Palace Hotel, San Francisco (Marriott, Fine Hotels and Resorts): Bottom Line Review

Last year, my wife and I made a lovely weekend in San Francisco out of using an expiring Fine Hotels and Resorts credit combined with an 85K Marriott free night certificate that we received from the Amex Bonvoy Brilliant card. We used the free night cert at the St Regis San Francisco, and we used the Fine Hotels & Resorts credit on the nearby Palace Hotel. It was a fun property, full of historic charm. Unfortunately, the service was charmless.

Palace Hotel Bottom Line Review

There’s a lot to like about the Palace Hotel. This version was built in 1909 and went through a substantial renovation in 2015. The building oozes historic charm, with the highlights being the Gilded Age atrium and dark, wood-paneled Pied Piper bar. The location is terrific, mere steps away from the BART line to the airport. But, the service. Man, oh man, the service. It’s been some time since we’ve encountered something like it, domestically or internationally. It’s hard to know if that’s a consistent problem, or if we were just there on a tough Saturday/Sunday, but it marred what was otherwise an appealing stay. One thumb up, One thumb down

Price: FHR cash prices were ~$225/night during our stay, so we ended paying around twenty-five bucks out of pocket after receiving the $200 Amex credit.
Value: As a Fine Hotels and Resorts credit redemption, it was great. The FHR rate was only around $25 more than the close-in cash rate at the property.
Location: Great location on the corner of Market and Montgomery streets, with the BART Montgomery Street Station right outside the front door. The Moscone Center and Yerba Buena Gardens are nearby and it’s about a 5-10 minute walk to Chinatown, the Ferry Building and Oracle Park.
Room: We booked a “Superior” King Room and were proactively upgraded to a “Deluxe” Room. I believe that the only difference is that the Deluxe Room is about 10% bigger and ostensibly has a better view. There wasn’t anything exceptional about the room, but it did fit in with the vibe of the hotel and had higher-than-average ceilings, which I always like.
Parking: Valet parking is $72/night + tax.
Resort/Destination Fee: None.
Internet: Good throughout the hotel.
Service: Outside of the guys at the door, terrible from beginning to end.
- The front desk agent seemed lost and almost had a meltdown when he had to print out a piece of paper with our FHR benefits on it. He finally gave up, but it still took us almost twenty minutes to check-in.
- The desk agent told us that we should make reservations for the buffet the next day, because it would likely be full (he was right). We asked him if we could do that right now, and his only response was “oh, that’s not my job.” So, we tried to talk to the concierge, but no one was at the concierge desk, so we thought we’d call down later. Throughout the evening, we called ~10 times, both from inside our room and later on after dinner, but each time the phone would ring endlessly. We stopped by the front desk again when we went by to ask for help, they said that they couldn’t do anything and that we needed to talk to a concierge…but no one could find them. We tried one last time when we returned later that night, but the concierge had “just left.” In the morning, the person working front desk magically was able to do make a reservation, but the restaurant was booked solid. They told told us “you should have made a reservation with us last night!” I had to giggle.
- When we had drinks at the Pied Piper, we sat in the bar and the service was excruciatingly slow, which isn’t necessarily uncommon in and of itself. However, we saw our server take a birthday cake to young girl and her family at another table. He grabbed plates and silverware for everyone, but then dropped some of the cutlery. He picked it up, looked around quickly to see if the people at the table saw him, and then proceeded to give them the forks and knives that had just been on the floor, rather than get new ones.
- Since we weren’t able to make reservations, we had to wait ~30 minutes to be sat for breakfast. There was a coffee urn right behind the host stand, and I asked if my wife and I could have a cup of coffee while we waited. We were told no (because no to-go cups?), but that the coffee stand in the lobby could get us some. So, we walked over there, at which point we were told that two coffees would be $15. We walked back to the host stand, told them what the barista had said and asked them if we could just have a cup of coffee, promising that we’d take the cup to our table. They said there was no way to do that and that we should go BACK to the coffee stand and let them know that we were waiting for a table…which we foolishly did. The barista at the coffee stand then got angry and gave us some choice retorts that she said we should share with the hosts. We decided this particular game of telephone wasn’t for us and gave up on the pre-breakfast coffee.
- These sorts of things happened every time we dealt with any employee at the hotel. It was truly bizarre, especially for a hotel that claims to be “5-star.”
Turndown service: None on the night that we were there.
Dining:
- Pied Piper: Sumptuous, dark wood bar and grill on the main floor. The bar area is the star here, watched over by a massive pied piper mural. Food and drinks are predictably overpriced and, like the rest of the hotel, the service was suboptimal. Open daily for dinner from 5:00-10:00pm, drinks ’till 11:00.
- Garden Court: Located in the massive, glass-topped atrium, this is the belle of the ball and a lovely place for a drink, breakfast or tea. Both the weekend brunch and afternoon tea are attended by non-hotel guests as well as those staying at the hotel. This is where the elite breakfast is served. Open daily for breakfast from M-Sat 6:30am – 10:30am, 7am-11an on Sunday; lunch M-F from 12:00pm – 2:00pm and afternoon tea on Saturdays from 12:00pm – 2:00pm.

Spa: There is no spa, but there is a 60×20 ft pool beneath a glass ceiling, surrounded by lounge chairs and a hot tub.
Fitness Room: Unusually for a domestic hotel this old, there’s a good-sized fitness center that’s well-equipped with both cardio and resistance equipment.
Fine Hotel and Resorts Benefits:
- Room Upgrade: We booked a Superior Room and were upgraded to a Deluxe. The differences between the two seemed minimal.
- Free Breakfast: Served at Garden Court Restaurant. It’s such a magnificent room that it makes the breakfast feel more opulent than it probably is…but it’s fun. FHR stays get the full breakfast buffet for two, whereas elite members on award stays only get a continental breakfast and can upgrade to the full buffet for $10. While the food didn’t quite match up to the surroundings, there was plenty of selection for a nice breakfast. The dim sum bar is a nice touch.
- Property Credit: $100 food and beverage. It goes quick. We had plans for dinner, so went to the bar beforehand, where two cocktails, one beer and six oysters took care of the whole thing (including tip).
- Early Check-in: We didn’t arrive until ~3pm, so didn’t find out.
- Free WiFi
- Late Checkout: We had to ask for a 4pm checkout.
- Welcome Amenity: A box of chocolate truffles.
Would I stay again? I’m torn. I really loved the building and the location, but the service was such a turn-off.

Pros

Great location, especially to/from the airport or if going to an event or baseball game
Can be an excellent value on Fine Hotels and Resorts stays
Building is just beautiful and is permeated by historic elegance
Food and beverage locations, while somewhat lacking in quality, are full of ambiance