Kensington Park Hotel

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Stephen V

4/5Google· a week ago

This is not the Hilton, but it doesn’t pretend to be. It is ideally located next to Union Square, adjacent to the cable car line and surrounded by bars and restaurants. I found all the staff I interacted with to be very helpful and friendly. My room was quite spacious, clean and comfortable and included all the standard items one would expect from a 3-star hotel. The real charm of this hotel is in its original architecture and internal design features, retaining a genuine old world feel and character. The elevator, which I understand is over 100 years old, does seem to suffer from occasional bouts of dementia and gets a little confused, but this just adds a little mystery to your day.

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Shannon Bonetti

2/5Google· 4 weeks ago

I stayed at the Kensington Park Hotel for six nights, and the experience had both positive and negative aspects. On the plus side, the competitive price compared to other properties in the area and the excellent location, very close to the main square and a short distance from the Powell Street station, making it convenient to get around by public transit, are definitely worth mentioning. Unfortunately, however, the security management and customer service were completely inadequate. Upon returning to our room one evening around 8:30 PM, following housekeeping service earlier that same morning, we found our room door left ajar: anyone could have walked right in. At the front desk, instead of apologizing, the receptionist initially tried to put the blame on us, doubting our word and ignoring the fact that the cleaning staff had been in (who, by the way, had been sent on the wrong day according to another employee). We were promised that the manager would check the security cameras, but we never heard anything back. The next morning, another receptionist was completely unaware of the incident, demonstrating a total lack of internal communication, and brushed us off with the same unfulfilled promise. No one apologized or offered any reassurance. Fortunately, we had locked our suitcases, but the seriousness of the situation remains undeniable. To top it all off, the check-out was extremely cold and hurried, with the staff visibly annoyed by a simple request to print a receipt. Even handling our temporary luggage storage revealed a strong lack of professionalism and tact. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone in the future: no matter how much you can save or how strategic the location is, safety and respect for the human element are far more important.

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Sumeyye

9/10Priceline· 3 months ago

Location was the best. Street was safe. Even it was a historic hotel there was no bad smell.

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Q662JCbriand

1/5Tripadvisor· 2 months ago

Fast forward a few emails and i get an update that the refund was denied. I called staff with proof of the cockroach and asked to be connected with the person who responds to refund request. Total change of tone, they tell me that i am breaking the law and hang up.

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Keith Stevens

4/5Google· 6 months ago

The hotel is in a little time warp. Nicely decorated, with a cozy vibe. It’s not too expensive for a room and hotel in this area. The reception staff were very friendly, the beds were very comfortable. The room was clean. The water pressure in the shower on the 11th floor could be better. The noise from the lift is quite loud. There is a playhouse next door, but you can’t hear it.

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Natalie

5/5Google· Edited 3 months ago

The staff is all very friendly whether you run into them on the elevator or at the front desk. The room is clean and we had a great view of the city. No AC but the windows open and the SF breeze is delightful. The water machine in the lobby is a game changer. The location was great. Right next to a Bay Wheels bike station (Lyft electric bikes). You are also just down the road from the BART and Muni station, a trolley stop, China town, and Little Italy. Great price and felt safe the whole time.

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Aman Singh

1/5Google· 4 months ago

I really wanted to like this place, but I can't recommend it to anyone. We booked through Booking.com. We get there on 13 June, and first there is no AC in the entire hotel and also the heater in the room is broken. Just dead. We told them right away. A guy came up with a portable heater, plugged it in, and that one didn't work either. He took it away and said he'd bring another. We never saw him again. And that was basically our whole trip: 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 June, night after night, no heat, just sitting there freezing. We didn't stay quiet about it. We called the hotel, we called Booking.com, Booking.com tried calling the hotel and nobody even picked up. When they finally bothered to reply to an email, there was no sorry, no fix, nothing. Just some line about how they'd "tried to reach the guest." We only got a heater after going down to reception in the middle of the night on the 17th because we were so cold we were starting to feel sick. But the thing that really got me was the supervisor/manager . Honestly, he was rude and just didn't seem to care at all. He had no clue how to talk to people. No apology, no solution, he just kept telling us to go deal with Booking.com. For someone who's supposed to be in charge, the way he treated us was unbelievable. If you need a room where the service and staff who treat you like a human being, look somewhere else.

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Nicholas Carron

4/5Google· 2 months ago

We really liked the Kensington Park Hotel, mostly for the atmosphere. The whole place had a great vibe, and the building also houses a theater, which gave it some character. The location was another plus, with Union Square a short walk away. One thing to be aware of is that the rooms don't have air conditioning. That wasn't a problem for us since we were only in the room at night and could open the windows, but opening them also lets in city noise, so if you're a light sleeper it's worth thinking about before you book. For us the vibe and location more than made up for it, and we'd recommend it.