Cova Hotel — Hotel in San Francisco

My partner and I stayed 2 nights 3 days. The morning staff was incredibly helpful and kind. We flew red-eyes so they let us check in early so we could nap! They also held our bags all day the last day so we could wait for our night flight! When we first checked in we had difficulty with our room as the walls were pretty thin but our neighbors were blasting music and talking very loud, near shouting. We went down and asked if there was another room and they moved us to a different floor with what seemed like no neighbors without any problems!!

San Francisco has an issue with homelessness as does any other city. We're from Seattle so the sites weren't that shocking. It is completely fine during the day but at night the streets are lined with people. We went walking around at night on popular gentrified streets and never once was even addressed by someone let alone harassed. If you don't bother them, they won't bother you. Loved how close the hotel was to all the shopping and union and Chinatown!! As well as the free shuttle to other places like The Wharf and Japantown! We did so many things during our stay it was amazing. We gave a $20 tip to one of the morning staff who was also the shuttle driver (never got his name but he studied in China teaching high school) he was the best staff and he was so kind and understanding and acknowledged the culture of San Francisco while helping outsiders understand that while the city is beautiful every city has it's flaws. We had wonderful conversations and he was the most helpful overall. That man deserves a raise.

Some cons I would say would be that the night staff was not as helpful. When I had called to arrange a shuttle from the airport the person on the line clearly said "you pay for the shuttle here and we'll take you back to the airport if you schedule it free of charge" but when I asked about it the lady wanted to charge me another $35. When I asked to cancel explaining I was giving wrong information she ROLLED her eyes at me and said "I guess". It's not my fault your staff was wrong? Thank God BART was only a walk away. Also our room didn't have a remote and when I asked the night staff about one they were giggling away and talking about nonsense while leisurely searching for a remote and after standing there for awhile they eventually asked us to go to our room and they'd bring it up. Our phone rang in our room and they had the nerve to say "Do you still need that remote?" OBVIOUSLY? The television didn't have a show guide so it was confusing and you spent 15 minutes just clicking through channels since there was no real key to what number was what channel and what shows were on (minor complaint but could be fixed). Lastly the complimentary breakfast was a joke in our opinion but can't complain with free toast I guess. First day the oatmeal was sweetened and pretty tastey, second day it was bitter and bland. I guess if you like cheese, hard boiled eggs and toast for breakfast this is the place for you. We're used to waffles and bacon etc being offered but we should've investigated more, not that the hotel offered much description to begin with regarding the breakfast.

Overall our stay was pleasant with minor misshaps and some needed attitude adjustment from the curly haired tanned lady at the front desk night staff. That being said, we would return in the future. Thanks...

COVA = Comfort & Value

While not located in the best part of San Francisco, the hotel itself was nice for the price. We had a pretty standard room (Superior King) that was roomy enough for me and my husband. Our room was tucked away into a little corner of the hotel, which was kinda awkward, but nothing to really complain about. Everyone on staff was friendly and accommodating. While there didn't seem to be a thermostat in the room, they had both a portable fan and heater provided in the closet. We used the heater every night since we had our visit in December 2019 (edited a misspelling and the review reposted as current). During the day our room would get really hot due to the sun beaming on our side of the hotel, but we were thankfully out during most daylight hours. We had a loose itinerary for our 5 nights we were there, so it was nice that the staff was knowledgeable about the touristy things we could do in the area. We enjoyed the complimentary breakfast every morning. While breakfast food options didn't change, it did the trick. They also had complimentary wine hours every evening, but we never got to take advantage of that. If it's raining, make sure you check out an umbrella at the front desk.

I can't recommend the complimentary hotel shuttle enough! We abused the hotel shuttle, taking it almost every day we stayed there. It really saved us from having to rent a car. There are only a handful of locations they transport you to, but it got us everywhere we wanted to go. Just remember to sign up at least 30 minutes ahead of time as there are limited seats for dropoff and return. They will take you to Fisherman's Wharf (Pier 39), Union Square, and Japan Town. Chinatown is an easy walk from Union Square.

It is also easy to walk from the hotel to Union Square, but as the hotel is located just a few blocks from a soup kitchen, I would limit your walking to daytime hours as it gets kinda sketchy around the area at night. I felt safe staying there, but had one night when we took the wrong walking route home from Union Square and I felt quite uncomfortable the last 5 minutes to the hotel. Ask the concierge for the best walking path. (They also have them posted on placards across from the front desk.)

There are a few restaurants just down the street within walking distance, but all of them a variety of Asian. We enjoyed a couple Thai restaurants and a Vietnamese sandwich shop (Lee's Sandwiches) for affordable dinner multiple times.

I would definitely recommend the hotel, and the reason I only gave it 4 stars is due to the location and the sketchy people that you will definitely run across if...

We stayed at Cova for three nights (during President's Day weekend) and were disappointed with the overall stay. In regard to the positives the room was clean and comfortable (with the exception of not having a thermostat to adjust the temperature) and the continental breakfast had more options than expected. The location was also convenient to the places we wanted to visit. The negatives were primarily with the customer service and the poor communication regarding the shuttle. When we arrived to check in they had difficulty assigning us to a room, apparently due to some technical glitch. Instead of communicating this to us, the girl managing the front desk clicked away on the computer for about half an hour and avoided speaking with us or giving any updates while we stood in the lobby. It was like we weren't even there...we had to ask her to explain what was going on. Eventually we decided to go to dinner to give her extra time to figure it out, and after returning 1.5 hours later the issue still hadn't been resolved, and again we stood there with no updates or communication for another 30 minutes while 2 employees clicked away silently on the computer trying to figure it all out. It made us feel very uncomfortable to be ignored like that. They finally assigned us a room about 3 hours later than the time we initially hoped to check in. The other issue was the shuttle; it only ran on the last day we were there, and the other two days we asked for it and were told it was not running due to not having a driver...not sure why they didn't plan better system knowing it was a busy holiday weekend and many guests I'm sure were counting on the shuttle. Also, the way this was communicated by front desk staff was also poor; their tone in responding seemed like they were annoyed we were even asking about the shuttle. I would not stay here again, and would encourage others to...