Lovely little clean hotel. On the Union square side of SF but close to the tram lines which take you to Fishermans Wharf & you won't tire of getting on the trams, they're like an atraction in themselves & really enjoyable to ride. Starbucks is a couple of doors up the road a good way to start the day before you head off. I will be going back to San Fran because it is such an amazing city & will definitely try & book the Baldwin again.

Make sure you hire a GoCar for the day & be sure to book the evening Alcatraz tour well in advance on the net. Both superb experiences.

This is a perfectly adequate old-school hotel in an ideal location two blocks off Union Square - but on the good side, outside the Chinatown gate, rather than the Tenderloin side- for an un-heard of price. They let us book for only one night on a weekend and we paid $127 for a queen. Yes, the room is small and dated. But it was clean and the window opened for fresh air, and the bed was comfortable with down-like pillows that didn't tweak my neck. The room had a fabulous claw-foot bathtub that I could actually soak in all the way to my neck, and HOT water. My husband was running the marathon and had to get up at 3:30 am and he got a very good night's sleep.

I can see it would be noisy if there were noisy people on our floor, but we didn't have that problem, and as to street noise, well, it's a city. A big city and this hotel is downtown and it has old-style windows. They contract with the 450 Sutter garage, which was $25 for 24 hours, with in and out privileges. The front desk was very friendly and she let us check out at noon instead of eleven.

The downsides: no coffeemaker, and the coffee service in the lobby was pretty grim, with powdered creamer. There is a nice cafe across the street, but since I live locally I would just bring my own little coffeemaker next time. The hairdryer did not work and the elevator is slooooooow. But for the price, I would totally stay here again, the location is absolutely ideal.

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.