Renaissance San Francisco Stanford Court Hotel

I returned to my fondly remembered Stanford Court after a number of years to find a oddly remodeled hotel where crown molding meets oil painted surfboards and it was a very disappointing experience.
Some positives remain:
Wonderful Nob hill setting, although our deluxe $ 200 room had a view of a building.
Cable cars come with that territory
Nice and helpful staff, concierge was always available
Comfortable bed and linens
Regrettably, too many negatives.
This hotel lacks so many amenities. No room service at all, no minbar, no robes, lumpy pillows, no paper to write on. This is a minimalist hotel with no sense of «luxury». Another reviewer said Travel Lodge, my husband said Holiday Inn, actually he thought that was better.
The rooms are small, not surprising, but the large furniture pieces made it cramped.
The open-​closet was in the bathroom and there was no fan. The luggage rack is there too so you end up with damp clothes.
It took three flushes to get the toilet to work.
The breakfast in the morning was the best snapshot of the disconnect between a satisfying hotel experience and just having a place to stay. We went to the lobby and there was a modified self-​serve set up. The menu said Plated Breakfasts. I ordered the Steel Cut Oatmeal with a choice of toppings.
I was handed a small, expensive, cardboard Quaker Oats container and was told that the hot water to «cook» it was in a nearby pot. The $ 14 egg dishes were drawing unhappy comments from surrounding customers. Pastries were serviced on white paper plates and there were big self serve pots of coffee, coffee that you had to pay for. No lattes, cappuccinos, etc. In fact, no service.
So I asked to speak to the manager and I shared my concerns. His answers told me everything I needed to know. He said that they did not have much of a breakfast service because they noticed that people don’t eat at the hotel. They don’t have any coffee drinks because there are so many places around the hotel that people go there instead. They don’t have room service because people don’t use it, they go somewhere else to eat.
He was not concerned about his hotel not providing any of these or other services.
I agree with the other people. Next time I am going somewhere else.

My boyfriend and I visit San Francisco at least once a month on business. I’ve also lived in SF for about fifteen years before I moved out to the suburbs.
First, for hotel above $ 200, I found it to be less than average.
Positive:
1. Front desk was attentive and courteous.
2. Room was decent in size with good comfy bed.
3. décor was clean and just enough
3. Complementary water and it was only a $ 1 (a very reasonable price) thereafter was A+ compared to some outrageous water prices at other hotels just because they can charge so much for an essential item.
Negative:
2. Bathroom wasn’t so clean and the shower had molds which is a big negative for me. I saw collected dusts on the corners of the bathroom which kind of turned me off.
3. I usually use toiletry from hotels since they are of pretty good quality so I started not to carry basic toiletries. To point it out, their shelf in the shower is about t 2″ tall, unusually shallower than most hotels .
However, their shampoo and conditioner is about 3″ tall. Long slender ones. The only way to use it on the shelf is to lay them down side ways after closing the lid or let the content drip out. Not practical at all and was annoyed I’ve seen many bottles that were short enough to fit short 2″ shelf. And the quality of the soaps (toiletries) are less than basic with strong (more masculine) scent.
There are so many neutral, non invasive scents out there such as cucumber or no scents at all. These are few basics that matters when it comes down to choosing hotels around similar price. There are things I can forgo for much less price but these are little things that make differences.
4. Their décor in the lobby is just poorly done or very outdated.
Overall, It’ll take some good effort for us to come back to this hotel paying the same price for so many better ones in SF

It’s great for location and ambiance but the restaurant was odd with food not so great and the room cleaning wasn’t until 5 PM!!! We have stayed at some pretty luxurious places and this was supposed to be ranked up there however we felt it was one star less than what we expected.
After a long day of sightseeing we expected to come back to a comfortable and relaxing room to rest before going out with friends and we had to request housekeeping come clean our room. It was already 330pm! Ridiculous. The restaurant had «okay» food. If you are a foodie I recommend trekking out and eating somewhere else, especially for breakfast. You are expected to pay a pricey $ 80 – 100 for 2 people for dinner or breakfast and the food was not at all worth it. We are ok spending that much for food in a place like this but expectations were not met. Disappointing.
Valet, concierge, and wait staff were above par. Great customer service.

