W San Francisco Review

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 is still the W San Francisco, now in Marriott Bonvoy (see the box below). The rooms have been redesigned since my stays, and the hotel redid its first-floor public spaces in the summer of 2026 (Michelin Guide). My review, including the WiFi complaint, reflects my stays at the time.

I generally like W branded hotels. They provide a very different experience compared to the normally dull and bland other options that the Westin, Sheraton, Hyatt, and Hilton offer. The rooms are colorful, it usually sounds like a club in the lobby, and the beds and usually top notch.

The W San Francisco is similar to other Ws with music blaring in the lobby and neon lights. I was traveling on business so it wasn’t exactly the type of scene I wanted to come back to after a long day of work, so that wasn’t exactly a positive for me. If you’re in SF for fun and if music and a club-type atmosphere is your thing, then you’ll love it. The location of the hotel isn’t too bad – it’s close to the St. Regis and Westin Market Street, but just a little further away from the good stuff.

Check-in and the Room

Check-in was easy every time I stayed here but I was never upgraded to a suite even after asking. I couldn’t even get a room with a king-sized bed on most occasions, but that wasn’t a huge deal to me. The hotel is pretty small when we talk about dimensions, but it makes up for it in height. This provides some decent views from the hotel depending on what side you get a room. My room had one with a good view, which should look somewhat familiar if you saw my post on the Westin Market Street.

This room is obviously different from a standard room at most other hotels, but pretty standard for a W. There were two full-size beds, a place to sit by the window, and a TV/desk/closet area in front of the beds. The room was pretty small compared to the rooms I’ve had at all the other SPG hotels in SF.

The beds, as always are some of the most comfortable I’ve had. I generally don’t notice much of a difference from hotel bed to bed, but I really love the ones at the W. The pillows, sheets, and mattress are all great. I hope to get home for home some day!

The view was pretty good, minus some dirty windows. You’ll notice two pictures above that this hotel has shutters instead of a normal curtain. This means that there’s relatively significant amounts of light that shines through in the morning, even when the shutters are closed completely. Something to keep in mind.

The WiFi

One point I’ll bring up here which impacted me significantly: the WiFi speeds. They were horrendous. Abysmal. Flat out bad. The speed was about .39Mbps. I couldn’t get anything done, and even complaints couldn’t solve the problem. Despite me loving W beds, the lack of a reasonable WiFi speed was enough to ensure I never return to this hotel given the other, better SPG options in the area.

The Bathroom

The bathroom was small but similar in size to the one at the Westin. There were the usual Bliss-branded amenities. Nothing unusual or spectacular here – but if you’re into nice bathrooms then the one at the St. Regis should be top of your list!

My earlier point about the hotel being relatively small but tall is illustrated here. This particular room location wasn’t that great – it was close to the elevators and that made for a very noisy morning. The doors and walls seemed very thin and I could hear everything going on outside. Request a room away from the elevators!

Bottom Line

So to summarize, the beds were awesome as always, but that’s where the positives ended. Slow WiFi, noisy hallways, shutters that don’t completely block the light, and the relatively less-desirable location make for a lousy combination. Prices here are expensive, and I’d much rather spend my money at the Westin, St. Regis, or Palace hotels with all else being equal.

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