The Bartlett Hotel and Guesthouse — Hotel in San Francisco

My partner and I are low maintenance and happy to weather minor inconveniences. Based on reviews, we thought we'd be fine at Bartlett. It becomes a problem, though, when the minor inconveniences just pile up more and more every day of a six day stay.

Checking in was a hassle. Bartlett Hotel and Hotel Stratford, which is around the corner and across the street, are owned by the same people. They do not bother staffing Bartlett, which is not mentioned in booking, nor is there a sign outside Bartlett telling you to go to Stratford to check in. When another guest finally let us in to Bartlett, we found the front desk unstaffed with a sign to go to Stratford. So we took our suitcases and walked over to a different hotel to check in, which was quite the wait because they don't have a card scanner - the receptionist had to type in individual credit card numbers. Our check-in wasn't terrible, but we probably stood there 20 mins waiting for the couple in front of us to get checked in. I don't blame the receptionist - I assume the hotel has elected to use cheap software for the check-in process that requires a ridiculous number of clicks.

The room itself was clean, but had some faults. The windows do not have locks. One window we were able to open and it would stay open, but the other had no mechanism to keep it open, which was crucial with no AC during a heat wave. We used chopsticks to prop said window open to maximize airflow. In the morning we were greeted by kids screaming in the hotel pool beneath our window - mind you, that pool is not attached to the Bartlett. So it wasn't a pool we could go enjoy, but we got to listen to other people screaming in it.

There’s also a clip-on light on the "desk" that just has a wire and no way to plug it in.

The ceiling fan was nice, but the ceiling light would randomly turn on multiple times at night and wake us up and blind us until we got up to turn it off.

The bathroom supplied us three towels - one for the floor, and one for each of us. No hand towel. And the hand soap was broken, which I know could not have gone unnoticed by housekeeping, but I doubt they get paid enough to care. In the shower, there are large bottles of body wash, shampoo, and conditioner. However the conditioner is so old it has separated, and what comes out basically looks like water and curdled milk.

We generally do not use housekeeping at any hotel we stay at, but given the dearth of towels and TP, by the third day we decided to go to the front desk (at Stratford - Bartlett wasn’t staffed) to ask for towels and TP, and were told "just have housekeeping service your room." So that night, we changed our "Do not disturb" sign to "Please service room." The next morning we left for most of the day and arrived back late evening. Housekeeping had never been in - no fresh towels and no TP. We went to the local Walgreens (which to be fair is quite close and convenient) and just bought our own toilet paper.

The location is nice with the Powell Street Station close by, but overall we can't wait to check out tomorrow and finally get a good night's sleep at home, uninterrupted by a possessed ceiling light. If you're looking for a budget hotel, there are better options in SF. Pass over this one and keep looking.

Edited the second to last morning of our stay: I went to the Stratford front desk myself (again, no one at the Bartlett desk) to beg for fresh towels after our housekeeping request was ignored yesterday. The front desk advised me they would have fresh towels delivered to our room. Housekeeping services cost an additional $50, which my partner was not advised of when he was told to "just have housekeeping service our room" if we just wanted fresh towels or TP. Apparently having towels or TP delivered to your door are free, but he was not told any of that before being told we should just request housekeeping. Now kind of grateful housekeeping ignored us. I'd be a little angry to have paid $50 when all we wanted was TP and...

The price and location of the place is great and the room was comfortable and a great size. Those are unfortunately the only positive things I have to say about the place.||It is advertised that they have a kitchen for guests to use. This is the main reason why I chose them over other options in the area. The reason being that I am travelling on a budget and being able to cook my own meals would save me a lot of money.||Anyway, on my first day, I went grocery shopping and bought a whole bunch of things for me to cook throughout the week. When I got back to the hotel, I went straight to the kitchen to put the chilled items in the fridge. I couldn't not find a fridge anywhere in the kitchen! I called the reception (at Hotel Stratford) to ask about it immediately. They said that there is one in the kitchen. I said there definitely is not. Then they said there should also be one in my room. I said there definitely is not. They got my phone number and room number and said they would get back to me soon. I waited of course, because I had chilled items that needed to be put in the cold right away. This also delayed me a lot as I had plans to go out then too. I saw some other guests in the kitchen and asked them if they knew about any fridge. They said they had one in their room, but there was none in the kitchen. After much waiting, I ended up going out anyway. I would have gone back to the hotel if I got a call saying they could arrange a fridge. What a stressful first day.||Come the next morning, I still had not heard anything back from them. So I had to throw out all of the cold items I bought:( What a waste. I then sent a message to them online through their website about the matter, in case it would be easier to get their attention that way. I was hoping that if they could get a fridge in my room or at least in the kitchen, I could still repurchase some of the same things I had to throw out and do some cooking on this trip. I still have received no response.||Anyway, I did proceed to cook something on the stove. Then when about to eat, I looked around for the plates, bowls, silverware, etc. There were none!! How was I supposed to eat my food? Well, straight from the pan using the measuring spoon that was in the drawer! How can they advertise a kitchen when there is no fridge, plates or silverware? This is definitely FALSE ADVERTISEMENT!||So I was not really able to eat a lot of the food that I bought to cook. So in the end my trip because far more expensive than it was supposed to be, as eating out was really my main option. I am so disappointed at the lack of communication and false advertising from them. It also cost me a lot more money in the end:( ||In addition to this, there was hair in the bathroom on the floor, in the shower drain and in the toilet bowl. The hallways also smelled strange.||I am certainly staying clear away from this place...

The price and location of the place is great and the room was comfortable and a great size. Those are unfortunately the only positive things I have to say about the place.||It is advertised that they have a kitchen for guests to use. This is the main reason why I chose them over other options in the area. The reason being that I am travelling on a budget and being able to cook my own meals would save me a lot of money.||Anyway, on my first day, I went grocery shopping and bought a whole bunch of things for me to cook throughout the week. When I got back to the hotel, I went straight to the kitchen to put the chilled items in the fridge. I couldn't not find a fridge anywhere in the kitchen! I called the reception (at Hotel Stratford) to ask about it immediately. They said that there is one in the kitchen. I said there definitely is not. Then they said there should also be one in my room. I said there definitely is not. They got my phone number and room number and said they would get back to me soon. I waited of course, because I had chilled items that needed to be put in the cold right away. This also delayed me a lot as I had plans to go out then too. I saw some other guests in the kitchen and asked them if they knew about any fridge. They said they had one in their room, but there was none in the kitchen. After much waiting, I ended up going out anyway. I would have gone back to the hotel if I got a call saying they could arrange a fridge. What a stressful first day.||Come the next morning, I still had not heard anything back from them. So I had to throw out all of the cold items I bought:( What a waste. I then sent a message to them online through their website about the matter, in case it would be easier to get their attention that way. I was hoping that if they could get a fridge in my room or at least in the kitchen, I could still repurchase some of the same things I had to throw out and do some cooking on this trip. I still have received no response.||Anyway, I did proceed to cook something on the stove. Then when about to eat, I looked around for the plates, bowls, silverware, etc. There were none!! How was I supposed to eat my food? Well, straight from the pan using the measuring spoon that was in the drawer! How can they advertise a kitchen when there is no fridge, plates or silverware? This is definitely FALSE ADVERTISEMENT!||So I was not really able to eat a lot of the food that I bought to cook. So in the end my trip because far more expensive than it was supposed to be, as eating out was really my main option. I am so disappointed at the lack of communication and false advertising from them. It also cost me a lot more money in the end:( ||In addition to this, there was hair in the bathroom on the floor, in the shower drain and in the toilet bowl. The hallways also smelled strange.||I am certainly staying clear away from this place...