Fantastic hotel with that grand and beautiful lobby on entry , very friendly check-in staff who kindly offered us a rollaway bed so the three children didn't have to share two double beds. The concierge were always friendly offering great restaurant advice for dinner. room was fairly large which was very clean and well maintained. The breakfast buffet Laurel Court is terrific!

We stayed at the Fairmont as part of a wedding party otherwise we probably wouldn't have picked it. Try and get a room high up - preferably in a corner - we were in 614 and had three huge windows with the most incredible views south over the city. We didn't draw the curtains at night so we could wake up and see the view.

Everyone else talks about service and the lobby so I'll keep my review to this - don't stay here if you can't manage walking up hills. The Fairmont website claims to be close to the BART station, which isn't exactly a lie, but the map doesn't show hills. The Fairmont is at the top of one. A steep one.

Luckily, we braved the streets and traffic and drove our bags to the hotel before dropping the car off at the airport after having been to Napa. Frankly we wouldn't have made the hills, up or down, with our luggage. Even without heavy bags, the hills do put you off coming and going more than once a day, unless you are either driving or are prepared to pay for taxis everywhere.

If nothing else, to say you stayed at the Fairmont San Francisco is a real buzz so you forgive the hills and the fraying decor (as did John McCain who stayed there 2 days before us), and you're guaranteed to always find you hotel in SF/USA guide books - it's a city landmark.

My wife and I stayed at the Fairmont for two nights, 7/26 and 7/27 and we were quite impressed with the grand lobby. In addition, having gotten a super rate with Expedia for 60% off, we upgraded to a Tower Room with a scenic view of Union Square and the rooftop gardens.

The room was very spacious, with a comfortable king-size bed, separate desk and dresser. The bathroom was very luxurious, with a glass-enclosed shower and marble sinks and counter.

As for the location, we LOVED being on top of Nob Hill. I got two 3-day MUNI passes, so we walked DOWN the hills for breakfast and took the cable cars UP the hills afterwards.

For the folks that bad-mouthed the hotel as being dated, I much prefer these turn-of-the-century grand dames to the cookie cutter Marriotts and Hiltons that look the same in every city. A good suggestion is to join their Presidents Club for free and then you get free internet access and free gym usages.

We stayed in the Atherton Suite for 2 nights in June 2008. We booked this hotel (and this room) because we got a great rate on Expedia during one of their 60% off one-day sales.

Check in was fast, courteous, and very efficient. We were given detailed directions on getting from the check-in area to our room which was in the tower addition.

The first thing we noticed upon entry into our room was the fact that there was a strange juxtaposition between very dated furniture and fixtures, and the modern. There was a big flat panel television, but some couches done up in fabrics clearly from the early 80s. The curtains were heavy, and gold-colored, but the bed was almost brand new, plush, and comfortable. There was an iPod dockable clock-radio in the bedroom.

The bathroom was fantastic, reminiscent of the setup of the Intercontinentals we've stayed at: nice deep bath on one side, shower on the other (this one with a rain shower head). The bathroon was spacious, and the tub had great water pressure for producing an excellent bubblebath (did I mention it was deep?)

There were sliding doors to block off the sitting area from the sleeping area, which was nice, and also separate temperature controls. Being in a corner suite, due to the hotel's layout, we had no neighbors on any side -- so our room was wonderfully quiet.

We didn't eat any meals at the hotel, but we did check out the Tonga Room (kitschy) -- drinks and the "buffet" were pretty expensive and not really worth the atmosphere, we thought. We did enjoy the Laurel Court bar, which was quieter, and had more comfortable seating on couches and such.

Overall, the hotel definitely lives up to its reputation.

We likely won't stay at the Fairmont again, unless Expedia has another sale like they did! -- and if we did stay again, we'd probably try to check out a room in the main building.