Our friends and we were attending a wedding in SF and found it quite a challenge to find a reasonable hotel. So, in our search, we found Hotel Kabuki. The men are not especially adventurous and they wondered if a Japanese hotel would be very different. Well, we booked it and were very happy we did. The parking was easy (though we did use the valet parking), the rooms were very clean, the Japanese decor was striking and the staff were as nice as can be.

The sheets were so soft and the pillows were great also. The bathrooms were way above standard with some of the baths including an entrance shower to the tub. Bath salts were included as were directions on how to take a traditional Japanese bath.

When we returned from dinner and entered our room, a guest had broken the rule and smoked somewhere and it was just drifting into our room. I called the desk and they moved us without delay and gave us a $15 dollar each credit for breakfast.

The restaurant in the hotel was exceedingly expensive and the food was not very good. The cod I got tasted like wonder bread (still cannot figure this out), the hamburger was great, the drinks were also grossly overpriced, the morning coffee to go for $3.00 could be obtained across the street for $1.75 (in the mall) and the omlettes were overcooked and dry. The room did have free instant coffee. My husband and I would not eat at this restaurant again.

But the hotel - we would go in a heartbeat. The experience was great fun. Have a good time!

The Joie de Vivre hotels group, of which Hotel Kabuki belongs, impressed us greatly when we stayed in their Domain Hotel in Sunnyvale. That hotel was bright, new and modern.

The Kabuki in Japantown has some of the same qualities, although with a very Japanese style of decor. The lobby is pretty impressive, and the staff is polite. We had a Deluxe Corner room on the 15th floor, to take advantage of the bird's-eye view from our balcony. We enjoyed the view, and were lucky to witness the "Critical Mass" demonstration/celebration (depending on how you view it) take place right below our windows. The elevator is lightning fast, but the ride is very smooth. The sliding screens over the windows/balcony doors in our room with Japanese illustrations on them, the black framed furniture and the Japanese-style fabrics gave the room a distinct feel. The traditional soaking tub did as well, although we did not use it that way most of the time (we preferred to shower). The bed, with a pillowtop surface, was very comfortable. The usual amenities are there -- hairdryer, safe, refrigerator, shampoo and conditioner. The kimono-style robes were a nice touch, though the robes seemed a bit old. So the style was as we'd hoped, but the rooms are a bit worn and in need of remodeling. There is a hot pot in the room for boiling water for tea, and a set of tea cups and a small tea pot. Providing only two tea bags seemed a bit stingy, though. There was no coffee maker however, which was disappointing to my husband. Even though this is in the heart of Japantown, most Americans still like to have coffee in the room. The tiny frig was so full of honor bar drinks, there was no room at all for leftover food we brought to our room. One thing I wish the room had was a door to the bathroom sink area. The toilet is in its own room with a locking door, and there is a wall separating the bathroom/toilet area from the main room, but the shower stall door is clear glass, and a lack of another door there takes away some of the privacy, especially if you want to shower or wash at the sink while you have someone visiting your room. A door to the area would also minimize noise from someone using the sink or shower that might disturb someone else sleeping in the bed.

The hotel needs to improve its concierge service. The staff directs guests to the doorman on duty for this, and the doormen don't seem to know much. We asked about getting to Golden Gate Park and where to park, but the doorman neglected to tell us about the no-left turns on most streets and the many one-way streets. He also left out the fact that the Asian Art Museum in the Park has a huge parking lot, and instead told us to park on one street south of the park. So our drive there was very frustrating. The next day, we asked the doorman (a different one) about getting to Point Reyes to the north, and he had no idea what that was or how to get there without looking at a map. And he had no maps to give to us. Even if the hotel may be catering to business people, they should know how to advise guests on tourist activities.

We booked the room by calling the hotel directly, and got a great deal at $150 avg. per night (this was for June 2008). My relatives staying in the hotel paid almost as much through Expedia for a smaller, less interesting room. Parking in the nearby municipal garage was $15 per day, which is $10 less than the hotel's garage rate, and $20 less than in the Fisherman's Wharf area. The hotel is in a nice area -- especially Fillmore St., with its many small shops and restaurants. And there is no lack of Japanese restaurants in the neighborhood. We also like the Soko Hardware Store across the street on Post, and the Ichiban (Dollar Store-like) store in the attached mall.

If they remodel, upgrade some of the amenities, and improve their concierge service, this hotel will be quite wonderful.

My daughter read about this hotel on this site and talked us
into staying there. Such a great experiance... beautiful area
(we'd never been to Japantown and really enjoyed it) the
hotel is beautiful and the rooms heavenly. The Komono robes
were a surprise we weren't expecting. Also after checking in
the front desk called up to ask if we had everything we needed
and to tell us about the evening tea... just call the front desk
if we'd like to have complimentary tea between 6 and 9.
We did and it was wonderful loose leaf tea served to us
in a little tea pot with glasses and honey with lemon.
The rooms were beautiful we had a view of Japantown,
and beautiful rice shoju screens and painted japanese
women on the wooden screens. It's a family favorite now..
if I had one slight complaint it would be the shower set up
could be a tad more private. We'll definitly be back!!!

Went to SF for the weekend, stayed 2 nights at Hotel Kabuki. It is a beautiful hotel. The bed was very nice. However I had called ahead of time and was told that our room would be the double double with a view and balcony in the tower part of the hotel just like I had reserved online. When we arrived we were told that we were changed to a family suite (an upgrade) but it was in the garden part of the hotel and on the first floor where we had a view of passing cars and no balcony or outside air. When I asked to change rooms the women at the front desk just stammered and stared at their monitors. The air conditioner didn't work so it was very hot in the room. Valet parking was a joke, $25.00 a night and I was told on the second night that I couldn't park there even though there were empty places. Found the staff to be not very friendly and never said thank you or looked us in the eye. I paid a lot of money for a room that I didn't want and was upset the whole time.