Palace Hotel — Hotel Review Rating: 4.0 Pearls

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Oyster Hotel Review

Reviewer: Michael W.
Updated: May 13, 2010

 Scene

Whatever drawbacks the Palace has -- and it has a few -- you have to give it this: The place boasts some serious history. When it was built, in 1875 -- it's the oldest hotel in San Francisco -- it was thought to be the world's costliest, most luxurious hotel. In 1906, however, the famous earthquake -- and subsequent fire that swept through the city -- demolished the property. It reopened, completely redesigned, in 1909, and it's been playing up its (sort-of) 100th anniversary this year -- note the 10-layer, 400-pound anniversary cake in the lobby. (115 of those pounds? Butter. Yes, seriously.) Eight U.S. presidents have visited the Palace, including both Roosevelts, along with John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, and Oscar Wilde, among others. (For more on the hotel's venerable past, click here.)

A lot has happened since the days of the Roosevelts, culminating in the Palace becoming a Luxury Collection property (one of Starwoods' top-tier brands, a notch below the St. Regis), complete with everything that entails, including the ability to earn Starwood Preferred Guest points and a clientele that veers toward business people and conventioneers. For leisure travelers, all of that adds up to some trade-offs. On the one hand, the quality and consistency of an upper-middle-range chain property; on the other, a less-than-leisurely atmosphere in a large, impersonal setting. Some might even find it downright boring; for instance, the bar takes last call before midnight, even on weekends. Strangely, the most egregiously corporate aspect of the hotel has nothing to do with Starwood. The Palace's owners, a Japanese company called Kyoya, have littered the property with placards touting their eponymously named sushi restaurant, which is attached to the hotel. The ads are so ubiquitous that it almost feels like the hotel has become a shill for one of its eateries.

Still, the Palace is aptly named -- the building is indeed palatial. With 553 rooms on only eight stories -- do the math -- each floor houses long, enormous corridors reminiscent of those from The Shining ("Come and play with us, Danny -- forever and ever..."). Alas, the building and its elaborate turn-of-the-20th-century appointments -- vaulted archways, crystal chandeliers, throne-like chairs -- are the Palace's highlights, and those features might not affect your stay as much as the hotel's service, amenities, and room quality. But I'm picking at nits here. The latter are all excellent, if not quite up there with the similarly priced Le Meridien or W. It's a Palace, after all. You can't go too wrong.

 Service

The Palace is pretty much what you'd expect, service-wise, from a Luxury Collection hotel: efficient and cordial but not doting, and a tad inconsistent. For example, the moment my colleagues, who also stayed here, stepped out of their cab, doormen greeted them and helped with bags. Yet when I arrived, there was no one in sight. That wouldn't happen at the St. Regis. Nor would it take five calls to get through to the concierge (as it did for one of my colleagues) or 15 minutes on the horn with tech support to work through Internet connectivity problems (as it did for the other). Overall, though, you can expect mostly competent service.

• When we checked in, the guy at the front desk joyfully recommended the S&M festival ("Not for the faint of heart..."), which was happening nearby.
• 24-hour room service
• Dedicated concierge from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• Express checkout
• No valet parking; 24-hour parking $48 a day, a bit higher than other San Francisco properties

 Location

The Palace has an odd location. On the one hand, you could call this spot on Market Street a sort of no-man's land: It's sleepy on the weekends and dead at night, and it's too far south in the Financial District to be considered the heart of downtown San Francisco. (If you have business in the Financial District, you might prefer the Meridien (another Starwood) or the Hyatt Regency, which are more centrally located in the heart of the corporate action.) On the other hand, the Palace sits at the nexus of three different vibrant neighborhoods: the aforementioned Financial District; SoMa ("South of Market"), known for its museums and art scene; and Union Square, which is famous mostly for high-end shopping. Locals don't really hang out in any of those areas, however -- you'll need to catch a taxi or bus to find the best restaurants, bars, and shops. The best thing about the Palace's location might be its proximity to the Montgomery St. BART station, the electric train system serving the Bay area, which is right outside the hotel's doors. You can get from SFO airport to the Palace for $8.

• Safe neighborhood (though vagrancy and panhandling are common, as throughout San Francisco)
• Light-rail stop right outside the hotel, which travels along Market Street, down to the Embarcadero with its entertainment, dining, and business venues, and to the Ferry Building, where ferries depart for Sausalito, Oakland, Alameda, and elsewhere
• Far from the Presidio, the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, and Haight-Ashbury -- $10 to $20 by cab
• Just three blocks from Union Square, known for high-end shopping
• Within blocks of the SF MOMA, Contemporary Jewish Museum, and Yerba Buena Center & Gardens
• $40, 30-minute taxi from San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

 Rooms

The Palace's rooms are not the reason to stay here. They're classy and comfy but a bit worn and torn (they were last renovated in 2002) -- and, at 300 square feet for the most basic room type (Superior), they are far from palatial. Although rooms in San Francisco tend to run small, especially at the old hotels, my room at the Palace felt particularly "cozy." Maybe it was the presence of the wardrobe rather than an in-set closet, or the fact that my small window looked out upon another building (though even the rooms with the best views just overlook Market Street). Whatever it was, my room felt far, um, cozier than the one I had at the similarly priced Fairmont; the room with two double beds that my colleagues had felt positively cramped. Deluxe Rooms, which run about 340 square feet, cost about $40 more than Superior Rooms. That's a dollar per square foot. Worth it if you ask me. (Suites, about $60 more than Superiors, start at 430 square feet; Superior Suites are $125 more.)

