InterContinental San Francisco Review

Booking & Stay Details

I traveled to San Francisco for the Thanksgiving weekend to celebrate the day with close friends. I was looking for a hotel for my two-night stay. First, I checked if any of my many free night certificates from the different hotel chains would expire soon. That’s when I thought about, I still had to use my $200 Amex Hotel Credit. I checked the Fine Hotels & Resorts and Hotel Collection of Amex Travel to see what hotels are available for my dates. Only hotels in these two categories are eligible for the hotel credit. I found the InterContinental San Francisco which is part of the Amex Hotel Collection. 

It showed a price of $159/night for a standard room. It was the cheapest hotel available in either the Hotel Collection or Fine Hotels & Resorts category. I have tried countless times before to use my Amex hotel credit, but nights were always beyond $400. I was excited to see a reasonable rate.

As I never booked with Amex Travel before, I called in and booked through an agent. Worst decision ever. It took me forever to make a reservation. Next time I know at least to just book online. I called as I just wanted to make sure that my hotel credit will apply to this reservation or if I have to do anything else. The phone agent was only able to get me a room with a Queen bed, as it took him so long to finalize the reservation and lost the room with the King bed we tried to lock in when we started the reservation process.

Booking a Hotel Collection property will give me a $100 food and beverage credit as well as a complimentary room upgrade. More about these benefits later.

Location

The InterContinental San Francisco is located in SoMa or also known as South of Market. Market refers to Market St which runs through downtown of San Francisco. The InterContinental San Francisco is located right next to the Moscone Center, San Francisco’s main convention center. Lots of big tech companies like Google and Apple hold events here. That makes the hotel a perfect location as you only have a short walk to the convention center. Of course, prices skyrocket during such events as hotels in the area know that the big tech corporations have lots of money to send their employees to these events.

If you choose to use this hotel to explore the city, it’s a short walk to Union Square and Westfield Center. Two of the main shopping districts of the city. It’s only two blocks to get to the closest Bart station as well as one of the famous cable car stations. 

Don’t confuse this property with the second InterContinental in San Francisco which is called InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco. This hotel is located in Nob Hill, north of Market Street. 

Check-In

I arrived via Uber at the hotel. For this short stay, I only had a carry-on bag with me besides my usual luggage entourage I carry with me. Two agents were working the check-in counter that evening and I only had to wait like a minute for one agent to finish checking in the person ahead of me. While looking up my reservation the agent saw that I booked through Amex Travel and asked me if I was driving a car. There were two reasons. First, there is, unfortunately, an outrageous valet parking charge of $67/night. Self-parking is not available at all. Second, with my Amex Travel booking, I have the choice of two packages. Package A gives you the $100 food and beverage credit while Package B gives you free parking but only $23 for food and beverage. Unfortunately, $23 won’t get you far at this property. See more about it in the dining section. As I wasn’t parking a car, I went with package A for the $100 food and beverage credit. Remember, this credit is for the whole stay, not per day. I also checked if they could upgrade me to a better room, hopefully, a suite and he told me that they upgraded me to a better room on a higher floor. It wasn’t a real upgrade, in fact, I had to find out later. As their more expensive “view” rooms face the city and I faced the opposite direction, and it was still a regular room with a Queen bed. 

I also received a bottle of wine during check-in and had the choice between red or white. The agent went to the back to get my bottle of wine and also handed me my room keys.

1 Queen Bed Room (Room 2715)

The elevators are just down the hallway from the front desk. You need your room key to activate the elevator to get to any of the floors which only have rooms. Some of the floors also have public spaces like the gym, pool, terraces, and meeting rooms. For those floors, you don’t need a room key to activate the elevator. My room was on the 27th floor and it is a relatively quick and smooth ride to get there. The elevator lobby has a window facing northwest towards Downtown San Francisco. My room was just down the hallway to the right. The room numbering is consecutive rather than having even numbers on one side of the hallway and odd numbers on the other.

The room has an entryway which has the bathroom to the right and a wall closet to the left. Next to it is a full-size dressing mirror. The closet also houses the in-room safe and has an umbrella stored in it. You can buy one or if you take it “accidentally” with you, you get charged $25 either way.

