San Francisco Marriott Marquis Rating: 3.5 Pearls

SoMa, San Francisco, California

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The lobby

San Francisco's largest Marriott, and second largest hotel by room count, this multitower monster is as full of meeting rooms and business suits as it is guest quarters (there are a whopping 1,499 rooms and suites spread between two towers and 39 floors). The lobby feels like a business mixer more often than not -- corporate types swirl around the bar and lounge area with drinks in hand, while guests wheel their carry-ons toward the front desk. The latter is one of the only indications that this is a hotel, not a convention center.

As the city's business hotels go, this is one of the better options: Prices are reasonable, rooms are relatively new (six years old), and the hotel's lobby and meeting spaces are newly renovated -- though some will complain that the replacement of the old lobby with the new has left the hotel devoid of local character. This is a hotel that knows its customers and caters to them well. There are a range of restaurants and bars, a Starbucks in the lobby, a great gym and lap pool, and an on-site shop and car rental desk. On the other hand, the hotel lacks an extensive spa (services are available, but the facilities are an afterthought), the restaurants are blah, there's no room service in the middle of the day, and the rooms are just up to standard, without any perks like free Internet or particularly impressive bathrooms. Add in the hotel's location, wedged in between SoMa, Union Square, and the Financial District, and this becomes a solid choice against the competition, such as the Hilton, Westin, and W, and it's often cheaper.

Bell staffers actively welcome guests and assist with luggage

Given the sheer volume of guests and long lines at peak hours, this isn't a hotel where you'd expect to get personalized service. But the staff is remarkably attentive and friendly; bell staffers actively welcome guests and assist with luggage, while the efficient front desk staff offers a warm welcome, even under the pressure of those long lines. The knowledgeable concierge desk keeps notably long hours and arms guests with maps, printouts of restaurant descriptions, and location information.

• Concierge desk open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.; though the desk is often busy, staff is helpful and can easily look up information and assist with reservations
• Free daily newspaper delivery available, with choice of USA Today or The Wall Street Journal
• Room service available form 5:30 to 11 a.m. and 5 to 11 p.m., serves a standard menu of entrées and snacks
• Daily housekeeping, but no turndown service available

View on a Larger Map

The Marriott San Francisco is technically located in SoMa, a mixed neighborhood of warehouses, art spaces, loft apartments, and technology company headquarters. Its convenient location, right next to the financial district and one block from the Moscone Center, is nearly perfect for business travelers. While it's close to several of the city's best museums and to Union Square, it's far from many tourist attractions and there's next to no nightlife here.

• Safe (though vagrancy and panhandling are common, as throughout San Francisco)
• Far from the Presidio, the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, and Haight-Ashbury -- $10 to $20 by cab -- but then, so are other neighborhoods with nonbudget accommodations
• Just three blocks from Union Square with its extensive shopping options
• Within two blocks of some of the city's best contemporary art at SFMOMA, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and the Contemporary Jewish Museum
• Great transportation access: Cabs are easy to come by, the BART (electric train system serving the Bay Area), is a block away, and buses and cable cars are within walking distance
• $40, 30-minute taxi from San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

A Standard King Room

Rooms here are fine for a midrange business hotel, but there's nothing particularly notable about them, from the simple, boring decor, to the average size to the condition -- last renovated in 2003, they're starting to show some wear. The biggest annoyance is the $12.95-a-day charge for in-room Internet, but that's fairly standard as well.

• Rooms and suites are about average for hotels in downtown San Francisco (rooms are 300 to 330 square feet; suites run from 375 to 415 square feet).
• Beds are comfortable, with pillow-top mattresses and white cotton sheets.
• In-room Wi-Fi is $14.95 a day
• 32-inch LG flat-screen TVs receive standard cable package and pay-per-view movies.
• Bathrooms are a comfortable size, but starting to look worn and dated; shower/tub consoles and Marriott brand toiletries are nothing special.
• Though the hotel claims soundproof windows, surrounding traffic is audible from rooms even above the 10th floor.
• Small minibar offers typical selection of chips, candies, and beverages; no mini-fridge in rooms.

The fitness center

Meeting rooms, big and small, dominate the space of this hotel, while other amenities are clearly tailored for the business traveler's convenience. Along with 117,00 square feet of business space, the hotel does a good job providing essentials for those on the corporate dime, but not the perks and luxuries of a hotel tailored for tourists. There's a charge for Internet use (fine if you have a business account, but annoying otherwise), spa treatments are conducted in a small room off the hotel's fitness center (not in a luxurious spa), and the hotel's store seems to have a wider selection of toothpaste, razors, and replacement luggage tags than San Francisco souvenirs. The Hilton San Francisco offers equal or better amenities in all areas, and the W is a more stylish business-friendly option with a great spa. But if you can live without a spa or any kind of "cool" factor, this is a solid choice -- it's safe to go with the better price.

• 71 meeting rooms (over 117,000 square feet) include small rooms and extensive convention space, and are undergoing renovations expected to be finished in February 2010.
• Large, well-equipped fitness center with lap pool can get very crowded during peak times, especially early mornings, but offers a wide range of equipment.
• Spa services are available, but facilities are an afterthought -- just a couple of treatment rooms and separate men's and women's saunas to the side of the hotel's gym.
• Free Wi-Fi in the lobby, and $14.95 for 24 hours of in-room wi-fi
• Lobby store has a small selection of food and travel-size toiletries, and a few San Francisco souvenirs (but rooms don't have fridges where guests can keep food chilled).
• Hertz car rental outlet is located on the hotel's lobby level.

The location is safe for families, but rooms are fairly small (families would likely want to upgrade to a suite to be comfortable), and nothing about the atmosphere or amenities really caters to children.

• Base-level rooms aren't ideal for families.
• Surrounding traffic can be somewhat noisy in rooms, even on the higher floors.
• Safe, central neighborhood (though vagrancy and panhandling are common, as throughout San Francisco)
• For a roundup of the city's most family-friendly hotels, click here.

Rooms are only six years old, and the lobby just received a major overhaul, so in general the hotel is in good condition. Inconsistent housekeeping, however, takes this hotel down a notch from where it could be: Clumps of dirt on the carpet and random bird feathers on my desk indicated a sloppy cleanup job, and the bathrooms show more wear and tear than you'd expect.

The View restaurant

The hotel's restaurants and room service are typically overpriced and nothing special. The highlight of the hotel's eating and drinking venues is The View, a top-floor bar and lounge on the hotel's 39th floor with stellar views of the city.

• The View bar and lounge serves drinks and light snacks on the 39th floor starting at 4 p.m.; mostly corporate crowd makes it feel like a business mixer.
• Room service available from 5:30 to 11 a.m. and 5 to 11 p.m.; standard menu of entrées and snacks
• Bin 55 lobby bar and lounge opens at 2 p.m. and stays open late; often crowded with guests and businesspeople getting a pre- or postmeeting cocktail.
• Starbucks on the lobby level is open from 5:30 a.m. through lunchtime, with a spacious seating area set away from the busy front desk.
• Fourth Street Bar and Deli serves bar food and drinks in a casual pub atmosphere; lunch and dinner
• Mission Grille is only open for breakfast and lunch