A heritage apartment building perfect for a longer stay
We stayed here as a family of 3 for 4nights, and found it to be ideal and well worth the money. We had a superior studio, meaning separate bathroom, kitchen and living/sleeping area. The living/sleeping area was creatively arranged, with a Queen murphy bed which we put up during the day, to allow sufficient space to have a little living area with sofa to watch tv or relax without feeling like we were in a bedroom. The mattress on the Murphy bed was very comfortable and felt like a good firm quality mattress. With a 21month old, it also helped to have that 'extra' space for him to play when we weren't out. The kitchen was modern enough and clean, with full size refrigerator, 4burner stove and oven, dishwasher, coffee maker, toasting oven, cutlery, crockery etc and breakfast table with 2 bar stools. Bathroom was clean, although a little older, and perfectly fine for taking a bath. There is a small wardrobe/cupboard area in the short hall between the living room and bathroom, which we actually used to put our toddler's crib (taking off the front sliding doors) - this effectively put him in 'another' room, which enabled us to watch tv and have conversations at night once he had gone to bed. We were in room 509 which faces to the back of the building and into the central part of the building. It was quiet and we didn't really hear much noise at all outside our apartment, except the neighbours coming home late at night, as their door way was right next to ours....but no real noise between apartments. In fact, we hardly saw anyone else except in the lobby during our stay.
The other guests we did see, tended to be either permanent residents, or longer term stays such as business travellers, with an occasional short stay like us.
As per other reviews, this is not a traditional hotel, with concierge, restaurants, room service, and other hotel amenities you might expect, but reception was there during the day and into the early night, and were especially helpful and friendly - more so than that i have experienced in many other hotels. Nichole at the front desk was always smiling, and offering to help us. The entrance lobby is secured from the street front, with code access, and inside is a lovely classic clean heritage feel throughout. They even have the original elevator with latch gate door inside, which was pretty cool. The building is heritage listed, with excellent maintenance evident throughout. There is also a laundry in the basement, with washer and dryer for easy self service.
The location is Nob Hill, as defined by Wikipedia and other San Fran maps, and we found it safe enough to walk through. It is about 3 blocks north of the Tenderloin area, which reception kindly marked on a map for us, and suggested not to walk in that direction. There was nothing else that way anyway, so it wasn't a problem at all. We could walk to Union Square, to the West, East, and North, to Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown etc....without worrying. There are occasional homeless people around the streets nearby, but we found that throughout the city area anyway, regardless of the neighbourhood. We took the bus about 3 blocks away, walked down to the cable car at Powell St about 4 blocks away, and were able to get everywhere in the city in one easy mode of transport or on foot.
Regarding price, we booked directly on the hotel's own website, which seemed to be about the same rate as that we found anywhere else on aggregator/discount sites.
Overall, we had an excellent stay here at the Steinhart Hotel, and would highly recommend it for a family or anyone who wants the convenience of feeling at home, in a good central location - but without needing the luxury pampering of a hotel.