The Steinhart

If you plan to visit for a week or so, this is an excellent alternative to a hotel room. Apartments are large, quiet and include everything you have in a hotel, plus an equipped kitchen. There are two markets on the block, so very easy to pick up something for a meal in-house. And it was a very easy walk to Union Square...and a longer casual walk to Golden Gate park.

My experience was less than stellar. Because I was travelling with many bags and not knowing there was nobody to assist with anything, it made coming and going very difficult. No luggage racks were even available. I did not know that I had to know a security code to enter the domicile and after travelling for 8.5 hours, I had to wait outside for 25 minutes before somebody entered to get in. The person at the front desk barely moved when Idid get in. I would not recomment this hotel again.

We booked this hotel for a Technology summit and the wireless is extremely slow. 3G is running faster. There is also no AC! Huge disappointment. Not worth the $$$.

Just stayed at The Steinhart for a week while vacationing in one of our favorite cities in the world. The building is just lovely - quiet, historic and charming. All the front desk staff were kind and accommodating. The lobby is old-world grand and riding the original brass elevator is an experience. The entry is key code access only and makes the building feel very secure. This was the most homey stay we've had in the City and we absolutely loved having an apartment with a fully equipped kitchen at our disposal, while not having to worry about sidestepping housekeeping every morning. Our Deluxe Studio was incredibly spacious and also extremely quiet, as it was in the rear of the building, overlooking the courtyard. The layout lends to a nice sense of separation between rooms (kitchen, living/bed room and bathroom were all spread out with a nice, wood-floored hallway between), with really high ceilings and pleasant furnishings. A large closet in the living area was converted into office space and was a useful addition. The murphy bed was cush and comfy. It's an old building, so there is some evidence of wear, but this only adds to its charm, and everything in our apartment was spotlessly clean when we arrived. Amenities like laundry, cable and a strong wifi connection enhanced the experience. The clock radio with an iPod dock was a nice touch. Despite all the debates over Tenderloin vs Nob Hill (or TenderNob), we found the street and neighborhood to be very comfortable for walking, day and night - as long as you avoid the Tenderloin and keep your eyes open as you would when walking in ANY city. The Steinhart is surrounded by some great markets, sandwich shops, diners and sidewalk cafes, as well as having a very active and colorful student population from the nearby Academy of Art, which kept the atmosphere very vibrant. The outdoor cafes were great places for people watching. Additionally, this neighborhood is very central and provides easy walking to many areas of interest in SF. Parking nearby entailed either street parking - available overnight between 9PM and 8AM, or the nearby Butterick garage on Sutter that had reasonable overnight rates. In all, we loved our stay at the Steinhart, and look forward to staying there again in the future.

We really enjoyed our stay at this hotel. It is more of a unit than a hotel as it has a kitchen, fridge, microwave etc so we enjoyed the opportunity to prepare our own meals after a month of travelling and eating out. The hotel is like a restored older style place that we though was quite funky and retro. The bed is hidden and folds down from the wall which was cool. The room wasn't airconditioned but we were very content as it was cold even in summer in san francisco. The hotel is within walking distance of most places providing that you consider yourself active. Most places were within a half hour walk which we enjoyed. The hotel staff were more than friendly and happy to help with any request.

My son and I shared a one bedroom suite/apt. which includes a small but full service kitchen. It was a comfortable amount of space and spotlessly clean when we checked in. The building is full of old world charm and well maintained, stylishly decorated. There are nice features like a small library/lobby on the second floor or a patio out back, free wi-fi. It's a few blocks walk to Union Square and other popular areas or transit. If you want a modern sterile hotel, it's not for you. But if you like a unique place with character it's charming. I would stay here again &/or recommend it to friends.

All in all, I enjoyed our stay at the Steinhart, but I did not fully understand going in that this place is really not a hotel. I guess they used to have a policy of a minimum stay of 30 days which later got changed to 7, but now this option comes up for shorter stays (we were there for 4 days) even though the management has not adjusted their procedures to account for people who are using it as a short term hotel.We arrived at 2:00 pm to find the door locked. We called the number for the sister hotel and were told they would try to locate the manager who was there somewhere. That never happened but fortunately another guest let us in so we could at least get our baggage off the street. When the manager showed up a few minutes later, she told us about the codes for the door and that if we ran out of toilet paper we could buy some at the shop up the street because the building only supplies your first one. I guess that makes sense if your are renting an apartment for a month, but is a little weird for a hotel. Similarly, there is no hair dryer and only 2 little bottles of shampoo per stay!!Overall, the place is a bit grubby (the fan in our bathroom had clearly not been cleaned in months) ...but on the plus side, you get a lot of space for your money, the neighborhood is convenient and you get to pretend you actually live there as you shop for tp with the natives.I was also really unhappy with the first one bedroom they gave us because there was lots of space but nowhere to actually sit except for one very soiled loveseat in the living room and the bathroom fan sounded like a train arriving. But the manager did offer to show me another unit which was one floor up and better set up. My conclusion is that my initial poor assessment of the Steinhart had more to do with inadequate description [...] site which categorizes it along with real hotel hotels.For the price, I was happy to make my own bed and reuse towels and I really liked being able to have a few meals at home..I just wish I had arrived with a better understanding of what I had actually booked.

Very clean rooms but only serviced once a week. More of an appartment than a hotel. You need to stock up on all consumables throughout your stay. Front desk was always willing to assit where possible and provided us with some items (toilet paper) when we unexpectedly ran out Free onsite Wi-fi was like dial-up speed with the option for you to pay a fee to get the faster internet access. Quiet and safe location and walking distance to Market St and also Trolley cars / trams. There are also two convenient stores located on the same block. Restaurants and bars are also walking distance (5-10 mins walk)

Needed a special service for a couple of days. GM made what we needed happen. Very excellent service.