Sweden House Hotel

My best friend and I booked a room for a local conference because we wanted a budget option. We were meant to get bunk beds, but were given a double bed instead. The photos are very misleading: the gold trim is spray-painted plaster and stops around the lobby. Pipes stuck out of the walls, the windows were all left wide open for anyone to get in, and there was no security. Management offered to move us only about a day before we left. We found a roach in the closet on the first night and another in the bed on the third morning. I also have what look like bedbug bites on my arms. There was graffiti on the mirrors, doors, and walls, no real kitchen, and the shared bathrooms were a wreck. People in the hall shouted and slammed doors all night. Management was barely around and not effective when they were. All that for over $100 a night. It wasn't worth it. If you're down on your luck and need somewhere for the night, there are better and cheaper options.

For what I paid for two nights, it wasn't that bad. I was in town for the San Francisco Marathon, and the place was fairly close to the start. I only needed somewhere to sleep, and the room was okay for that. It had bunk beds, though I was there alone and used the lower one, plus a small fridge, sink, microwave, closet, and dresser. The closet had no handle, the metal hangers were bent, and one dresser drawer was missing. There wasn't a trash can. The door had a makeshift repair, with a metal plate taped to the wall, so I checked that it locked securely. Some floorboards creaked underfoot. The shared bathroom was on the second floor and looked very modern, which I was fine with as a college student. There's a gate at the front you can open with the sensor chip the assistant gives you. He was helpful and answered all my questions. The WiFi was good, although some parts of the hotel smelled like weed. Coming from Los Angeles, I guess it didn't seem as bad to me as it did to people who left negative reviews.

This place got me through a really hard stretch of my life, and I'm grateful to the owners and staff for the nights I stayed there. If you're after a clean room and a safe place on a budget, it's a good option. It's the cheapest hotel in a very expensive city, so you get what you pay for. Don't expect a day spa or room service, and it doesn't even require a security deposit.

The sheets on the beds were rubber, which came in handy after we each put away about 1,239 Coors Lights at the Giants game. Trust me, you don't want to use the shared bathroom. It was like the first Saw movie, only with more blood. Apart from the overpowering Lutfisk smell coming off my pillowcase, there was nothing Swedish about the place.