The Inn at Union Square

I had a 2 night gift Certificate to this hotel so we decided to book it and fly up to San Francisco. I can not justify how amazing the people working here are ! We arrived around 12pm on Thursday & we knew check in wasn’t until 3pm. They were kind enough to let us leave our baggage with them while we went out to the city. They called us around 2pm and told us our room was ready & we were able to check in early which was awesome. It’s right in the middle of everything!
They had coffee & tea on the second floor which was awesome!
Now to the downside. They were supposed to offer breakfast on the 3^rd and 5^th floor but when we woke up and went to check it out there wasn’t anything. We called the front desk and they said they didn’t offer that service? Um okay.
For the wine they did have it but they didn’t have no cheese umm.

Great location, amazing customer service. It’s a bit pricey but you’re in the heart of union square…
The hotel itself is older and in decent shape (as we expected in the city). Comfortable bed, cable, and a cozy bathroom.
The standout was in the brief interactions with Staff– they went the extra mile and that’s tough to find in SF.

I’m having trouble understanding all of the rave reviews from the Unilocal-​ers below me. I know that I can’t be alone in my disappointing sentiments. This is why I feel it is my civic duty to speak up. Had more people who share my feelings had spoken up, we wouldn’t have wasted our time and money on this overpriced, cramped, at times unclean establishment. Don’t get me wrong, staff members like Rose and Ann were absolute dolls. However, the website and descriptions are incredibly deceptive.
1) Cleanliness:
Whoever worked at the front desk on Sunday was not the most sympathetic about what I found when I came into the bathroom and what I saw near my pillow. If you see a woman with short, dark hair and an high pitched accented voice, that’s her. In the corner of the bathtub, I saw a few hairs. I also saw a few hairs in the bed. The staff downstairs acknowledged that it shouldn’t have been there. However, they were just «a few hairs» and not a glob of hairs. Um… I DON’T CARE HOW MANY HAIRS THERE WERE! Other people’s hair is other people’s hair!!! I’ve stayed at accommodations from first star hotels, to hostels in Latin America, to five star hotels. Other than in hostel showers, I have NEVER seen hair in any of my rooms. It’s just nasty! They offered to find me other accommodations. However, afte ra long day traveling down from St. Helena with 3 weeks worth of luggage, the last thing that I wanted to do was start doing research to find availability for decent hotels in a city that I didn’t know from Adam.
I wasn’t paying for the hotel, so I had to call my company to see if they would move me. They wouldn’t and told me to make the best of it. I went downstairs to ask for some disinfectant so I could at least TRY to ease myself of the skeeved out feelings I had. The hotel only uses «biodegradable, natural products.» This probably explains the nasty, foggy glasses that occasionally still show old lip imprints during «Wine and cheese time» in the evenings.
I was given different information. The manager said no one could clean my room until the cleaning staff’s return the next morning. The porter offered to change the sheets. When I then decided to change them, the irritating woman with the accent at the front chased after me and screamed into the elevator «my manager offered you this and you said ‘no’!» Wow, that’s professional. The hairs were then removed. There are also complimentary robes and an umbrella offered to guests in the closet. It’s a nice gesture and all, but the robes are ripped up and kind of old looking inside. Yeah, no.
2)Deception about the space:
The hotel is super small. Whoever their photographer was is a genius. If you go on the website, it looks cute, quaint, but roomy. In reality, it’s hard to fit in one suitcase. My mother came in from New York the next day to join me in San Francisco. Upon her arrival, we kept tripping over each other’s luggage. The bed was also SUPER small. Queen bed my @$$. It’s the smallest «queen» bed I ever saw. It was practically a full. There weren’t any double beds available, so the two of us had to share. Let’s just say, we didn’t have a restful night’s sleep the whole entire trip. Unless you are a twiggy married couple or two small children, those beds aren’t the coziest. (And no, we are not morbidly overweight or anything along those lines lol.) I am aware that the whole objective of the hotel is to be a quaint, boutique hotel in the center of the city. It prides itself on being an old estate from many years ago. That’s all well and good, but it’s still uncomfortable.
3) The price:
The average price for a room is over $ 400 a night! Seriously?! For this?! Heck no! You have the pleasure of staying at a hotel that is, in the reality, on the border of the TENDERLOIN (the most dangerous part of San Francisco,) rooms are often the size of those you’d find in a Japanese mini apartment, and true cleanliness is not guaranteed.
Here is where I WILL give the hotel some credit:
1) Most of the staff. We LOVED Rose and Ann. They were so sweet and accommodating. They were willing to bend over backwards and exhaust everything they could in order to keep us informed and happy. Carmen, a member of the cleaning staff, is also great.
2) Wifi is complimentary.
3) The complimentary food:
I will give them credit that: the «complimentary: water bottles in the rooms, continental breakfast, wine and cheese evenings, and cookies and tea in the evenings are a nice touch. It gives the hotel a nice, homy feel. The quality of the food isn’t gourmet or anything like that by a long shot. However, it’s just nice to know that you can sit back and enjoy some tea and a chocolate chip cookie after being felt up involuntarily by a homeless man on Powell should the craving start.
We didn’t realize that most of the hotels are in areas surrounded by an abundance of homeless and/​or mentally ill, aggressive people. That was unpleasant enough. All in all, I was not thrilled with this hotel.

