Hotel Del Sol, a Joie de Vivre Boutique Hotel - San Francisco

Generally speaking, I was disappointed. While the location was very helpful, the accommodation/room was disappointing. When I arrived I was not given the room type that I requested (and payed for in advance). I was told that I was being given an "upgrade"; but when I saw the room, I have my doubts. It was dark, due to the huge shrub growing over the […] window. Probably better than the view of the neighborhood. The biggest issue was the lack of sound proofing. The walls were paper thin and I could hear every thing going on in the adjacent and room above me. Including the unhappy couple yelling at each other in the wee hours. The breakfast was somewhat redeeming; but it would have been nice to have a coffee pot in the room. Free parking was good, but make sure you inspect your car for dings before you leave. Read more

A nice but older motel, not terribly expensive but a nice place to stay. It's cozy and was refurbished from an older '50's motel - but it's cute, and walking distance to any of the warf activities or good food on Lombard Street and Union Square. My main priority was a clean place in downtown that didn't take up all my budget - and this place satisfied. […] The staff were friendly and helpful as well. I'd recommend it, but don't go looking for a luxury stay - look for value and comfort combined. Read more

Included parking is great. Near enough to Crissy Field, GGB, Fisherman's Wharf for walking. Hotel was nice, the neighborhood was not a problem at all. No noise, even at my early bedtime, at no time did I feel unsafe walking to or from anywhere in the dark. Easy access to Lombard St.

Just awesome for kids... lots of little goodies. Hotel staff could not be friendlier or more helpful. A bit far from the BART if public trans is a necessity, and the bathrooms were just so-so. But overall, we can't wait to return!

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The walls are thin as listed in previous posts, but it did not prevent me from sleeping. Free parking in San Fran, how can one complain?! I suggest bringing your own hair dryers. The current ones fit well with the retro decor, but also work as if they are from the 50's. Nice staff and good coffee!

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As a family on a budget, we loved this hotel. The cost included parking, breakfast, and wi-fi. It was fun and funky and the desk personnel were always pleasant and helpful. The immediate neighborhood was perhaps better for adults in terms of upscale restaurants and boutiques, but our family managed to hike to the waterfront area and Exploratorium and […] take modestly-priced taxi rides other places we wanted to go. The kids loved crashing on the giant hammock after a long day of hiking the San Francisco streets. Maybe the room wasn't as luxurious as a pricier hotel, but the rooms were colorful and fun and the beds were comfortable. After an exhausting day of site seeing that's what mattered most to us! Read more

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The kids loved the pool and we loved the retro look and the hammocks! Free parking is a huge plus and the rooms are clean, comfy and just what you need. All the staff are friendly!

Everything was fantastic. Loved having free parking. Help from the front desk was excellent and lots of variety at the continental breakfast. I know this was an older hotel, but the paint was peeling on the shower floor tiles. And small traces of mold on the shower walls. I did bring this to the desk clerk's attention but there was no follow throug […] h. Read more

The hotel was nice, clean, and for the most part convenient. The breakfast was just OK, but free parking mades up the that. My problem was with noise from constant footsteps above at 5-6 in the morning and screaming kids outside at 7-8 in the morning. The hotel staff is great and helpful and they can't control the kids.

The hotel looks very old already, they need serious updating so bad. The first day we stayed there the Toilet bowl got clogged up instantly, we called the front desk for repair and they were prompt in sending the repair man. On our third day the bathroom sink got clogged also, we called the front desk too but the repair man is not available so we need […] to wait. Until our check-out at 1100 am the repair man did not show up. The room smells very old and musty, the pillows are not fluffy, the carpet looks untidy, the beds are hard, and the overall room is not very pleasing. The hotel staff are friendly and very accomodating anyway. Read more

This place was all around a real good value. Clean neat and friendly and helpful.

First thing's first, you can tell that they people at Del Sol retrofitted the motel and there are a few places (like the paint) where the old motel shows its face. But given this small, I find the hotel very charming and unique. This hotel has personality (unlike other hotels) and is very unique. The rooms are decorated with a colorful palette and the […] staff is very helpful (in fact, the give great restaurant recommendations). But remember, this use to be a old motel so do not expect huge rooms. The hotel is located one block from a shopping street with stores like American Apparel, Lush , etc., so the neighborhood is fulled with young people and great restaurants. The hotel is 10 away from fisherman's warf , 20 min away from chinatown, and 30 min away from golden gate state park by car. If you are taking public transport, there are bus stations in a one block radius which can take you to any of those attractions and the staff is very helpful to let you know which bus to take. Overall I do recommend the hotel, it's clean, has personality, and in a great neighborhood. Read more

Very quaint & comfortable. Stayed here because of its close proximity to relatives we were visiting, and we were not disappointed. This place has some personality, and we will stay here again!

