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Club Quarters San Francisco
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San Francisco, CA, USA |
Other
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Decor |
Service |
Value |
Location |
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7 |
7 |
9 |
8 |
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Bedroom
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Lobby
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Exterior
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High-Speed Internet Access |
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Available: Yes
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Cost: Free
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Hotel Comments |
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- On Oct. 08, 2004, HotelDork posted:
The Club Quarters San Francisco is located on the West side of the Embarcadero district, at the corner of Battery and Clay, kitty-corner from the Embarcadero Center shopping mall. The hotel is an 8-story structure built in 2003. The architecture is best described as a re-creation of an early 20th Century Apartment Building like you would find in San Francisco’s Marina District. The hotel has no parking facilities, but there is a Pay Garage a ½ block away under the Embarcadero Center ($30/day!!!).
Now let me take a paragraph here to explain the Club Quarters concept. It is very different from your typical hotel. CQ is, for all intensive purposes, a condominium/time share type of hotel. It’s not generally open to the public, but that being said, no one is excluded if you book through right channels. CQ’s sell rooms to companies and government agencies in a time share concept. So therefore if your company is always sending people to SFO, your hotel expenses could really add up, so buy a room instead. It’s a great concept. Any rooms that are left over on any given night are wholesaled out and can be booked through Priceline and Expedia, as well as others, I’m sure.
We entered the lobby off a non-descript entry off Clay Street. There are two lobbies, the front lobby immediately adjacent off the street contains the front desk and self-check-in kiosks. The décor is very modern and tasteful, similar to the W Hotels concept. You feel like you have stepped into a trendy boutique hotel. We opted to not use the self-check-in kiosks because we booked through Priceline. The lady at the desk was extremely nice and helpful, but had bad news for us…their rooms didn’t accommodate 2 adults and children as they only have either two twins or one queen. I said no problem, that we’d take one queen with a rollaway. Then she looked concerned and said, “umm, well, our rooms won’t really fit a rollaway, queen bed and crib.” I was very puzzled by that statement, but before I could respond, she said she’d change our room type to an interior corner queen, which would be a little more accommodating. I am a pretty easy going guy, so I was happy with her attitude of helpfulness. She then explained our room is blocked and now we just go over to the self service kiosk and stick in our credit card, it would then do the rest. No problem, walked over there, stuck in my credit card and it spit out my room keys. Functional and kind of fun. Immediately behind the front lobby is an elevator lobby and further still is the second lobby, which I would describe as a club lounge. It includes a flat screen TV and comfortable furnishings. Additionally there is a business center with computers and complimentary internet access. I guess this where the business people can unwind and catch up. Everything is room card key controlled, including the elevators, which is a great feature for security.
We boarded the elevator and went up to our room on the 5th floor. We exited the elevator and entered the corridor. The hallways are claustrophobic. The ceilings are low and the width is very narrow. You will have to stop to let someone walk by you. Reminds me of old cruise ships. They are well lit though, and nicely decorated. I work in the construction industry and we could never build a hotel like this due to life safety reasons. They must have qualified for some exemption due them not being open to the general public. I don’t really feel it is a hazard, as most building codes are pretty excessive anyway. We winded through the maze of rooms and finally found ours.
We opened the door to our room, and all the front desk’s clerks comments finally came into context. First, let me say, the room was very nicely decorated with 3½ star quality furnishings. Our interior corner queen room was comprised of a small entry foyer, then a bedroom area that was very tight and just barely fit a queen bed and a work desk, with a tiny closet beyond. Then beyond that was a narrow nook that led to a window which just fit a lounge chair. Believe it or not, they even stuffed in a small galley with a sink, refrigerator, microwave with dishes and utensils.
Looking out the window, our room looked into a very small courtyard, which basically just stared at other windows in the hotel and a small patch of sky above. The furnishings were a good style and high quality, overall very impressive for the room rate, but they are all jammed into the room with a shoe horn. The bed was quite comfortable and the linens/comforter were very clean and good quality. Being a newer hotel, everything was in great condition. Seemed like the hotel just opened.
The bathrooms were immaculately clean with a nice style, but it was definitely on the small side. There was a nice Corian countertop done in a modern style that contoured over the back of the toilet. The floor was a nice limestone tile, and all the fixtures and shelves were bright chrome and glass done in an attractive modern style. Additionally there is a lighted make-up mirror (nice touch). There is no bathtub, only a nice small shower with a nifty handheld unit. Bath care products were pleasant, but a brand I’ve never heard of. Room Amenities include hairdryers, coffee/tea service, alarm clock/radio and multi-line speaker phones with voicemail. The air conditioning worked extremely well and chilled us out of our room. I got a peak at an exterior view room with twin beds (maid was cleaning). It was even more cozy than our room, and is definitely not recommended for more than 2 people. But it had a much better view.
In the hallway on each floor is a Guest Closet that includes items like Irons & Boards, Extra Pillows, Blankets, bath care amenities, toothbrushes, etc. What a great idea! All items are complimentary. Additionally in the lounge you can borrow games and they will even deliver fitness equipment to your room (I don’t know where they’d put it, hehehe).
There is a restaurant directly off the lobby, but it’s main entrance is off Clay Street. The Elephant & Castle Pub & Restaurant is a nice place, typical of your Mid-Range English Fish & Chips joint. Breakfast was good and service was friendly. Typical prices for dining in the city. Room service menu available. We ate dinner though at the Stinking Rose, about ¾ miles away up Columbus in North Beach. It’s a great place to take kids, with food overdone in garlic (which is just fine by me).
The only recreation available in the CQ is the fitness center in the basement.
In closing, the Club Quarters San Francisco is a good, solid 3-star hotel, but is not for the claustrophobic. I mean this is in all seriousness. If you like cozy, close quarters, this place is fine. If not, it will be your Hell. I will go again, but as my kids will be that much older on the next trip, I will need two rooms, but at these great rates, I can afford to. I think though, for now on, I will take the BART into the city, as the parking fees are outrageous! If I were to create a hotel chain, I would take a lot of notes from this place, very innovative, but I’d definitely make the facilities larger! My recommendation is No, because I think 75% of people won’t be able to get over the negatives of this place, but that’s fine, more rooms available for me!
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