The Palace Hotel has a wealth of glorious hotel services and amenities, ranging from personal concierge assistance and valet parking, to simply scrumptious in-room dining, breathtaking scenic views, a cutting-edge fitness centre and pool with sky-lit ceiling. This combined with the truly remarkable architecture is why staying at the Palace Hotel is simply a must. Yet, like all hotel websites online, I find often the details and reviews are fairly minimal so it is hard to envision and know what room is best and most suited for you. For this is why I want to give you a taster of two rooms of different budgets and review them to help you with your decision.

With over 755 different guest rooms to choose from, I knew that for me, a first-time San Francisco explorer, I wanted a room with a view.

Room Number One: Deluxe Suite ($834 per night.) 

• 2 Bedroom
• 2 Room suite
• 1 King
• 1 Sofa bed
• Limited view

When you first walk into the room you meet a small entrance hallway with modern art. You are first struck by the high 11-foot ceilings with authentic crown moulding which instantly gives you an air of the history of the hotel. The colour palette for the suite is deep plum, midnight blue and shades of grey, which continues the air of luxury and helps to further open up the space. The suite has its own living space with upholstered sofa, an armchair, and a chic coffee table, a desk, fridge and safe for valuables, a 48 inch LED flat screen TV. There are plenty of tall windows throughout the suite which let in a lot of light, I personally really loved the window seat – it provided the perfect space to people watch.

As for the views, I think they were quite average in this suite. They do give you a feel for the city, for example, I was able to see the St. Patricks Day parade but it wasn’t exceptional.

The bedroom is also a bright space with a king-sized bed, a chaise lounge, LED flat screen television, a built-in wardrobe, two bedside tables and a chest of drawers. I was pleased that in the bedroom they had a large full-length mirror! There was also a lot of functional features in the room such as an ample amount of plugs, a built in alarm clock, iron and ironing board and coffee-maker.

The bathroom has no windows but is a very bright space, with lavish white marble, a shower, bidet, lighted makeup mirror (that was simply amazing), hairdryer, robe and slippers. It was a small space so only one person could get ready in there at a time.

Overall, I’d rate it a 6/10. It is a perfect room if you want to get a feel for the history of the place but the lack of a view in the suite let it down slightly.

Room Number two: Palace Suite ($2239 per night)

• 1 Bedroom Larger Suite
• 1 King
• Sofa bed
• Market Street view & city view

The Palace Suite is a little more prosperous than the Deluxe Suite but immediately you notice the difference of the upgrade. With 880sqft/ 79sqm-900sqft/ 81sqm you have ample space that truly epitomises stylish grandeur. 

The main area is very spacious with high ceilings with a feature chandelier and countless tall windows each with a dramatically better view of the city around you. The difference between the view of each suites is quite phenomenal so certainly worth spending extra money if this is important for you.

There is a large dining room table, marble fireplace, lavish sofas, a modern glass coffee table with a beautiful rug that is the centre piece of the room. In the corner there is a large designer desk with two chairs, that becomes a dining table for two. It was an area that felt somewhat like an apartment rather than a hotel which was nice as it meant it was a very functional space for online meetings.

 In the main room is a mini fridge full of complimentary water and a Keurig Coffee maker ideal for easing you into those early mornings.

The bedroom is an exceptionally majestic and romantic space with a king-size canopy-canopy-framed bed, dressed in luxurious Frette bed linens that are so feather soft to the touch. I did find however, that the dark wood in the bedroom did make me feel a little claustrophobic as I do prefer brighter spaces. In the bedroom was modern amenities including the 48-inch LCD television, 2 phones and high speed internet. To my discontent, there was no floor length mirror in the bedroom and the lighting could have been brighter. There was plenty of wardrobe space and I made use of the pressing service during my stay.

The marble bathroom was highly indulgent with a deep-soaking tub, a separate oversized shower, a TOTO washout and luxury collection robes and slippers.

The hospitality service was great and a daily newspaper was delivered to the room on request. It was also a nice touch to have a plate of exquisite chocolates on arrival.

The 24 hour room service was also very efficient and even during the unearthly hours of the morning, when jet lag decided to kick in, food was ready at a very fast pace. I enjoyed having a table in the bedroom with a selection of some of the vegetarian dishes from the room service menu.

I would overall give the room service food a 7/10, I did not opt for the healthiest options but on two occasions the fries were cold. However, the quesadillas totally made up for that – they were truly delectable.

To conclude; is it worth splashing out on an upgrade?

In my opinion, if you are looking for a room with a view then I would advise an upgrade. Not only that but you get much more living space! I you’re only staying for a night and want to have a ‘hotel’ experience, then I’d suggest it probably isn’t hugely worth upgrading but if you want to feel at home in a luxury environment for a little longer, I think the Palace suite is hugely worth the money.