excellent service, great central location for business or to be in the main tourist spots, and comfortable amenities; definitely recommend staying here!
this boutique hotel offers such friendly service, a great morning continental breakfast, free newspaper, wine happy hours, and evening cookies. it feels like you’re staying in a quaint b&b without the hassle of actually having to eat with other people for breakfast. :) the location is great; i stayed here for business and it was central to the financial district. tourists shouldn’t mind either as it’s kitty corner to union square. i liked the 24-​hour concierge, the option to have room service from morton’s (yum), and the nice bathroom amenities. the bed and pillows were also very comfortable.
word of advice: this place doesn’t have any views, but the location and amenities should overcome any hesitations you have. besides, you should only be in your hotel to rejuvenate before hitting the town.
the price is also very fair!
bottom line: i would stay here again and you shouldn’t hesitate to stay here either! afterall, it is #3 on TA! :)

Fabulous. This was the first leg of a mother daughter (teen) trip. The front desk people were all kind and helpful. The morning breakfast was very nice and saved us quite a bundle of money. The snacks in the evening were also a treat. The location was great and the suite was very spacious and clean. I would not hesitate to recommend this Inn or stay there again.

We stayed here for only one night in a Dlx Queen room. The hotel was clean, quaint, and had wine and cheese laid out from 5:30−7 nightly, after 7 p.m. a cookie jar replaced the wine and cheese – nice touch. The breakfast was small but had a nice variety of sweets, cereals, fruit, and even had Almond milk. It was a nice location in US close to restaurants and shopping. The thing that was disappointing is the room we were given was located next to the room that breakfast is served in, which meant the alarm at 7 a.m. included the sounds of spoons click clacking against the cereal bowls. We were also awaken by a loud noise around midnight that turned out to be a dryer that was left on two floors below, fortunately, it was able to be rectified after I called the front desk.

Stayed at the Inn based on Unilocal reviews for 2 nights at the end of a 8 day golf vacation. This is a great small hotel with many extras for no charge. The breakfast was perfect each morning and you could bring it back to your room if preferred. There was a wine and cheese reception each evening, and there was complimentary soda for the non drinkers and water in the rooms each day at no cost. The front desk personnel were so friendly and helpful. We stayed in the king studio 607 at the end of the hall which was spacious and very quiet and private. The only negative was the quality of the pillows… very hard and worn out… some feather ones would have been perfect. All in all it was a great experience and the location was so perfect for getting around. Highly recommend if you like a boutique style hotel.

We booked our stay at this hotel solely based on Unilocal reviews and other social media sites. They did not disappoint. We were immediately greeted by Ann at the front desk who was probably the happiest and most accommodating person I have ever met in my life. I had mentioned in my reservation booking a month prior that it was my wife’s 50^th birthday and as soon as we walked in the door she greeted us with a happy birthday.
In addition, Omar and everyone else we came in contact with at the front desk and throughout the hotel was over the top gracious and very friendly! The continental breakfast in the morning and wine and cheese plate in the late afternoon are a nice addition.
The hotel is located in walking distance to Chinatown and a short drive to Haight Ashbury and Fisherman’s Wharf. I only wish I traveled more to San Francisco to spend more time with these great people

This was the PERFECT little hotel for my two night stay in San Francisco. It’s incredibly quaint and charming, but still professional with great attention to detail. Plus, the location is unbeatable.
I would stay here over any big chain or fancy hotel in the area. There is breakfast every morning from 7 – 10 and wine and cheese offered every evening. They even drop a San Francisco Chronicle newspaper at your door every morning. It was wonderful to wake up here in my little SF hotel and then head to work.
The rooms are nice as well. I had a queen sized bed with a bathroom and adjacent living room area. Very clean, comfortable bed, ironing board available, etc.
No complaints at all from me. This hotel is a gem!