Bathroom

The bathroom is very spacious. When you walk in you have a vanity right in front of you with a single sink and a large wall-mounted mirror. Next to it is a small make-up mirror. To the left of it is a shower/tub combo. Unfortunately, the water pressure could be a bit better. I have been in other high-rises on even higher floors with better water pressure. However, there is one danger. The water is insanely hot. If you turn it all the way too hot, it’s unbearable. You probably burn your skin if you keep your skin under it too long. You almost have to turn it all the way too cold to get a decent temperature. You will have the same issue with the faucet of the sink. Be very careful. I mean hot water is great, but this water is almost boiling. To the right of the vanity is the toilet and in the corner is a wall-mounted telephone.

Bedroom

As you continue on the entryway it transits into the sleeping area. There is ample space in the whole room, and you won’t feel cramped. Along the left side of the room, you have a long dresser which also has a work desk attached to it and comes with an office chair. The dresser also houses the minibar, which is currently empty because of Covid-19 pandemic. Why this is a concern for corona would be interesting to know. Maybe it’s just because they won’t restock it during your stay as they won’t enter your room with you in it. Even though regular housekeeping is suspended, you can request it through the front desk if you need it. The dresser and desk have a glass top. On top of the dresser, part was an ice bucket as well as regular glasses and wine glasses including a bottle opener. Atop the desk part is a fancy telephone with a large screen. It’s one of those full-fledged business phones, but it wasn’t working during my visit. Neither the display turned on, nor could I even make a call. I didn’t investigate any further as there was no way that I ever needed it. Above the dresser is a large wall-mounted flatscreen TV which is directly opposite the bed.

Either side of the bed has a nightstand and its own lamp mounted to the headboard. The lights in the room are all dimmable apart from the light in the closet, bathroom, and entryway. Below the lamps on either side of the bed, you have the dimming controls as well as a power outlet and a USB charging port.

In the corner next to the bed and the large floor-to-ceiling windows is a sitting area with a comfortable sofa chair and ottoman and a small table with a few magazines. Next to the chair is also a light stand with dimmable reading light.

The large windows give you a lot of light in the room throughout the day and also magnificent views. My room was facing southwest and had good views of the bay and you can see Oracle Park, San Francisco’s baseball stadium and the home of the San Francisco Giants. This is a great vantage point if they have fireworks at the stadium after a game.

The black-out shades are electrically controlled and there is a switch between the bed and seating area as well as in the entryway near the room door. The shade goes up and down automatically and will stop when it’s fully closed or opened. However, you can stop it manually in any position you like, and which is comfortable for you. Next to the shade controls in the entryway are also the buttons that you would normally use for housekeeping. Instead of hanging a sign on the handle, you just push the button for privacy and the housekeeping crew knows not to enter. There are also buttons to allow them to enter and to actually request to make up the room. However, this service is currently unavailable. Housekeeping must be requested currently through the front desk. Also not too far are the wall-mounted air conditioning controls. A display shows the current temperature as well as the set temperature and system status. The actual AC unit is in the corner between the work desk and the window.

Public Areas & Amenities

Lobby

The lobby is beautiful. Right when you walk in you will see the check-in area in front of you. As the lobby stretches through the building towards the restaurant on the far end of the building, you will pass multiple seating areas. They haven’t seen much use during my visit as we are still in a pandemic. 

Fitness Center

The fitness center is located on the sixth floor of the hotel. From the elevator, head down the hallway to the left and follow the signs to the fitness center. For access, you need your room key. Inside you will find a very well-equipped fitness center. There is also a water dispenser inside the gym to keep you hydrated. The fitness center is located between another terrace and the indoor swimming pool. Only a partly frosted glass wall separates the fitness center from the swimming pool.

Swimming Pool

The hotel features a beautiful indoor swimming pool. It is located right next to the fitness center. Just follow the signs from the elevator to the pool. Enter the pool with your room key. The pool itself is long and narrow which makes it perfect to work out and swim a few turns. It’s less geared towards just hanging out and floating. In the same room, you also have the indoor whirlpool, which sits next to the pool. The roof of the pool area has a sky and clouds painted on it.