We have stayed at this hotel several times due to its proximity to our daughter's house. The rooms are very nice, although the bathrooms are small, and we were very comfortable there. The surrounding neighborhood has so much to offer; restaurants, bakeries, shopping and almost anything else you could need. It's also located conveniently to bus service […] and many of the often visited tourist spots. We recommend this hotel if you are looking for a good place away from the pricey downtown hotels. Read more

We enjoyed our stay and the location is pleasant, safe and convienient. It is truely a "Motel" centered around the Auto, literally, but that is the era it was built in so enjoy it. The pool and central area was great for the kids.

We definitely will be coming to stay at Hotel del Sol again and would recommend it everyone! Our daughter lives in the city and on our recent visit my husband and I stay at Hoet del Sol. We were very pleased with the price ,location, and parking! Our room was very clean and roomy. This hotel is very close to Crissy Field and the marina and we loved […] being able walk our dog whenever we wanted and felt safe. They had a very nice breakfast and offered tea and coffee anytime. Read more

What a great stay for a great price..

Great location and the room was wonderful and clean. The only issue is that when I made the reservation I asked for a King bed on the ground floor. I received a confirmation email saying they could accommodate my request, and when I got there all they had was twin beds on the 2nd floor. The front desk lady had no interest in listening to my request […] . Read more

Clean room in a very convinient location close to everything in San Francisco city! ...And a pretty good breakfast for this "motel style" hotel - Very good coffee too! The front desk staff was extremely helpful!

The location was walking distance to lots of awesome bars shops and restaurants so it was perfect for us. Also the courtyard had hammocks and was super cute (and fun even for 27 yr olds!) the rooms were very clean, the beds and pillows not awesome but good enough for an over nighter. Wouldn't stay here for business but it's a perfect getaway if u want […] a couple days to play in the city! The employees were awesome as well! Highly recommend Read more

This is an older hotel that has been completely renovated. It is not luxurious, but certainly very clean, quirky in its choice of bold colors, and so convenient if you need a place for your car. The location is hard to beat: the shops and restaurants on Union street are in walking distance. Service was very friendly. I would chose this hotel again in […] a heartbeat. Read more

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I am a meeting management consultant and traveled from a meetings industry conference to spend a weekend with my adult children in San Francisco. The Hotel Del Sol is well situated in the Marina near Fisherman's Wharf with excellent bus service nearby. The staff was very customer service oriented and the receptionist recommended an outstanding Thai […] restaurant that we all enjoyed. My daughter requested extra pillows and blanket and they were delivered within 5 minutes. The continental breakfast included hard boiled eggs and great bagels, which is a testament from a former New Yorker, as well as juice, coffee, and tea. Tea and coffee are available throughout the day. Most important, there is free Wi-Fi in the sleeping rooms. There were 2 hammocks which both of my children enjoyed using as well as pool that some children were brave enough to swim in during January. Read more

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As soon as we pulled up we knew that we were in love with this hotel. Might have been the hammocks and lighted palm trees. Phil was great and helped out with everything from a extra room cancellation, to directions, to extra towels. The double rooms are a bit small for 4 people, but it was ok since we're good friends. Everything seem like a short walk […] or cab ride. I'll definitely stay here again! Read more

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This hotel is quaint, but clean and seems to be well maintained. It is more like a motel, since the room doors are outside and not in a corridor. The room was no-frills, but was clean and had all the basic amenities. It seemed to have been recently renovated and painted. The staff was very courteous and helpful. They even helped me print out my airport […] boarding passes. The location was very good, since it was close to a lot of attractions. It was about a 10-15 minute walk to Fisherman's Wharf, which was where we spent a lot of our time dining, seal watching, shopping, booking cruises and tours. It was right around the corner from Lombard St and if you head east, you can see the crookedest street, Telegraph Hill and Coit Tower. We opted to walk this street, but you need to be in really good shape for this since the streets are quite steep! Our tour bus even had a stop two blocks from the hotel. However, they need to inform guests that just a few block south is a trendy area with great dining selections for families and couples. We found this out when our tours bus went down that street. We went early in December. The hotel was well occupied with mostly families but never seemed too busy. There were even people using the pool. I didn't really have any complaints, and would recommend this hotel for someone looking for good, basic, clean lodging at a price that is reasonable for the area. Read more

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We enjoyed our stay at Hotel Del Sol since it was just blocks from our family, great walking area with a wide range of shopes and restaurants. Parking is also convenient. Staff was pleasant and the morning buffet was simple but delicious. We will definitely stay there in the future.

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Our room was a little noisy as we were on the ground floor- aside from that it's clean, comfortable,green and in a great location. Chris and the rest of the staff are exceptionally helpful and friendly.

