To be completely fair, I will start with the negatives:
The the hotel is in the area described by Orbitz as 'Union Square/Knob Hill' and better described as 'Tenderloin' - a more deprived area. The hotel gardens could do with a slight make-over so the art sculptures don't look like discarded scrap. Some guests can be a little inconsiderate and despite the best efforts of the staff, can be noisy (well) after midnight. Now the better bits:
Friendly, informal and helpful check-in. Good-sized rooms; very clean and comfortable. The pool and patio area are clean.
Breakfast of fruitjuice, bread, butter, jam (jelly), sweet pastries/cake, fresh fruit and acceptable coffee. The restaurant attached to the hotel is the Bambuddah Lounge which has a happy (2) hour(s) for cocktails which are competently mixed by the barstaff at half price - excellent value, and good even at full price. The menu is an asian-mediterranean fusion and quite interesting, enjoyable, tasty and well-presented. If going out at night, reception are happy to call you a cab.
In summary, we enjoyed our two nights at the Phoenix and would recommend it as a city break 3 Star hotel.

Noisy experience. Uncomfortable beds. Our room did indeed have small roaches. Bar was never open during our three-night stay. Constant noise from pool, no matter how hard they try to keep it quiet after 10 p.m. Wireless connectivity did not work at all; we were told it was our computer's problem. Turns out it was their router the entire stay. Let me re-iterate: noise, uncomfortable beds, and did I mention noise?

This was a very fun hotel with a great bar and pool. All of the rooms faced onto the pool courtyard. We walked down to dinner at Farmer Brown's (great mint juleps), but if you're worried about the neighborhood you can always cab it. It was also a short walk to the Civic Center area.

The Phoenix is a really awesome hotel! The rooms are super clean and the whole staff's service is really amazing. They really treat you like you are special. The location is great, right in the center of everything so you can get around really easily. Its a really cool vibe and a lot of rockers have stayed there so it has awesome character. I and never hate on free breakfast in the morning. Whenever I come to San Francisco, I always stay at the Phoenix. You wont be disappointed.