Description: Travelers seeking moderately priced accommodations should check into the Phoenix Hotel at 601 Eddy Street. Despite the name, it’s more motel than hotel here -- a redone two-story 1950s-style motor lodge plopped down in the middle of San Francisco’s Tenderloin district. The rooms are pretty much standard motel fare with a few nice design touches. The furnishings in my room were adequate (two double beds, a couple chairs and a writing desk), but the bathroom was small.
The hotel has a restaurant/cocktail lounge, but its centerpiece is the courtyard swimming pool, which was painted by artist Francis Forlenza. (The pool-bottom mural is entitled "My Fifteen Minutes.") A poolside continental breakfast -- included in the tariff -- offers the opportunity to mingle with other guests. The Phoenix’s funky-but-chic atmosphere sometimes attracts a celebrity clientele. During my visit a Swedish pop group was staying down the corridor.
The neighborhood isn’t exactly Nob Hill; it’s rundown, dirty and seedy. From the balcony outside my room, I could watch hookers in action at a building one block over. Who needs in-room adult movies when entertainment like this is available? Yet, I never felt unsafe here. And The Phoenix is centrally located (not far from the Civic Center) and provides limited free parking -- a luxury in San Francisco.
I paid just over $100 per night for my double room, a decent value for a room in a major city. If you are willing to trade off elegance for value and funk factor, then the Phoenix is the place for you.
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