Our extended family of 8, including 3 small children stayed here for 4 nights over the New Year holiday. We had a 3 bedroom apartment on the ground floor that overlooked the street. We would have preferred bay views but apparently all were booked out even though we made reservations more than 6 months in advance! I can understand why, this really is a wonderful hotel. Our apartment was huge, very comfortable beds, great bathrooms and a lovely lounge and kitchen area. The staff were all very friendly and efficient. The included breakfast was beautiful. Visiting from Australia we were totally amazed at the huge baskets of fresh berries of all sorts that filled the breakfast table. A teeny tiny punnet of blackberries here costs around $8 yet there were bucketloads there for us to choose from each morning. There were also lots of pastries, breads, jams, cheese, and hard boiled eggs. We took a glass of wine and some cheeses from the late afternoon offerings up to the roof terrace and sat watching as the fog rolled in across the bay at sunset and thought how lucky we were to have chosen such a great hotel and to be sitting watching such a fantastic view. The only negative comment i can make is that the concierge booked us a private car to drive us to Muir Woods at a cost of $240 for 3 hours including tip and taxes. When checking out the charge wasn't on our account and when we asked why we were told it would be billed separately. Later we noticed a charge on our credit card of around $90 more than the quoted rate of $240, even though we did not use more time or go anywhere extra. We haven't followed it up yet as we just arrived home from a 6 week trip yesterday, but next time i would pay cash upfront for outside services as with a middle party involved in making the booking i doubt we will ever see a refund for the extra charge. Overall though, we loved this hotel, and it was the best of the many places we stayed on our trip. If we are ever back in San Francisco, we will definitely be booking the Fairmont. Thanks for a great stay!
