Hotel Carlton  

Joie de Vivre does a great job w/ older properties. Staff was fabulous. Bedding better than decent. Overall pretty good, almost great.

Wi-Fi was horribly slow. No room service.

Old and charming

I was traveling with my small dog, was not allowed to leave in room for a minute which made site seeing harder, many homeless close to hotel and felt unsafe walking with my dog. Price of 35 a day for a pet and another 35 for parking. Restaraunt was pricey.

Friendly, helpfull, nice lounge

Distance from Main centre, dont walk out of the are at night

I loved the atmosphere and the the excellent service. The staff is very friendly.

Location was ok.

Walls r too thin. I could hear night activities very clearly from my room. Room is very small n tight. Little walking space. Parking was too expensive.

This is a funky, Old San Francisco hotel, charming but fairly spare. It's great for short stays when you don't need luxury amenities, and prices are very reasonable for sf. I had a good-sized Queen room with a great city view for half what I'd pay elsewhere. Joie De Vivre owns this place, and while it's at the low end of their properties, the company's quality is apparent in the small touches and friendly service.

I didn't mind that the room's carpet was faded, or that there was dust in the bathroom vents, or that come morning the windows were dirty enough that the view was somewhat obscured ... these kinds of issues are frequently found in old hotels, and they're often part of the charm. Despite this the place was clean and bug free and the bed, whileit was no Westin Heavenly, had no issues and was appointed decently. Finally, the location is in the Polk Gulch, so there's plenty of bars and places to eat in walking distance, and Union Square is about a 15 minute walk. However, the neighborhood itself is not the best -- mostly safe (I used to live around there), but not as gentrified as some areas of the city. It's really no worse than Union Square itself, which is in fact closer to the sketchy Tenderloin.

The staff is very friendly and accomodating. My wife has an injured knee which requires frequent icing. The staff kept the ice pack in the freezer and provided it when I requested. The free wine party is and added benefit. The room on the back of the hotel was quiet. The rooms are basic but clean and functional. The hotel is a good value. Parking across the street is only $20 per day.

Good price, close to the ballroom

No complaints, nice stay, nice staff

Nothing. It is not worth the $ at all, and it is not up to the standards of this hotel chain. I was extremely disappointed in thie hotel for many different reasons. I would never stay here again.

Old building but nicely rennovated. Great decorations and the staff really did go out of their way to make your stay more comfortable. Super nice people. The daily wine party is awesome. At first I thought, heck, nobody will be there and I don't even know if I'll be here during that time of day. Turns out, I was there on 2 of the 3 nights and I'm glad. It was crazy fun. Tons of people enjoying great wine and a festive atmosphere (even had live music). This is my hotel of choice next time I'm in SFO.

Valet parking (with in and out priv) was nice, but a tad pricy at $30. Twenty would have been more realistic....but parking is a tad difficult and I saw a car window smashed in on day 2 so it was nice knowing my car was away from the public.

Staff were very friendly.

Rate was up about 65% from my previous visit (2008), for a much smaller room. Coffee supplied was mediocre, previously excellent. Worst of all, they put a $50 charge on my card "in case", to be refunded up to two weeks after checkout if I didn't put anything on my room bill. This is just plain sleazy: if Hilton doesn't dare to do something, Joie de Vivre sure as hell shouldn't think they can get away with it. Plus, I booked a King Room, and was "upgraded" to a Queen Room. Nothing's as foolish as ripping the customer off when business is poor. I won't come again.

Front desk very helpful and friendly. Always knew me by name after the initial check in.