Hotel Nikko San Francisco

Usually longer stays are “bad”, because one tends to pick up more demerit observations - that’s just how it is. Hence a longer stay hardly gets a property five stars from me, and if it does, it is extraordinarily good. However, I struggled to decide between four and five stars for this one. Location: it’s not the only one which is central; right opposite is Hyatt and nearby are plenty. Design and theme: it’s a modern Japanese hotel, but say some MNC buys it, the current design can easily transfer over - there’s hardly anything recognizably Japanese about it inside (rooms) and outside (hall, exterior, restaurant, pub). One fine detail stood out for me - the side panel plants, along the driveway, were manicured like cute little animals! Room and housekeeping: Its great that you can command a lift to send you straight to your level (just press your floor level on the panel at the lift lobby). Inside the room, I like the Bluetooth speaker which also has a USB port to charge your phone A it charges quickly too. The linen for towels and bathrobes is luxurious, possibly some of the best I’ve experienced! The bamboo lavender scent used in the shampoos and showers is wonderful. The cable of the hairdryer is about 30cm; and the socket is quite low in height - it was a painful experience to use it after every shower - MAJOR problem here!! (I’m amazed no one gave feedback on this before….?). Pillows were ok - two big and two small. The hotel does NOT supply a neck support pillow, which is bad considering it is five star hotel. They should think about their customer base - who stays in five star hotels? Generally older people, and it is quite common for this demographic to have neck (and back) aches and degenerative disorders! Housekeeping is inconsistent, but that is an observation you can make only if you stay for long periods. For example, my body lotion ran out by the last night, my body wash ran out by mid week, shower cap wasn’t replaced on three days, green tea wasn’t replenished on four days, etc etc. i acknowledge that housekeeping inconsistency is a universal problem… that said, I HAVE indeed experienced top notch impeccably consistent housekeeping before, hence it is achievable. The hand held shower is very leaky, but since it doesn’t affect me that much, I’ll just leave it - I suppose the next customer who cannot tolerate it will call up for assistance. Speaking of which, I received an email from the hotel about two days after check in to ask for feedback. I gave my preliminary evaluation, and commented on the absence of a kettle (I did NOT ask for it). Guess what, that same evening they came to deliver me a kettle! Anyways I declined it after discovering a coffee machine hidden inside the front closet!?!! Seriously, that was unexpectedly excellent service!! I do have an additional suggestion for the management, though. Some good hotels reach out to customers directly with WhatsApp, and it then remains a point of contact for providing immediate assistance - this gesture would have been the highest level of customer service I have experienced and maybe you could consider that. I mean, what if some customers didn’t read their email…? F&B: breakfast was in the elegant Anzu on level 2, another modern looking restaurant with no hint of Jap at all. Good quality offerings were split into American and Japanese sections, and items were 95% same everyday (I think they only rotate between French toasts and boring pancakes; and between two types of fish in Jap section). Oh, you have to specially order your eggs, or no one will volunteer to ask you. Besides that, service was quite attentive. I love the cute little bottles of ketchup, Tabasco and maple syrups! I can imagine lots of food wastage from breakfast. Actually, since the setup is quite upscale, tables are not that many, service is quite good, why doesn’t the management consider offering Ala carte breakfasts for customers? At least you won’t have significant wastage, and customers generally love that! I had dinner at Kan Pai lounge twice - make a reservation if you can, or else you may have to “take away” if the bar is full - that lounge is reviewed separately. Other facilities: WiFi was strong throughout the property without the need for repeated log-ins. There is a rectangular shallow indoor pool, but you have to get towels from the changing rooms. Why can’t they just stock some towels at the poolside?? The changing rooms offer DIY lockers, steam and sauna. The gym is quite complete, has water dispensers, towels, weighing machine, apples, and even cold towels! Each machine houses an alcohol bottles for you to disinfect the equipment, if you want to. TV was switched off in the two occasions I was there. Alas, I have awarded five stars despite my multiple misgivings as it was indeed a very comfortable stay overall.

Horrible experience. The staff were incompetent and were confused regarding the policies of their own hotel, extremely rude. Upon checkin time, we were told 4 guests can stay in the room however a 5th guest could stay if we pay 35/day. This understanding continued one the second day of our stay however on the third day we received an email saying 5 people cannot be in the same room. Staff at reception (Robert) changed his statement in front of his boss saying he never said it was okay for 5 people to stay when just the day prior he said that to us. Made to feel like liars and scammers. Our entire 5 night stay was marked with extreme anxiety and feeling unsafe that every day they will create a new issue out of something or the other. We were made to book an extra room. It seemed as though the hotel was just after everyone’s money. We were a bunch of 5 girls traveling and the staff did not listen to anything we said. Wondering if that was because we did not have a male with us. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THE HOTEL, especially to solo/female travelers. Stay away! We regretted not booking Hilton hotel which was right in front of this one.

Excellent location and nice staff. Room was very comfortable and clean with good views of the city. Short walk to the convention center and shopping areas. Great restaurants close by.

The hotel is beautiful but the front desk staff are extremely rude and condescending which makes it difficult to stay there. I would recommend St. Francis, Parc 55, or the Marriotts over this one. Also if you book a city view, this is what it looks like.

The hotel was very clean, comfortable, and in a great location. Most of the staff were helpful and polite, and we truly appreciated their service. Unfortunately, our experience with the blonde lady at reception did not reflect the otherwise high standard of the hotel.