The Pickwick Hotel — Hotel in San Francisco

I initially booked a different hotel. The other hotel, Hotel Diva in case you were wondering, was HORRIBLE and extremely unsafe. I checked out within 4 hours of checking in and made my way to Hotel Pickwick. I booked through a site called Reservation Desk, which I had never used before. I stayed here over pride week so it was hard to find available rooms anywhere that didn't cost a fortune. Hotel Pickwick was recommended to me by the staff at the Hampton Inn, which was recommended to call by the Hilton. I took my chances and booked Hotel Pickwick, figuring that anything could be better than Hotel Diva. I was so happy with my stay at Hotel Pickwick. It was about $1,200 for 5 nights, which is not a bad price for San Francisco, especially the favorable location that Hotel Pickwick is in. When I first arrived, I told the woman at the desk my issue with the prior hotel. She was very empathetic and just a wonderful person. She had trouble finding my booking since I had only booked about 15 minutes prior, but she grabbed another member of staff and finally my booking popped up. The entire staff was SO FRIENDLY my entire stay. They only put a $10 hold on my card, telling me that they did that in case I were to drink the Voss waters in the room which were $3 each. They gave me a room on the 2nd floor, can't recall the room number. It was a handicap accessible room, which was weird to me because that's not what I booked, but with it being accessible it was a large room. However, the windows did not lock and it was attached to a roof that connected to another building with windows directly across. I called the desk and asked to be moved for safety reasons. They moved me up to the 3rd floor on a different side of the hotel, and while most of the windows still did not lock, I felt safe because they weren't within anyone's reach. The room was kind of small, but that was not a big deal for me. It was very clean. The bathroom was a decent size, and also very clean. The shower got hot immediately and the water pressure was great which is rare for San Francisco. The air conditioning unit was old but it worked very well, and it was nice that it was a vent in the wall rather than a unit that sticks out on the floor. During my entire stay, though the walls are thin, I only heard the people in the next room talking maybe once or twice over the course of 5 nights. You could occasionally hear people yelling down on the street but this is typical for San Francisco. I've stayed on high level floors in the Hilton in union Square with windows that do not open and are sealed shut and have had the same experience, so it did not bother me at all. The restaurant attached to the hotel had really great food which was a bonus. The elevators were REALLY slow, so I only used them when checking in and out with my suitcase. I used the stairs for my entire stay otherwise, which was my personal choice and totally okay with me. There are two vending machines up the first flight of stairs which was nice and reasonably priced to run down to for a drink or a snack. There was a business center with two computers and two printers. There is an excersice room but don't be expecting a gym, it's an elliptical and a treadmill and a few weights if I recall correctly. Who works out on vacation anyway?! Didn't make a difference to me. I never used the wifi during my stay as I only traveled with a phone and an iPad that both have unlimited data, but I know that the wifi is free. The BEST thing about this hotel was the STAFF. They were so kind, so caring, so understanding, and so welcoming. They smiled at me, said hello daily, asked me how I was doing, asked me if I attended the pride parade, made basic conversation, and never, at any time, made me feel unwelcome or like I was a struggle to have to deal with. This hotel saved me from an absolute nightmare at Hotel Diva and I am so grateful. I would definitely stay here again. It was safe, welcoming, in a great location, and staff could...

I would strongly advise against staying at Hotel Pickwick! If you want to enjoy your trip, avoid booking here at all costs!

After a grueling 18-hour journey, we finally arrived at the hotel, eager for some rest and a refreshing shower. Unfortunately, what awaited us in room 719 completely shattered our expectations. We were greeted by remnants from previous guests, such as lubricants in the bedside drawer, a headboard stained with unknown bodily fluids, and an overall filthy, neglected room. It was not only a huge letdown, but it also completely ruined our holiday spirit.

I immediately raised these issues with the front desk, only to be met with dismissive and unprofessional responses. One of the staff members tried to downplay the severity of the situation, showing little respect for the guest experience.

