Winsor Hotel

This was absolutely horrible and mis representef. I thought they were having a homeless convention outside and no way i would leave my car or get ot. I called hotel to cancel they said to call tbird party
… called
they said call hotel nothing like the runaround with no compensation

The guys behind the counter were excellent, thank you Benny. It was perfectly located, easily accessible to all meeting locations. Great place to sleep and shower.

You do not want to stay here. If you can afford a nicer hotel, one that does not have shared toilets and showers, or one that has a third of the amount of suspicious folk loitering outside the door, just book a room elsewhere.
I have had the experience of bathing outside with a water pump and using a hole in the ground for bio purposes. I have slept in places with no A/​C and where the roof is just a piece of metal. Winsor Hotel is much nicer than all of that, but I am sure my perspective will be different from yours.
Besides the yellow stained sheets and the notorious location of 6^th St. south of Market, besides having the thinnest walls of the Bay Area and the single outlet that stopped working on the second day, this place was not that bad.
In fact, I almost felt like a struggling San Franciscan. Waking up to my tiny room, staring out the window and plainly seeing people in the building across from me, stepping out onto gray streets and avoiding eye contact with inebriated people, intermittently waking up to profanities being shouted from right outside the hotel. The place was surprisingly clean despite its surroundings, and it was incredibly cheap for being so close to everything else.
As a female that stayed here alone, I took my normal precautions. I walked around with my hood on to hide my hair color because street fellows always use it as a topic of discussion. I wrapped a scarf around my nose and mouth to shield it from street funk and as another deterrent from being spoken to. I also didn’t walk back alone late at night, after 8pm.
During the day, the area is fine. While inside the hotel, I felt safe. There are cameras in the hallways and you have to be buzzed in.
See, it really isn’t so bad if you focus on the good parts. I would stay here again if I were on a budget, but you? No, I suggest you pay $ 300 for a room a few blocks over.

went by yesterday trying to find a room for my brother in desperate need. advertised rooms available but if you drop in they will tell you nothing is available. chose that area because brother works around the corner on 6^th street. drug addicts and drug sellers standing around all over 6^th street would not refer my worst enemy there glad they did not have any rooms available. a problem waiting to happen.

Clean, fresh, extremely friendly staff, inexpensive.
Super convenient if you’re staying for conventions or small business trips, in the heart of San Francisco.
Surrounded by great restaurants and shopping malls.
I’d definitely go back.
Thank you!!!

FOR STARTERS: THIS PLACE RATES AS A 1-​STAR SO ADJUST YOUR EXPECTATIONS.
Just what we needed. My girlfriend and I stayed at the Winsor for a night in SFO for pride and overall I had no complaints. They don’t have parking but there’s a lot around the corner. The walk to the hotel door is not for the faint of heart. There are homeless people on that block (I think there’s a shelter nearby) but we didn’t let that deter us.
The room was spacious and clean. (I didn’t do a CSI inspection on the curtains and walls. didn’t feel the need)
The shower was hot and also clean.
The staff was very friendly (Shout out to the housekeeping guy who didn’t sweat us for oversleeping).
And that night there was a cool guy on the corner selling food off a grill… not a bad end to a night of drinking.

First of all you don’t even deserve a star from me. Didn’t even step inside because the place looked so shady! I had my six year old son with me and there was no way I was going to take him into an establishment like that. I had barely made a reservation through
and when I called the hotel to cancel they would not and referred me to
. When the customer service rep told she could not do anything and told me to call the hotel again. After that they told me they would at least give me half back. 5mins later they called back and refused to cancel or refund my money. That was when
called on my behalf and then the hotel told them flat out that they refuse to cancel. Took action into my own hands and called my bank to cancel the payment to them…

The place is very accommodating as far as the people who own this place, someone is always at the desk ²⁴⁄₇ and safe enough in the fact you need to be buzzed in. The location is not the best, as someone that has anxiety, I don’t like the location, but other than that can’t be happier. During the day it’s no problem, but the night it’s a little weirder. I have never seen so many homeless people together outside of San Francisco, but would definitely come again.

This place was probably the most disgusting place i have ever seen. There were blood stains on the wall, brown stains all over the curtains, no a/​c and the room had an indescribable odor. We stayed in the room about 5 minutes and thats when i decided there was no way i would sleep there, so we left to spend the night in a far nicer hotel (americas best value inn) that charged only ten more dollars. I also would like to mention that even though we only stayed 5 minutes, the hotel would not refund our money. Total hole in the wall, totally not worth it, and its in a very bad spot in town.

Probably the roughest part of San Fran in my weekend here. The staff was accommodating and did their best with the rooms. You have to weave in and out of the drug addicts and prostitutes to come in but you feel a tad bit safer when you’re inside of the locked cage that protects the hotel. I had a drugged-​out elderly lady tell me she was going to kill me but I assured her that she wasn’t. What else would you expect from a sub $ 100 hotel room in the heart of SF?

