Buena Vista Motor Inn

We picked this place partly because parking was free, while other hotels were charging $40-80 a night. Turned out we got lucky, since it was a nice, clean inn with friendly staff. Great location too. We reached the main sights, including the Pier, bridge, Chinatown, Lombard, and pink ladies, in about 10 minutes or so.

The location was good, and the staff were nice, but we had a lot of room issues. On the first night both beds had hair on them and the room smelled musty. They quickly brought extra bedding, but we had to change it ourselves. There was more hair in the towels the next morning. We asked for fresh towels before heading out, then came back to a room that had supposedly been serviced, with the original bedding still in the corner. The new towels had hair too. The bathroom had an old used soap bar, a shower handle that needed fixing, and more hair on the walls and ceiling. I don’t think the room was properly cleaned in the first place. The beds are very firm, and the AC works well. Garage parking is VERY tight and first come, first served. If you don’t find a spot by evening, you may be hunting blocks away for one. Not fun.

I checked out of Buena Vista and got to my airport gate before realizing I’d left my fancy Anker charger and portable battery, with two USB-C ports, in the room. I called, they found it, and shipped it to me after I sent a USPS label. No extra charge. That was huge. It’s ironic because the front desk is virtual, so you might expect less of a human touch, but they really helped me out. The room was as affordable as you’ll find in SF.

They told me my card was only for the security deposit, so I was shocked to find another charge almost as large as the reservation on it at checkout. I’d already paid the full booking through Airbnb, and nobody clearly explained the extra charge or gave me a receipt. I called several times to sort it out, but no one picked up. The front desk staff spoke very little English, which made dealing with the problem nearly impossible. The hotel itself wasn’t terrible, but this was honestly one of my worst stays. Paying in advance, I didn’t expect this kind of experience.