So I stayed at this hotel for only one night with 3 of my best gfs for a bachelorette party in the city. We got there in the evening and PARKING IS RIDICULOUS for a night. geez, I must of forgotten it was like that in the city. The main valet guy was great and friendly, giving us directions to a cheaper parking lot which we were grateful for.
Going into the hotel, It was beautiful and clean. I loved the white hallways and the décor was nice and minimal. Overall the room was okay. Looks pretty standard to me, the bed was nice and plush BUT THERE WAS A STAIN OF BLOOD ON THE SHEETS!!! We made sure none of the girls had cuts that we didnt know about. We had to call the front to tell them and they were prompt about taking care of it. However, that threw me off. I was so mortified that they could miss that, it made me kinda worry about what else was off.
Customer services is great here, housekeeping. i don;t know. If there hadn’t been a blood stain, I might have given it 4 stars, but I cannot get over that unsanitary stain.

Top notch, or should I say top Nob.
Beautiful hotel with a friendly and helpful staff. Located a block from the top of Nob hill, you’ll be hard pressed to find a room without some kind of view. Be careful if you plan on walking through the city though as it is atop the tallest hill in SF and its pretty steep too, but you could always catch a cable car at Powell and California.

Not one negative thing to say… Great service from the Valet parking to the front desk staff to the lovely bartender… all wonderful and very attentive! I would stay here again if I wanted a nice night on the town and didn’t want to drive! The bar area is nice and relaxing…

Stayed at this hotel with Priceline’s bidding system. Got it for $ 109 but with tax came out to $ 134. I enjoyed this place. The room I got was on 2^nd floor room 209 and it was pretty quiet. The only complain is the buzzing noise from the TV but that’s whatever. Not really much of a view since outside is like an alley. I however enjoyed that since I read other reviewers complain about the cable cars. Right next door you can go up to the top of the mark for some drinks and an amazing view of SF. I would definitely come back and stay at this place for the rate. However I wouldn’t pay anything above $ 150 since it is quite a trek to go to the bart and you have to walk up and down hills to go anywhere.

nice hotel, nice rooms, the rooms are quieter if your window is facing inside the court. Staff were friendly and helpful.
free wifi at the coffee shop, but pay in your room It was a little tough to find the free wifi, but with some help from Concierge I got through.
If you have a car you need to have valet park your car across the street for a fee, i think it was around $ 50 a night.
The trolley stop is right there at the hotel to Fishermans warf. There is usally a long line at Fishermans Warf coming back in the afternoon on the trolley. And getting around on the city on the trolley and Muni trains is easy. Parking is tough and expensive, so its better to get a pass at the consierge.

It’s been awhile since my husband and I stayed here. I wanted a not to pricey but fits my standards of a basic hotel stay. The price was just right for our weekend getaway.
The remodel is complete from our last visit but it really didn’t come out as I expected. The lobby and registration area are incredibly cramped. We could see the newly decorated bar area but we didn’t venture in.
Our bed was really comfortable. There’s no complaints in that department. There was only one little window in our room and we over looked the interior square of the hotel. Also, our room was on the very top floor on the very opposite corner of the elevator. It took forever to walk to it. The elevator is also labeled «Lifts». How British.
There is a restaurant or (s) here. I truly contemplated their breakfast options but we decided to go back over the bridge for breakfast.
Another thing I should note is that all of the hotels with in this price range and this area were booked solid. I was able to book a room without any problem here. If it was booked I’d have just paid more for the basic room over at the Fairmont.
Twice this has been my weekend option and twice they have come thru for me. It’s a great choice.

Two friends and I stayed here this past week for a few nights over the Christmas holiday and found this location to be pretty fantastic for our trip as it was central to most of the things we wanted to see.
It’s two blocks from China Town and a super short drive from the piers and shopping. Most things are actually pretty walkable from the hotel if you aren’t lazy like we are. The staff was really friendly and the hotel itself was clean, quiet, and spacious. With three of us in the room we didn’t feel cramped at all.
My only qualm was parking. I know it’s SF but $ 52.44 a day? No bueno.

