Review: Palace Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel by Marriott in San Francisco

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The Palace Hotel San Francisco is a Luxury Collection Hotel that is part of the Marriott International Hotel chain. The property is one of the historical buildings in San Francisco, and the Garden Court inside the property is so gorgeous! It’s also recognized as one of the most beautiful popular public spaces in San Francisco. 

Review: Palace Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel by Marriott in San Francisco
Garden Court at Palace Hotel San Francisco

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    Palace Hotel San Francisco 1906 History

    • The Palace Hotel San Francisco was built in 1875.
    • Early morning April 18, 1906, the Palace Hotel was damaged by the fire that was caused by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. 
    • The “new” Palace Hotel has been restored until this day remains a landmark historical hotel in San Francisco, California, and it is such a gorgeous property. 
    • The Garden Court has been recognized as one of the most beautiful public spaces. 
    Review: Palace Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel by Marriott in San Francisco
    Palace Hotel San Francisco

    Location of the Palace Hotel

    The Palace Hotel San Francisco is located at the southwest corner of Market and New Montgomery streets. There are several shops and dining options near the property. 
    The location of the property is within walking distance of Union Square and the Ferry Building. It is conveniently located just steps away from public San Francisco transportation services including cable cars, buses, and trains. 

    Booking With Amex Fine Hotels & Resort

    American Express recently added new benefits to the consumer version of the American Express Platinum Card. One of the benefits includes the Amex $200 Hotel Statement Credits when you book a prepaid Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR) through the Amex Travel website. 
    The Palace Hotel San Francisco appears to be on the Amex FHR list and thus between two card players, I was able to score two nights with having one reservation booked under me and another reservation booked under player #2. 
    • We each had a $200 hotel statement credit towards the room rates for a total of $400 hotel statement credits from American Express.
    • Each night cost around $310 with taxes and fees. So by factoring in the Amex $200 Hotel Statement Credits, the rate was reduced to just about $110 per night. 
    • But that’s not all! Booking with Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts also offers elite benefits such as daily breakfast for two, 4 P.M late checkout, $100 on-property credit, and more. 
    • Between all the FHR’s elite benefits and the Amex $200 Hotel Statement Credits, we really enjoyed all the savings and our stay at the Palace Hotel San Francisco

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    At the time of check-in, the receptionist gave me a welcome envelope. Inside the envelope is a letter about Amex FHR elite benefits that we are getting while staying at the Palace Hotel San Francisco
    American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts Benefits at Palace Hotel San Francisco
    American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts Benefits

    How to Earn American Express $200 Fine Hotels & Resorts Statement Credits

    The Amex $200 Hotel Statement Credits is one of the travel benefits that are available on the American Express Platinum Card. Therefore, to earn the $200 Fine Hotels & Resorts credits, you must be a card member of the Platinum Card. The annual fee of this Amex card is very high; however, if you enjoy traveling, I strongly believe that you will enjoy all the travel rewards and benefits that the Platinum card has to offer you to justify that high annual fee. 

    Palace Hotel, A Luxury Collection Hotel Marriott Category

    Please note also that the Palace Hotel San Francisco is a Luxury Collection Hotel that is part of the Marriott Bonvoy program. This means that you can also use Marriott Bonvoy points or Marriott Free Night 50k Certificate to redeem for a free stay during the off-peak time when an award night requires only 50,000 Marriott points per night

    Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite Benefits at the Palace Hotel

    The nice thing about booking with Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts is that the booking does qualify for hotel loyalty programs such as earning points, earning elite night credits, and enjoying elite perks.
    This is true when booking the Palace Hotel San Francisco with Amex FHR:
    • After making the reservation with Amex FHR, the reservation showed up in my Marriott Bonvoy account online and through the Marriott Bonvoy mobile app. 
      • Editor’s Tip: To ensure you receive hotel loyalty elite benefits when you make an FHR booking on Amex Travel, be sure to provide your loyalty number before finalizing your booking. See this post for more information. 
    • When I showed up to check in with the front desk, the receptionist recognized my Marriott Platinum Elite status.
    • Because I booked with Amex FHR to take advantage of the Amex $200 Hotel Statement Credits, some FHR benefits are overlapping with my Marriott Platinum Elite benefits. For example, FHR booking offers me a complimentary daily breakfast and so does the Platinum elite’s welcome amenity benefit. So I took the 1,000 bonus points as the welcome amenity. 
    • A few days after checking out, I did receive the Marriott’s elite night credit and points for staying at the Palace Hotel San Francisco.
    • I also received 1,000 bonus Marriott points as part of the welcome amenity for my Platinum elite status benefits, elite bonus points along with Marriott Promotions and Offers that I registered for. 

