Kasa La Monarca San Francisco — Hotel in San Francisco

This place is the reason I was able to visit San Francisco last minute. I had a few days off work and found cheap last minute flights (12 hours before lol) but I just couldn’t find decent accommodation that was reasonably priced. All the options in this area had awful reviews and were overpriced. When I found this hidden gem I saw there was one room left so I booked immediately.

Pre arrival Check in was so easy. Everything is done online so when you arrive you don’t have to speak to anyone you just put in the code and go.

When I got to my room my first impression was wow I can’t believe I snagged this room for this price. The bathroom was huge and the room super spacious. There were even two free bottles of water and cookies as a welcome gift - a nice touch.

The area was quite central in my opinion and close to many buses that take you to the main sights. There were also some cool bars (peacekeeper) within walking distance (disclaimer SF is so hilly so counter that into your commute). Being so central also however means there are a lot of homeless and drug addicts. On my first night I went downstairs to collect a DoorDash order and two guys w pushed past me and entered the premises. In my opinion they looked homeless but when I asked if they’re staying here they said yes. Without security or any staff on site I chose not to get involved but just be cautious of that.

A couple of downsides however.. I found the room to be quite cold at night. It was sometimes a little noisy due to the busy street below but coming from NYC I’ve heard worse. I thought the appliance in the room was a fridge but turns out it’s a freezer? Everything I put in it was frozen solid lol.

Another downside is that when I got there I noticed a couple of small stains on the sheets. They were barely noticeable and I honestly forgot about them once I went out sightseeing so forgot to mention it to a customer service agent. The first morning I woke up with a red spot on my back which made me panic and think it was bed bugs but I think it was actually a mosquito bite. I did bring this to Kasa’s attention and Kylie immediately started to resolve the issue by trying to coordinate a professional inspection. Communication was clear and quick. It was explained that if I still felt uncomfortable they would refund the second night of my stay but they didn’t have any other available rooms due to fear of cross contamination so I would have to find a place last minute. I decided to stay the last night and didn’t experience any other spots. Kylie then followed up after my stay to inform me an inspection was done and no evidence of bugs were found so surely enough it must’ve been a mosquito bite.

All in all I would highly recommend this place if visiting San Francisco. The whole process was pretty seamless, affordable and comfortable. My flight attendant friend from New Zealand even came to view the room out of curiosity and said he would recommend this place to his friends and colleagues. If I find myself in San Francisco again I’ll definitely be checking...

Kasa La Monarca is an "ok" budget hotel to stay at for a short stay in the city. It is acceptable, but let's not kid anyone: the only valid reason to pick this hotel is the competitive price. This should be clear by now, but let's keep in mind that this is not a comfortable hotel. Do not expect an ounce of luxury.

THE PROS: Well located, close to major bus transit lines, 10-min walk from Powell Station Generally clean Well-equipped kitchen in the common area The Kasa team is responsive both on voice calls and emails Beds are quite firm and comfortable (if you enjoy firm beds). Not ideal for side sleepers.

THE CONS: To be clear, this is a self check in hotel; there is no reception desk, and no hotel staff on site. This means that if you have any problem (e.g., noisy neighbours) , you have to call or send an email, which is an inconvenience to be aware of. There is no daily cleaning, which means you will have to keep the same towel for the full duration of your stay. Poor noise isolation. It is easy to hear people through walls, and most doors into the hallway have a 1/2 inch gap to the floor, which means that you hear anything happening in the corridor as if they were right next to you. There are complimentary ear plugs in the room to slightly compensate. No temperature control and loud radiators. There is no temperature control in the rooms, which can get hot or cold. The waters radiators (as of May 2023) were at times extremely loud, producing sequences of very loud metallic clangs at times that felt as if someone was hitting on the metal fire escape staircases with a metal wrench. This is most likely due to some form of issue with the water pipes, cavitation, or sludge buildup, and hence probably not an easy fix. You get used to it, but it remains very unpleasant. View / window quality is very unequal. There are a few rooms with bay windows on the front Street, but most rooms are on the side or back of the building. We had a room whose window was entirely blocked by a rusty metal fire escape, and looked right into a nearby building above a dirty area between building on the third floor, in which it was basically impossible to keep blinds open if any privacy was desired. I would ask for a room on the top floor if you want a better chance of having a decent enough room with sunlight and privacy. Very small bathroom with no counter space. Not a major inconvenience, but also not great. Shower can also take 5 minutes to warm up, or cool down...

If you’re looking for a hotel, don’t choose this property. This is nothing more than a home stay and I was highly disappointed. I really did not appreciate the deception behind labelling this as a hotel, had this been labelled as a home stay my expectations would have reflected this.

There is no front desk, you are send an email with codes to open your front door and room. There is no cleaning service, one can be arranged for an additional fee. This has never been the case for any hotel I have ever stayed at, this is the whole point of staying at a hotel as opposed to a private stay. They try to hide behind the excuse that the have a virtual front desk and any questions can be answered there. I’m sorry but this is not as quick or efficient as having a real person at the front desk to talk to.

There is only one towel per person provided for your entire stay, and the quality of these was terrible. So they did not dry very quickly and become quite gross very quickly.

The cherry on the top was when we asked if there was a place we could store out luggge as we were required to check out at 11am but our flight was not until late at night. First we were told they did not provide these services and then were told they would do so at a fee of $50 for 3 hours or $90 for 6 hours. Never have I stayed at a ‘hotel’ that didn’t provide this service, let alone charge extra no at such an excessive rate.

Would definitely...