First let me start by saying that the staff at the Serrano was wonderful! The door man greeted us each day by name and the concierge was most helpful in giving us information regarding city. The hotel is centrally located to Union square which makes catching the trolley to all other sites (i.e. China town, Fisherman's Wharf) easy, however, if you go 1 block down and to the east of the hotel you will be overcome by Homeless people. This made me feel extremely uncomfortable and is definetely something I'm not accustomed to seeing while on vacation. The rooms are really small. As my husband said, "I can't even change my mind in this room let alone my clothes". And the closet smelled bad. We stayed 3 nights and I have to confess that I was excited to move on to our next hotel. I wish I would have listened to my husband, gone for modern, and stayed in the Financial District instead of being sucked into the charm of a bygone era.

This hotel is ok to stay at when visiting San Francisco. It is only 5 minutes away from the Powell cable car station (by foot) and also very close to Union Square (great shopping, Saks, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, plenty of well-known brands). 5 Starbucks in walking distance. The rooms, at least the one I stayed in, was fairly small, with a very modern TV. The room was ok, nothing outstanding. Donwside: You cannot open the window, the air is quite stuffy and the windows are steamed up from the outside, not possible to get a great view over San Francisco. They do wine-tastings in the entrance hall. The staff was helpful but not over-friendly. The waiters in the breakfast room struggled with English. For breakfast I expected more, no buffet or anything. The bagel I had was rather plain. The restaurant in the hotel was very nice though, Asian-style cuisine with very friendly and polite staff. The food was good. The staff made the dining worthwhile, you felt very welcome.
The doorman said not to walk to the direction away from the Hilton (you can see the Hilton from the serrano Hotel), apparently not a nice area. If you can afford more, I would still recommend to stay elsewhere.

Aug 9-10

My husband and I decided to get a jump start on our 5 year wedding anniversary, (08-16-03), by staying at SF for one night. We are SPG members and enjoy staying at Le Meridien and Westin Hotels. This was our first time at a Kimpton Hotel and the Serrano made a lasting impression. From the doorman to reception personnel, it seems as though everyone just returned from a weekend long customer service training. Smiles, "how are you doing," and "may I help you?" from everyone.

After reading many positive reviews, I found the Asst GM, Antonio Flores. I decided to confirm our stay by emailing him directly and informing him of our special occassion. The only expectation I had was for a king size bed and perhaps some chocolate on the pillows. Boy, was I surprised. Upon opening the door, we saw a small platter of strawberries and chilled champagne. The room was very nice and spacious with a jacuzzi (executive king room). Our plans were to go shopping in Union, eat at a nice restaurant (Ana Mandara) and enjoy the night life of SF. We only completed the first two and enjoy the room instead of night life.

We would stay at this hotel again, not because of Mr. Flores recognized our special occassion and went the extra mile, but the overall service from staff. The hotel itself was very nice, of course, cozy and elegant. For future SF getaways, we would stay here versus our usual hotels.

Location was great, two blocks from Union Square. Safety was not an issue. Lots of people enjoying the weekend night life. We parked adjacent to hotel for $30 total per night.

Thank you again to Serrano Staff and Mr. Flores.

I'm usually very cynical about hotels and don't typically write to praise a hotel. This hotel breaks the mold and has impressed me to the point of writing a positive review.

The staff was incredibly friendly and professional: from the concierge acknowledgment to us as we walked in to the bellman remembering our names throughout the entire stay...we truly felt important. The rooms were very clean with plenty of room and plenty of amenities.

The staff was incredibly helpful with great food recommendations that were both affordable and close. They also were helpful in general San Francisco information.

This hotel bumps up against the tenderloin area, but I would never have guessed that there was ever any danger. My wife and i never once felt that we were in a threatening or uncomfortable situation concerning our safety.

My only complaint with the hotel is minor in that the toilet seat would not stay up as I tried to use the restroom...my wife found this trick useful :).

The Serrano Hotel was so good that my wife and I decided to call and book another Kimpton hotel when we return to San Francisco...We booked the Prescott Hotel.

Nothing but the highest praises for the Serrano Hotel, the staff, and the Kimpton properties.