Honestly, I was nervous to stay at this hotel because of the shared bathrooms and the sketchy neighborhood, but my husband and I loved it. It was right between two amazing breakfast spots and was very centrally located-​only a few blocks from Union Square. There are two showers and two bathrooms per floor, both single so you have privacy. Lots of younger people staying here-​mostly foreigners from Europe. There is a sink in every room. The beds, comforters and pillows were comfy. We borrowed an iron and blow dryer from the front desk-​by the way, the front desk staff is super friendly and helpful. I don’t know if I would stay here alone, but the homeless people outside the hotel seemed harmless, and there honestly didn’t seems like there were more than some of the other downtown areas of San Francisco we visited.

DO NOT GO HERE.
If anyone gave this place more than 1 star I would seriously question if they were paid to do it. I had never been to San Fransisco and just finished staying at this hotel for 4 nights with a friend. My friend can vouch for anything I’m typing as the truth here…
Where do I start? How about with the cons.
CONS:
Bathrooms: This place should be called «Winsor HOSTEL» because the rooms do not have a bathroom in them. (Yes, you heard me correctly) You have to use the 1 community toilet in the hallway and guess what? The community toilet does not have a sink to wash your hands. Instead it has a hand sanitizer pump. The hand sanitizer pump was empty for 2 days while we were there. No one bothered to fill it up. If you want to wash your hands after going to the toilet you have to go back into your rooms where there is a tiny sink.
Showers/​tub: Ok there are no tubs here. Sorry to get your hopes up but you have to use a community shower in the hallway and it is so tiny you barely have room to turn around.
Safety: There are drug addicts and prostitutes literally blocking the door to this hotel. You have to ask them to move to enter. Also you have to buzz yourself into the door. Now before you think this might add a dingy charm and character to your San Fran experience, let me warn you that one night I heard 3 gun shots outside followed by sirens. Next morning I figured something bad happened and I looked online to find out what it was. Turns out a 25 yr old was shot down on 6^th street right near the hotel. I have attached the link at the bottom so you can see for yourself the area mentioned. Also, in 2012 a woman was killed in the hotel (See link below). There are open drug deals on the street outside and my friend and I did not leave the apartment or dare to wonder out past 6 pm. This hotel is right about inside the Tenderloin district which is arguably the most dangerous place in all of San Fran.
Child safe?: NO. We were on the third floor and the window was big and low enough for an adult or child to easily fall out of. The windows did not have bars or anything to prevent a child or adult from falling out. There is not even a screen on the window!
Amenities: The room came with literally 1 outlet and 1 light bulb. Think about that…
Now time for the Pros…
PROS: NONE.
Yep I’m still waiting for my «I survived Winsor Hotel» bumper sticker. Either that or I am waiting for the name to be changed to «Hostage Hostel.» They take advantage of foreigners and out-​of – towners looking for a cheap place to stay. Trust me, the price is not worth it when your safety is compromised.
Here are the links to prove my points.
(Below is the link to the woman’s death at Winsor back in 2012).
This is the article to the death that occurred near the hotel. I heard the gunshots from the room at Winsor. This part of 6^th street NOT SAFE!

Worst hotel ever!!! No private bathroom, towels sucked, uncomffy bed, no air, dirty, no headboard, no water fountain, no pool. Totallly SUCKED. Luckily we didn’t stay in the hotel that long. Never again

This was a fantastic location! Downtown, near a lot of important things (little markets, restaurants, transportation, etc) and at a fantastic price; I paid less than I would at many hostels for my own private room, though bathrooms and the like are shared.
The rooms were very nice, very clean, and contained sinks which were incredibly convenient considering the shared bathrooms/​showers. Also the wifi is free and works quite well.
All the people working there were all incredibly kind and helpful as well. Parking at the Soma Grand (which they recommend) was also well located and well priced as compared to all the nearby parking that I saw.
Now the bad: the area it’s in is admittedly really rough and as a result it can be very noisy. The outside is very dirty and some people may find it a bit scary to be out, especially at night. Nothing ever happened to me though and this hotel was worth the price to me.
I do wish they had more of a kitchen/​eating area set up too.
Overall a fantastic place to stay, I would definitely come here again.

My boyfriend and I stayed here during a conference in San Francisco. It was exactly what we needed. It’s SOMA, so it’s downtown. It’s right off of Market street and strategically located near lots of public transportation. You can go just about anywhere in the city from here. The hotel management was excellent. They connect you up to any interests.
The rooms are small, but really clean. There are sinks in the room, but you have to be ok with going down the hall to use the bathroom and shower. It’s an older building, complete with 1920’s elevator. As far as the neighborhood goes, the people on the street around the hotel aren’t homeless. They live nearby and hang out on the streets until late in the evening. It’s the city. Use common sense.
Big bonus — Dottie’s True Blue Café (see our Dottie’s review). It’s right next door. It was our go-​to for breakfast. Also, there were people here from around the world — China, Australia, Scotland — we really enjoyed it!
Wish we could give 3−½ stars, 3 isn’t enough. Price is excellent. Most hotels in SF are $ 150 – 200 for reasonably priced ones. At $ 60 – 80, with what it has to offer, the Winsor is exceptional.

