Le Meridien San Francisco Review – Lots of Suites

I had to work in downtown San Francisco a while back for about 6 weeks. My hotel accommodations were fully reimbursed and the cost of each hotel was roughly the same on special negotiated rates, so I took the opportunity to sample the many SPG properties that are in the area. I plan to review the hotels I stayed at in this series.

Update, October 2026: this hotel is now The Jay

KHP Capital Partners bought this hotel in 2021 (The Jay), renovated it and reopened it as The Jay, Autograph Collection, still a Marriott hotel (Meetings magazine). The Le Méridien I review here, suites and all, no longer exists. My stays were before this review ran in 2014.

The Le Meridien San Francisco is quite an interesting hotel. I stayed here lots of times because it happened to be the most convenient location to my work, but it was by far my least favorite of all the SPG hotels in the area. That’s saying something, because I got upgraded to a suite nearly every single time I was here! Platinum recognition is excellent, but this hotel is just strange.

A Different Suite Every Time

Why do I consider this to be a strange hotel? Because of the 5-7 suites I had, not a single one was the same as any other. Every suite had a completely different layout, and it was just peculiar. Add that to the fact the Le Meridien is a strange brand to begin with (not really luxury, but not low-end, not a Westin or a Sheraton…) and it makes for a not entirely wonderful stay.

I don’t even know how to really write this review considering every room is different. I think the best I can do is post a bunch of pictures from a few of the rooms and then describe what I thought about the hotel overall.

The Rooms

The rooms are fairly consistent in terms of furniture and color, and in my opinion that’s a darn shame because this hotel is so bleh. It seems dark, dingy, and old. It’s clean, but you can only make old things look so clean. The bathrooms were the worst part.

If it’s a cold day in SF, the bathroom is likely going to be cold if it has a window. They were poorly insulated and I wasn’t a fan of the granite color. The showers were old and the whole experience was just terrible when compared to every other SPG hotel in the area.

The Lobby and the Vibe

I didn’t take pics of the lobby (something I’m starting to do more of), but it was just as boring as the rest of the hotel. There were no windows and the front desk employees weren’t particularly friendly. With that being said, I was upgraded to a suite nearly every time as a Platinum guest so the elite recognition was fantastic. Location-wise, this hotel seems to be in the perfect spot for those doing business in the Financial District. It’s very convenient, but despite that the prices they charge are generally lower than the other Starwood hotels in the area.

This can be accounted for in the fact that the hotel just isn’t any fun to be in. It has no character; there’s nothing that sets it apart. The Palace has the decor of a 100 year old hotel, the Westin Market Street has fresh flowers and very friendly service, the St. Regis has great rooms and bathrooms, and the W is modern and has a club-like atmosphere. The Le-Meridien? I’m not so sure what it brings to the table besides being dungeon-like with it’s dull, boring, colors. The views and location are decent though.

Bottom Line

One of the easier recommendations I’ll ever make: don’t stay at this hotel!

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