San Francisco hotel: The Orchard

Choosing the right hotel for your holiday is one of the biggest challenges, read my review of why The Orchard Hotel was the right choice for our first visit to San Francisco.

When choosing a hotel I always prefer those that are fairly central to the main attractions, though far enough away from busier streets to enjoy a good night's sleep. After months of scouring TripAdvisor, Adam and I booked The Orchard Hotel as going by the reviews the hotel seemed to provide the perfect hotel stay we were looking for; we were not disappointed.

The hotel is situated just off Powell Street, which has the main tram line from Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf passing the notoriously crooked Lombard Street as well as being a couple of blocks downhill from Union Square, Westfield shopping mall and the gate to Chinatown is located at the bottom of Bush Street on the same street as the hotel. 

Numerous restaurants and shops are located within a couple of minutes walk, though it should be noted the climb back up the hill to the hotel can be fairly strenuous, therefore perhaps not ideal for those with walking difficulties and with this in mind The Orchard Garden Hotel situated at the bottom of the hill may be more suitable.

We had contacted the hotel prior to our stay to request a quiet room on a high floor and upon arrival we were allocated room 605 on one of the middle floors. The room did not offer much of a view, although this was located on a quieter side of the hotel meeting our request and enabling us to have a undisturbed sleep during our stay. The room was very spacious, which I understand is unusual by San Francisco standards and the complimentary WiFi, fridge, body wash, shampoo and coffee machine were appreciated perks to help keep costs down during our stay. The room itself was clean and elegant as well as being spacious, contradicting some reviews I had read incorrectly stating the hotel was rundown. This is not a newly refurbished hotel, though few hotels in San Francisco appear to be but don't be mistaken this hotel was by no means deteriorated. We had no issues with the shower and although we have used more powerful showers previously we found this to be adequate with enough water pressure. Chocolates and a card had been placed in our room to thank us for choosing the hotel and this was a pleasant surprise on our arrival. 

Additional Amenities in the room included a dvd player, mini hairdryer, iron, minibar and bizarrely an intimacy kit, thus catering for various needs during your stay!

The staff were all very friendly and accommodating and we particularly liked Teddy on reception whom we chatted to for a considerable amount of time about our previous travelling experiences, Cornell who kindly arranged our shuttle back to the airport and was a friendly face each morning and John the porter whose exceptional customer service went above and beyond anything we have experienced previously. These staff members in particular are a real credit to the hotel and could not do enough for us in terms of recommending places for us to visit, to dine, helping us locate attractions, printing train timetables and arranging our late check out and transportation back to the airport.

We did not eat breakfast at the hotel, though as noted previously many restaurants are located nearby. For those deliberating between Fisherman's Wharf and Union Square for a hotel stay; Fisherman's Wharf is more ideal for those with families as the amenities and chain restaurants are more appealing to those with children. North Beach and Haight Ashbury would be more suited to those looking to experience some of the nightlife, cool bars and eateries as well as vintage and unique clothing and artifacts. 

Overall, the hotel gave us a central haven within walking distance of some of the city's main attractions and we would not hesitate to stay again on future trips, particularly given the outstanding customer service.

We understand the hotel plants a tree for every TripAdvisor review whether it's good or bad feedback, which is a nice touch showing hotels can be ecologically friendly.  Being an avid reviewer I will be adding my review to my Jazybaby84 TripAdvisor account.