The good:

• Sumptuous beds with Serta Master Suite mattresses and plush pillows
• 37-inch LG flat-screen TVs with about 40 channels, including HBO and HBO High-Def (although that is the only HD channel).
• Free bottles of water
• Small, but serviceable bathrooms, with some nice features -- marbletop sinks (classy) and magnifying mirrors (useful) -- and some less nice ones -- plastic trash cans (not classy) and plastic cups (not green!)
• Excellent water pressure in the shower
• Gilbert & Soames toiletries

The bad:

• In the double-bed room, the overhead bathroom light didn't work, and the placement of the beds' reading lights was strange -- on the outside, next to the walls, rather than near the nightstand.
• No in-room Wi-Fi; wired Internet costs $17 per day for a slower (512KB/s) connection, which isn't fast enough to stream video, and a high $22 for the fast (1 MB/s) connection.
• No in-room coffee supplies, strange for a hotel at this price point

The ugly:

• These stains, scratches, dents, and mold growth (see Cleanliness, below)

 Features

As you'd expect for a large, high-end spot, the Palace boasts an impressive collection of features. Besides the big-hotel standards -- gym, Wi-Fi in the lobby, business amenities aplenty -- there's an excellent indoor pool, which is rare for San Francisco (although not as rare as you might think, given the weather -- even cheaper places like the Marriott San Francisco and Radisson Fisherman's Wharf have pools). The pool may well be a draw in and of itself: Two teens we met there said they come on overnight trips to the city to hang out and swim. Unfortunately, the accompanying Jacuzzi was less alluring; it was filthy our first night there and drained the following day.

• Free 90-minute tour of the hotel's gorgeous interior, including the allegedly haunted guest room; Tuesdays and Saturdays at 10 a.m. and Thursdays at 2 p.m.
• Nice indoor pool with glass ceiling and chaise loungers; open Monday to Friday, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Fitness center isn't particularly well-appointed for a hotel of this size and caliber -- only a few strength-training machines -- but the equipment is modern (e.g., individual TV monitors on the cardio machines).
• The 24-hour business center (motto: "The office that never sleeps") is well equipped, but expensive. Stick to your laptop unless you need to print, fax, or photocopy.
• Morning coffee in the lobby, but it's a pretty bare-bones spread, basically in lieu of in-room coffee.
• Parking is a pricey $48 plus tax; full in-and-out privileges. The Hearst Garage, behind the hotel, is far cheaper, but it's not open 24 hours.

 Family

Because of its grand-old-dame vibe (turn-of-the-20th-century architecture, antiquish furniture, conservative decor) and large number of corporate guests, the Palace isn't ideal for families with young children. A father we met said that other than the pool, which his three young girls enjoyed, he didn't find the Palace kid-friendly.

• Cribs are free, and fit in any size room, but rollaway beds are $50, and only fit in Deluxe Rooms or larger.
• Limited number of adjoining rooms
• Three on-site restaurants offer options for family dining
• Safe neighborhood (though vagrancy and panhandling are common, as throughout San Francisco)
• For better family-friendly options, see our roundup of the city's most family-friendly hotels

 Cleanliness

Overall, the property is well maintained, and cleanliness, strictly speaking, isn't an issue -- everything I encountered was operational and hygienic. But the rooms and most public spaces were last renovated in 2002; nothing feels fresh and new, like it does at some of the Palace's competitors, such as the Meridien. Herewith, a partial inventory of infractions:

• Mildew in the shower
• Stained carpet and furniture
• Dirty windows
• Nicked-up furniture
• Broken Jacuzzi -- gross water one day, drained the next
• Dirty gym floor and yoga mat

 Food

The Palace boasts three restaurants -- including a sushi place, Kyoyo, that the hotel ubiquitously hypes (see Scene, above) -- plus a bar that also serves decent pub grub. But all conversation must begin with the hotel's legendary Sunday jazz brunch, served in the enormous Garden Court restaurant. Actually, to call it a restaurant is grossly misleading. It's more like an enormous, extravagant ballroom that happens to host meals. We're talking 40- to 50-foot vaulted ceilings, neoclassical marble columns, and six-foot-wide crystal chandeliers, topped by a sunlit translucent windowed ceiling. And that's just the setting. On Sundays, from 10:30 a.m to 2 p.m., brunch is served there -- the most impressive spread I've ever seen (and trust me, I've been to a lot of hotel brunches). Sushi (with sushi chef), omelets (with omelet chef), crepes (with crepe chef), fresh fruit, sandwiches, salads, oysters on the half shell ... you name it, it's there. Plus unlimited coffee, orange juice, and champagne. It's not just quantity, either. Thoughtful touches like flame-heated syrup add class to the experience. And for your aural pleasure, a jazz trio. Just be sure to prepare your stomach -- and, afterward, your eyeballs. The cost of such fine living? $80 to $90 per person, depending on your tipping habits.

• The Palace's main eatery, Maxfield's, is a typical upper-tier-hotel restaurant: classy and tasty, but overpriced.
• Maxfield's is also the home of a semifamous bar, the Pied Piper, and a semifamous salad dressing, the Green Goddess, which was invented at the Palace in 1923 and once featured in Food and Wine magazine.
• The much-hyped (by the Palace, at least) Kyoyo serves Japanese fare in a casual setting, but it's closed on weekends.
• Plenty of world-class dining in San Francisco, but you'll have to venture out of the Financial District

 Bottom Line

Boasting ample turn-of-the-20th-century elegance and 550 rooms on only eight floors (dig these corridors), the Palace is aptly named -- it is indeed palatial. But other than a nice indoor pool and an elaborate Sunday brunch, few features distinguish this business-oriented Starwood from its competitors. If you can find a better deal at the Fairmont, you may be better off.