Great place to stay! Small rooms but very nicely decorated and appointed. After schlepping around SF all day, it was a wonderful respite to get in our room - yes, we got the goldfish. All room details were of high quality - really liked the sound system/cd player and the L'Occitane bath products. Things are a bit quirky here (e.g. leopard print bath robes), so maybe not for a real conservative guest. Also, if you need alot of space or a view you may want to look elsewhere. We looked at several Kimpton hotels in the area and believed the Monaco to be the best. The restaurant and bar area are beautiful. The Sunday breakfast menu was weak as they force you into more of a lunch/brunch menu. Bottom line: SF has a huge number of lodging options and we love to try new places, but we would probably not bother and return to the Monaco.

Hotel Monaco exceeded our expectations. It is a BEAUTIFUL and luxurious hotel, yet only 15.00 more a night than the Comfort Inn with no A/C that we stayed at in Carmel! It is in the business district and we did have to use quite a bit of public transportation but that is what San Fran is about! The rooms were stunningly decorated- so unique and beautiful. The bed linens, pillows were so comfortable. The wine and cheese hour, included, between 5 and 6 was a classy touch that no one wanted to miss as was the Starbucks coffee in the mornings. We had a problem with a toilet and it was repaired immediately. We ate at the hotel restaurant and though it was very expensive, it was worth it. Great service, quality and selection. We loved this hotel and would recommend it highly! A great value for such luxury.

This is really my favorite hotel pretty much anywhere. I had booked another hotel for my stay because the rates were so high for my dates. It turns out there was a huge convention going on at that time. On my second morning in the city, I called the Monaco to see if they had availablity. The rates were much better so I called a cab at 7:30 am and moved. I just love the Monaco. It was my first experience with a boutique hotel and it's just a fit for me. I've stayed at the huge convention hotels for conferences - and yes, the rooms are much larger. But, they are much more sterile as well. I love the colors, the vibe, the entire atmosphere of the hotel. Of course, I had the pet goldfish delivered to the room. I named it "Cybil" - in honor of Cybil Shepherd performing just blocks away in a one woman show. The location can't be beat. The rooms are fabulous. The staff is ALWAYS friendly and helpful and attentive. I consider staying at other Kimpton hotels in SF, but I know I'll always come back to the Monaco. Breakfast the morning of my move was a fabulous omelet at the Grand Cafe. I love this restaurant almost as much as the Monaco. :-)

I loved my stay at the Hotel Monaco, one of my most pleasant hotel stays ever. I had a double room on the 6th floor which wasn't exactly large, but not as tiny as some have mentioned. There was minimal street noise, much less than I expected. The room was extremely clean, the linens soft and high quality, and the bed was very comfy. The room had a lot of amenities like the DVD player and video game I didn't use, but they were nice to have. The in-room safe is a great feature, much appreciated. The mini bar was a regular fridge, so you can fit some bottles of your wine and water in there. The free WiFi was great, and even the IT guy I spoke to on the phone when I had trouble connecting was pleasant and helpful. The location was very convenient, and I agree with the others that most of areas of downtown SF are "mixed," so it's not like it's an unsafe neighborhood. I had no problems walking around in the daytime and evenings alone. The evening wine and morning coffee are such a nice feature. However, like some others have said, the problem is with people's bad manners, not the hotel. During my stay, some parents allowed their kids to play noisy video games and wrestle around on the couches during the evening reception. What part of "hosted wine reception" says, "Bring the kids!" Overall, I don't think children are a problem at this hotel as it's clearly not trying to be "child-friendly" -- I think it's just summer and a lot of families are traveling. I would not want a dread of unruly children to keep people from this lovely hotel.

Not nearly as good as I had hoped. The room was tiny--and yes, I know SF rooms are often small, but this was half the size of my room recently at the Omni. There was no room for a chair. I requested my pet goldfish and wasn't brought one. Good thing, as there was nowhere to put it. They make a lot of effort to separate you from your money. There's a mandatory 20% gratuity on room service. What's this for? The delivery, I guess. But wait, there's already a $3 delivery fee as well. Really really cheap of them. Other things like, they offer you a free toothbrush but if you take it, they charge you for it and only remove the charge if you point out that there's a sign in the room saying it's free. It really irritates me how the more expensive the hotel is, the more stingy they act. Internet didn't work for 20 hours and they couldn't figure out why. The spa was closed and has been for weeks, which was a big disappointment as that had been a big selling point for me. Overall, it was okay as the striped walls were cute, but not nearly as nice or friendly as I had hoped.