You couldn’t ask for a better location. Lots of shopping and good food all around you. The staff here is extremely accommodating and their breakfast (Peets coffee) and free happy hour offerings are great. We found our room to be very clean and though were given one of the handicapped rooms, it ended up being perfect for us… the backside of the building and so quiet. The bed and furniture were very comfortable. Yes, it’s an old SF building, and yes, there is the typical city street noise, but they are doing a great job of making sure you are comfortable and happy. We had no issues with check in or check out and plan to stay here again in the future!

Checked in today and I have to say this is the best service I have ever received at a hotel. They genuinely care about their customers.
Since it was my birthday, the lovely staff left a box of chocolates, birthday note as well as champagne in my room .
Will definitely have to come back and stay here .
And don’t forget about their complementary breakfast and wine/​cheese evenings !!

We loved everything about our stay. The location is perfect, near lots eating, shopping and buses. We had the queen suite which was perfect! You have a totally separate living room. They pay attention to the small details. The staff were very friendly and helpful. We enjoyed the complimentary water, breakfast, wine and cheese and the Aveda bathroom products. The flat screens in both rooms is a plus as well. We will definitely visit this gem again. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars was there is no air conditioning or king size beds. Granted, we were ok with the fans and windows open in early October.

Absolutely loved my visit here. I was able to find this hotel through Hotel Tonight for a discounted rate. When i arrived the front desk greeted me with a big smile and seemed very friendly. I got checked into my room quickly. Cookies, coffee and tea was available to me on my floor to add a special touch. My room was clean and spacious. Bathroom was huge and designer toiletries were provided. Satellite tv and comfy bed was also provided. I would def recommend to others. Oh yeah, and it was quiet considering it being in the heart of SF.

Loved this little boutique hotel. Perfect location next to fun things to do in San Fran. Many great restaurants and bars within walking distance and super close to anything San Fran has to offer. Hotel staff was super sweet and the rooms were gorgeous. They even have a wine and cheese happy hour on every floor, every night. Was a great way to meet other guests and find fun things to do. Loved the experience!

The best service we have had on our entire trip. The staff is OVER THE TOP friendly and make your stay so enjoyable. Wayne is a wealth of knowledge with local suggestions and is fun to talk to… he is truly interested in your trip and making it a wonderful experience. Our only negative is that we didn’t stay longer. We strongly recommend this place if you want over the top service at a great price. Oh and the breakfast setup is great too!

This is going to be a roller-​coaster of a review. We arrived late on Wednesday night and the welcome was very warm. The room was little smaller that I expected, but was neat, clean and comfortable. The TV was above average and all the little welcome chocolates and little notes were a nice touch. The bed was terrible and by morning we were in pain. I mentioned to staff and we were upgraded to a slightly larger room with a much more comfortable bed. I very much appreciated this. Our belongings were moved for us while we were at lunch and unfortunately the shirts in the wardrobe and bathroom stuff were forgotten — no worries, they were soon retrieved and we were given a complementary bottle of champagne and some chocolates and a lovely note of apology — again — great service.
The rest of the stay was wonderful, except for needing ice and… the icemaker was broken.
It all went wrong at checkout. I had paid for the whole trip in advance on Orbitz. However, after leaving, I got a text from my bank saying that the hotel had changed my credit card ($ 30 + $ 30 + $ 1199.73 = $ 1259). This is a significant amount of money for me. I called the hotel and they apologized citing a ‘new computer system’. In an effort to reverse the error — imagine my disbelief when they charged another $ 1169.73 I called again, more apologies. The hotel called me back an hour later telling me everything was fixed. When I checked with my bank they have changed me an additional $ 1200. I now have more than $ 3628 of bogus changed on my credit card as of 24 hours after the incident. STILL NOT FIXED
This outrageous treatment has left me feeling very sick about the entire stay at this hotel. It is very sad that I have been treated in this way.
⁶⁄₉ Update: STILL NOT FIXED
⁶⁄₁₀ Update: STILL NOT FIXED
⁶⁄₁₁ Update: Partly fixed, $ 1229.73 still owed to me
⁶⁄₁₂ Update: $ 1229.73 still owed to me
⁶⁄₁₂ Update Received the apology comment (see below) from the General Manager saying that everything was processed at their end but working its way through my bank (out of the Hotel’s control) Then received a phone call of apology from the Manager Ken stating the reverse i.e. they made another mistake and the refund was not processed correctly. He has now (⁶⁄₁₂) fixed that.
⁶⁄₁₃ Update: Still no money back in my bank $ 1229.73 still owed
⁶⁄₁₄ Update: No change, $ 1229.73 still owed
⁶⁄₁₅ Update: No change, $ 1229.73 still owed
⁶⁄₁₆ FINAL UPDATE — Fixed!

