Lots of Noise, but Great Location
This was my first trip to San Francisco, CA. We chose the hotel based on its "quaintness" and location. Loved the location and wasn't expecting a 4 star room. It was small, but adequate. Was surprised there was no refrigerator or ice machine. (The Jack in the Box nearby has a great $1 Lg. drink special - we ordered that and asked them to hold the soda!) Our room overlooked the alley and, living in Florida, we were looking forward to opening the windows. During the day, the city noises are not too overwhelming. At night, windows open or closed, you're going to hear lots of noise: street people rummaging through the trash bins for bottles or arguing amongst themselves; being jarred out of a sound sleep between 2-5 am by the trash trucks - and they don't all come on the same day; and nearby employees park their motorcycles in the alley. Windows offer no muffling of the noise, you will wake up! You WILL also be awakened each morning at 7 am by a group of protesters with bullhorns at a nearby hotel. That got us up and out early, at least the city wakes up early. We simply turned in early each night - had to in order to get some sleep before the noise started!