Instead of the detective, locals practicing their French packed the small space. There was no sleuthing the night I was here. It’s easy to imagine Dashiell Hammett’s Continental Op casing the joint from the hotel’s noirish, dimly lighted Library Bar. The bath lacked shelves or counters so it may take some toiletry juggling. (How many elevators have a padded bench?) You’d think the rooms would be proportionately huge, but they’re not a queen is about 300 square feet but perfectly fine. The elevator is so enormous that I found it giggle-worthy. There’s plenty to like in this Union Square hotel besides its location (which is great), especially if you admired the way your Aunt Mildred decorated her living room, which is what the lobby looks like. Don’t be put off by the fact that this is the home of the Elks Club or that you can’t use the pool or spa if you’re not an Elk. To dodge sports-bar noise, ask for a room on the fifth or sixth floors. On a January stay booked through, I paid $83. It’s near Union Square, but the rooms are small and often less than $120 a night. The Bijou (its 65 rooms are named for movies shot in San Francisco) stands next to a sports bar on a block of hostels just off Market Street. This lodging isn’t about charm as much as it’s about price. The lobby still has the same circus/outer space décor it’s had for years. The 164 guest rooms, many of them small, were redone in 2012 with a Beat theme (that’s a Kerouac typescript on the wallpaper). The Triton is a short stroll from Union Square, a block from Chinatown, with the popular Cafe de la Presse downstairs. Chef Charlie Palmer, who has done hotels before, is the personality behind this venture. This property, which opened in April, stands on a tunnel-adjacent block of Stockton Street that you’ll never see on a picture postcard, yet it has style, as do the Burritt Tavern bar and restaurant downstairs. It’s not a complete list, but it is eclectic, like the city itself. We came back with 14 ideas on places to bed down. So during our staff visit to the City by the Bay, we looked for reasonably priced hotels that had charm, location or both. Your choices in San Francisco hotels are overwhelming.
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