The location couldn't have been better - right near the gates to chinatown, and round the block from union square, and all the transport routes.

Can't complain at all!

The Baldwin is OK. The staff are friendly, the location is good (right near Chinatown) and the windows open, so you can get fresh air. I also liked the fact that it was not affiliated with a chain. My only complaint is that it's frumpy without being interesting. All of the furnishings look like they were chosen by someone who had forgotten his glasses and randomly picked things out at a Home Depot closeout sale.

We stayed here for 4 nights. On the plus side, the location was very convenient, it was right outside Chinatown and was an easy walk to SFMOMA, the Ferry Building, and bus stops. The room and bathroom were clean and okay, although I asked for an extra pillow because the one pillow I got was flat and hard.

Having just a ceiling fan and no A/C, it got too hot in our room. What really didn't help is that the ancient radiator in the room, while technically turned off, was still running a little bit of hot water. The front desk guy came up to look at it but really couldn't do anything about it.

Our room faced the street, so there was definitely noise to deal with, but that would have been okay. What wasn't okay was the constant banging sound (something in the building rattling, maybe the elevator shaft) that was so loud I could hear it through earplugs. Couldn't sleep through that.

On our 2nd day there, even though we left the "Do Not Disturb" sign on our door, our room was cleaned anyway. This was just a little annoying because the whole reason we put the sign out is because we don't need new towels every day or to have our room cleaned when we've barely been in it. On our 3rd morning there, we had no water pressure in our shower. Another time our room got cleaned and the bar of soap we had only used for 2 days was thrown away and replaced with a new one, wrapped in plastic. As eco-conscious travelers, this was irritating to see.

We stayed here to save some money, but in the end, the prices were still too high for what you get.

Quiet, off-season inexpensive and a great staff make this the "location" to stay in. You just can't go wrong with this hotel.