Good morning everyone. Last Saturday, Laura and I did a mini San Francisco honeymoon. We stayed at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins a few months ago, so we wanted to check out the Kimpton Sir Francis Drake hotel near San Francisco’s Union Square. As part of IHG’s current Accelerate Promo, I needed to book a Points and Cash reservation to complete part of the promo. The Kimpton Sir Francis Drake is normally 55,000 IHG Points, but I did a booking for 50,000 IHG Points + $28 cash. Here is what the hotel lobby looked like when we arrived (with a few more guests and people working):
Image source: https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/sir-francis-drake.html
Before I checked in, I did a quick search on Twitter to see if Kimpton was running one of their special Social Password promos. I was in luck! By saying “off duty” to the front desk agent, he gave us a special gift. Each Kimpton hotel offers a different gift, so make sure you say “off duty” next time you stay at a Kimpton. Hurry, this promo ends on September 2.
Two words: social password. It’s back! Just say ‘Off Duty’ at check-in, now through September 2nd, for a fun surprise from the front desk. pic.twitter.com/wWHwIUQaO3
— Kimpton (@Kimpton) May 24, 2019
The front desk agent gave us 2 drink vouchers good at the Bar Drake, valued up to $13 each. This hotel also offers complimentary Wine Happy Hour everyday from 5-6pm for all guests, so don’t miss your free glass of wine!
I am an IHG Platinum Elite Member, so the front desk agent gave us room 1710, which had a great view of Union Square. Here is the bedroom with 3 windows (left window not shown).
There was a desk, 2 chairs, a dresser with the snack minibar, and a TV.
The corner closet had the usual items like safe, extra pillow, 2 robes, and a luggage rack.
The bathroom is pretty small with a small sink. The shower toiletries are attached to the wall. The hand soap was really nice and fragrant.
The best part of the room is the view. The left window is behind the TV and for good reason. Not much of a view, except for the Grand Hyatt hotel. The center and right views were great.
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- Left Window (Behind the TV)
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- Center Window (Looking at Union Square)
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- Right Window (Looking Down Powell Street)
Since breakfast was not included with the stay (just complimentary tea and coffee in the attached restaurant), we walked across the street to Sears Fine Food for pancakes and omelets. Parking in San Francisco is tricky. You could try to find street parking and risk getting broken into, or you could try to find a nearby parking structure that is close by, or you can use the hotel valet and pay a small fortune. Since we were on a Cash and Points reservation, I decided to valet the car for 1 night. After tax, the cost to valet was $70 – not as pricey as the InterContinental Mark Hopkins ($80).
Other than the expensive parking, we had a great time at the Kimpton Sir Francis Drake hotel and would definitely return (too bad we can’t use our new IHG Free Night Certificates). If you have any questions about the Kimpton Sir Francis Drake hotel, please leave a comment below. Have a great day everyone!
P.S. Now is a great time to get the Chase IHG Rewards Premier Credit Card! The sign up bonus is 125,000 IHG Points after spending $3,000 in 3 months.
This hotel is a dump, and why on earth would you bring a car into SF?
Hi Gene, can you elaborate on why you say the hotel is a dump? We drove down from Sonoma County to San Francisco, so we had to park the car somewhere. Have a great day.
Hi Jason Yee,
My name is David Reich and I am staying at the kimpton sir francis Drake hotel with my family for 3 nights on July 25, 26 and 27.
I decided to send you a preliminary email before publishing what happened to me at the hotel both in terms of service and in relation to the attitude I received from the manager Anthony Flores.
When we arrived at the hotel, two towels were missing in the room and we immediately requested two towels from the room service. They told me that the towels would come immediately. After an hour when the towels did not arrive, I called the room service again and asked again, 2 towels.
They told me, immediately the towels arrived.
After another hour the towels had not arrived I called the room service again to ask for two towels again, they told me, immediately the towels would arrive. Needless to say, the towels did not arrive !!
I went down to the hotel reception and asked for 2 towels and I told them that in the room service, the service did not work, the secretary immediately apologized and said now I will register with you immediately.
Also, I asked her to fix me the magnetic card into the room, because it was not working, and she immediately fixed it for me.
I went up to the room and saw that the card was not working yet. I went down again to the secretary and told her that the card was not working yet. She immediately replaced me with a new card.
All this happened on our first day / night, and it goes without saying that the towels did not arrive, and the card still did not work.
The next morning I went to the reception again and told them about the room service and the card that was not working. They immediately apologized and said they would arrange things immediately.
They gave me a new card and said that the towels would be sent to the room.
We left the hotel for breakfast and a walk in the city and when we returned to the room in the afternoon, the towels did not come and the card did not work!
I went down to reception again, and the secretary would not give me a new card without my ID card. I told her that the ID was locked in the room and I could not bring it to show it to you. She said she was sorry but she could not help me!
I asked her to call the manager to solve the problem, and she called the afternoon manager Anthony, at first he was polite and listened to my replies, even the towels that had not yet arrived in the room and the protective card that was not working.
He went into the system to check my stuff and here Anthony started doubts about the correctness of my things, I have no idea what made him think I was lying!
Suddenly he says to me: “Let’s go upstairs and I want to check that the card does not work.”
We went into the room and the card did not work,
I said, You see, you did not believe me!
We went into the room and showed him my ID, instead of apologizing for the incident and trying to improve the situation, Anthony continued to raise doubts about my credibility, and said to me: “Maybe someone inside the room locked him?”
I said to him, You still do not believe me !?
He said to me, OK, I believe you, let’s go down to reception.
We went downstairs and Anthony prepared me 2 new cards and told me “Go to the room and check them out”.
I told him that I did not go upstairs to check them, because we were going out to eat now.
Also, I asked him to make sure that by the time we get back from our meal in about an hour, please be in the room 2 towels we’ve been asking for two days!
He told me I’ll take care of it.
I told him, Are you sure the towels will come back?
Here, I felt the greatest humiliation I had ever experienced in a hotel, Anthony told me, “Sir, if you keep talking I’ll ask you to leave the hotel.” !!!!
I was in shock! ! !
They never spoke to me in such a way and in such a humiliating manner!
If I had not been with my family, I would have left the hotel immediately.
I’m a friend of Thailand, and I’ve never encountered such humiliation in any hotel or anywhere else in the world.
I am writing this email to you in Google translation and I hope that most of my things are clear and written correctly.
We are staying at the hotel until tomorrow on 28.7.
I hope to meet you.
Regards ,
David Reich,
Israel.
Hi David, thank you for sharing your experience. I’m very sorry you had such a terrible experience at the hotel. I had a much better experience at the hotel and hope you could have had a much better experience too.