Parc 55 San Francisco a Hilton Hotel

A Nice Pleasure Stay - For a Change In January, we stayed at the Parc 55 Hilton Hotel, for the fifth time - but the first one for a pleasure trip. All previous stays have been for business. The hotel is located on the edge of Union Square, and basically occupies the full block between Cyril Magnin, Eddy, Ellis and Mason Streets. Hilton took over management some years ago, and I took a tour, just after the management transition, and decided that it looked like a lovely property, and conveniently located. Because it was not built as a Hilton, there are some differences, though after the management change, some aspects will be familiar to one, who stays at many Hilton properties, as we do - as HHonors Diamond Members. We were assigned a small suite, 3207, which was both comfortable, and attractive. It is a corner suite, so that the bedroom has windows facing two directions, and at 32 floors up, some nice views of San Francisco, and from three different angles, though two were somewhat similar. There was even a view of the Bay, though in the distance.. Suite 3207 was divided into a small living room, a bedroom, then a small bath, plus a little wet-bar in the hallway. Starting from the suite’s front door, there is a hallway with a wet-bar area, with a mini-fridge, a small sink, and what was once the in-room snacks/drinks locker, which is now empty. On the wet-bar counter, there was water, an ice bucket, glasses and then a nice Keurig coffee maker, with stocked coffee caddy. This is a definite upgrade from the typical Hilton corporate-issue 1-2 cup Cuisinart coffee makers, that we are used to seeing. Then, straight ahead is the small livingroom area, with a love seat, and a table, a stand and a fairly large flat-screen TV. There is a window in the livingroom. To the right, there is a hallway to the bedroom, and bathroom, and they are far enough away, that one could watch the TV in the livingroom, and likely not disturb someone sleeping - not a concern for us on this leisure trip, but convenient on business trips, when my wife has very early meetings. In that hallways, there is another, small closet. The bedroom has a comfortable king bed, windows on two wall, a small desk, and then a dresser with a large flat-screen TV. There is a full closet, and then a smallish bathroom, with a nice walk-in shower. This is convenient for my wife, who had two hip replacements, and is one reason that we went with this level of suite. The bathroom had a single sink, in a small vanity, but there was a shelf to store toiletries. There was also a tray of bath amenities with a nice compliment of Crabtree & Evelyn Verbena & Lavender products - a step up from the Peter Thomas Roth bath products, that Hilton had used for years. There was a hair drier in the bathroom, and the towels were very nice. The closet here was adequate for all of our clothes, and we had quite a few, though this was a fairly short trip, as we had a wine maker event, that was formal. We had a vertical safe, which is not so good for tablets, etc., as they have to be stood up on end, and tend to fall out. There was an iron, and ironing board, as well. Back in the bedroom, that TV had several AV inputs, which would be good for viewing presentations on a laptop, plus copious AC and USB outlets. We had plenty of outlets for charging many devices, and lots of horizontal space, to place them, so they were not hanging out of a wall. Near the bed there was an iHome combo clock, and iPod docking station, with additional USB outlets - a great business hotel room! On the desk, there was an iPad “concierge,” but we did not use that - all meals, and events were scheduled, so though we were tourists this trip, we had everything booked already. We found Suite 3207, as the rest of the hotel, to be very quiet. In our room, we heard no noise from within the hotel, or from the streets below. We had little interaction with staff, during this stay, but all were very nice, friendly and welcoming. We dined at the upper-lobby restaurant, Cable 55 for two lunches, and wines. On this visit, we did not dine at Kin Khao, the Michelin-starred Thai restaurant, on the lobby level. Now, the lobby is split onto three levels - the lower level (the building is on a hill, so the lower lobby, is a level below the lobby at the back of the building), has work tables and chairs, and then there is a mezzanine with more seating, in a smaller area, and finally, the upper-lobby has nooks and crannies, to sit, and also have semi-private meetings - very convenient for business travel. As usual, there was a changing art exhibit in the upper-lobby. On one visit, there was a very large, and interesting display of Alcatraz, but this exhibit was much smaller, but interesting, none the less. Near the reservations desk, and before Cable 55 Restaurant & Bar, there is a manned Concierge Desk, but we did not use that service on this stay. We never had any issues getting a taxi, or ride-share from Parc 55, and on this visit, were all over the city for dining and events. For our first leisure stay, this was very nice, as have been all of our business stays at Parc 55.

We stayed at this property in the fall of 2019 and we were very disappointed. The hotel itself is in a good location, it’s easily accessible and there is a wide range of shops and restaurants just a stones throw from the hotel. So that’s great! The room was of a good size, it was well maintained (maids worked hard to keep it clean) and the view was great from the room... however it could do with a renovation as it was starting to show it’s age. This properties main downside is it’s staff. From the second we arrived at the property the staff instantly created a negative and unpleasant atmosphere. The worst of all were the luggage porters. Each question was met with an eye roll, everything was an inconvenience to them and they acted this way to everyone, not just us....yet funnily enough, when we collected our luggage on the day of our departure, a manager was nearby and suddenly their attitudes and work ethic changed... funny that! Additionally, when checking in and out, the staff didn’t even make any eye contact with us. To be honest, we would have had more interaction from a robot than their own reception staff. Elsewhere in the property, the staff we passed in corridors etc... also showed no interest in being friendly. It was a huge shame! We are both high up in the Hilton loyalty rankings and we have stayed with them throughout the world, yet we received no recognition etc... I get this really isn’t that important, but the staff here just don’t care. Hugely disappointed, we’ll never stay here again and we don’t recommend that you do either. There are other properties close by that would serve you better.

This place never disappoints ;) it's close to the Trolley station and the mall so plenty of restaurants and shopping within walking distance. The staff is very courteous and attentive. This is where I stay whenever I visit San Francisco.

This is a typical Hilton hotel in terms of the soaps, sheets and towels that you will see in the room. My room also had a coffee maker and a refrigerator. I did not use the restaurant or parking. Take the BART from the airport. The hotel is right next to a station, a VERY short walk. I found the front desk agent Maria particularly helpful. She was able to point out things in the neighborhood and gave me some directions. The concierge is also available, but was busy when I arrived. The design of the hotel is very interesting and I would call it 80's-esq though I don't know anything about architecture. The rooms have these great bay windows which makes it nice to take in the skyline views.

Be prepared for $80+ parking per day and if you are a Hilton Honors member, don't expect benefits. Everything there they charge for and really you don't have any benefits as a Honors member. No lounge, happy hour, business space, etc.