Business Center

The business center is located on the third floor of the InterContinental San Francisco. You need your room key to gain access. Inside you find two PC workstations and an open cubicle spot to set up your laptop. There is also a printer in the business center. If you don’t bring your own laptop and must use one of the workstations, you will fork out a bunch of money. Every 20 minutes of computer usage costs you $10. Printing on the black and white printer costs you $1.50 per page. Printing boarding passes can however be printed for free. You need to log in to one of the supported airline websites through the PC to be able to print your boarding pass. 

There is another set of PC workstations in the lobby next to the restrooms where you can also print your boarding passes for free or surf the web for the same outrageous prices. However, the PCs in the small business center in the lobby have no chairs. In the same area is an ATM and a water purifier and dispenser. The lobby business center has no door and if you are looking for a quiet place it’s better to use the business center on the third floor or better even your room.

Terraces

There are three terraces at InterContinental San Francisco. Two of them have temporary tents set up. One was used for dining while the other one was used for a concert. Only one of the terraces was a regular terrace with lots of outdoor seating. It is located on the sixth floor and comes with a fireplace to keep you warm on cooler nights. This terrace also has a connecting door to the Club InterContinental Lounge as well located on the sixth floor. The views are not very spectacular from this area, as it is surrounded by other high-rises. Tall glass walls protect you from falling as well as from the wind blowing through the spaces between the high-rises.

Club InterContinental Lounge

The lounge is located on the sixth floor. Exit the elevator lobby and head down the hallway to the right. There are also signs getting you to the lounge. Unfortunately, the lounge is temporarily closed because of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Meeting & Ball Rooms

The InterContinental San Francisco boasts a lot of meeting and ball rooms on multiple floors of the hotel. It is used for many conventions or as an extension of the Moscone Center.

Dining

Breakfast

Breakfast is served in the Bistro 888. It’s served from 6:30 to 10:30 a.m. daily. It is an a la carte breakfast menu instead of a buffet. For just myself I had to shell out just a little bit under $50 to get a two-egg breakfast, a ham & cheese croissant, coffee and orange juice. Quite expensive for just one person. The portions are also not exceptionally large. They even forgot to bring me my toast when I inquired, I was told it was coming. Well, it better is, but I already finished the rest of my food already. You also get charged an 18% service charge no matter what. That’s pretty steep even though the service is ok but not great for the breakfast prices here. 

But before you even get to sit down and order food, you must show proof of vaccination. I knew about that, but I didn’t know that you also had to bring your ID with you. I used the digital proof of vaccination through Common Health stored on my phone. If you are not vaccinated, you can’t dine in and must take your order to go and eat in your room. This rule is stupid, as it is only for San Francisco County, a few miles south, at the airport you don’t have to show proof of vaccination.

Bistro 888 & Bar 888

The Bistro and Bar serve brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. and dinner from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. daily. The bar stays open late for drinks. From Sunday through Thursday until 10:15 p.m. and Friday & Saturday until 10:45 p.m.

Room service is temporarily suspended because of the pandemic.

Luce

The fine dining restaurant Luce currently offers only a tasting menu. A sample menu is available at the front desk. Luce is open from 5:30 p.m. until 10 p.m. daily.

Gift Shop

The gift shop is located between the front desk and the hotel’s main entrance. It currently has limited opening hours, but no exact times are specified. You can buy snacks and beverages inside besides souvenirs and gifts. If the gift shop is closed, you can inquire at the front desk, and they can help you to get what you need.

Food Delivery Services

Opposite the front desk is a table where food delivery services like UberEATS, Door Dash, Grub Hub and others can drop off the orders and you must go and pick the order up from there.

Conclusion

I enjoyed my stay here. The staff was very friendly, and I really liked the free bottle of wine I received during check-in. Everything was very clean and well maintained, except of course for the phone on the desk in my room. But to be honest, when has anyone used the in-room phone for anything else besides calling the front desk? There was a second phone in the room on the nightstand which worked. 

It was a bit annoying to deal with the proof of vaccination, but I had the same server the second day and he remembered me from the day before. So overall it’s a pretty luxurious hotel not just for convention goers, but also to explore the city.