Kimpton Alton Hotel - Fisherman's Wharf, an IHG Hotel

When I wait in lobby waiting for my room. I observe and listen. One front desk staff (Mary) is rude towards every guest. Very defensive. She talks about guests to other front desk staff making a big deal about small things they asked for like change or if room was ready. When there is an issue, she always acts ike she is right and is belligerent towards guests. Snaps at guests and tells them "I already told you". I tell other front desk staff they are nicer than her when she is rude towards me, Mary tells me I don't feel well this morning. That is not an excuse. The next day, she is still rude again. I have stayed at hotel once every 3 months when I host my family and friends at a restaurant reunion and when I see her at front desk, I hear the same rude treatment. She doesn't change. Always the same poor customer service rude attitude. I'm not one to complain but now I avoid going to her and wait until another staff is available. This time during my recent stay she is too much and I am writing a review about her.

First the good: The valet and front desk staff at check-in were very nice. The hotel has a nice seating area in the lobby with spa water and coffee in the morning. Good location. Second the bad: I had a corner room #318 that happened to be an adjoining room, which would have been great for a family but, not great for any one other than that. I heard the entire conversation of the couple in the room next to me, there was no soundproofing. However, that was not the worst part of my stay, at 3:42 a.m. the TV screen came with a message from the hotel about remote check out or extending my stay, the type of thing you usually see at about 9 a.m. Since I was traveling solo this was really scary (I hadn't used the TV at all during my visit). At check-out I told the front desk staff and they waived the resort fee, which I think is around $35, really..thanks..I guess.. Expected more from a Kimpton.

It’s very connected to many places enjoyed by kids within walking distance. While we had a wonderful experience staying at the Alton, 2 things that stood out is their service and their cleanliness. Very well thought out and timely service. Excellent staff. They really helped making our trip relaxing and memorable.

The hotel is in a great location, very clean and worked for us as a family. I would advise paying more for a room with a view, we didn’t and regretted this as our room was quite dark and felt a bit like we were in the basement! Happy hour was great with free wine and beer and the $10 a day for the small shop were great extras.

Hotel is very clean, modern and sound proven. They had families with kids and dogs stayed, but you would never know that’s how quiet the room was. Amenities smelled and felt so good. Housekeeping staff did an amazing job. Front desk female employees were a bit moody, but the male receptionist was very polite and professional. Overall, I would definitely recommend it and will come back again.

Great location but, for a hotel that prides itself on being pet-friendly, there was nearly no dirt or grass space for dogs within 2 blocks of the hotel. To make things worse, our room was 0.2 miles from the elevator - no kiddding, we measured it. So, we walk nearly a quarter of a mile just to get out of the hotel and then have to desperately search for some grass for the dog.

We loved our stay at the Alton! The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. Upon arriving I realized the rooms don’t have microwaves, so I couldn’t heat up water to warm my infant son’s bottle. I called the front desk and they found one for me and had it brought to my room! They also provided us with a special fridge to keep breast milk free of charge. It was also nice that they served coffee in the morning and wine at night. The restaurant downstairs, Abaca, was one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. The location was fantastic and we would definitely stay here again!

Great location for families. Loved the happy hour after a long day. Hotel rooms are a little small for a family.

Well located property. Nicely furnished rooms. Staff was well trained and friendly. Team was a bit understaffed relative to the size of the property. So expect some wait time (20 minutes to get a luggage stand, longer for the maintenance person to check something). Only downsides of the room were: a) The bath tub doesn't drain properly. Unless you can shower in under 1 minute your feet will be soaking in a rapidly filling tub. Called maintenance, they removed the plug, checked for hair, and run down some Drano. No improvement. They mentioned the drain hole is simply too small. The shower is really strong, a good thing unless you are concerned about water usage. The combination of a sleek-looking but tiny drain hole with a torrential shower makes for that mass flooding. b) Talking about sleek: The bathroom of the room with two queen beds (ideal for a couple with 1-2 small kids) had only one towel bar and one towel hook. No other bars nor towel racks anywhere. There was some room for toiletries and clean towels under the vanity. c) The thermostat's auto function does not allow to select heat or AC. Once you select auto the system turns heat or AC as needed. In practice, it doesn't work so well. For example, the room was about 68F, I set the thermostat to 70F but after 3 people showering the room went over 70F so I was greeted to a very chilly AC "breeze" upon leaving the warm bathroom. Sore throat next morning. Very good space and experience, short of great.

The staff were Extremely nice and helpful! Great people working there made us feel like family!