The most disgusting hotel, DO NOT STAY HERE! There’s a huge difference between budget no frills and health hazard. I came home to a “clean” room after housekeeping, only to find MOUSE DROPPINGS in plain view on my “clean” towels. Not just at the back of the shelf, under a stack of towels — we’re talking hanging from the towel bar, front and center! On a towel meant to wash your face with. If housekeeping could miss what I could see from five feet away, just imagine what else they’re leaving behind. There were large yellow stains and long, dark hairs on both the top of the comforter and the fitted sheet; I stepped on a dusty hair ball getting out of the shower (picture someone emptying their full hairbrush and leaving it in the corner for three months to accumulate dust — this is what I stepped on!); water from the tub came out brown even after several minutes. I could go on and on, but hopefully this is enough to deter you. When alerted about the mouse droppings, the teenager they left to run the front desk was so disgusted that he himself turned the towel over so as not to see them. He squeamishly came to my room a half hour later with one replacement towel, not even the full set was offered! When I asked to speak with a manager, he was “out of town” for the duration of the trip, which I get with a family run hotel, but when you have a sixteen year old running the place the manager should at least pick up the phone and intervene before the Health Department does. Not once did he call. The teenager offered another room (what good will that do? I’m sure those “clean” towels are stored in the same place!) but no refund. I took my business elsewhere. And don’t get me started on the neighborhood. If you’ve never been to San Fran, be advised to google the Tenderloin ahead of time and avoid! I walk the streets of Baltimore daily and am used to witnessing striking poverty and drug use (I say this to help you believe I am not an alarmist) and am seldom shocked anymore. The Tenderloin has numerous drug users sprawled out at any given point on the sidewalk, and may as well be a cesspool with the amount of human feces present. The Layne Hotel staff will reply to this and say something along the lines of “this is not the common reaction from guests”... but it is! Read more reviews and you will see a theme emerge!

I had a terrible experience cancelling my reservation. Personnel just pretend not understanding and not willing to help. They are just super greedy. It is -$260 from my budget experience. And 1 star for their review history. I don't recommend to deal with them ever.

Great location. For the price it’s a great no frills hotel. All the rooms and common areas look to have been redecorated recently. Check-in check-out was quick and painless. Booked a queen room with own bathroom and it was excellent; comfortable and clean. For a city stay (sightseeing, location, price etc) this is a good option. Don’t be put off by the negative reviews. Either the hotel is under new management now or they have been plagued with some real “pendejos”. Would stay here again.

My daughter and I had a really great overnight stay at the Layne Hotel. The hotel itself is beautiful and historic, and our room was spotless and exceptionally comfortable. The water and shower head were great in the bathroom and the bed was also very comfy. Although it has been mentioned before that the neighborhood isn't the best, the location is very central and we were advised which streets were safer to walk, which I much appreciated as an out-of-towner. We felt very safe in the gated hotel. The best part of our stay was the exceptional service at the Layne. We felt very well taken care of by the hotel staff, and much appreciated their warm welcome and kind advice. I would highly recommend the Layne for a stay in San Francisco and we would certainly stay again.

A bad hotel in a seedy neighborhood that is made worse by really bad customer service. Check-in: Not a very friendly gentleman at the front counter, but i can deal with that. He made me sign for a $250 deposit hold on he room that is ran immediately. Also, you're signing their terms and agreements - pay attention to that part if you make the mistake of staying here. Hotel/room: The lobby is a drab, non-descript standard lobby. To get to our room, we were given instructions to their ancient deathtrap of an elevator. We took it once and used the stairs for the rest of the trip. The room had a TV from 1990, I presume. 4k it was not, and was laughably terrible quality. We didn't plan on watching TV on the trip but worth noting if you were. The two beds had comforters that were gross and musty. My bed wobbled like an uneven high-top bar table. Leaning to one side would bring the legs off the ground. The bathroom was dated but not dirty, but the towels were literally in tatters and gross. They also do not have maid service daily. Customer service: I had a friend that was stopping by before we went out to dinner. He was going to come up to the room to chat while we got ready. Instead, the manager on duty made me come downstairs, told me he needed to speak with me, then told me my friend could not come upstairs and that I'd need to pay $25 if he wanted to come up, otherwise he was to stay in the lobby or leave. I nearly lost it. Apparently this is in their terms and conditions. Keep in mind, my friend was just visiting, not an overnight guest whatsoever. The Manager on duty was extremely rude and condescending. I've never dealt with something like that in many many hotel stays and is primarily why i set out to post this review. I would never stay here again. You can find better places for similar money. But spending a little extra would have been well worth it just to not have such a bad experience.

