Hotel Nikko San Francisco — Hotel in San Francisco

The only bad thing I have to say about Hotel Nikko is that we can’t afford to stay here year-round!||Nikko’s incredibly, above-and-beyond kind and helpful staff are 90% of the reason our stay here felt like the full 5-stars. ||I booked our ADA room through a third party site, and the third party screwed up the reservation - a mistake we didn’t discover until we got to the front desk. We were stressed, because any non-ADA room would simply be inaccessible for me. Before I could even ask about alternate arrangements and how much they might cost, the lovely person working the front desk said not to worry - they’d get us not just the original ADA room we had wanted, they’d upgrade us to a better ADA room for free! ||The Deluxe Imperial ADA Double room was beautiful, with a gorgeous view of the city, and extremely spacious - I have a 26-inch wide wheelchair, and not only was the room easy to navigate in my chair, I could turn full circles around the room without ever once getting stuck! ||The beds were very soft and comfortable, which is a rarity for me to find in hotels - usually I find them too firm and nearly painful, but Nikko’s beds were very kind to my bad back and hips. The furnishings were lovely and contemporary, and the multiple light options near the beds was very useful. This is a kind of silly but neat feature, too: they had an option for the door that was a “privacy” button - it would cause the doorbell of your room to light up red, thus signaling you didn’t want any interruptions or housekeeping done while it was on. ||The bathroom was extremely spacious - it could have easily fit at least two of my chair - and the shower was likewise incredibly roomy and easy to use, as was the very wide counter and sink therein. Additionally, both the bathroom and bedroom were extremely clean - we couldn’t find a single speck of dust, dirt, or any kind of bug (and we check thoroughly for all at the start of any hotel stay). ||Our upgrade came with a lovely complimentary, continental breakfast buffet as well as a complimentary wine and cheese hour, both features that we enjoyed greatly. The options for both were fairly wide and fresh, without a limit on how much or what we picked to eat/drink. (I believe it also came with access to the onsite health club and indoor pool, but we never got around to checking those out, oops!)||All of these features would net a positive review by themselves. However, the real beauty of Hotel Nikko lies in its staff. Every single person working there that we met was kind, generous, and overwhelmingly helpful. From the moment we arrived and we interacted with the valet staff to handle our car, to the bellhops who handled our luggage and later our room service, to the reception staff who checked us in, we instantly felt so comfortable and welcomed and supported with any and all of our needs. ||This feeling only continued throughout our stay and was further strengthened by the housekeeping staff who kept the place so sparkling clean, the staff in charge of the dining lounge, and so many others. Even amongst everyone being so fantastic, a couple of people in particular put the most special touches on our stay: Jun, from the bellhop staff, who helped us both into the hotel and later out of the hotel when we left, inspired our start and our end of our visit to the hotel with giant smiles. His attention to detail and incredible ability to somehow intuit what we needed help with before we even knew was amazing!||Finally, we are so, so grateful to have met and been cared for by Luis, who was in charge of the Imperial Club lounge during our stay. He was so generous, helpful, funny, and a delight to our mornings. Even though the breakfast buffet was self-serve and I was prepared to figure out how to handle balancing a plate and pushing my wheelchair, he sprung into action before I could even move: he rearranged chairs at a nearby table for me to comfortably park my wheelchair at to eat, then grabbed a plate and went one by one down the line of options asking me what I wanted and serving it all generously up, and served it all up to me with jokes and an infectious smile. This was the case for each time we had breakfast at the hotel - on the last day of our stay, when we told him we were headed out after breakfast and had so enjoyed meeting him, he told us to leave room for something extra, disappeared into the kitchen, and reappeared with two plates of sunny-side-up eggs, made just for us - this wasn’t even on the menu or offered at the self-serve stations, which only had scrambled eggs. As far as we’re concerned, Luis is the patron saint of delicious breakfast. ||Were it not for the staff here, we likely would’ve simply enjoyed our stay and probably not sought to stay here again in the future, purely due to the cost. Because of the staff here, though - particularly Jun, and extra ESPECIALLY particularly Luis - we not only enjoyed our stay, we LOVED it, and will be making Hotel Nikko our hotel for our future stays in San Francisco, cost be damned. The staff makes it more...

