Handlery Union Square Hotel San Francisco

I was hesitate staying at this hotel because I like luxury hotels, but to my surprise this upscale boutique hotel is the best location in SF for an afforable price. The hotel is situated walking distance to Union Square (1 block), China Town (5 blocks) and Westfield Centre Mall (3 blocks). At the corner, you'll find cable car that can take you through Nob Hill and Fisherman's Wharf. My room with two twin beds was very roomy and the staff was very helpful and friendly. I read the hotel reviews from Tripadvisor and found it to be 3 star with medicore reviews. But boy am I glad I did not listen to the bad reviews and went with my instinct. It was a perfect find. I will definitely be staying there again when I return to SF.

The Handlery Hotel is a family owned and operated property. I always like it as it has a friendly atmosphere and although the staff and the hotel are very professional, it doesn't feel 'corporate'.

The location is right on Union Square, which is where the major department stores are, and also where the main transport systems intersect. The hotel is two blocks from Powell Street Station which has both Bart (which takes you to SFO, down the Penninsula and over to Berkley and the East Bay) and Muni (the metro light rail system which will take you to the various neighborhoods like the Castro, Mission, Haight, Golden Gate Park etc) and is one block to the Cable Car line - which will take you to North Beach and Fisherman's Wharf.

Like many major cities, hotel accommodation in San Francisco is generally expensive, small and the buildings are old. So with that in mind, the rooms at the Handlery are really spacious, newly decorated and reasonably priced by San Francisco standards. We stayed in a Club room which I think are slightly bigger than the regular rooms. The hotel is currently undergoing renovations to the rooms, so everything in the room is new and nicely decorated.

Although we were on the 8th (and highest) floor, because our room was facing the street, we did get a lot of street noise - it doesn't seem that the windows are double-paned. Being used to city noise this wasn't an issue for us, but it is something worth noting. The hotel is actually a square shape with a pool in the center of the property, so more than half of the rooms face the pool and do not get the city noise.

The Handlery is the kind of hotel I could have my parents stay in. It is well-located, clean, warm and comfortable with a really friendly, family feel.