Easily the worst hotel going experience in my entire life. The Hotel staff were extremely rude and unhelpful, no fire detector in our room. The hotel elevator was broken for 3 of the 4 days we stayed there. The TV was broken. The Internet was extremely slow and sometimes did not work at all. IT is in easily the skeeviest part of San Francisco and any time we left the hotel we were constantly accosted by the homeless and drug addicts that surround this place. We were charged double what our booking was for originally. The people who run this place are crooks and con artists. Under no circumstances stay at this hotel, you will regret it immensely.

This hotel is nice and well maintained but it's just too much. They are not simple with letting you enter which I understand. Then to check out they need to check the room and they send a reminder 30 mins prior. These are just to extra what they are doing. I mean I get it and it's nice but I just can't deal with this. Overall it's a nice and cozy place to stay in and drama free.

Do not stay at this hotel unless you like dirty unwashed bed linens. As soon as we got there, the first thing I check is bedding. The top comforter had more than a few long black hairs all over it. Also on the sheets under the comforter. I pulled up the fitted sheet to look at mattress and the mattress cover was also covered with hair. It's obvious the housekeepers don't launder and change bedding regularly. There were shared bathrooms on the 5th floor with no garbage cans and dirty toilet paper and feminine products on the floor. Staff never cleaned it up or checked for toilet paper. Outdoors of hotel is dirty and has drug dealers directly across the street. Hanging out and loud all night long. I'll never go back. Friendly staff during my stay but dirty hotel. It doesn't even deserve 1 star.

The worst hotel in the world, they are a disaster. They charge you a deposit of $250 (excessive, it doesn't seem bad to me, just excessive) and they NEVER return it. They do not have a phone number to call, or an email to communicate, I will have to ignore the payment and personally go to the hotel to resolve it. It'll cost me a new ticket to San Francisco. Inept, if you are reading reviews to find out if this hotel is worth it, do not go, please, it is not for nothing all the bad reviews it has.

Just stayed here over Valentine's/President's Holiday weekend. Definitely by far the best Hostel we have stayed at. Yes, there is a $250.00 deposit which is common in other Hotels and Hostels. Completely refundable and is listed upon making reservation. Rooms are very spacious and clean! and you get a mini fridge and microwave in room! Free Wi-Fi ! Building in general is very clean and quiet. Shared bathroom and shower are also very clean. (There is a sink in room) Staff is nice and friendly (Raj was extremely helpful and accommodating). Excellent location, few steps away from Union Square, Chinatown, Market St, and all public transportation! Next to variety of restaurants and bars! (Must try Chutney next door for the BEST Indian food!) Overall, we absolutely enjoyed our stay here!

For SF standards you pay almost nothing. And you get what you pay for. EDIT: Since the management promptly acknowledged my rating I've decided to write a more thought-out review and gave the hotel another star for caring for their online image. This is a modest place, family owned. It seems they've had issues with their guests in the past because this is a hotel with strict rules. Maybe due to the fact that the neighborhood is filled with drug induced homeless people roaming around or due to people insisting in smoking pot inside their smoking free rooms, the fact is they have very inconvenient regulations like the security fee of $250 paid upfront in case you break any of the rules or the $20 charge for visitors which you're required to pay even if the person is not spending the night, that's just to get in the hotel. Also they require ID from all visitors, which they xerox for "register". You can't open the front door yourself, you need to buzz in to get inside (there's someone in the frontdesk at all times they say).This distrust of its guests makes me wonder what kind of person usually book the rooms in Layne Hotel. Regarding the infrastructure, it's a modest place but clean. The corridors have a bright wallpaper and the elevator is an old model you need to open an folding gate to enter and leave (which is interesting) . They do have rooms with private restrooms which is the one I stayed in. The room was nice and clean, so was the restroom. However it was extremely warm inside, even after I turned off the radiator. There's no AC so I'd suggest another place to stay during summer. I was there in November and it was so warm I couldn't cover myself at night. Another issue is the shower: the water doesn't warm up enough and it's barely lukewarm. The mini fridge in the room was completely empty so bring your own water for those warm nights in the room (I found out too late and had to drink tap water from the restroom) . Another issue I had was with the homeless people. Even saying at the back of the building at the very top floor I could hear people calling up names or just straight screaming throughout the night. To be fair this is not the hotel's fault but definitively something to consider if have a light sleep. Lastly, when you check out the person on the frontdesk go to your room to verify if you didn't break any rules, like smoking inside, so they can return your $250 security deposit. The person that checked my room came back carrying a pair of towels, likely the ones I've used, but I couldn't help but wonder about the other set of towels in the room. They also should be cleaned for the following guests. I hope this sincere review helps you and also give the management a clear list of what they should improve on.

