Hilton San Francisco Union Square

I am just finishing up a week-long stay here (was here for the RSA conference). I'll try not to make the review too long, but hopefully it is helpful to people. Let me start by saying that the staff I interacted with were great. Friendly, always willing to try and do what they could to help. If I were just rating the staff, the review would be five stars. For personal stays (meaning not funded by your company), unless you need the points/nights/stays to secure your HHonors status, I would pick another Hilton (say Parc 55) or try for the Marriott or Westin just a few blocks away.. This is one of Hilton's convention hotels, which means that all of the services and pricing is geared towards extracting the maximum amount of money from people who will ultimately just expense everything anyway. Your HHonors Gold or Diamond status is meaningless to this Hilton property as you're not the kind of client they are focusing on. Here are the reasons why I rated Hilton so poorly: House Keeping Cleaning Times * The hotel loses one star when housekeeping starts knocking on doors at just after 08:00am. The first time was on a Sunday. There's no reason to do that on a Sunday for a guest who isn't checking out. * On the Tuesday, after just coming back from the (very nice) hotel gym, I had barely gotten into the shower before they entered my room. I screamed at them to get out, which they then interpreted as me not wanting my room to be cleaned. * On Wednesday, they made the bed, but they used a sheet with holes in it No Executive Lounge * There is no Executive Lounge at this property. I sort of get it, when you are focused on conference attendees, they probably did the math and decided they couldn't afford a lounge. * But the Westin and the Marriott properties nearby manage to have lounges - more on this in a moment. Food prices at property * Food at the property has an insane markup of 20-30% compared to the surrounding area. * Breakfast is overly expensive. They want $60 for a very basic buffet breakfast at their Poached restaurant (including a mandatory service charge). Even if you are Hilton Diamond and get the $18 daily credit (save that credit for the $8 coffees or $6 bottles of water), you're paying about $40 for breakfast. If you decide to skip it and get the hot items from Herb & Kitchen and an orange juice, expect to pay $30 for breakfast. * I recommend to skip the Hilton entirely for breakfast, as you're surrounded with awesome cafes (Pine, Mason, and Taylor St) where for the same $30-40, you'll get cooked-to-order breakfast instead of the assembly line limited buffet. I was chatting with some people in line to get seated at the Mason cafe one morning, and it turns out that 40% of the queue were Hilton Union Square guests (we had a good laugh about that). * Interestingly, some colleagues over at the Westin informed me that due to their Bonvoy Elite status they got breakfast at the Westin Club. I can tell you that they get the same breakfast items for free that the Hilton charges for. In summary, I don't think hotel is a good value for leisure travellers, Hilton HHonors Gold or Diamond members, most business travellers, or for people attending conferences not on the property itself.. I think you can get better value elsewhere - including at other Hilton properties in the area. Would I stay here again? Maybe, if the reason was a conference located in the hotel itself. Once you have been to enough Hilton properties around the US and the world, it's just obvious that this Hilton focuses on the niche conference attendee market. If you aren't in that use case, then there is very little value to stay there . Read less

As with most Hiltons, this is rough around the edges. Staff were grumpy on reception, simple questions seemed to confuse them. They never smiled. Room was a good size but dull. Parking is over $70/day! There was loads of space when I was there. Location is right in the edge of Tenderloin so I was told to be extra careful (although that applies to most of SF sadly). No restaurant. There is a shop/cafe which is 24hrs which is great. Prices are eye watering though. $10 for a small bottle of smart water. Bagel and a coffee is well over $20. I’d avoid the place. Read less

We stayed here for 2 nights as a stopover before flying to New Zealand. Wish we could have spent more time there! Excellent location for Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39 and Cable cars. The hotel is modern, clean ,very comfortable , great sleep. The buffet breakfast is truly wonderful- you name it they have it!! Staff are very friend welcoming, great fire pits and comfy seats if you fancy an evening drink outside. Read less