Delightfully seedy exterior, perfectly sufficient rooms, particularly for the $ 69 (heh!) post tax price. Would totally recommend to anyone that just needs a place to crash.

I spent a night here and it was better than I could have hoped for especially since it was only $ 82 including tax. I’m always weary about «you get what you pay for» experience, but this place was actually nice.
We checked in at night, but the guy at the front desk was nice and took care of what he had to do. We took the stairs to our room on the 4^th floor. The steps were pretty creaky though so I’m not sure if people in rooms by the stairs could hear it or not.
The room itself was really nice. Dark hardwood floors, a clean full size bed, a desk with a chair, sink, tv, and window with curtain. The toilet was down the hall. It only had one, but I never had a problem using it, having to wait for anyone or having a problem with it being dirty. It was pretty quiet most of the night, we didn’t hear too much from the other rooms or outside, which was nice. Where I live in the city is pretty busy and loud at night so maybe I’m just use to it being noisy, but it seemed quiet.
The only reason I didn’t give the hotel a 5 star rating is it’s location, but a hotel can’t really help that too much. But seriously, if you put your headphones in, look straight ahead, keeping walking (and maybe hold your breath sometimes) you will be juuuuust fine. I’ve lived in SF for quite some time so I’m use to some sketchy scenes, but if you’re a traveler from outside, it’s really close to Union Square so I wouldn’t pass it up if the neighborhood is your one concern.

This is where I spent my very first weeks in San Francisco. Like other reviewers said, the location is not the best since this hotel is located in a sketchy part of town. Expected it to get a little loud at night since the location has numerous homeless individuals roaming around, especially at night. Still, the two doors (you have to buzz at the entrance) and the fact that there is someone at the reception ²⁴⁄₇ made me feel very safe. I learned from experience that all the people walking around outside the hotel do not even look at me if I mind my own business.
One of the perks of this hotel is that being so central, it has easy access to the city’s main locations and particularly it’s just a few blocks from the financial district — where I go to school. So staying here was perfect to acclimatize to a new city, not have to commute and be able to enjoy the nightlife in the city center.
The rooms are small and the bathrooms are shared among the whole floor but there are two showers per floor, and I never had to wait long no matter what time I went. Free Wi-​Fi is available and it works fairly well.
The hotel is very inexpensive yet the service is great, and the staff is friendly and helpful. They are very knowledgeable about the city and always there to help, direct you and give useful suggestions.
The hotel is a famiiy-​run activity and this made me feel welcomed, especially since I basically lived there for three weeks. It is a great place to spend a long period of time if you are in between housing options or looking for an apartment (which was my case at the time). The maintenance staff was very kind, also; Rob helped my roommate and I bring our many suitcases to our room and suggested a great bakery when telling us about the new neighborhood we were going to move to. You can ask to have your room cleaned whenever you want just by putting the sign on your doorknob, and the bathrooms are cleaned more than once a day.
I enjoyed staying here, it was the perfect solution for me. I cannot believe it took me so long to share my experience on here and praise the lovely people who work here.

terrible, terrifying and tacky! they must have forgot the S in hotel because this place is a HOSTEL.
After my cousin (whos in town from phily) and I check in to this place they tell us take the elevator, doesn’t work, so we have to walk up the stairs and when we get to our room there are bunk beds, a sink, no trash can, no toilet, and the hotel across the street is staring at us like were in a fish bowl, in fact one of the people was shining a mirror at our faces, did I mention the room was only 10′ by 8′ feet…. we have to use the restroom and the restrooms are down the hall which has NO SINK. the shower smells like mildew and B.O. the «customer service» (if you would even call them that) refused to give us a refund. Ugh! never again! ever ever!
people! book your room at the hotel bijou its just a couple blocks from there! youre welcome!

The room itself was at a great price, especially for the week I was staying at (convention in the city). Clean, looks like it had been repainted, towels & slippers available to use and no bed bugs, but had to share a bathroom. Looks like there’s only one shower per floor and it needs to be fixed up. There was mold in the bathroom tile grout and nothing to sanitize your hands with after using the toilets; have to go back to your room to use a sink. My room also smelled like cigarettes even though no smoking is allowed in the building. It’s probably due to the window being cracked open and the second hand smoke of the shady crowd that hangs out outside wafting in.
The staff is very nice and helpful. You’ll be safe once you get inside, but don’t loiter around out on the street at night.