I travel for work with my social services organization. I logged into the hotel website two months in advance to reserve my room for the annual, national Consumer Voice Conference. I got authorization from my company’s finance department to reserve and pay with the company card. There was absolutely nothing on the website, on the drop-downs showing the breakdown of costs, nor in the email confirmation that there would be an additional $125.00 per night security deposit in addition to the room fees, the taxes, amenities fees, and the daily valet fees of $65. As part of the conference I received a “group discount rate” and booked personally for the weekend before the general session launch. The weekday conference days were to be paid by my company. There was no indication via follow up email, nor when I spoke with the group-rate organizer, staff member, that I would need written authorization from my company for the hotel to charge the business card used to book the second reservation on the day of my check in for that reservation. The security deposits, again were nowhere in writing. After flying into San Francisco from out of state, I was informed at check in of the additional fees. I absolutely was unprepared to cover these costs personally, and did cover them for the weekend reservation I was paying for out of pocket in order to have a place to sleep. Upon entering my room, and after speaking with the front desk staff, it became apparent that unlike every other high-end hotel, there was absolutely no food or snacks provided without additional costs. Not even a continental breakfast. Even the water bottle was an additional cost of $10. After my weekend, I spoke with the front desk staff who informed me that the hotel was not authorized to charge the second reservation, and I would be required to pay if I was going to have a room for the remainder of the week. Clearly, the ball of was dropped on the part of hotel staff to provide their authorization form to me ahead of the check in date to ensure a smoother stay. I did not initially say this, but after several conversations with this same staff member, I finally stated this view clearly, and was met with an aggressive tone [AFTER authorization was received, and payment for the room and taxes were made by my company] and only the security deposit was left for me to cover out of pocket, that “We won’t go around in circles. This is what will happen: You will need to come to the front desk with your ID and your card to pay the deposits. Will you be down right away?” I was being treated as if I was attempting to get a free stay - even after the room rate and taxes had been paid. It was demeaning, and unprofessional. I did ask if there was a way either the deposits could be waived because clearly I had already covered $250.00 worth of deposits and was staying in the same room without even requesting housekeeping. The staff member spoke with her manager, and a 20% discount on the security deposit was approved as a one time courtesy. However, I was afraid to mention the leak in the tub faucet, and the crack in the shower head holder that allows spray when turned on. Although the room was clean when I initially arrived, clearly maintenance is not getting the messages of repairs needed by housekeeping staff. Overall, I have been unimpressed with Hotel Nikko’s business practices, and would not recommend this as a go-to destination when visiting San Francisco. Greed is...

The huge monolith Nikko Hotel, touted as a “boutique hotel” confuses any definition of “boutique” which is small and stylish in a fashionable location. It is certainly not small. But it certainly meets the other two criteria.

It is massive with grand marble columns and flooring, decorated with modern artwork and sculptures. Unfortunately, the grand lobby entry on Mason Street is closed, probably a result of the pandemic. Access in at the O’Farrell Street side vehicle pick-up/drop-off below the lobby with escalator/elevator service to reception, detracting from the anticipated glamour.

In some ways, the Nikko reminded me of Hyatt Regency modernity. Long, featureless corridors lead to the restaurant, meeting rooms and around fitness center facilities.

Positive highlights:

Location close to Union Square invite terrific walking experiences. We strolled everywhere: Chinatown, Embarcadero, along Market Street. Great work-out up many hills.

Room on Imperial Club floor was small but comfortable. Bathroom had single sink, tub and shower. Although the shower was small, the combo rain-shower and hand-held shower head were nice. Housekeeping was exceptional, with superb room make-up and turn-down service.

View was stunning from the 22nd floor.

Anzu restaurant was elegant with a comfortable bar at the entry. The included breakfast buffet was a super bargain with among the best offerings of hotel buffets encountered, although not particularly varied day by day. Menu options were extensive, including a Japanese breakfast. Cocktails at the bar were excellent. We only enjoyed a Sashimi plate Sushi Roll at Anzu’s—both were sensational. Staff here were friendly and helpful.

A large atrium covered pool and hot tub were surrounded by chaise lounges and reclining chairs. The pool is comfortably heated. The facility became crowded on the weekend, all chairs and lounges taken. Posted maximum hot tub capacity was only 2 persons. It was occupied by eight people on Saturday afternoon! Some detractions:

Although most hotel staff were great, but I found reception impersonal. Rebuffed for any upgrades, even as a hotel club member.

Blood-sucking constant add-on fees and charges. Of course, some were not hotel specific like city tax, transient occupancy tax (14%) tourism tax (4%) and California restaurant wage tax (4%), mandatory restaurant Service Charge (3.18%) inuring to the establishment, nothing for its staff and separate from discretionary tips. But the hotel also imposed an incredible amenity fee of $39 + $6.43 a day covering internet and facilities (assessed at checkout). All these superfluous surcharges really add up and can sour an experience. Checkout time is 11 AM. Late checkout requests are deferred until the day of checkout; then it is disclosed even one-hour late checkout incurred a fee of $75. After pre-payment for lodging and a host of these charges, the additional Amenity Fees will be assessed upon checkout.

Although a stay at the Nikko was pleasant, it could not be described as a total luxury experience. Innumerable taxes, charges and fees really marred...