I recently had the opportunity to stay at the Rex while on business in the "City by the Bay". The Hotel has what can be described as a majestic old home "Library" theme that encourages a guest to curl up with a good book. I kept imagining myself wrapped up in a old fashioned bath robe with a glass of cognac in one hand and my favorite book in the other. The rooms, which are also decorated with a similar theme, are small, but given the hotel's central location within the city close to the Union Square, the Financial District and Chinatown, it simply made the hotel seem all the more cozy. Keep in mind that the hotel is in downtown San Francisco, so parking is typically by valet. You can try to "self park" on the street, but take advantage of the valet which makes you feel like a VIP without the cost! There is a small restaurant within the hotel which has great food, however, there are about 1,000 other restaurants within walking distance to the hotel. If your planning a visit to San Francisco, you owe it to yourself to stay at this hotel or another belonging to the same holding company "Joie de Vivre" (Joy of Life).

My husband's company placed us at the hotel during a trade show. The hotel is in a nice location near Union Square and within a couple blocks of many restaurants and tons of shopping. The hotel has a nice artsy feeling to it, which makes it unique. The rooms were a bit small, but not real uncommon for downtown San Francisco. The bed was comfortable with fours pillows and decent lighting. The tv was very small and only came with a handfull of channels, which did not include HBO or Showtime. You could however rent a current movie for $13. The room only had an armoire with one side shelves and the other side hanging space, which also is where the ironing board is kept. Not too much space for suits and business attire to be hung. The bedroom and bathroom were clean, but the bathroom was very small. It had a tiny 12" x 12" counter and a toilet that took 2 flushes to flush.

The hotel has a restaurant downstairs, that we didn't get to. We did order room service, which was very expensive and disappointing. The oatmeal with dried fruit contained a bowl of oatmeal with 1 strawberry on top. Also, we set up a wake up call, that never actually came.

This hotel is good for people who are not picky, and don't require a lot of space or services. The hotel is clean and cute and well located at a relatively affordable rate.

We stayed at Hotel Rex during a recent business trip to SF. The downstairs bar was still open at 10 pm when we arrived, and served us a complimentary glass of wine (because we had signed up for their Joy of Life Club before getting there). Very cozy bar with lots to read and a pleasant bartender.

Our room upstairs was also cozy and spacious at the same time. It had everything we needed, though the bathroom was a bit small. An open window to an empty lot full of vegetation was kind of nice... we hate being in a room where we can't open a window.

Breakfast downstairs in the cafe was delicious. And the location was great. We walked to Chinatown for gifts to take home, to the Apple store to buy an iPod, Starbuck's to get coffee, somewhere to get a pedicure and to a local museum and a few galleries. Despite being in the middle of everything, the room was very quiet at night.

I went to San Francisco having never been before and as a lone traveller. The travel agent assured me that I would like this hotel and that I would enjoy it more than going to a big chain which I would normally do.

The hotel is very clean and comfortable, safe and secure. They had a way of making you feel welcome and at home. The standards are high and your room is very clean. My bed was very comfortable indeed. The business centre was free and had excellent internet access. I would say that it was excellent value for money and the staff were very friendly and extremely helpful. It felt like a family business as they were all so genuine. The only thing to let it down was the café at breakfast time. They need to have extra staff then to clear the tables and bring the food out. As I had to wait 20 minutes to be seated when there were 3 empty tables that just needed to be cleared. But the staff were very apologetic and quick once inside.

I am so grateful to the travel agent as I was right in the heart of things and easily able to get to all the attractions and find great places to meet the wonderful locals.