STAY AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Was a very LOUD location and was totally outdated. They had tried to paint but like my title says its like putting lipstick on a pig!! Total waist of cash. Find a girl/guy and stay at there place. That may be the one good thing that came of this. I am now staying at my lady friends home when ever i go there. She has now insisted. hahahaha . Thanks for that Powell!

Stayed January 2012. Perfectly located for taking the Bart from the airport. Lobby is deceiving as it is the best part of the hotel. That said, the corridors and rooms are dated but perfectly functional - old but clean. Staff all very friendly. Wifi throughout hotel with reasonable speed. Breakfast is poor, a coffee and some not very nice pastries. There is a coffee shop in the hotel lobby that serves good coffee & snacks, but you must pay. Homeless problem outside hotel but isn't this part of SF? Cable car turns outside for easy access to Fishermans Wharf etc., easy walking distance to Union Sq, plenty of taxis just outside to get anywhere else. Summary - dated hotel in perfect location, if you are after more than that stay at the Fairmont.

I stayed at the Powell while attending a conference nearby. It didn't start well. And I really don't like to complain but....

The cab driver dropped us at the Cyril Magnin entrance where we were promptly greeted not by the hotel staff, but a few homeless people asking for money and giving us a hard time. When we got inside, check in was slow. I don't think the front desk had processed our internet reservation and they had to do both rooms all over from scratch - even though we had e-mail confirmation.

The hallways weren't so bad. The building was dated, yes, but I enjoy an authentic antique feel and was looking forward to seeing my room. Unfortunately when I got there I found the carpet was terribly stained, the windows were wide open and the room was both frigid and humid (fog and rain all day...) and the bathroom had mould growing in between the tiles. I was in a suite and none of the clocks in the room had the correct time and neither remote control worked for the TV. About twenty minutes after I checked in a gentleman knocked on the door saying he had to take measurements of the room which made me slightly uncomfortable. Don't hotels have a turnaround time between 11 - 3 to take care of these things so as to not bother the guests?

I did sleep well and found the location to be a perfect base for shopping, dining and exploring (none of which I was able to do on this trip, sadly). I can tolerate a dated room, but unfortunately that along with poor housekeeping, maintenance and management will keep me from staying at The Powell when I do get to visit San Fran for pleasure.

A huge conference in SF forced me to the Powell in January 2012. The staff were fine, free WiFi was welcome but otherwise the hotel lacks almost everything. The location is very good at the base of the Powell/Mason cable car turntable, BART stop and the shops but that is simply not enough to bother even considering it. A room change at my request shifted me from a tiny room with a stains, miniscule bathroom and internal service channel view to a slightly larger room with stains, larger bathroom (no bath) and another service channel with loud defcating pigeons. Enough said. Oh and they have a happy hour!