Keep Looking for a Hotel
To give you a sense of how bad this hotel is, this is my first hotel review after years and years of traveling for pleasure and business. If you're looking for a clean, comfortable hotel room in downtown SF, keep looking.
I had an early business meeting in SF. I was flying in the night before and immediately after the meeting, flying to LA, so I wanted an inexpensive hotel in downtown SF for one night. I found the Crescent and after reading reviews on Trip Advisor, I was cautiously optimistic.
I arrived from NYC very tired. The Crescent is two blocks from Union Square, but the block is a little creepy. Entering the hotel, I was happy with my choice. The lobby is clean and sleek. All would be good.
I checked in. There was only one person at the front desk so I needed to wait a bit. The lady was friendly but had a very difficult time understanding English. Perhaps it was my thick New York accent, but she only got about half of what I said.
Took the elevator up to room 401. What a dump! Holy cow! And it smelled *so* bad. Maybe from the cleaning products. I'm not sure. I am not at all sensitive to smells, but this was horrible. Perhaps this explained the Dyson air cleaner in the room?
The room overlooked the street and a parking garage. Noise was pretty bad. The room was in a desperate need of a paint job and overall dingy. The heat was lacking and the room was freezing. 
I went to hang up my suit for my meeting in the morning, but alas, there was no closet. Instead, I had a coat rack in the room. I couldn't believe it, so I took a picture, which I've attached.
I went to set the alarm for my meeting, but there was no alarm. There was no clock at all and no radio in the room.
I went to clean my glasses, but there was no tissue in the room. There is, however, a 24-hour Walgreens within 2 blocks of the hotel, so for a whopping $1.59, I purchased a box of tissues. 
Is this how the Crescent keeps their costs down - no heat, no tissues, no radio, no alarm clock? 
In the morning, I went for a run. The woman that checked me in gave me a map, but just to be certain, I asked the gentleman at he front desk about the route she recommended. Glad I did. He gave me a better route that was great. Glad I asked. The guy seemed good, so I asked if he could hold my key while I ran, which he did.
Came back from my run and again there was only one person at the front desk so I needed to wait 10 minutes to get my key. Very frustrating.
Went back to my room to take a shower, No bath towels - just cheap, small towels that had been washed a few too many times. The towels were shredded. I should have brought my own towel.
Had some time to kill so I ate a little bit at the continental breakfast. It was 'ok', at best.
Finally checked out and asked for a bill. I was told I couldn't get an itemized bill because I booked through Hotel.com. (I actually booked through Expedia.com, but that's irrelevant.) I never stayed at a hotel that couldn't give me a receipt at check-out.
I know I went in to great detail. I just wanted to show that there was a problem at every turn at the Crescent. The only positive is its great location to Union Square, but I would have preferred to walk a few extra blocks to get a clean room with a clock radio, no smell and towels that weren't shredded.
If you're looking for a hotel room in downtown SF, keep looking.