We were eventually moved to another room, but it wasn’t much better. Stains covered most of the textiles, including the duvet, pillows, and their covers, and the bathroom fixtures were in disrepair. It was clear that the hotel hadn’t seen proper maintenance or deep cleaning in years.

But the worst part was the hotel's response to my attempts to resolve the issues. Despite several attempts to contact the hotel, I was unable to reach anyone effectively. In fact, I received several failed delivery notifications when trying to email the hotel directly. For example, one of the emails I sent to [anonymized]@pickwick.com on October 9, 2024, failed to deliver with the following error:

Reporting-MTA: dns; [anonymized].com X-Postfix-Queue-ID: BB0A051A029A X-Postfix-Sender: rfc822; [anonymized]@domain.com Arrival-Date: Wed, 9 Oct 2024 17:15:25 +0200 (CEST)

Final-Recipient: rfc822; [anonymized]@pickwick.com Original-Recipient: rfc822; [anonymized]@pickwick.com Action: failed Status: 4.4.1 Diagnostic-Code: X-Postfix; connect to pickwick.com[13.248..]:25: Connection timed out

Later, I attempted again, only to face the same issue. Another email was rejected with this failure notification:

Reporting-MTA: dns; [anonymized].com X-Postfix-Queue-ID: 2D45C51A1043 X-Postfix-Sender: rfc822; [anonymized]@domain.com Arrival-Date: Wed, 9 Oct 2024 23:43:09 +0200 (CEST)

Final-Recipient: rfc822; [anonymized]@pickwick.com Original-Recipient: rfc822; [anonymized]@pickwick.com Action: failed Status: 4.4.1 Diagnostic-Code: X-Postfix; connect to pickwick.com[13.248..]:25: Connection timed out

This shows that not only was the room in poor condition, but the hotel’s efforts to address guest concerns were severely lacking. The lack of communication and failure to respond effectively to my concerns only added to the frustration.

In conclusion, this hotel fails to meet even the most basic expectations of cleanliness, maintenance, and guest service. It’s deeply disappointing to see such low standards in a country like the USA, where one would expect far better. It's a real shame to see what could have been a hidden gem fall into...

I ventured into San Francisco for the weekend to catch the Cleveland Guardians play the Oakland Athletics. I only needed a hotel for 1 night so when I looked at the reviews and location, I fell on this place. Everything looked up to par so I booked a room. My stay wasn't the greatest, but it did get the job done. Below are the pros and cons from my experience.

Pros: Very friendly, efficient, and helpful staff. Super clean room and bathroom. By far the cleanest shower head I've seen from my past hotel experiences. Very comfy bed. Felt like I was on a cloud. Shower was warm and the water pressure was fantastic. They had a good selection of shampoo and body wash for use. Full light blocking curtains which are a must for someone like me who needs near darkness to be able to fall asleep.

Cons: Has a very old-time feel where it seems like things were painted to look fresh but you can still see all the cracks, nicks, and loose door knobs. Bathroom door wouldn't latch closed. It was open and blocking my path when I entered the room. I did notify the front desk of this issue. The room was a mini oven when I walked in. I found the really old AC unit and how to operate it. It did eventually cool the room down some, but I had to turn the knobs on high, it took forever to cool down the room, and wasn't very efficient. One of the lamp plug outlets did not work even with the lamp turned on. The HDMI cables were unplugged from the TV and the cable box. I had to fiddle behind the TV and dresser to plug them in to watch TV. Too many of the limited channels listed came up as unavailable once selected. And no they weren't extra charge channels either. The hotel is across from one of the old San Francisco Mints which is now used as a place for parties and events. There was a loud music event going on there which thankfully ended at 10pm, but I could hear it from my room the whole time. A worker was working on a room and tripped the hotel's fire alarm in the evening. Fire trucks were there in under five minutes. It was an honest accident, but also a minor nuisance.

So was it worth the price I paid for one night...not really. Would I stay here again? Only if I couldn't find anything cheaper that had...