More about Nob Hill Hotel
Hurray For Nob Hill Hotel!
by A TripAdvisor Member
I was looking up the Nob Hill Hotel to plan a return visit, when much to my dismay, I saw horrible reviews! My boyfriend and I stayed at this hotel for one night in December of 2004. One night was not enough!
So when I read all these nasty reviews, I thought it my duty to express my wonderfull experience at this hotel.
Two of my friends that live around the corner from the hotel, booked a room for us as a surprise. We were on our way back from a road trip from Seattle to Los Angeles and back. We were just thankful for the surprise. When we checked in to freshen up before dinner I was instantly enchanted with the decor. In Seattle, I live on Capitol Hill which has many beautiful Victorian Homes. I was in awe of all the Victorian detail that lay before me. Some of it was a tiny bit cheesy-faux antique. The overall effect was successfull.
We didn't have time to enjoy the lobby and the wine tasting that occured. I was disappointed that my boyfriend wasn't allowed to bring up breakfast. But the dishes were china, and I understood when I found out.
As for all the negative comments about Kiki(front desk staff), that woman is overworked.
She was on duty in the afternoon when we checked in, in the evening when we left for dinner and came back. She was on duty when we were up late and kept going outside to smoke. There was another lady on duty in the wee hours. But when we went to go check out in the morning...there was Kiki again.
She was the perfect amount of sassy and helpfull. Maybe if you're nice to her she'll treat you as well as she treated us.
Thank You Kiki and Nob Hill Hotel for a great hotel experience. We'll be back! Give that nice woman some time off.
Excellent experience at the Nob Hill Hotel
by A TripAdvisor Member
Admittedly, I was a little concerned when I read some of the reviews of this hotel before I had actually stayed here. However, all of those fears were put to rest from the moment we walked in the door. The staff was friendly -- Daniel was our favorite. The room was small but clean and cozy. The complimentary wine tasting was wonderful, and it's a great opportunity to meet other guests. We dined at the Italian restaurant one night; the service and food were both excellent. The hotel is within walking distance of shopping and a lot of the major sights. The room rates can't be beat. And if you play your cards right, it's possible to get free parking -- we were lucky enough to do so both nights! I would definitely stay here again.
Polynesian Nights in the City
by SteveOSF about Tonga Room
The Tonga Room is located on the lower level of the Fairmont Hotel in Nob Hill. It has a Polynesian theme, simulated rain, live music (the schedule may vary), and specialty tropical drinks. Some of these drinks are made to be shared!
Reservations are recommended if you want dinner there. They claim a casual dress code, but you may want to dress it up a little for this Nob Hill Hotel.
Fraudulent Credit Card Charges
by A TripAdvisor Member
The Nob Hill Hotel overcharged our credit card by $400 dollars. We stayed one night in The Nob Hill Hotel and our credit card charge totaled $532. In a phone conversation, the hotel manager, Angelos Kolobotos, claims that hotel cleaning staff witnessed evidence of smoking in our room after we had left. Neither I nor my wife smoke.
When I called the hotel, Mr. Kolobotos told us to call back two days later and speak to one of his employees about this issue.
We are in the process of reporting these fraudulent charges to our credit card company, and we hope not to have to take matters any further.
Awful
by A TripAdvisor Member
Had a wonderful week in California until the last night at Nob Hill Hotel. Front staff rude, room extremely hot and EXTREMELY small. Locks missing on windows that open to the fire escape. Coffe maker in lobby - $1.00. Poor excuse for continenal b'fast. Muffins cut in 1/2 and OJ. No other choice of juice/no fruit/coffee out in lobby not in the room with the b'fast. Too many other choices than to stay here.
Lookout! No safe reservations!
by A TripAdvisor Member
Lookout! There are no safe reservations at this hotel. The Nob Hill Hotel has a "sister" hotel conveniently located a few blocks away, and they are very quick to move your reservation to the other hotel with NO explaination.
Management is "invisible" at this hotel. The problems you are sure to encouter if you stay here can not be resolved by front desk employees, and managment in not available to help find resolution to any problem. You can not reach management in person, by phone, or by email so you are stuck with the problems you encounter.
Billing is ridiculous too. They will overcharge you, and then managment is never available to give you credit.
You are better off staying at a different hotel that is interested in accomodating their customers and making their stay easy and enjoyable.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
by A TripAdvisor Member
OK, I have to say that I viewed our time at the Nob Hill sort of through rose colored glasses -- I was in town to attend my uncle's wedding and also celebrate my one year anniversary with my boyfriend. He and I flew in to Oakland airport and took our rental car to the hotel. When attempting to check in, we were told that the hotel was overbooked (Thursday night) and bumped to the Fitzgerald. I was pretty upset about this because the room at the Fitz was TINY, cramped, and pretty pathetic compared to the rooms we saw online for the Nob Hill Hotel. My boyfriend was irate and demanded that our room for the first night be comped because of their mistake. I think that the manager accomodated him because my boyfriend is Greek (as is the manager) and he spoke to her in Greek. What sucked was that the manager told him that she would "take care of us" because of the mistake they'd made. What special offerings did they give us, you ask? NOTHING! Not a bottle of champagne, not anything! I mean really, don't offer it if you don't intend to do anything!