This hotel was great for the most part. On the same note, it was also a bit disappointing. We rented a room here for two nights and for the price we paid, we had a fairly difficult time sleeping. the beds were terrific but the wind whistled through the window casing somehow and kept us up. After talking to the front desk, they comped us a night of parking, but $ 55 dollars doesn’t really make up for 2 nights of horrible sleep. The concierge was very helpful and the restaurant/​room service was ok… the food was edible but wasn’t up to the standards it should have been for the prices. The location was wonderful and the staff was helpful. The best part of the room was the bed for sure…
The mini-​bar was stocked and when we moved stuff to take a look at what was in there, they automatically charged my card even though things weren’t actually removed. Fortunately, they remedied this immediately so it turned out to be a non-​issue. I was very disappointed that they didn’t offer free wifi, especially since the rooms cost over $ 250/​night. With the $ 55/​day parking I refused to spend an additional $ 16/​day for wifi that I was able to get free at even the cheapest of hotels.

What can I say? I absolutely love this hotel. I got a great deal on
for this hotel last October. We were upgraded to a room with an AMAZING, view. I mean, amazing… as in, why on earth would I ever leave this room? We had a view of the entire bay. The hotel is located on the top of Powell St so as you can imagine, you see all of SF.
The location of this hotel is very nice. It’s center to everything I love & Union Square is right down the street. My friend & I took BART and taxi’d to the hotel. Our trip back to BART was free the following morning since the hotel provided a car service for us at no charge.

Went here for a corporate event. Located on nob hill, its in a great location, but yet, on a hill so be prepared to walk up a very steep hill or grab motorized transport. The rooms are standard and nothing to brag that much about but are clean.
It was on the darker side as it did not have that much internal lighting after the sun comes down. Overall, I would prefer a union square location as this location is may be a bit a hassle for some.
The hotel food was ok — not impressed.

Great views of the city, but an inconvenient location.
This hotel was perfectly acceptable as a hotel, friendly service and clean sheets, but there’s nothing apart from the view from the room that stands out. Walking anywhere means that you have to walk down a steep hill, so you know with every step down, that’s one more step you’re going to have to take on the way back up. There are very few food or drink options nearby, unless you’re willing to pay a premium for being on a hill.
There is no pool, which is always a bit of a downer. Also no comedy central, but they do have most of the other cable channels.

I have stayed here many times for both business and pleasure. Stanford Court is a great value in a great location on Nob Hill. The other hotels on Nob Hill (Mark Hopkins and Fairmont) are quite a bit more expensive.
The Stanford Court is an «old school» San Francisco hotel so the rooms are on the cramped side and they do not offer a pool. The fitness center is OK.
The lobby also does not compare to other «old school» hotels like the Mark, Fairmont or Palace hotels. The lobby is quite small and modest compared to these other hotels.
The location is very, very good. Near the top of Nob Hill within a stones throw of all cable car lines. Every cable car route in San Francisco passes within a block of the Stanford Court. The downside is that the Cable Car bells may keep you awake late at night.
China Town is an easy 5 minute walk from the hotel, the walk back to the hotel is not all that easy but when in San Francisco be prepared to walk the hills or arrange for a taxi.
For around $ 200 a night, the hotel is a bargain in one of San Francisco’s top neighborhoods.
As an alternative, the Marriott Marquis in Union Square is also a good hotel within a 10 minute walk from Nob Hill. The Marquis offers much more modern accommodations including pool but the neighborhood is much more crowded than tranquil Nob Hill.

My previous stay was way back in 2005. Back then the hotel was nice but definitely in need of a serious upgrade. The rooms were dated and had the feel of just an old tired slipper forgotten and buried in the back of the closet.
This past weekend we decided to clean out that closet and dust off that slipper and gave it another shot. And just like the 49ers on Saturday the Stanford Court has made an amazing comeback.
Newly upgraded from the lobby, the bar to the rooms this hotel is once again modern, fresh but still retains it’s old San Francisco charm. Large spacious rooms with comfortable beds and huge high definition television sets welcome you in for the night. The location of course is perfect, centrally located on top of Nob Hill, you can hit any corner of the City within a few minutes.
There is still some room for improvement. The pillows were a little flat and did not offer much support and the shower fixtures might need to be replaced but I have had worse.
For the neighborhood this hotel is a bargain. I was able to book a room for under $ 170 per night right on the hotels website. And there are plenty of other weekend packages that include breakfast or dinner along with excursions to the Wine Country.
Quiet rooms in a quiet neighborhood make for a restful night.

Nice place, quiet rooms, enormous bar and lobby. A little bit up the hill from Union Square, but that definitely makes it quieter than some of the other places I’ve stayed at in San Fran.
I was a little underwhelmed by the room given the price, but the bathroom was super nice (with the separate toilet/​shower), so I’ll give it 4 stars.

