Jon P.
Yelp
I stayed here just before the last reviewer BL. I tried to review my stay but I couldn't find Union Hotel on Yelp and didn't know how to create the page. And I must say, I've stayed in 6 different SROs now since I've been in San Francisco, and like it or not, the Union Hotel is the second best place I've stayed.
I stayed for a few weeks. Check in was painless, Steve and his son Jay were VERY helpful and very kind during my stay. I called first to confirm availability, called several times actually, the phone was answered quickly and they were helpful at all times. Steve even asked me for my name which is a pretty unheard of courtesy in the SRO world.
Yes, this hotel is in the Mission. If you are a little girl or a man who thinks he is made of glass, the neighborhood will freak you out after midnight. It is full of transients, drug dealers, you get the point. Literally right outside the front gate, and all over the neighborhood. I call it "character", or "being in the 'mix'". If you are a puss-puss, maybe you should check into a hotel in Des Moines or Boise.
$215 a week tax included, unlike every other SRO I've looked into which advertises a price then adds on taxes and fees. So the flat rate was nice. And $215, all things considered in my eyes, is as fair of a price as you might find in this crazy city by the bay.
They did clean the room weekly while I was there. I went and did my laundry while they did their cleaning every week. I don't know why BL claims there isn't a cleaning service. Compared to other SROs I've stayed in or checked out, this has been the cleanest thus far, still very dirty, but passable. There is a strict visitor policy but I'm not a prostitute, drug dealer, or Mission socialite, so I see no reason to care about this policy, for myself personally. It is a tiny bit safer than other places for this reason.
WiFi is offered for free. They had a working TV in my room, with HBO, ESPN, History, and Discovery, so I was a happier camper for that minor luxury. The bathrooms and showers are cleaned DAILY. And cleaned well, as far as I can tell. Unlike other SROs I have stayed at which literally have feces on the wall in the stalls and mold on the wall in the showers. I can deal with whatever. I'm just saying, in my perspective, the Union Hotel has been taking care of business better than the competition I've stayed at. At all other hotels I've had to provide my own towel and toilet paper. At the Union Hotel they provide t.p. in the bathrooms and a clean towel every week.
Unlike BL I had no pest problems. I'm a little sad to hear he did. I checked thoroughly for signs of bugs or other pests before I checked in and felt satisfied with a lack of evidence that there was any real "problem". I did not see rodents or insects of any kind. And my room was definitely free of any crawling problems during my stay. It is a dirty neighborhood, and a dirty city, so anything is possible. This was just my experience.
My room did not have a closet, so there is that. I think the biggest negative may be that my room was carpeted, which in a world of crawly things and germs, a carpet is a terrifying thing.
It seems like no matter where you stay in San Francisco from the nicest place on down to the worst place, it's a matter of timing and individual circumstance. Unlike in other cities where a nice hotel is a nice hotel and a crap hotel is a crap hotel, in this city it seems like it's all pretty much up in the air.
I imagine best practice is to avoid ALL SROs in San Francisco. They are probably all basically dirty infested places.
I gave this hotel 2 stars but in hindsight I really didn't mind my stay at the Union. I think 4 stars is more appropriate considering all circumstances.