Grand Bay Hotel San Francisco

I was pleasantly surprised by the hotel. My room was very nice and seemed recently refreshed. I’m an airline pilot and have stayed in plenty of places, and while I do avoid some extra fees and charges, the staff here were all great. There are walking paths nearby, spots to sit, and lovely lagoon views. Redwood marketplace is about a half-mile walk and has food and a grocery store. I’d stay here anytime, despite some recent reviews mentioning issues.

The rooms are decent and it’s a nice place, but the shower let me down. The water pressure is only mediocre, and it takes about 15 minutes for the water to get hot. San Francisco itself was just awful for me. Everyone seemed nasty and rude, like NPCs. I wish I were kidding. Everything here felt like a terrible experience.

On 12/13, we stayed here and had a disappointing visit from start to finish. We couldn’t reach the front desk or any on-site staff, even though we only wanted to place a basic room service order. The operator was the only person we could get through to. She hung up on me several times and sounded more irritated every time I called back, as if asking for help was a bother. There was no escalation, follow-up, or effort to sort it out. The room also hadn’t been cleaned properly. Smudges on the nightstand and appliances were visible, as if the surfaces hadn’t been wiped. That was unpleasant and unacceptable for a hotel claiming professional hospitality standards. Between the lack of service, rude staff, and questionable cleanliness, the hotel failed at the basics. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who cares about clean rooms, a timely response, or even minimal customer care.

We checked out just two hours after arrival. The lobby and downstairs areas looked grand, clean, and impressive, but the guest room felt dated, smelled unpleasant, and had worn, mismatched décor. At checkout, the receptionist tried to charge my card again even though I’d prepaid through Expedia. When I pointed that out, all I got was “oh,” with no explanation or help. Nobody offered another room or any other way to address what had gone wrong. We still haven’t been able to get a refund or credit from the hotel, despite Expedia’s amazing efforts. We had booked because of the strong reviews and the hotel’s proximity to the college rowing tournament we were attending. At the restaurant, the ambiance was lovely, but the service was painfully slow. With extra guests, we waited about 30 minutes just to place a drink order, then another 20 minutes passed without any more service. We switched from the outdoor table to one inside, hoping it might help, but it felt like we were an inconvenience. When the food finally arrived, it was bland and cold. We chose not to complain at the time out of courtesy to the staff. The whole stay was disappointing. The shared spaces may look beautiful, but the service and rooms didn’t live up to the ratings that led us to book.