Castle Inn, San Francisco

The Castle Inn is a small B&B/motel and one of the best kept accommodation secrets in San Francisco. My wife and I stayed there for our belated honeymoon for just over a week in April this year, encouraged by all the great reviews we had seen on various websites. Whilst it can't compete with the likes of the Sheratons and upper-end Holiday Inns in the luxury stakes, it has plenty of its own plus points setting it apart from the more well known hotels.
...at the Castle Inn is its location - on Broadway in the Russian Hill district, it's set away from the main tourist hubs. Instead, you're right in with the locals and treated to a more natural SF, a world away from the city's most famous landmarks. Not that it's miles away from anywhere, mind - Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39, the Financial district and Embarcadero, Telegraph Hill, Union Square, Yerba Buena Gardens, the Sony Metreon, Cannery ... more

The Castle Inn is a small B&B/motel and one of the best kept accommodation secrets in San Francisco. My wife and I stayed there for our belated honeymoon for just over a week in April this year, encouraged by all the great reviews we had seen on various websites. Whilst it can't compete with the likes of the Sheratons and upper-end Holiday Inns in the luxury stakes, it has plenty of its own plus points setting it apart from the more well known hotels.

The first thing you'll notice on arrival at the Castle Inn is its location - on Broadway in the Russian Hill district, it's set away from the main tourist hubs. Instead, you're right in with the locals and treated to a more natural SF, a world away from the city's most famous landmarks. Not that it's miles away from anywhere, mind - Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39, the Financial district and Embarcadero, Telegraph Hill, Union Square, Yerba Buena Gardens, the Sony Metreon, Cannery Row and Ghirardelli Square are all within a 20-30 minute walk (providing you don't mind a bit of footwork and negotiating those hills!) and extremely easy to get to. In fact, the only places you can't really reach on foot from the Inn is anything West of Haight-Ashbury, but public transport links are very close at hand and the owners will tell you which bus you need to get and where you need to pick it up. Also nearby are plenty of decent bars, shops and restaurants (there's an excellent Thai restaurant a mere thirty seconds away from the front door) that most people staying in SF will miss. One of the great things about the Inn's location is that it's in a nice, safe neighbourhood. Most people think that off the tourist track usually means not a place for tourists to be at night, but in the Russian Hill district even if you get off the main road it's very safe at night and, actually, a pleasure to mooch around. The locals are friendly without being overly in your face (as they are in many US tourist areas) and you can take a day just exploring the Russian Hill area.

One of the Inn's major selling points (apart from its relatively low price) is how friendly and helpful the owners (Varsa and Marshall) are - they really are stars. After we had dropped off our luggage in the room (more of which later), we went back to reception and Varsa gave us some maps of SF and marked on them places to go, places not to go, public transport routes and all sorts beyond. Both Varsa and Marshall were always on hand if you needed recommendations for bars, restaurants, places to visit etc, if you wanted to get a cab anywhere, or if you wanted to hire a car, and they were quick to sort out any problems we had - the toilet in our room was blocked and overflowing and Marshall was there in seconds to sort it out, whilst Varsa addressed the problem of the people in the room above us stomping around until 5am! They really do go out of their way to make their guests feel welcome, so much so that it almost felt like a one to one personal service - far from the anonymous service one might get in one of th bigger, more luxurious hotels.

As for the rooms, they are basic - en-suite, TV, microwave and fridge and that's it - and, decor-wise a little bit dated, BUT they are very comfortable and, most importantly, quiet. Though situated on the busy Broadway, all of its rooms open onto an inner courtyard, so you're sheltered from the noise of people and traffic. A friend who stayed in the much more expensive Holiday Inn at Fisherman's Wharf recently barely slept with the noise from outside which begs the question - what's the point in paying more for a luxury room if you don't get any sleep!?!?!? Similarly basic is the breakfast - they don't have the room or the facilities to lay on a big buffet, instead providing things like muffins, health bars, yoghurt, coffee and cereal in reception, which you can help yourself to every morning. But they don't claim to provide a belly bursting breakfast and, really, there's not much point in them providing it anyway when there are so many good breakfast eateries in the very near vacinity. One unique bonus is the free parking on offer - though we didn't hire a car ourselves, free parking is a major incentive, especially being that close to major attractions, so anyone wishing to hire a car can rest easy with the knowledge that they'll be able to park it up in the hotel at no extra cost.

The Castle Inn is perfect for people who only use a room as a base to sleep, wash and get changed in, but those expecting a cheap Sheraton or Holiday Inn will be disappointed - some who have stayed at the Inn have mistakenly gone in expecting a luxurious cheap alternative to the big hotels in the tourist areas (where they get that info from is hard to say - even the Inn's own website doesn't claim to be in the same league as those other hotels), but it's nothing like that. It's just a basic, clean, comfortable, quiet, good value motel with friendly staff and within walking distance of the attractions - anyone staying in SF who just wants a good base will be hard pushed to find anything better than the Castle Inn.

www.castleinnsf.com 

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