! I can't wait to explore it!! ***kim***

TedTurner

The Fairmont is long on history and has a great Nob Hill location.
The rooms vary greatly from small and very dated to recently renovated but I've never seen a room there which I'd rate as excellent. Service is generally good but not outstanding.
Depends on what you want out of your hotel. Many people love the Fairmont.

easytraveler

The Fairmont Hotel is a remarkable hotel, in more ways than one. Pictures taken after the 1906 earthquake show only two buildings standing in that area of town: the Fairmont Hotel and the Old St Mary's Church.

Our favorite hotel as a pied-a-terre in San Francisco used to be the Stanford Court which is just a bit down the street from the Fairmont. The Mark Hopkins Hotel is also on Nob Hill.

Staying on Nob Hill is kinda like staying on top of a Coke bottle. Every direction you go is DOWN, and I mean DOWN. Trust me, I walked up to the Fairmont Hotel this weekend and it was UP. I felt like one of those people rappelling down a mountain, except that I didn't have a rope. In other words - if you haven't gotten the idea yet - it's a very steep hill; on the crown of which sit the Fairmont, the Mark Hopkins, the Stanford Court, the Masonic Temple, and a few ritzy residences of long established San Franciscans. From that lofty, patrician perch you have to descend every day to the humdrum world of the ordinary mortals.

And, Oh, yes, every night you have to find some way to leave the ordinary mortals behind and ascend halfway to heaven. Although the cable car runs to the top of that hill, it may not be sufficient public transportation for all your needs. Buses can't make it up that slope, they might start sliding backwards like the horses of old used to.

Will you have a car? If not, it might be easier to stay closer to Union Square.

You didn't say whether you were on business or on holiday, what you want to do in San Francisco, etc., so this was a shot in the dark to give you some idea of where you will be located.

Just my two cents' worth. Hope it was worth a penny to you!

travleis

From a hotel standpoint, I think those who work and stay at the Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton would object to being characterized as "humdrum hotels among the mere mortals" relative to the Fairmont.

Hadabuck

Thanks so very much for all of the info concerning the Fairmont. This is just a quick 3 day getaway for me and the missus, so just looking to have a good time.