We had reserved a $300 a night suite at the Clift in November. Upon check in we were shown to a room across the hall from the housekeeper's closet with filthy and blackened carpeting, no air conditioning (although the hotel claimed otherwise), a yellow film and ring in the bathtub, a ripped and tattered sofa with stuffing coming out, that was so dirty and greasy, I had to put towels down on it, just to sit. Sitting on the bed was out of the question, as the bedspread (blue) was covered in odd brown stains. We requested to be moved to one of the recently "renovated rooms".

A bellman tore our belongings from our closets and threw them into the closets of the new room. The lightbulbs in the closet were burnt out and the spare blankets stored there, smelled of urine. The room was about as dirty as the first, with a similar tattered and torn sofa, but with the addition of a blood-like stain on the comforter and a pair of pantyhose sticking out from under the bed. Since the A/C didn't work in this room either, we were forced to open the windows, only to be assaulted by street noise and the fumes of cooking oil being vented from adjoining rooftops.

My husband sat in one of the wooden desk chairs, which immediately broken into shards...stabbing him in the back. When we called mgt., they offered an ice bag and removed the chair from the room. There was no apology...but the comment was made "oh, that doesn't look bad". My husband was treated at a local emergency room after a doorman hailed a cab for us.

On our final morning at the hotel, we decided to have breakfast in the Clift dining room...only to be told the dinng room was closed (at 9:30a.m.)...and in spite of the fact people were being served breakfast there. We were hustled off to the bar, where we sat for 15 minutes before we flagged down a waitress and asked for menus. When our COLD food arrived, we had to ask for napkins, water, flatware, salt, pepper, and butter, which was brought to us, one item at a time.

The Clift hotel is an insult to the, otherwise spectacular, city of San Francisco.

With so many hotels in San Francisco, I would have have checked out immediately and never have unpacked in such a horrible room/suite to begin with -- not at $300 per night. In fact, you had every right to ask for the manager at the desk to find you a room elsewhere. Hindsight is 20-20, of course, but check out your credit card company(ies) for "emergency traveller assistance/services." They often can step in on experiences like this. Certainly the San Francisco Visitors Center would have helped relocate you to something more suitable -- they don't want an experience like this to hurt tourism.

Hindsight is indeed 20/20, and we did contact American Express Platinum Card Travel Services to help us in the move to a "better room" (which was equally bad). We then contacted the Fairmont and Campton Place...but they had nothing under $300 left.

The reason it's taken so long to post this (since we were there in November) is that Platinum Card has been trying to resolve some kind settlement on our bill. The Clift refuses to respond after numerous attempts to contact them.

I would NEVER have stayed there! I can't understand why you stayed in that filth. We had a similar incident at the Allta Mira in Sausalito....very expensive with a fatastic view and.... a dum!. We left as soon as we saw the room and didn't pay for the reservation. Visa dealt with the hotel.

One thing I learned after crummy experiences and travel in Europe: never sign for a room until I have seen it. Folks in Europe NEVER put their name on the line until they see the room. Managements expect that kind of conduct. Somehow timid Americans accept a room without inspecting it. Result: stories like yours.

I also can't believe you stayed. There are hundreds of hotels in and around SF. You didn't need to put up with that! Have you contacted the SF Chamber of Commerce, etc.?

I noticed that someone else was looking at staying at the Clift and wanted to offer a quick update. After 7 months, and innumerable complaints to every travel and consumer-realted industry, The Clift finally refunded half of our charges. The management simply stated that "things could have been handled differently" and blamed his staff for virtually everything that went wrong. This place is bad news!