    Complimentary Daily Breakfast 

    Whether you book with American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts or use your Marriott Platinum Elite status, you receive the same complimentary breakfast benefit at the property. 
    • The allowance for breakfast is $60 per day. You are responsible for any overages. 
    • The breakfast takes place at the beautiful Garden Court restaurant inside the property. The receptionist at the front desk recommended we made the breakfast reservation with the concierge because it can get busy. So after checking in, you may want to stop by the concierge desk to make a quick breakfast reservation before heading to your room. 
    • To use the credit, you simply charge the breakfast bill as a room charge. 
    • After checking out, your total bill will be automatically calculated. 
    Review: Palace Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel by Marriott in San Francisco
    Smoked Salmon Benedict Breakfast at the Garden Court

    Review: Palace Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel by Marriott in San Francisco
    Omelet at Garden Court inside Palace Hotel San Francisco

    Palace Hotel Garden Court & Menu

    The Garden Court at the Palace Hotel is just beautiful. It’s gorgeously designed with expensive chandeliers, incredible architecture, a dome stained-glass atrium, and plenty of comfortable seats. Having breakfast there every morning reminded me of how luxurious the Palace Hotel San Francisco is. 
    As far as the breakfast goes, the food is just edible. There’s nothing great about it and the price is too expensive. In other words, if we did not have the breakfast credit, we would not eat there. If you do not want to eat there but still want to experience the Garden Court, don’t worry. The area is open to the public, so you can just go inside the property and sit down or take as many photos as you’d like. You don’t even have to be a guest staying at the property. 
    Here’s the breakfast/brunch menu at the Palace Hotel Garden Court:
    To get the most up-to-date menu at the Garden Court restaurant inside the Palace Hotel is to go to the OpenTable site. 

    Room Upgrades

    The Palace Hotel San Francisco upgraded my room to the 8th floor with a view of Market Street. There are a total of 9 floors there and the 4th floor has the fitness center and swimming pool. 
    At the time of check-in, the receptionist told me that the suites were not available for upgrades, but we all know that is a lie because hotels don’t want to give out suites for free. I also did a quick search on the availability of the suite rooms, and they were available 🙂 
    Review: Palace Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel by Marriott in San Francisco
    Palace Hotel San Francisco King Guestroom

    As far as the view of Market Street goes, Meh! The window is small with a fake balcony design. That’s how it is with such a historical building though. 
    The room is also a smaller size, but it comes with beautiful decoration and luxurious amenities that you can expect from the Luxury Collection Hotel brand. The bed and pillows are super comfortable. It’s interesting too that there’s a bidet inside the bathroom. Fancy much?
    Review: Palace Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel by Marriott in San Francisco
    Palace Hotel San Francisco King Guestroom
    Review: Palace Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel by Marriott in San Francisco
    Palace Hotel San Francisco King Guestroom Window
    Review: Palace Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel by Marriott in San Francisco
    Palace Hotel San Francisco King Guestroom Bidet
    A couple things that I dislike about the room:
    • The AC inside the room detects motions. So in the middle of the night, if there are no motions because you are sleeping, the thermostat automatically adjusts the temperature so it’s getting warmer in the room. 
    • The rain shower’s water pressure is not so great.
    Review: Palace Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel by Marriott in San Francisco
    Palace Hotel San Francisco Swimming Pool Located on the 4th Floor

    Welcome Amenity 1,000 Bonus Marriott Points 

    As a Marriott Platinum Elite member, you can either receive the 1,000 bonus points per stay or complimentary daily breakfast for two as part of your welcome amenity. 
    Because I booked through Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts, it already offered me the same daily breakfast credit. So I chose the welcome amenity 1,000 bonus points instead. If I did not book with Amex FHR, I would pick complimentary breakfast because 1,000 Marriott points don’t mean much. 

    $100 Food & Beverages Credit Through Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts

    The $100 on-property credit for food and beverages is not part of the Marriott Platinum Elite status benefits. It is the benefit that you get when you book an Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts through Amex Travel
    I was happy that the onsite restaurant Pied Piper was opened despite the COVID-19 pandemic. So we were able to use the $100 credit every night for dinner and drinks. 
    • To use the $100 food and beverages credit, simply charge the bill at the onsite restaurant to your room. 
    • The hotel’s system will automatically calculate your final bill after the $100 credit is applied. 
    Review: Palace Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel by Marriott in San Francisco
    Pied Piper Restaurant at Palace Hotel San Francisco
    Review: Palace Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel by Marriott in San Francisco
    Expensive Fried Chicken at Pied Piper

    Other Marriott Platinum Elite Benefits:

    • 50% Bonus Points on stays.
    • 4 P.M. Late Check-out. 

    High Tea at the Palace Hotel

    Unfortunately, we were not staying at the Palace Hotel San Francisco on the weekend, so we did not get to experience the classic Signature Tea at the property. With that being said, High Tea at the Palace Hotel is only available on Saturday from 12pm to 2pm. The experience takes place at the gorgeous Garden Court
    Reservations are needed and can be made by calling 1-415-546-5089 or through OpenTable. Book in advance as this is one of the most popular events at the Palace Hotel San Francisco. You can also view the Signature Tea menu on OpenTable as well. 
    Next time I go back to San Francisco, I would definitely want to check this out!
    Gorgeous Garden Court at Palace Hotel San Francisco
    Gorgeous Garden Court at Palace Hotel San Francisco

    Palace Hotel COIVD – Is The Palace Hotel San Francisco Open?

    At the time of this writing, just like any other hotel business in San Franciso, the Palace Hotel San Francisco is open with COVID-19 related precaution measures. While the onsite restaurant’s menu can be limited, all breakfast, high tea, dinner, and bar are all open. 

    Palace Hotel San Francisco Contact & Email

    If you wish to contact Palace Hotel San Francisco, you may contact them through the following methods:
    • Call1-415-512-1111 and press 0 
    • Email[email protected]
    • Marriott App: During your stay, you can chat with the front desk using the chat feature within the Marriott Bonvoy app. 
    • WebsitePalace Hotel San Francisco

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