04/24/09

DO NOT STAY HERE IF YOU VALUE FUN OR SLEEP

by Eatthis

I stayed here the weekend of April 17-19th, hoping to have my Bday celebration with 3 of my close friends. The first night me and my friends arrived back in our room around 12:45 a.m., we were simply talking amongst each other, again just the three of us, we were not having a party, no drinking, simply talking. The next thing I know a security guy is knocking on our door telling us to keep the noise down! They had complaints that there was a party in our room! We invited the security guy in to show him that we weren't having a party and assured him we were just talking normally. He said the walls were thin and we had to whisper! Ok, I'm paying $270 a night to spend time with my friends and I have to flippin whisper in my own room!!! Unreal! Then it gets better. At approx 6:00 a.m. me and my 2 friends are awakened by the sound of people having intercourse in the next room, we're talking the headboard hitting the wall and so forth! Not to mention we could hear EVERY word the people were saying in BOTH of the rooms adjacent to ours! So, not only did we have to WHISPER in our own room but now we were unable to sleep due to the people in the adjacent rooms. If you plan on having a private conversation with your friends and plan on getting any sleep, DO NOT STAY HERE! You will see what I mean, trust me!

• Pros: Beautiful Lobby, Beautiful Bar
• Cons: NOISE NOISE NOISE

12/10/08

The Place

by dondata

I went out to party in the city and stayed at the Cliff. I brought all my friends back and we partied in the room. It was actually pretty good considering we were loud.

06/30/08

All Talk and No Luxury

by gavk

As someone who spends a great deal of time travelling I've become a lover of boutique hotels for their style, little luxuries and the personal touches in service you just don't get at the major chains. These are all qualities I am happy to pay for.

I had heard about the Clift and jumped at the chance to stay there. However, I can only say I was deeply disappointed.

It certainly looks the part - and the gorgeous Redwood bar touched all the style notes for me. However it's here that seems to stem the root of the Clift's downfall - expensive yet poor quality cocktails, ambivalent service without any sense of personal touch and it is incredibly busy (operates practically as a night club) denies residents any sense of exclusivity.

The rooms themselves are noisy, tiny and poorly appointed: our bathroom would not contain two people busying to get ready and had none of the mod-cons any rival hotel in the cateogry would provide (Hi Fi, flat screen TV, etc.)

Finally adding insult to injury was the service which in general was aloof and thoughtless - requests for room changes were declined with an unapologetic lack of sincerity.

Overall, I would say that the Clift is all talk, no luxury and presents poor value for money. Stay somewhere like the W instead.

• Pros: Style, location
• Cons: Tiny rooms, poor service or value for money

10/29/07

It's okay

by beanie77

Stayed at the Clift for a work event so I'm not sure how much they go for. The rooms were okay, nothing exciting at all. Our room was a decent size but can't think of anything to rave about. TThe location is nice and close to restaurants, shopping and bars. The drinks downstairs are over priced and the scene can make you wonder where these people come from. The customer service was very friendly. I wouldn't stay here again and hope there are better hotels in San Francisco.

• Pros: Location
• Cons: Value, quality

05/30/07

Not all it's cracked up to be...

by jak3

The Clift Hotel is located at the corner of a very busy street and this makes their car service horrible (we had to wait almost 20minutes for our car even when we called for it 5 minutes in advance from our room). There is no option for parking except for Valet for a nightly charge of $45+tax (but I think this is pretty customary for hotels in San Francisco). Once parked, you are greeted by pretty helpful people. The lobby decor is uniquely modern with many different sized/shaped chairs everywhere with low lighting. The rooms are relatively small, even for a suite. The tiny 20-inch old style television was the biggest disappointment for my bf who was excited to watch a baseball game on that night. Our bathtub was cracked and not wellkept...this was a no-no for me. Internet was about 10bucks a night when it's normally free at most nice hotels we've stayed at. At night, the lobby area gets REALLY noisy and crowded because the restaurant and bar is open to the public. For the price we paid, I think I would have been much happier else where.

• Pros: helpful service
• Cons: parking, tiny room, noisy

03/16/07

Incredibly underwhelming and irritating.

by giggig22

Difficult to believe how this rates on anyone's list of top recommended hotels. Nothing remarkable here. Basic rooms -less than minimalist with no character. You can hear everything and I mean everything through the walls. To add to that annoyance, upon returning to the hotel at 10pm I had to show my room key to bouncers at entrance to get back in. Not a hotel, but a night club. Might be someone's idea of cool, not mine.. I'll take the W , the Monaco, you name it, over the Clift any night.

01/13/07

CLIFT IS A HIP AND HIGH QUALITY WITHOUT TRYING TOO HARD

by user1242545

This is THE hotel for people that enjoy a stylish paired-down minimal estetic, high threadcount bed-linins and unobtrusive service. The Clift does NOT come across as forced. The Clift IS. This hotel clearly has style, vibe and substance without the typical excesses of sylistic "noise and pretention" found at many other hotels. You already know you must be cool by just staying there, so you don't need to be re-informed by your surroundings or some fake kiss-ass staff member trying to make you feel like you are worth more than your own personal self identity. My wife and I stay at the Clift every Anniversary. Our decor at home is French Country so we feel like we have escaped to a whole new world when we stay at the Clift. We don't require a great deal of hand holding from staff and find forced cordiality to be offensive. The Clift staff are quiet, unobtrusive and there when you need them. The Hotel is cool without trying to be cool. You catch yourself trying to figure out just how they did it. I highly recommend this hotel to people who are looking to experience a hotel outside the typical hotel experience.

12/23/06

That place is really overrated !!! The worst customer service !!!

by lajamesbond

That was my worst experience ever . Even to be a guest at the luxury suit they treat me disrespectful.

I'm not sure if it's all right in our days to swallow everything but when I approached them they showed me attitude and ask me to leave. After everything they didn't forget to charge my card .

UNBELEVEBLE !!!!

12/21/06

Zero Star Service, One Star Hotel

by pdx97204

We made the mistake of staying here after visiting the Redwood Room on a prior occassion. The room walls are paper thin, which made the underage party that went on next door impossible to sleep through. And on that subject, it wasn't until the third call to the front desk that security finally made them leave the room. Also, instead of any sort of apology, the front desk staff was surly and reluctant to take action to help us, nor did they offer to give us a discount on the room because of the party that kept us up until 2am. As far as the rooms go, they are decent in size, but are poorly maintained and the craftmanship is lacking in a room that went for more than $250 a night. Obviously, we won't be staying here again.

On the plus side, the bar and restaurant are excellent, but be prepared to pay big money for it.

• Pros: Nice Restaurant and Bar
• Cons: Awful Service, Substandard Rooms, Very Pricey

08/25/06

Beautiful Hotel From a Visual Perspective

by rebeccamendoza

The CLIFT hotel in San Francisco is very beautiful indeed. Every piece of furniture is placed exactly where Phillipe Stark would have put it and the beautiful reception/concierge desk is stunning in all its Redwood glory. Yet, even with all of this, the CLIFT has not figured out that esthetics does not supercede customer service.

The level of customer service at CLIFT is ok, at best. I have been given better service at the local Best Western or highway motel. I believe that the front desk staff at many times are preoccupied with their own lives (i.e. reading articles on the internet, talking amongst themselves) that when a guest needs a service, they are too busy to handle your request.

CLIFT does very well due to its Union Square location and trendy RedWood Room Bar/Lounge. But I would only recommend staying if you are planning on being out of the hotel for the duration of you trip.

• Pros: Esthetically Beautiful, Near Union Square Shopping
• Cons: Poor Customer Service, Slow Valet