Trina D.
Yelp
The iconic Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel sits at the top of Nob Hill on California Street. I booked the hotel using some points from my IHG account. We got off the BART at Powell Street with Google Maps telling me to hop on a cable car to get to California. However, it didn't account for the fact that during the holiday season, the cable cars are packed to the brim with tourists. So instead of waiting 40+ minutes, my husband and I decided to walk up the few blocks up Powell at a steep incline with our suitcases. We even entertained the idea of hopping on a passing cable car since there are stops littered along the way. We met a family who had waited at a stop near Union Square for over 25 minutes. No thanks. Now, if you're in moderate shape like us, you'll make it but if not, I recommend calling an UBER, taxi, or even waiting in line for that cable car to take you uphill. We were huffing and puffing by the end but we managed to make it to the hotel.
The 19-story hotel was built and opened in December 1926. It is a San Francisco Designated Landmark and California Historical Landmark. That being said, the hotel is opulent in the Art Deco style. Upon checking in, Issa was helping us. As a Platinum Elite member, I was given either points or a drink as a member gift and allowed late check-out. I even got to discuss which room we would get. I asked for one that was away from the elevators, which we had a few choices. I opted for one with a view of Union Square and the City rather than one with a view of the hill. I asked about bottled water and Issa mentioned that we had water in the mini bar. He neglected to tell me about the water dispenser in the lobby and the one in the fitness center. I had brought a reusable water bottle with me so that's what we utilized.
We had a nice room on the 11th floor with a king-sized bed. The room was nice but dated. The heat and air worked fine and the window opened a crack. That first night on the bed was rough as my husband had a hard time settling and he kept disturbing me whenever the bed moved. My back was hurting at the time so I had a hard time sleeping. The following day, I called the front desk to see if we could change rooms to one with two beds. It was possible except that the hotel was booked out for the holiday weekend so we were stuck. Jolene emphatically understood my dilemma so she offered a rollaway bed to be sent to our room. I said I had to discuss with my husband first. She also offered a bottle of wine to help me sleep, which was totally unexpected and very kind of her. My husband agreed to both the bed and the wine so we had housekeeping bring the bed up to the room. I guess there was a miscommunication regarding the wine so we didn't get it that night. We had put out our DND sign so they didn't want to interrupt us. I had called down the following day for something else and Jolene asked me about the wine not being delivered. I mentioned that we were in the room but the DND sign might have deterred room service and told her they had permission to knock if that was the case. We received the wine on ice with extra glasses. It was a really nice gesture.
Our room was comfortable and clean. The housekeeping ladies were really kind. I went downstairs to the restaurant on two occasions to get a latte in the morning since it was easier than going to a nearby coffee shop. I did go to two different coffee shops the first two mornings but found convenience won out to me huffing it back up the hill to our hotel. My husband requested some salad dressing one day from the restaurant for his beet salad and they happily obliged him. One of the annoying things that kept happening was that my room key kept getting demagnetized so I kept needing to get a new one. I think I went downstairs at least 3 times during my 4 night stay. Finally, Issa mentioned to me on the last day that I could have called downstairs from the hallway to have someone come up to help me. Well, that info could have been relayed to me much earlier.
Because of the changing microclimate in SF, we needed to borrow some umbrellas on the last day we were there (it hadn't occurred to me to request them before) and they let us borrow some which made it much better. We had hats and raincoats but sometimes in torrential rain, you just want an umbrella and they provided it. IHG is doing their Winter Chalet theme this year and one of the things you could do, was order fondue or charcuterie, in an igloo in front of the hotel. It's super cute but I didn't end up booking the experience. We saw people in the igloo while we walked by but maybe next time. The hotel is located in a safe area with great views of the city. We were close enough to places we could walk to, but we could also hop on the MUNI or a cable car or BART, as needed. The staff was extremely kind. We had a great time staying at the IC Mark Hopkins.