We stayed at this hotel at the end of June for three nights, catching the end of their introductory rate. For $129/night, it was an unbelievable bargain.
Although the location may be a concern for some, it is really only an extra block to the big hotels around Union Square and very convenient to public transport, both the BART, the F-line streetcar, and the cable cars. There is a great mall within a block with plenty of shopping and food options. We walked as far as the Ferry Building and also to AT&T Park to catch a ball game with our infant and no problems.
A nice large room with a large LCD TV wall-mounted and it was really nice to have all new furniture and fixtures. The Keurig coffeemaker in the room is very neat as well.
Excellent concierge service and friendly service in the hotel bar when we needed boiling water to mix our little one's breakfast cereal each morning.
The only thing I might suggest is getting rid of the old-style cribs with the metal bars and moving to the collapsible cribs with soft sides. This is hardly an issue though.
A great hotel stay to start our trip.

Got a wonderful rate of $129 for a standard room. Can't complain at all about the rate. The hotel is modern and tastefully decorated. I got good value for what I paid. However, that said, the "standard room" did not meet my expectations of an Intercontinental Hotel. Apart from the flat screen TV and a nice large shower, it seemed more like a Mariott. The room was small and noisy, and had a view of an abandoned parking lot. Tip for other travelers -- if you don't want to hear sirens and traffic all night long, avoid rooms 03 & 04, which face onto 5th street. Service was okay. Nothing to complain about but nothing to rave about either.

I stayed at this hotel for four nights recently for a conference. It has quite simply, the rudest, most ignorant, unhelpful staff of any hotel I have ever stayed in.

But let me go into detail.....

I checked in at midday and was told my room was not ready. This was fine as, in fairness, i was early. I provided my credit card and passport details and was told by the reception person that I could leave my bag with the porters and pick up my key at any time after 3pm. I actually ended up returning to the hotel at 10pm, at which time there was a huge queue at reception. I asked the porter if he could get the key from reception for me but was told... in no uncertain terms... that he couldn't help. Now, having queued once that day, I wasn't about to do it again... so I stood to one side at the main desk and got one of the reception staffs attention while she was between guests. When I told her i was picking up a key she said "You'll have to join the line." When I explained the situation she turned away, dealt with another customer and then asked me my name, which she eventually looked up in the system. She then told me that I hadn't in fact checked in and so would have "to join the line." Now, I was getting a bit peeved at this point and told here there was no way I was joining the line. So... she ignored me... and ignored me... and ignored me... for at least ten minutes. I then asked to speak to her manager... and was ignored. So a few minutes later when it was clear that she wasn't getting the manager I asked again... so she left her post and went to the other end of the desk where her manager was also dealing with people. Great I thought.... the manager will be along now and we can get this sorted! How wrong I was! The manager also completely ignored me and left me standing there like a lemon! Eventually, and this is after a good half hour of waiting... I actually did join the line. I honestly couldn't believe it... they made a mistake checking me in (i still wonder just what did they do with my details the first time around) and I had to pay for it with my time. Unbelieveable.

So, none too happy I asked to see a manager the next day. The only manager available was the head of security who came out "Maffia style" (i.e. flanked by a blank faced goon with an ear piece). In fairness to him, he listened to the issue and grudgingly apologised but didn't offer any remedial gesture what so ever. He also never explained why he felt it necessary to have his own personal security guard with him while listening to my complaint.

This hotel is new and it shows. The staff are completely clueless as to how guests are normally treated in a hotel of this standard.

As for the hotel and facilities... the public spaces are minimalist.... i.e. all the charm of an airport lounge. The rooms are nice but there are no baths which I know quite a few people didnt like.

Ive stayed in top class hotels all over the world. This wasn't one of them.

excellent service (both front desk and bar/restaurant), nice decor, comfortable bed, nice view from the room, highly recommend it if you want to be on that side of san francisco--ideal for business travelers.