San Francisco Proper Hotel

First of all: the hotel is all new and really nicely done. Nice feel to the room, comfy beds, quiet rooms. Having said that - the service needs serious overhaul. You get a flood of emails and text messages before you checkin, offering to help with reservations and other things. If you take them up on that and reserve, it gets lost (but don't worry, you will get plenty more emails/texts offering help!). When you then walk up to the elevator to the roof top bar, you feel like a beggar trying to get the last spot. I mentioned the excessive electronic communication to them and all I got is: oh, this is all automated. There is also this odd mix of overly luxurious offers of help (doors sometimes get ripped open when you walk up by three people in parallel - sometimes not at all...) and the mix of professional quietness and stink of marihuana in the lobby. On a side note - not the fault of the hotel, of course - but the location is, well, really ugly. I didn't dare stepping outside early in the morning, there were homeless sleeping on the ground and a couple of individuals gathered around drug cooking setup. And it smelled strongly of urin.

I stayed here for two nights for business purposes. I specifically picked this hotel as it was close to where I need to be in the in Hayes Valley area. At the time of booking, there was a flash $200/night sale for their bunk rooms, which I thought was a terrific rate for being in San Francisco. Being an Marriott elite member, I already knew in advance that I would not get any elite benefits, but the cost was far less than the Marriott properties that provide benefits. I arrived late at night, past sunset, and as other travellers have noted, it can feel unsafe at face value. But having been to other big cities with similar issues, I’m sort of accustomed to seeing homelessness. Once I stepped foot into the hotel, I noticed how incredible this place looked. Feels very much like a boutique hotel, albeit a bit on the dark side. I walked past the front desk as it wasn’t clearly and no one was there. It wasn’t until I circled back that someone appeared. They were pleasant and informative enough, and kindly upgraded me to a double bed room for extra space compared to what I booked. I got to my room on the second floor and similar to the lobby, it’s a nicely designed space. Bed was very comfortable. Adequate space and WiFi connection was strong. Has a mini bar with extra space to put my own drinks, and a standard in room safe. There is a steamer instead of an iron, which worked fine for my purposes. Washroom has a shower only (no bathtub), but met my needs. Nothing much in terms of view except the building across McAllister street. I used the gym which was adequate, if a bit tight. Never got too busy. There’s a few dining options onsite that looked good, but never had the time to try. As noted, the area can be a little alarming. But there are a ton of Urban Alchemy staff patrolling the area, and they provide of lot of support for the area. I observed them, and they make sure the place is as clean and safe as reasonably possible, and I appreciate it. Overall, it’s a nice hotel that I got at a reasonable price and met my needs. Would I pay a premium for it - no. Just happened to jump on a good deal. If that deal wasn’t there, I’d be more inclined to pick another hotel where I could take advantage of my status benefits.

I lived in SF for 12 years and am horrified that they put a hotel here. This is hands down the worst neighborhood in the city, maybe country. SF has so much beauty and this represents it so poorly. At night it feels like they just give up. So much riff raff right outside the front door at 10pm. When I call downstairs to ask a question, no one answers and I have to keep calling. Finally someone answers and they seem aggrieved. Rooms are very small but clean and serviceable. Seemed very quiet on a Friday night but maybe occupancy was low? I didn’t eat any food here but was disappointed they wouldn’t take my room service order the night before, meaning I didn’t have time in the morning to order and eat it. Won’t stay here again despite loving the brand elsewhere.

I originally wrote this review on May 4, 2024, but I only recently learned that the $36 per night mandatory "destination amenity fee" is actually taxed bringing the total to over $44. To correct this error, I deleted my original review and revised it. In my opinion, this fee is excessive and repugnant. The rest of my review still applies. Charming, tastefully decorated, comfortable, clean hotel with excellent staff. The only negative is the $44 per night mandatory "destination amenity fee" which is charged whether or not these amenities are available or delivered. When I questioned the hotel about the unavailability of the "local ride amenity" and the fact the some of the amenities (like free WiFi) overlap with Bonvoy Elite benefits, the hotel replied, "Regrettably, the destination fee is a mandatory aspect of our policy. While we operate independently under the Design Hotels umbrella, we are proud participants in the Marriott Bonvoy program, offering limited benefits to Marriott Elite members." While I would stay here again, i would first look at comparable hotels that do not add mandatory nightly amenity fees. This is just my personal preference.

This hotel is gorgeous - it's super well decorated, the rooms are comfortable, and the lobby has tons of cute vignettes. I have to really hand it to Kelly Wearstler and the team at Restoration Hardware, this is a beautiful property. But with that caliber of a hard product, I expect a modicum of service, and I got worse service than I do at the average Courtyard. The front desk repeatedly ignored guests waiting for service, or was just unstaffed for 10-15 minutes at a time. When I checked in there was someone in line in front of me, and the front desk staff person was on the phone for about 10 minutes, and they didn't even acknowledge that there were two of us waiting - not even a "just a moment" wave or index finger, they were practically ducked under the desk, phone in hand, to avoid us hearing the conversation, which seemed to be with an especially unhappy guest. A friend was staying with me and arrived a day later than I - upon arrival, he came in to the lobby with luggage, wandered around for a bit, and finally sat down after no staff commented on his presence or ask if he might like to check in. I stayed here in June as well, and the check in experience also felt weird, the desk is unmarked and sleek, but it actually took me a few minutes of wandering the lobby (also with no greeting from staff) to figure out that that was in fact the registration desk. Even the actual mechanical process of check-in felt foreign - they have a "fancy" iPad based PMS, which while sleek, felt weird as someone who checks into a hotel 2-3 times a month with an otherwise consistent check-in experience. They seem to have consistently chosen "sleek" over practical in a lot of ways here. Even mid-stay needs like reservations and requesting late checkout felt like pulling teeth, if there was even anyone at the desk to help us. The Valet Staff, who are contractors, have been consistently good, and the saving grace for the property is the F&B program - Charmaine's is a gorgeous bar, with really nice cocktails, and the lobby restaurant Villon has a very solid breakfast - the "Proper Breakfast is a really excellent choice. A special shout out to Jay at the bar who went out of his way to ensure my Room Service order was perfect, and who made me an excellent cocktail for delivery, and another shout out to the new manager at Villon, who had just moved from Austin, who went out of his way to connect with us at the restaurant and cheerfully help us adjust some reservations that the front desk had made for us. A note - this is not at all the hotel's fault, but the hotel is in a pretty rough area, and at night there is a tremendously large unhoused population who host a "night market" directly in front of the hotel. It's quite lively, and not the kind of place most hotel guests would want to do their holiday shopping, so a word of caution, especially to solo travelers, you may want to limit your comings and goings at night. To be sure, in my two stays, I never felt personally unsafe, this crowd was decidedly occupied with their own activities, but you basically have to walk through this market to get to or from the hotel, and it may be unsettling to folks who are not used to the unhoused population in SF. I'm a 6' tall man, so I wasn't particularly worried, but if you're smaller, or a woman, you might not feel comfortable walking alone to and from the hotel after dark. The hotel does have a complimentary car service, and TNC and Taxi services are plentiful in the area, so I'd recommend planning to call a car if you're coming or going after dark.