Villa Florence San Francisco

December brings the annual legal conference that many of us at work attend and rates for hotels in Union Square can be cost prohibitive at times. This past year we were faced with the additional challenge of the conference being moved another week closer to Christmas. In order to justify sending everyone, they were challenged to find a nice hotel in or near Union Square for less than $200 a night, still within walking distance of the Westin St. Francis.

For the 2007 conference, they chose the Villa Florence and although the rooms were on the small side, it was just as nice as the Parc 55 we stayed at the year before. Rooms were $179 with our AAA corporate rate and I wasn't quite sure what to expect (the Westin was close to $250 a night) but I was pleasantly surprised. I was just relieved to see the down comforter and accompanying pillows!

During the evenings for a couple hours, complimentary wine tasting is offered at the lobby bar. Once you finish there, you can walk right into Kuleto's restaurant which is onsite - this is a fabulous upscale Italian restaurant.

The only downside I saw to this hotel was the small and narrow hallways which made luggage transportation a bit challenging at times but given that it's an older hotel and in San Francisco, I was not complaining. The concierge's desk was very helpful with requests and the location was less than one block from the Westin and our evening hang outs.

If you are looking for a clean and inexpensive (per SF standards) hotel in the heart of Union Square, I'd definitely recommend checking out the Villa Florence.

Very close to all the action, just up from where the trams get rotated on Powell St. My room was clean and quiet and the bed was comfy (not too soft, not too hard).

Each evening they have a couple of bottles of wine for you to sample from, for free. Though it does appear that you get the same wines each time. The Italian restaurant attached to the hotel is quite pricey, though the food is lovely.