Karma- What a terrible experience. I'm just glad you do not hold all of San Francisco responsible for your horror. Needless to say we won't be calling the Clift for a room, but will go back to San Francisco as often as possible. San Francisco is the most wonderful city I have visited in the U.S. I have been many times (never thank god at the Clift Hotel), and never had a bad hotel or bad experience. Although you may have received only half of your money back, this hotel will suffer with "word of mouth" information like yours and loose a lot more money in the long run. Thanks for your post

Just a study in contrasts. We were recently in Shrewsbury at the Old Lion Hotel, part of which dates from the 1600s. After dinner first night in our immaculate room, a leak developed in the ceiling. Manager came, did what he could do, apologized that hotel was full except for single rooms. Second night, torrents of "rain" fom the ceiling. This time, they sent two very nice young ladies to help us move to a lesser, but double room. On check out we were not charged for the first night, were not charged for dinner or our bottle of wine at the hotel, and were charged 1/2 price for the second night. There's a hotel that cares and one I would recommend highly! You should have left the Clift immediately, and let Amex deal with the bill. Please contact the SF Business Bureau. The Clift used to have a super reputation. It's sad to hear your tale of woe!! Good luck.

As a native San Franciscan, I apologize for the awful experience you had at the Clift. I'm especially heartbroken at your story as my husband and I were married at that hotel in the Spanish Suite 10 years ago. It was the perfect wedding and we were treated as royalty. At that time it was a Four Seasons property, but I don't believe it is any longer (I hope not!) Last year I was putting a conference together and went to see the rooms at the Clift and I was stunned. Most of them were in terrible need of renovation. (I didn't hold the conference there). It's my understanding that the hotel is about to go through a major and obviously, deperately needed remodel, so let's all keep our fingers crossed it becomes the gorgeous, luxury hotel it once was and should be again. I also highly recommend the Huntington Hotel for your next visit to SF, located across the street from the Fairmont, and a much lovelier place all around.

THe Clift was dumped by the Four Seasons a few years ago. It was owned soon thereafter by Ian Schrager (original owner of Studio 54 in NYC). It's changed hands again, and obviously suffers from lack of direction, appropriate mgmt and enough capital backing to make it a higher end hotel.

Has the Clift recovered from this sorry state? I remember reading in the papers that it has undergone a major renovation and is now supposed to be very swanky. Apart from good things I've read here about the Redwood Room, has anyone stayed at the hotel in recent times?

Also, how about the restaurant, Asia de Cuba?

Why would Karma and her husband not take a photo of the broken chair and include this in with a copy of the medical records in a letter to the management? I'm sure they would have been more inclined to reverse the charges as opposed to be faced with a lawsuit. Why do travelers put up with such bad service?

You have done us all a favour by alerting us to this dump... and some of the advice given by your respondents I will take to heart as we begin our 4-week journey to the USA next week.
The only part of your story I find hard to believe is this: why, after seeing the state they kept two of their guest rooms in, would you ever have decided to sample food from their kitchen, which is not seen by the public? Is there nowhere else in San Francisco to eat?

Folks, let's look at these posts for what they are. The negative ones all relate to a hotel that doesn't even exist anymore. It has been taken over, totally gutted, and opened under an entirely new format. Those things that happened in 1999 have absolutely nothing to do with the current hotel.
Sorry I can't offer any personal experience with the new place but it has been getting rave reviews. And if Asia de Cuba is half as good as its Los Angeles cousin, go for it!!

Where is the LA cousin of Asia De Cuba? What is the price range?

It's in the Mondrian Hotel on Sunset. Beautiful space with outside terrace as well. Food is wonderful, meant to be shared. Two of us ordered a platter of crab and mushroom cakes with spicy chili salad, a plate of calamari and hearts of palm salad, and a huge platter of sliced pork with vegetables. Everything was unique, flavorful and wonderful. We also had a very nice bottle of St. Estephe. Total price with tip was $162 (about half for the wine, I think), and worth every penny. On the other hand when we arrived in valet parking, they asked us if we were having dinner and we said yes. When we got the car after dinner there was a $15 parking charge. When friends said it shouldn't have been that much I called and found that you are supposed to get your valet ticket stamped in the restaurant -- how tacky is that in a place of this calibre? And why did they bother to ask us about having dinner then ignore the fact that we did?

I hate hearing these stories. When it was a Four Seasons, the hotel was a tad worn but it was still WONDERFUL!