Music City Hotel - The San Francisco Music Experience

The pods are clean enough and have a sink, and the place observes quiet hours. Shampoo and towels are provided. Sleep was harder, though, because the mattress is a thin, hard 6-8 inch foam pad. There are only two bathrooms and showers for the whole floor. During the day you have to keep your luggage in your pod under the mattress pad. Some rooms are up a third-floor walk-up with no elevator, and the pod outlets are USB only, with no regular AC outlets.

We had a shared capsule room with family and loved the fun, quirky, affordable place. The rooms were clean and comfy, the staff friendly and helpful, and it's fairly central with easy access around SF plus some really good restaurants, cafes, and bars nearby. Just know what you're in for: it's also a hotel with performance and rehearsal spaces. There was heavy bass thumping until about 12:30 am on Saturday. Sunday and Monday nights quieted down sooner. You get free entry to live performances in the building, so head down and catch some local music. We'd recommend it to other adventurous travelers.

This is my regular spot, and every stay has good vibes. If you're into music, this is the place. The staff are super cool and friendly, and it feels like a home for artists from all walks of life.

I was curious to try a capsule hotel, and the sleeping setup itself was fine. The low price came with some obvious downsides, though. The place smelled like a locker room or bathroom, and the hallway outside my room smelled like urine. The website said breakfast was included, but I never found any breakfast available. Both showers I used had ill-fitting doors, so water ran onto the floor, and one had no working light, leaving me to shower in the dark. On my first night, a disheveled man who seemed intoxicated wandered around the narrow stairs. Around 5 the next afternoon, I saw him again swaying and stumbling by my door. He smelled of feces, in that same urine-smelling hall. I stayed two nights and chose not to stay the third. It felt like the place might have seen better days.