I had the opportunity to stay w/ Randy and his family for a week. The rooms were updated and the property was beautiful and historic. Randy and company were available around the clock should I have needed anything including restaurant recommendations or whatever. I found all great restaurants were within walking distance of the front door too. During my stay I noticed he was going out of his way, like a personal concierge, to ensure all guests were taken care of. Yes, this is a business but by the end of my stay Randy and his mother made it feel like family. I will definitely be returning when am in the area.

It's never a good sign when multiple hotel staff tell you, unprompted, that it's unsafe around the area. Even our Uber driver said to be careful and don't walk around the area. There was no A/C, no heat, no fans and no amenities in the room (except an empty refrigerator) and the topper, a random $250 "fee" which you have to contact your credit card company to get back, if you get it back at all. It was loud with motorcycles, police sirens, music playing and people yelling in the middle of the night making it hard to sleep. Multiple homeless people in the area with tents and you can't get into the hotel unless someone unlocks the gate (you need to buzz in to get inside). They say there's someone in the front-desk at all times but that wasn't the case during my stay. Someone was monitoring the gate and they will let you in even when no one is at the desk. The front desk person I encountered didn't seem to know English very well so I may have misunderstood the rules and how it all worked. Inside the place is older but looks to have had some renovation. It would be nice to have a ceiling fan since there's no way to get air. Staying in November helped since it wasn't too hot outside. The bed was OK and there was hot water in the shower. The elevator was old school with a folding gate to enter and leave. They also offer free wifi which worked fine. There are several places to eat nearby but I don't recommend walking around at night. It's SF so there are hills but I'd suggest spending a little extra and just stay in a nicer area. There are many other places in SF that have nice restaurants, are flatter and don't endanger your life walking around the area. It may seem cheaper here but the lower cost per night is lost with the $250 fee and having to spend extra using a ride share because it's not safe to walk back to the hotel at night.

The building is older and the interior has history but with the re fresh it wasn’t so bad. The room were decent but the shared bathroom was something I never encountered before and also the rooms could use a ceiling fan because the rooms have no A/C. The staff wasn’t bad except for a very rude answer after a comment about the TV but someone fixed it and made things right. (The man apologized the next morning.) The area isn’t the best but it could be worse, lots of good restaurants around the hotel and places to get drinks for the Mini Fridge you get in the rooms. Some tips never go down the street at night because it’s very shady. Now if you hike up towards California it’s nice and towards the Square but be ready for the Hills. Take a cab at night but walk in the morning or afternoon. Would I stay again probably not because of the bathroom situation but it wasn’t a bad experience.

I recently stayed at Layne Hotel in San Francisco, and it was a truly wonderful experience. From the moment I arrived, I was greeted with warm hospitality and attentive service. The hotel itself is cozy and charming, with beautifully decorated rooms that are both comfortable and clean. The location of Layne Hotel is perfect for exploring San Francisco. It's situated in a convenient area, close to popular attractions and public transportation options, making it easy to get around and see the sights.The staff were friendly, helpful, and always willing to go the extra mile to ensure that my stay was enjoyable. I highly recommend Layne Hotel for anyone visiting San Francisco.

Great security, nice and clean, attentive and friendly staff, family-run business. They will not necessarily clean your room every day, but they will ask you if you want it cleaned. (We didn't.) They will ask for a $250 deposit, and they return it immediately on check-out once they determine you didn't break any rules, like smoking in the rooms. Dollar-for-dollar, prefer it to the fancy hotels on Geary.

Good price for the Location. The hotel is old (as most of the building in the area) but the room was clean, shared bathroom were very clean too. People at reception are very nice. Good place to stay in SF.

I had a nightmare that the owner was trying to open the door to our room and he got in then quickly shut it. Then I woke up and couldn't work out if it was real or just a dream. Safe to say this place doesn't make you feel comfortable lol....