We moved to the Nob Hill Hotel for Friday night and our room was absolutely lovely! It was the King Deluxe room done in beautiful shades of purple and green (it's the room you see on the website). The window in the room, as well as the window in the bathroom overlooked the courtyard garden, which was nice.
Now that you've heard the good and bad, you're probably wondering about the ugly. The ugly was that the parking lot was around the corner from the hotel. When we went to get into our rental car (a Chrysler 300), there was a bum in the lot right near our car who was shooting up heroin. No joke.
I liked my room, but based on our treatment at the hotel and the like, I would much rather stay at another boutique hotel (and one that will probably be closer to a trolley line)!
You Get What You Pay For
by TripAdvisor Member Parrothead63
Using the cliche, "you get what you pay for" describes the Nob Hill Hotel perfectly. Not a good hotel, not a bad hotel, just an okay hotel. If you're like us and just looking for very basic overnight accomodations this hotel will suit you just fine. We had no intention of spending much, if any time in the unexpectedly "upgraded" deluxe king room that the functionally-friendly desk clerk offered us at no additional charge. However one look at the small, cramped room and I thought to myself, "If this is the deluxe king room, I wonder how small the queen deluxe is?"
So, let it be known that this hotel is small, old and funky. While the ownership group has attempted some cursory Victorian-themed upgrades, the hotel remains physically small, poorly laid out and located on the edge of the infamous tenderloin district. The most discouraging issue came in the form of parking our car. The hotel says it offers "24 hour parking." It does not. And if you've never been to San Francisco you'll quickly learn parking is a problem. We checked in about 8:00 pm Saturday night whereupon the desk clerk informed us that there was no valet service, but that I could park my vehicle around the corner at the self park lot. With no other parking choices on the street level I drove a block south into the tenderloin district and found the 10-car capacity self-parking lot to be stacked full of cars. 45 minutes later I finally found a garage four blocks south that charged me $30 for 14 hours of parking space. I had no choice so I paid the ransom. To the desk clerk; I really don't appreciate being lied to. If there is no parking, just tell your guests the truth that there is no parking and set the expectation from the get go.
All things considered our experience at the Nob Hill Hotel provided us with less than positive memories---but then again you get what you pay for. Unfortunately I would not recommend this hotel.
Forum Posts
which Nob Hill hotel?
by ellielou
hi,
I'm going to a conference in early Dec.for work (so they're paying). The conference hotel is the Renaissance Stanford Ct. The travel agency that I have to use at work said that I could also stay at the Fairmont for about the same price. (about $5 cheaper, actually.)
If I stay at the Stanford Ct, I'm pretty sure that I could get airline miles thru Marriott's rewards program. I'm not sure about the Fairmont. But, the agent said that I could get rm with city view at Fairmont, and I'm not sure about what I'd get at Stanford Ct.
So, for those in the know, which would you take: the Stanford Ct or the Fairmont? (this is such an unusal problem for me: deciding between 2 different 4 * hotels!)
thanks!
Ellen
Re: which Nob Hill hotel?
by paulinuk2u
MMMMMMMMMMmmmmmm sounds like a gay hotel he he [joke]
Re: which Nob Hill hotel?
by zuriga
I always stay at small B&Bs there, but my brother always likes the Stanford Court. They used to have a great restaurant there, too, but I'm not if it's the same as back a few years ago. Maybe you can get a better idea of what the rooms look like on a website.
Re: which Nob Hill hotel?
by jfathman
you have to stay at the farmount. that place is really nice, and much more interesting than the stanford. have a drink in the tonga room, its pretty cool (island bar, and actual rain)
Re: which Nob Hill hotel?
by travelmad478
You may well be able to get air miles at the Fairmount too. Many big five-star hotels, even if they're not chain properties, will credit at least some frequent flyer accounts. Give the front desk a call and ask. It looks like a nice place, from their website! I do tend to like Renaissance properties in general, but I don't have any experience with this one.
Re: Re: which Nob Hill hotel?
by ellielou
thanks for the offer to research, but, believe it or not, that's what I do for a living....I've looked at both hotels websites but still can't decide.....that's why I queried the great minds at VT.
once again, deciding between two beyond-my-budget hotels is something I NEVER get to do, so I want to make the most of it. BTW, I'm staying for a few days after the conference, and am planning to move to a no to 1* hotel somewhere.....any suggestions?
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