Really?

My husband and I just spent four days in San Francisco. The weather was good, even unseasonably warm, and we did our usual  4 to 10 miles walking a day. We went just to see the new extension of the SFMoMA. That was impressive. Most major extensions are obtrusive and odd but this one improves the previous building. We had already seen a great deal of the Fisher art donation but both of us are interested in  architecture.

The big "really?" derives from our hotel experience. We used to live in Sacramento and visited SF frequently. During those years we tried a variety of hotels but eventually ended up at the Prescott. When we first visited, there was a celebrated restaurant, and the hotel was pretty swank, as we used to say. We kept coming even though the hotel was obviously falling apart at the seams. Even at that point the staff was good, very welcoming, and the rooms were lovely with all the amenities a traveler would want.

The hotel was purchased about 18 months ago. For one reason or another, including that the SFMoMA was still closed, we didn't visit the city. Then the museum reopened and we got a solicitation from the "new" hotel to visit and stay multiple days at a discount. Okay, right?

Do not under any circumstances go to The Zeppelin Hotel in San Francisco. I don't care if they give you a discount. The designers ripped out all the soft surface, painted over all the color, took away any hint of romance. That's fine if that's your design style but it takes a tremendous amount of upkeep and attention to keep a black surface clean, there is no debris that is black, so if you don't work to keep it clean, swept, vacuumed, and polished, it will look like hell in short order. This brand new iteration looked like a flop house.

Then we went up to our room and my first double take involved the ironing board. Why was the ironing board sitting in the corner of the room, magnified and duplicated by the mirror behind it? Who doesn't put the ironing board away when done? It turns out there wasn't a closet. That's right--a hotel room without a closet. An expensive hotel room without a closet. There was a six inch wide, three foot tall slit that had three awkwardly arranged hangers that clearly wouldn't work as hangers.

There was a very generously proportioned bathroom but most of it was empty space. A very empty grey space with no shelves, no benches, no place to put one's sundries or medications.

If that's your deal that's fine. But don't sell yourself as a luxury stay in the heart of old SF. It isn't just that the charm was gone. There was no comfort, no care but they had sold us the package as an extended stay. Where were we to put our stuff? It isn't even that I am an older person with a certain degree of needs. I cannot imagine anyone who would have found our room acceptable. The rest of the hotel wasn't much better. Hard, shiny, black surfaces need constant attention. Dirt shows.

So remember that creature comforts are not what is for sale at The Zeppelin.