Everything was excellent. Location was fantastic, rooms were super clean and service was great! We opted for a smaller bed to get a better view and it worked out just fine. Beds were comfy and they had good quality Aveda products for hair & body. Very cozy and quaint. Breakfast & afternoon tea/​cheese included, can’t beat that!!!

I’m starting this review with a shout out (and, yes, I am ashamed for the aforementioned words): management at The Inn at Union Square know how to take care of their guests. Omar was/​is the man at night and Ann couldn’t have been a better introduction to the hotel if she tried. This woman is sweetness, light, information, and courtesy. She embodies everything you want to experience at a boutique hotel.
To begin with, the Inn is not for everyone. It’s an older, charming boutique hotel in the middle of SF. If you skew towards the newer, the modern and/​or the shiny, I don’t know that you would enjoy yourself. BUT, if classic bedposts, comfy furniture and tight environs don’t bother you, I think you could have a terrific stay here.
I arrived to the hotel disheveled and in disarray. As much as I love calling others hot messes, i deserved the title that Monday morning. I called Ann because i couldn’t seem to figure out where I was going. I also complained to her that I was a hot mess. She laughed, gave great directions and promised to be there waiting for me upon arrival. Too bad for me I arrived before check-​in. Ann took my bags, gave me some advice on where to go and promised to call when my room was ready. I hadn’t gotten two rounds in my Union Square knife-​fight before she called. For my waiting ‘troubles’ I was bumped up to a jr suite. Yaaasss. I went to the top floor, rounded a corner and found a sitting area, overstuffed couch, big bed, classic furniture, a decent-​sized bathroom (with separate bath and sink), and two walls of windows. Me likey. During my stay, I found staff to be helpful and guests to be friendly. The wine hours may have had something to do with both findings but that’s neither here nor there. Hotel stays in big cities can be cumbersome, traumatic and expensive. I am glad to report that my experience at The Inn at Union Square was none of those things. Just go in to the stay knowing what you’re getting.
After all, knowing is half the battle.
G.I. Joooooeeeee!!!111!!!1!!!

I feel bad for many hotels in downtown San Francisco because they are victims of their environment: ancient buildings, noisy surrounding streets and old infrastructure that is really no fault of their own. The Inn at Union Square is another victim of those unalterable realities, but they seem to do the best they can at modernizing the hotel and making your experience as comfortable as possible.
The lady at the front desk was sweet, inquisitive and insistent on knowing if there was anything they could do to make my stay better. The room was dark with a strange layout and a a big comfy bed. Overall, I’d describe the hotels décor as «dated classic,» with a lot of pleasant furniture that could use an update. Most importantly, everything was thoroughly clean, from the bed to the sink to the floors.
All those unavoidable issues were still there, but they do their best with what they have. Maybe if it weren’t so expensive (like every overpriced hotel in SF) it would feel like a much better stay for the value.

You can’t miss this hotel as it is coloured green on the outside which makes it stand out. The hotel has a gold — red theme to it including the rooms.
Upon arrival at the hotel, I was greeted by a lovely receptionist. She was very cheerful and polite made me feel very at home. The reception area is wee bit small and the corridor were a bit tight. The lift is also small but then again you don’t really go in and out of hotel a lot so negligible.
I feel that the price for that room was a bit too expensive at $ 270 per night. But I suppose anything at Union Square is expensive. The room was a bit more spacious than some of those I stayed near Union Square. The room and toilet fittings are by normal standard. The beds are big and comfortable though.
There is also free complimentary wi-​fi for the room and there is a turn down service in the evening where they provide chocolate for when you come back tired from a whole day of walking. There is no coffee or tea making facilities in the room but they are outside at the sitting area with free fruits all day.
The breakfast provided is normal like any other hotels, cereals, juices etc. But one thing I realised about this hotel that I have never experienced is that it has a complimentary wine and cheese every evening. You are free to mingle with other hotel guests or just get a glass of wine for your own room. It is on every alternate floor I think.
I think the real good thing about this hotel is the Location as it is just at Union Square. Although it is right bang in the city centre it is surprisingly quite quiet in the rooms so you will get a real good night sleep.