This one is really charming. It's one of the few places that offers that little bit of "charm" you are looking for. Granted, the place is a conversion of a old place, but better than all the other same looking rooms out there. The only thing that I didn't like so much was the shower, and the price of the place. I should be $30 less at least. The […] bathroom didn't offer lotion but they have this huge dispensers of shampoo, shower gel, and conditioner. I recommend this for people with a bit of money. cheers Read more

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Hotel is in a nice location and has potential to be nice. For city hotels it is not bad, but I feel for the price I would rather stay at the Orchard Garden, much nicer remodel. The walls and floors are very thin and the bathrooms are not that clean. It is safe and the breakfast is decent. The staff is very nice. Too bad they did not put the extra effort […] in to remodel and clean it better. Read more

Hotel Del Sol is a funky and unique property that is perfectly located in San Francisco. I had only 1 night here which was overall very good and I was very happy. The hotel is clearly an older motel that has been remodeled quite nicely but still shows it's age in certain ways (sagging steps and very thin walls). The beds were harder than expected as […] well. I think that for the price, they should have better beds and perhaps also provide a fridge in the room. The staff were all very nice though and I felt safe and secure here. The complementary parking was a nice plus too! Read more

Great place, very clean plus a place to park a car at no additional charge. A couple blocks from Union St which has lots of restaurants and eclectic shops

My husband and I visited CA for the first time last month and found the Hotel del Sol online. We were pleasantly surprised with this very unique and funky hotel which was right up our alley! We LOVED it there and ended up booking another night once we arrived. The staff was wonderful and helpful always. Another major bonus for us was the free parking […] as we had a rental car for the week - this was awesome. They also provide a really nice continental breakfast which is always great when traveling. We would highly recommend this hotel to anyone visinting the San Francisco area! The location was perfect as well!! Read more

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The hotel was funky and the staff was very nice. The room was as clean as it could be, however the musty smell was overbearing. I could not deal with the smell. So, if you are not concerned with smells, this would be a good hotel.

Great location, super kid friendly, heated pool, goofy and fun. Stayed in 3 of the jdv hotels during our trip. This was more motelish than boutique (upscale motor lodge which is what it is). The pool and location made up for what the rooms lacked. Would book a suite next time.

the staff was very friendly and helpful. the bed was comfy! the only thing I didn't like was the smell of the shampoo/conditioner/body wash provided in the shower. it was awful. but the hotel itself was comfortable and in a convenient location.

Nice hotel in a great location

My stay at the hotel was not very satisfying. The brightly colored rooms have a certain "fun" to them, but overall I was less pleased with my stay than I'd hoped. I arrived late in the evening, and had difficulty finding parking as the reserved parking for the hotel was all full. After parking on the street and checking in, the attendant said that […] since I was the last guest expected that night that I could park in the handicapped space for the night, which I did, but felt uncomfortable doing so, and obviously I couldn't leave my car there the next morning. The man checking me in was very friendly though, so that was nice. The room was decently sized. It was one of the handicapped accessible rooms on the first floor. The lighting was automatic, and although I was able to make the lights turn off by pushing a button, I wasn't able to figure out how to make it not turn on automatically again after a few hours. This meant I was woken up by the lights turning on in the middle of the night when I moved in my sleep! I appreciated having wireless internet included in the price of the room, but it was incredibly slow in my room, almost too slow for enjoyable web browsing. The shower was also a handicapped accessible shower, which meant the detachable shower head was mounted on the wall at the height of my chest (I'm 5'7"). There was no mount higher up that I could put it so that I could actually stand under the shower without holding it above my head myself, which made washing my hair incredibly uncomfortable. Also, there was no barrier between the shower and the rest of the bathroom. Perhaps I would appreciate this if I was in a wheelchair, but for me it was just another annoyance because it meant that the water from the shower spread halfway across the bathroom floor, and I had to use two of my towels to wipe it up so that I could be sure my feet wouldn't get wet as I used the mirror after I was dressed. The continental breakfast options were: bagels with individual c Read more

What a joy staying here was for me and my wife. It's an old motel that has been redone in funky colors and updated with nice rooms, wonderful beds and pillows, great (if limited) breakfast service, warm cookies and lemonade in the afternoons, etc., etc. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. We didn't use the pool, but it must have been good, […] too, because it was in use all day everyday with laughing families. There is free parking available, but we didn't have a car and used the muni system. There are two stops within a few blocks of the hotel and you can get anywhere in SF in a short time. It only took us 30 minutes to get to the other side of town to watch a Giants game at AT&T Park. We'll be back. Read more

Friendly & helpful staff. Right off of Lombard, near Marina, Presidio & GG Bridge. Large comfortable room (301) with FREE parking, but tight spaces! Plenty of places to eat nearby. Kind of noisy, but ... hey! It's the city! Good morning coffee, but forget the pastries. Go get a decent breakfast! Free safe in closet. Good bed. Free wi-fi. Definitely […] good place to stay. Read more

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My granddaughter and I thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The hotel was conveniently located very near a bus station, which we used nearly every day to the various parts of the city. The staff was very professional and helpful. They helped us with dinner reservations and how to use the public transportation. We enjoyed the light continental breakfasts each […] morning. I felt safe in the neighborhood with the two of us traveling. Read more