Unexpectedly disappointing
I was really looking forward to a comfortable stay in a nice hotel for a few nights - first time in beautiful San Fran! What i got was an unfriendly face at reception greeting me (after some ~22 hours of traveling) and it took the check in agent around 7 hours to sort out my payment details (which involved the ridiculous solution of splitting my single booking into two separate bookings) even though the credit card details had been provided at the time of booking several weeks in advance of my arrival. I was then over charged $369 which has now been fully refunded. What i would like to point out is that once the general manager of guest services stepped in to help out with all of this an apology was quickly forth-coming and i was kindly provided with a complimentary meal. While I'm grateful for the manager's efforts here and generally pleased with the outcome, it's frustrating that it happened in the first place and, overall, The Westin is not a place i'd recommend or stay at again. In addition to this negative experience, (and it may just have been a culture shock since i'm not from the USA) i was surprised at the number of hidden charges involved with staying at this hotel e.g. to be able to use a fridge i had to get one delivered to my room (tipped the delivery person), ordered room service (tipped the delivery person and paid 18% gratuity on the bill), tipped to have my bags stowed, tipped to pick my bags up, tipped to walk in and out of the front door, tipped to organise a taxi or talk to concierge, tipped house-keeping, tipped check-in agent. It is also inconvenient that there is no laundry unless one wishes to pay a ridiculous $3 per pair of socks and $7.50 for jeans! After a few nights i moved two blocks away to a different hotel that was 1/3 the price and spent the rest of my time there. It was far more convenient (fridge and laundry included) with delightful staff and an equally as appealing location.