Short on Staff, Paper-thin walls, Nice Public Spaces
Had such high expectations for this hotel, but was deeply disappointed. Often choose old hotels because they were just built better (thicker walls) and offer quieter rooms even if they are smaller, but that's not the case with this hotel. Every morning we could hear our neighbors turn on their morning news installments and have loud conversations, and we could pretty much hear every time they entered and exited the room. So much for sleeping. We inquired into quieter rooms but the hotel could not commit that other rooms would be any better. Not to mention the uncomfortably stiff bed or the inability to get the ventilation to function properly - the room was either way too stuffy or cold. No in between. Issues, but not deal breakers.
The deal breaker for the Palace is the poor service. Shoddy at best, skimpy in general. It's as if the hotel is pretending to be first-class and luxurious but fails miserably to live up to the standard. From the moment we pulled up we were outright ignored (perhaps because the only other guest arriving at the same time drove late-model Mercedes and we didn't). No one to help us father our luggage from our car or schlep them up the steps. Not even someone to open the door to the hotel. This hotel is running on minimal service - something unexpected given the price and expected "Luxury Collection" caliber of the hotel. The concierge was a complete waste of our time - when asked about transportation to the Oakland Airport he couldn't be bothered to provide us with basic information (once we explained that we couldn't rely on BART because BART was not a realistic option for OAK at our departure time and the very inconsistent shuttle service between the station and the actual airport - though that's a complaint about that airport, not the Palace Hotel). Even checkout service was snooty at best, though. We were made to feel as if our complete lack of sleep while staying at the hotel was our fault. When we mentioned the room noise issue upon check-out, the guy immediately dismissed our issue as if we've never stayed in an old hotel and said something akin to "that's what you get with these old hotels" - even though our vast experience with older hotels has generally given the opposite impression (that they were better built). To add further insult to our stay, as we left the hotel the bellman initially offered us the hotel car to the airport (which was parked directly in front of us), but then - for some reason unbeknownst to us - retracted the hotel car offer and instead hailed a taxi. Fine, whatever.
A little explanation and courtesy would go a long way at the Palace, but apparently there is none to be had. Won't be staying here again if I don't have to. Pity, too, because the public areas are so nice - but who spends all their time in the public areas? The pool was nice. I really expected more. But, there are many great hotels in SF at this price point so why bother with a hotel where you hear every word of your neighbors and where service is shoddy. The Palace is just not worth the trouble.