The Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel

I regret staying at The Clift Hotel. While it may present itself as a luxury property, my experience was far from it. First, the hotel is located in the Tenderloin, a notoriously unsafe area. During my stay, I witnessed people being mugged right on the curb outside the property. To make matters worse, homeless individuals had unrestricted access to all areas of the hotel, making the environment uncomfortable and unsafe. Second, the renovation is a huge letdown. It feels like the "designers" stripped away the charm and cachet that once made the Clift special. Everything is bland and grey. What’s left is a soulless and poorly thought-out space that doesn’t justify the prices. Sonesta feels so generic. And what happened to the Redwood Room?? Finally, speaking of the Redwood Room, their security is overzealous to an almost laughable degree. His focus seemed to be on catching sex workers rather than ensuring the actual safety and comfort of guests. I watched as they approached any woman at the bar dressed even slightly provocatively. I don't know but it seems discriminatory to me. At another point, I visited the gym to find one of the other security personnel from the bar using the facility. I mentioned my concern to the front desk but I doubt anything came of it. Totally unprofessional. Overall, The Clift is not worth the hype or the money. The location is unsafe, the atmosphere unwelcoming, and the management ineffective. If you’re considering staying here, I’d highly recommend looking elsewhere. There are plenty of other hotels in San Francisco where safety, respect, and quality are taken seriously.

The hotel is situated on a top location. We could do everything on foot (we love to walk - even long distances). The staff was very friendly and helpful. Breakfast was more than enough although a pity that so much was in plastic cups, platic forks and spoons, ... The valet parking was also expensive but we didn't want to look for a parking garage. Afterwards we should have looked it up before going to San Francisco because there were plenty in the neighbourhood and so much cheaper.

The hotel has a great location, good service and great facilities, the only inconvenience was the surrounding areas with a lot of people who was sleeping on the street and a little rude with the pedestrians that were walking around and visiting the area.

I loved the Hotel, but beware of the hotel parking prices: $75 per night. So, if you're planning to rent a car, avoid it and save for a ride-sharing service, depending on your plans during the stay. The hotel price is reasonable, but with almost $200 extra in parking doesn't seem right.

We loved our stay here! Friendly staff. Clean space. Great bar/ coffee options. Good price. Would def stay again! Centrally located and easy to get around town. We did park at a lot next door to save about $40. We used Spot Hero to find a cheaper parking spot.