We stayed her on a Priceline name your own price deal.
I’m really surprised we got in, and at the price we bid, considering the hotel was booked solid the night we were there.
I had never heard of The Stanford Court and was really surprised to learn it’s a Marriott property.
It’s perfectly located at the top of Nob Hill. It’s right next to the Mark Hopkins and across from The Fairmont.
It’s an easy walk down to Union Square… not so easy back up. ;)
The rooms are small but beautifully upgraded and nicely decorated.
I was surprised there wasn’t an ipod adapter though.
It was a quick overnight trip and we were out until 3 in the morning so we didn’t really spend a lot of time in our room, but the time we did spend was pleasurable.
The parking is really expensive (as are all hotels in the area). If you aren’t planning on needing your car, you should just park at Grace Cathedral. It’s only $ 27 per 24 hours.

Sorry, but this hotel blows. We stayed here last weekend and was way disappointed. On the outside, the hotel looks awesome, but inside it’s a train wreck. It’s in a great location right between the Fairmont and the Ritz-​Carlton. Fancy schmancy, right… Wrong.
The front desk manager was a total jerk and decided not to give me my two double beds despite the fact that two other people next to me got that exact room with no problem. The elevators take FOREVER. You’ll literally be standing there for 5 minutes waiting and get this… no stairs. WTF…
I asked for an extra blanket from housekeeping and was waiting forever. Why is it that every time you call, they say they’re on their way???
Honestly, it’s not worth staying here. I’d rather pay a bit more and stay at the Westin St. Francis that’s in Union Square park or the Chancellor. If you stay here, be prepared to hear the word «No» and «Unfortunately…» A LOT. I encountered a few guests in the elevators that had the same experience. It’s sad when the housekeeping staff is nicer to you than anyone else working in the hotel.
This hotel maybe «Stanford» from the outside, but a total «Travelodge» on the inside.

Got to stay here for almost a week, and what a treat it was! I found the staff to be very congenial, always greeting me as I came and went — including the front door and housekeeping staff. Loved most everything about the hotel, with a few things you need to be aware of:
LOVED:
1. The bed. I’m not a great sleeper and I slept like a dead person.
2. The Aveda products. Although I didn’t do the shady pocket-​em-​and-​skank-​more-​from-​the-​cart thing another user said he did (but hey, totally respect the initiative it took to do that!), I did enjoy it during my time there.
3. The location — amazing views, beautiful, safe area. But there is a setback, too. There is NOTHING right nearby the hotel — there’s a small café across the street in the Fairmont that I went to every morning to avoid a $ 40 omelet in the Stanford Court, which was nice. But in order to even go to the convenience store that’s two blocks away you need to be able to do the hills. And I’m sorry, did I write «hills?» I meant muh-​fuh HILLS. Seriously, if mobility or heart health are issues, this is NOT the place to stay — you will spend a fortune on cabs (although you do feel a bit like you’re taking off in the space shuttle when going up Mason or Powell. Kinda cool.)
4. The price — granted, I was there for a conference, but it was ridiculous to me to get such a great room and hotel and location for under $ 175/​night. Wow.
5. Workout room — outstanding. I know, all you truly need to do is a couple of those hills — but this was a really high quality room as far as hotel workout rooms go.
NOT SO MUCH:
1. Internet access is about $ 15/​day and it’s noon to noon — and only pro-​rated once it’s the morning. So if you arrive at the hotel at, say, 5pm, you’re paying a full day of internet. That kinda blows — and, if you’re staying a while, it sure adds up.
2. The restaurant was unbelievably overpriced — I ordered room service one night, and although it was very good, there’s no way that a personal pizza and side salad should cost $ 35 unless I’m getting a pedicure at the same time (which I was not). Having said that, there are tons of amazing restaurants nearby; you can read my reviews of those should you wish.
3. I agree with other reviewers — the noise is there, both from the cable cars, police and fire engine sirens, and any construction — but I’m a former New Yorker so got used to it very quickly. Not having blackout curtains was, however, an issue. Please read others’ ideas for which rooms to request if you’re a light sleeper.
All in all, though, the pros definitely outweighed the minor cons for me. I would definitely return to this hotel, no questions. Really recommend it!