The Presidio

I booked one night before my courthouse wedding and requested a late checkout online, but that was ignored. The next day I called and left a message asking for one, but got no answer or call back. At check-in, a young man told me they could accommodate it. On checkout morning, I went to the office to confirm and ended up dealing with Valerie, the “manager.” She looked annoyed as soon as I walked in. When I asked if the late checkout was still okay, she rudely said it wasn’t happening. I was confused because her employee had said yes, and as we went back and forth, she kept yelling over me, laughing at me, and rolling her eyes. When I asked who she reported to so I could complain, she laughed and said I could email. I will, and I’ve also filed a complaint with the BBB. She handled the situation badly and disrespected me. The right thing would have been to apologize and explain that they don’t offer late checkout, including an apology for the misinformation. She didn’t say sorry or try to make up for the confusion. For someone working as a manager in customer service and hospitality, I expected a warm welcome and the ability to handle a situation like this. Instead, she treated me badly and laughed at me. I didn’t really care about getting the late checkout. I just wanted to ask if it was possible. I’m upset about how she treated me and my family, and how she handled something this simple. It didn’t need to get to that point. I came in politely and treated her with respect, because I treat people how I want to be treated. Clearly she doesn’t.

Room 15 is advertised as having free wifi, but it didn’t work there. The bed was uncomfortable, old, and had a box spring instead of being like the modern beds in many hotels. The chair at the counter where you can work was sunken in, and there was no overhead lighting. When I raised the poor lighting and wifi with Jessica at the front desk and asked for a partial refund, she dismissed me and got defensive. She said the wifi worked and that, since nobody else had complained, it must be a “user error.” She made false statements about what I’d reported and actually walked away while we were talking. She said the manager would get back to me, but gave me no way to contact the manager. The manager hasn’t contacted me.

We appreciated how clean and recently renovated the rooms were. We’re giving only three stars because check-in was difficult: we arrived at 3 pm and nobody was at the desk, and staff didn’t return until much later. The front desk was unattended most of the time during our stay, which was inconvenient. The motel advertises free bikes, but we were strongly discouraged from using them. We were told we’d need special high-visibility gear to ride at night or risk a ticket, even though the city was full of people biking in regular clothes without any issues.

For a location this great, I expected the room to have more. It’s minimally equipped, with no hangers, and you have to request a kettle for hot water and an iron.