Inn on Grove — Hotel in San Francisco

If you’re visiting San Francisco and money is no object, there are plenty of upscale accommodations to choose from. However, if you’re on a budget, the choices are few and far between.

On a recent visit, I found a hidden gem of a place that both satisfies the pocketbook and the need for a restful, SAFE night’s sleep.

From the outside, the Inn at Grove seems like a throwback to a bygone era.There is an open courtyard for parking and the rooms face onto an outdoor corridor. The reception area is nondescript, almost motel-like.

It would be easy to bypass this place, but here’s why you shouldn’t.

Parking is FREE and they have ample parking spaces.

If you know anything about the Financial District, it’s that parking is difficult, and EXPENSIVE. Most hotels have arrangements with nearby parking structures for a fee between $40-60 a night.

This hotel charges NO fee, yet room rates are very affordable. Parking cannot be reserved in advance, however, and is on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you’re worried about safety, as we were, there were no visible signs of homelessness or drug use around the hotel.

Luxury cars, such as Teslas and Lexus were kept safely in the courtyard overnight.

It’s located a couple of walkable blocks from City Hall and the Civic Center. If you visit City Hall, you might see, as we did, not one but two marriages taking place. Very cool.

Again, that location makes it very accessible to mass transit whether buses or the old-fashioned trams that run all the way to Fisherman’s Wharf.

The hotel has recently been refurbished. This results in modern furnishings such as very, very comfortable beds with duvets and soft pillows. Bathrooms can be equipped with a jacuzzi or regular tub and tiles are clean and well-kept.

For makeup users, the bathroom mirror is the very popular LED-lit one which, if you’re attending meetings, makes for a smooth application.

Last, but not least, are the reception desk assistants.

In our case, the very kind and gracious Biren and his colleague, Chirag (Chris). Both are very quick to give detailed instructions on what to see and do, and how to get there. They are very accommodating and generous.

All in all, the Inn on Grove, turned out to be a delight and a welcome change from the dread when one thinks of budget accommodations in a city like...

WATCH STOLEN WHILE I WAS OUT OF ROOM - I regret having stayed at Inn on Grove, because My Apple watch was stolen from my room when I stepped out to meet a friend, and the hotel management's main response was to scold me for asking them to investigate whether my $1000 watch had been taken by the cleaning staff.

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I was a few blocks away from the hotel when I realized I had left my watch in the room. I immediately thought, "I should run back and get it" because the hotel has a sketchy, flop-house vibe, e.g.

When I checked in, there was a woman who seemed high making a scene with the desk clerk

My first night, the door on the room next to mine was opening and closing at all hours

...but I was already late to meet a friend and so I did not return for several hours. When I got back to the hotel, my watch had been stolen from the room.

I can blame myself for having forgotten my watch in the room or for not trusting my instinct to run back and get it immediately, but the mistake that I made that you can avoid is to stay in a hotel where people with access to your room will steal your valuables.

If you choose to stay at Inn on Grove, you can assume that whoever stole my watch is still there to steal yours, because I got no meaningful action from the hotel management in response to my reporting the theft.

I asked the clerk and later the manager to do the following:

Check key-access records to see whose keys had been used to access my room Review the CC video of who had been in my room, e.g. if it was only cleaning staff, that is who stole my watch

They didn't immediately do either of the above, and to my knowledge they never did. (He said he'd talk to the staff and call me back - are you wondering if he called me back? He did not) Instead, the response of the clerk and later manager to my report about a $1000 watch stolen from my room, was just to assure me that their cleaning staff doesn't steal.

So, to the person considering a stay at Inn on Grove--I recommend you do not stay here unless you're comfortable with sketchy, flop-house type of lodging. And for the future unfortunate guest who has had valuables stolen from their room at Inn on Grove, please also share your...

I recently stayed for one night and was happy with the manager"s customer service until after checking out and realizing that we left our jackets in the closet. I called to check to see if our jackets were located and the manager said that nothing was turned in and that he would check with housekeeping the next day. He said that someone was staying in the room so I asked him to please check the closet. He did, but didn't find anything. I stopped by on my way home that same evening because it didn't feel good that I should have to wait until the next day just to see if the things that I knew I left in the room were found or turned in. When I asked the manager if he could please check the person's cart who cleaned our room he said that he could not. I told him that I live about 125 miles away and that it wouldn't be convenient for me to wait until tomorrow. He said that there was nothing he could do. He said that if they find it that I could pay for postage to have it sent to me. I asked him why would I have to pay if because of the internal lack of communication and not following protocols that I should pay. He said because it was my responsibility that they were left. He told me that when the housekeeper finds things in the room they bring it and put it in this small room in the office. They did not. They didn't even communicate with the manager that anything was found. The manager left me a voicemail today that my things were found. They were left in a bag in the laundry room. The manager said that the bag was not put in the room where it should have been put because it was too big. I seen the room and I know what I left. It would have easily fit. Even if the reason was valid why would the housekeeper not have informed the manager of what was found? Should I now have to be inconvenienced because the manager didn't know or get the information he should have gotten? More stringent protocols need to be put in place. It is not a good look when things are found and are not communicated or placed where management can easily find them so that customers can get their things that...