Worst Westin experience ever
Honestly, whatever reviewers say really won't matter here. The hotel has the best location in Union Square and I'm sure the owners and managers are quite aware of this. Meaning they don't have to fix up the old rooms, address the paper thin walls, or treat you with any courtesy whatsoever. People will continue to book this hotel no matter what and they know it. With that being said, for those who have the choice, stay elsewhere! Here's a brief run-down of what my husband and I encountered:
1) We booked through Priceline and the front desk made us very aware of it, and not in a good way. We were put in the old building on the 11th floor in the smallest category of rooms they have. I actually have never been in a room so tiny. Even when staying in New York City. Literally when we opened the door to the room, the door hit the bed. We tried to change rooms, even offering to pay extra, but we were dismissed saying they were sold-out the entire weekend. It was awful. Even on the 11th floor you could hear the 5 man team of protesters who were protesting the hotel next door. I specifically asked to be put on a floor and room where I would not be subjected to this noise as I had read about it in previous reviews. The snarky front desk guy told me I was in an inside room so we should be fine. Forget that he put us on the side of the building where the protesting was taking place. It woke us up every morning promptly at 7am. No need for an alarm clock here. The bathroom was extremely small, and had a barely working toilet. The walls were so thin you could hear anything going on outside in the halls and including what was going on in the rooms next to you. Most notably those late-night sounds and knocking of headboards. UGH! Disgusting!
Other than the room issues, I became completely exasperated when the hotel did not let guests know that the Chinese New Year parade was going on that weekend. I was completely oblivious when spending a full day at the Farmer's Market, Ghiradelli Square and Fisherman's Wharf and upon returning at 6pm realized that we were completely blocked from all sides into entering the hotel because of the on-going parade. We were not allowed to cross the street until the parade was over. We waited in the freezing cold for 3 hours. I was furious. When I asked the lady who greets people who are checking in about this, her response to me was that they let everyone who checked in that day know that the parade was going to happen that day and that they may not have access. It seemed completely lost to her that maybe they should have let everyone else know too. I mean, how hard would it have been for them to slip a flier under guests' doors?? It's things like that that ruin even a good experience. But my stay was already marred, so I could not wait to check out and get out of there.
The only positive thing I have to say is that the concierge desk was always very helpful. And the location is prime.