Holiday Inn Fisherman's Wharf

We were in SF for the WC soccer, the city was quite full of tourists including the hotel. The atmosphere was quite lively, soccer matches on tv and the whole city was in euphoria. The hotel presented a mini Aussie vibe, with specs of Paraguay supporters. The location is great if you are in SF for work or holidays, it’s bang on the Fisherman’s Wharf, walking distance to local attractions like the Piers and restaurants. But it’s quite far from the Levis stadium in Santa Clara, normally around 1-1.5 hours by uber, but took us 3 hours on match day. Even the DFW airport was a little over 60 mins. Saying that, every commute in Bay Area was over 60 mins, that’s SF for you. We stayed for 4 nights in a King Room. The rooms were slightly small, with typically Holiday Inn Express decor. The room was clean and well maintained. The bed were quite big and comfortable, we had asked for a roll on extra bed, it had a thin mattress but we couldn’t complain. The staff specially Chris were very attentive, always smiling and helpful. It was a pleasure interacting with them. The breakfast was good, though limited in number of items. It always overflowed with people, very hard to find a table to yourself if you go after 7:30am. The 4 days we stayed, we had scrambled eggs, potato bites every day and one protein kept changing, along with the staple thoroughfare like bread, oats, coffee/tea and waffles. They served cinnamon rolls, which we loved. Overall not bad, we enjoyed it but got bored with a couple of days. Only thing I would genuinely recommend is to provide either an electric kettle or a microwave in the room. It’s actually standard on all Holiday Inns, was surprised and highly inconvenienced without one or the other. A good stay, would stay again only if the room is provided either with an Electric kettle or microwave.

Pretty good location walkable to sites. Breakfast was OK (protein options could be better quality). 24/7 coffee was nice. Room was nice except for the loud A/C. Change the A/C it is way too loud and makes a loud startling noise when it kicks on and off which woke me up in the night. For breakfast, the protein options - eggs, sausages - were poor quality and just seemed gross. The price for the hotel was pretty high as well. WiFi was not good and pretty slow, I could not do my work meetings with video. Loud A/C noise. I was told to wear earplugs or open the window or don't use the A/C, none of which were acceptable.

The hotel is in an excellent location for strolls to Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 36, cafes & Ghirardelli. We also were able to walk to Ferry Building and cable car stop. Bus service runs near-by and Ubers were quick to arrive. We were far enough from the Wharf that (except for temporary street construction) it was not noisy. We had a 2 queen suite on the 4th floor overlooking North Point Street with views of the city (tops of buildings) & the TransAm building. The room was a good size with adequate lighting, closet space, fridge, micro, desk, sink & counter space for coffee & comfortable beds. Good counter space in the bathroom though a light over shower and real shower head (instead of raincan (?) ) would have been improvements. Room was clean & housekeeping staff friendly. Needed a couple more outlets and a hotel and dining in the area guide book. Breakfast was fine with many choices and amazing cinnamon rolls. The push button & brew coffee machines required a lot of patience and either they need more or to add a regular coffee pot. Coffee was always available in the lobby (as well as the room). Breakfast seating was crowded and could be tricky if hotel were full. Particular shout outs to Jeff & Lawrence at the desk though everyone was accommodating and efficient.