The place has slipped considerably.
The Serrano was a great boutique hotel a few years ago, but time and neglect from Kimpton have tarnished its reputation. When I first visited a few years ago, the property was immaculate and had great service. The desk and bell/valet staff was great. I don't know what happened in those three years, but Kimpton just seems to have written off the property and the service levels.
The most helpful person of all was the doorman/bellman on the second shift. He was sharp, helpful with assistance and directions and overall a great person. The same cannot be said of the desk staff, who seemed overall uninterested in doing anything more than standing behind the desk acting like they were sedated. It took me several calls and I finally had to physically come down to take care of two problems in my room that the desk staff didn't even acknowledge until the valet reminded them to call someone. Sorry, but the Serrano is just not that large or busy enough of a hotel to have such a complete lack of attention to guest needs.
The hotel itself needs a refresh, and the room was small, dingy and quite noisy. The room itself was only slightly larger than the bed, and it felt like I was staying in a pop-up trailer most of the time. The hotel is in a dodgy area at the edge of the Tenderloin, so you could not go out at night unless you were in a group.
Overall, the experience was definitely not worth the money. The only reason I gave the hotel three stars was due to the great second shift valet. If I had to rate it solely on the desk staff, I would have asked for negative stars.