Hotels – Nob Hill Hotel

First Impressions:

This place looks great, but small.  Inside is so cute, the decor might be a little over the top, but in a way it fits.  OMG this elevator is going to kill me, I know it.  If any elevator wants me to die it’s this one.

Wow, the room looks great.  Authentic or vintage?  I’m not sure what the right terms are.  Everything looks old and fragile, which probably means I’ll break something before I get out of here.

This place is way bigger inside than I had thought, there is this cool atrium thing, lots of big windows.  Lots of space for everything.

5-minute later impressions:

The bed is nice, but kind of bouncy.  I was prepared for the no A/C – not looking forward to it, but at least I can open the windows. The TV is quite small, and the viewing angles aren’t very good.  The windows only open a few inches and then get stuck with these screw things.  I’ll need to find a way to take them out.

Must Haves:

Air Conditioning:  There is what looks like an old AC unit in the wall, with the control panel, but it doesn’t work, sadly.

Only one window had a screen, which I guess wasn’t a big deal at the moment because there weren’t any bugs, but it would probably suck in the summer time.

They did get a fan for me when I asked, though it sounded like they didn’t get that request often so maybe not something to count on.

Water Pressure:  Nothing to write home about, but adequate.  Plenty of warm water, nice toiletries.  No ledges or anything in the shower, and no counter outside of it, just the pedestal sink – so that made it a bit awkward.

Bed Quality:  Quite comfortable, very springy.  I almost bounced Katie out of it at one point just rolling over.  A pleasant change from the previous hotel where I woke up stiff and sore every morning, woke up rested and mostly relaxed every day.

Bathroom Coziness:  I felt like my knees were up around my ears on the toilet, quite low to the ground, difficult to maneuver.  Semi uncomfortable with the giant window that had a curtain with a curtain rod that was ready to fall at any second.  I mean logically it’s probably held that curtain for years, but I had bad daydreams about it falling on me and people laughing while I was trying to get out of it sitting on the toilet.

Wifi:  Medium quality wifi, our streaming media would have to buffer fairly regularly.  Browsing was OK, hotel was at capacity while we were there, so probably quite a few people on.  If so, it was better than a lot of places.

Parking: No parking lot, the only option through the hotel was for Valet.  They did have 2 marked spots out front, so we could easily pull up and unload. Valet was pricey ($45/day), but we opted for it, just so we wouldn’t have to deal with finding a garage.

Retrieving the car from Valet was difficult, they kept saying to call 30 minutes ahead, the shortest we waited was 45.  There isn’t a lot of feedback, you call and hope the car will be coming around. The first time we had to remind them, apparently everyone had forgotten (we waited over an hour that time).

Luxury Needs:

Refrigerator:  Included and set extra cool.  First drink we pulled out was a slush – which is nice since in some places it feels like it barely cools things at all.  This one had a tiny freezer compartment, we didn’t use it, but it was there.

Toiletries:  Quite nice, soap was unpleasant to use in the shower, but the shower gel was quite nice.  Shampoo and conditioner of good quality and kept Katie’s hair looking lovely.

Desk coziness:  No desk, but a vanity.  No stool or chair.

Breakfast:  Breakfast served in the small attached restaurant.  Mini bagels and mini muffins.  Yogurt, some cereal and fruit.  Orange drink, milk and coffee included.

Lighting:  Room was quite dim, not a lot of lighting options.  The lamps flickered when touched.  The bathroom had automatic lights, which basically never turned off because the mirror faced in to the room.  Always had to get up after and turn them off, then close the door to make sure they didn’t come back on.

Ice:  Just down the hall, easy and convenient.  One of those ice chests that always has plenty to go around instead of pushing a button to vend in to your bucket.  I actually like this style better.

TV:  The TV was quite small and difficult to watch.  High on the dresser it was basically black laying in the bed, no couch or chair to sit in and watch.  I had to flip over a drawer and put the TV on it so we could at least see anything in the bed.  Once you were 5 feet away you couldn’t make out the picture.

Overall Stay:

For a boutique hotel built over 100 years ago, this place was great.  Knowing that going in would be important so you weren’t expecting any ultra modern conveniences or decor.  It was a fantastic stay, something to do once and enjoy the experience.

We didn’t take advantage of the wine and cheese daily social in the evenings, but there were always people in the lobby chatting and talking around that time.

I can’t confirm, but believe that each room is different, so even staying multiple times you’d get different experiences.  The hotel is much larger and more expansive than you’d think when pulling up or looking at it from outside.

The staff was always very friendly and accommodating, and I really have nothing bad to say about the whole experience.