My wife and just returned from the Orchard Hotel from a 3-night stay from February 11 to 14. Everything about the hotel met our expectations (I picked the hotel based on the reviews here).

The hotel is IDEALLY situated for sightseeing in San Fran. There is a cable car pick-up on the corner (to the wharf, Nob Hill, and Lombard Street), the no. 30/45 bus is 1 block away (a main bus route to North Beach and beyond), and it is a short walk to BART and the main Muni lines. The staff at the hotel was very helpful, especially when asking for the best way to get somewhere. The breakfast was simple but filling (fruit, muffins, cereal, ham/cheese, etc). My only complaint would be that breakfast be ready earlier for us people on East Coast time!

The rooms themselves are as big as you are going to get at the Westin or any other standard luxury hotel. The bed was extremely comfortable, the towels Egyptian cotton, and the in-room coffee Wolfgang Puck. The free Internet service was wonderful, as we used Mapquest to map out where some of the restaurants we saw listed were located.

If you want an upscale Westin-style room and don't mind not having some grand lobby, this is the place for you! And it runs about $50/night or cheaper. We would ABSOLUTELY stay here again.

The Orchard is a "boutique" hotel, which means it has fewer rooms (105 rooms, 9 suites) than the big chains like Marriott and does not have meeting space for big groups. It was built new from the ground up in November of 2000. We found the staff to be extremely friendly and helpful. Their goal is to get to know their customers well enough to call them by name on return visits. The rooms are beautifully appointed and include a down comforter and DVD player with complimentary rentals. The complimentary breakfast went above and beyond most continentals...along with the normal bagels, etc. there was fresh fruit, meat and cheese and hard boiled eggs...all served buffet style in the hotel's lovely restaurant. The only small thing that bothered us was some noise coming from the alley - but not enough to stop us from returning there! Their website address is: www.theorchardhotel.com