Jasmine

I am planning to book 4 days for my parents who are travelling from Hong Kong to San Fransico in August. They are in their 60's and can speak English very well. However , I am worried about the safety of them travelling on their own. Ritz Calrton is quite expensive, is it a very nice hotel to stay ? Is it worth it to pay extra for the special Carlton club floors ? What is the best way to book for better discounts if possible. I am a working student but I want them to have a great time. If not the Ritz, any very nice boutique hotels u can recoomend in case Ritz is full? Thanks

Paul

I have stayed at numerouse Ritz Carltons including San Francisco. They are all first class hotels and, for me, well worth the expense. The Club Floors make the stay all the more special as you have a private (floor) concierge and food/drink all day long including evening cordials. The San Francisco hotel is one of the best ones I visited.

Greg

We stayed at the SF Ritz-Carlton for our 10th wedding anniversary in October. I'm not exactly sorry that we stayed there -- after all it was a splurge trip (1st class air, convertible rental car) -- and how would we know what it was like if we didn't stay there.

But we would never stay there again. For the price, the service was disappointing, the room wasn't ready when promised, the room was smaller than we had been led to believe. And we ran into too much attitude from some of the staff.

Besides there are so many great small hotels in SF that are reasonably priced.

kam

For really wonderful service and a chance to stay in a classic SF Hotel I would suggest the St. Francis or the Mark Hopkins. For a lovely "boutique" type of hotel I would suggest the White Swan, but since they are coming from HK I think they would enjoy the St. Francis more.

Phil

Try the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Is in the heart of the Financial district and close to Chinatown. First class all the way.

Pat

The St. Francis and Mark Hopkins are not in the same league as the Mandarin and Ritz. I can't see how this can be debated.
I've stayed in numerous Ritz's worldwide and I think the truth about the SF Ritz is somewhere between Paul's and Greg's. It's a well done property with good location overall, but some rooms are small. I've not been impressed with the service, but this is a countrywide problem.
The Mandarin could use some updating, (I last stayed there 8 months ago), but Jasmine if I were putting my parents up, especially if they're from HK, I'd choose the Mandarin over the Ritz.
I haven't been to the White Swan, but friends speak more highly of it than the second tier chain hotels like Marriott, St. Francis (Westin), etc.

seamus

Pat, I'm really pleased that you've stayed at numerous Ritz Carltons, but to call the St. Francis second tier is absolutely incorrect. Do you know how you sound?