Tilden Hotel

I'm constantly booking last-minute hotels in SF for business travel, and this is the only budget-friendly place I've found in the whole Bay Area that was a pleasant surprise. They've made a real effort to make the decor contemporary and appealing; it has a hipster vibe and is impeccably clean. Had a spacious room with two beds facing away from the street on the second floor. Totally quiet. Such a soft and comfortable mattress with good linens. It's an old building so it's not perfectly noise-proof, but it didn't bother me. Comes with the territory in big cities. It is next door to a homeless shelter, but that had zero negative impact on my stay. Great location, really great price (threw in the $50 for parking because I could book a package online), charming style, no complaints. Just what I needed, and I'll definitely stay here again.

Actually it's 3.5 stars for me, as the room faced the street and it was loud. Other than that, it was a wonderful hotel stay. We live in an urban area and downtown SF is the loudest place I've stayed. The windows in our room did a poor job of toning down the horn honking and loud crazy people. The room itself was clean and lovely. It had the most wonderful high back chair, when used with the ottoman just screamed sit a spell and read. Loved that chair. The whole place has a lot of historic charm. We even took some time to venture down to see the plaque for the room where jazz vocal legend Billy Holiday got busted for drugs. The location is pretty good too if you plan on venturing out and seeing the sights and using public transit.

2 star amenities with a 4 star price. They hit the aesthetic of a boutique hotel, but failed to deliver on some of the obvious aspects of hotel comfort. I've stayed in hotels all over the world, and if I shell out $350 for one night I expect to not have to hear the quiet conversation of people in the next room in explicit detail... there isn't a threshold on the dividing doors between rooms, which gives you that "paper thin wall" feeling. Also, no room service until 5pm and not at all on Sundays?!, and $70 to park the car with the hotel for one night... luckily there is a public garage around the corner for half the price. The bed was comfortable and the staff were friendly. Let's just say I was incredibly underwhelmed. The big takeaway is that it's not a terrible hotel, just terrible value for your dollar...