My standard hotel reviews include a breakdown by the following topics. Feel free to skip to whichever section you find most interesting.
- Highlights
- Lobby & Check-in
- Room
- Hotel Space / Ambiance
- Food & Drink
- Fitness
- Miscellaneous
HIGHLIGHTS: The Kimpton Buchanan
This boutique hotel located in the heart of Japantown in San Francisco was a decent use of the IHG free night award that I nearly forgot about. Thankfully I was able to use it before it expired, to have a lovely day in the city. Mum’s House of Shabu, located on the hotel’s first floor, is average, and the evening refreshments were nice. Lack of Raid the Bar was disappointing, but overall an average stay.
LOBBY & CHECK-IN
The Buchanan’s lobby has low ceilings so it feels a bit enclosed. Entrance is down a set of stairs on Sutter, with checkin to the left. They were kind enough to tell me that due to remodeling or something they don’t actually have a bar, and instead included a gift bag which ended up having quite disappointing snacks.
ROOM
Basic King room I believe, with both an umbrella and a yoga mat in the closet, perfect for San Francisco tourists and health conscious travelers. Decent view of the SF skyline. Interesting artwork on the walls.
HOTEL SPACE / AMBIANCE
I saw only tourists, which befit the location of this hotel. Some families as well. Very young, relaxing vibe, to go along with the various artwork around.
FOOD & DRINK
As mentioned the Raid the Bar replacement was disappointing, although they did have afternoon drinks available, with wines, hard liquors, and others. We dined at Mum’s House of Shabu, an independent, unaffiliated restaurant which links to the hotel through the first floor. At $30/person for all you can eat, it was not worth the price, with its lack of variety and poor sauce quality being the main limiting factors.
FITNESS
The fitness center is on the first floor, and quite small, although probably suffiecient for the size of this hotel. They also have a door leading to an outdoor lounge area, with decent views and more artwork.
MISCELLANEOUS
Overall, the Kimpton Buchanan hotel was an average redemption of a free night award as an emergency. We have stayed at other Intercontinentals downtown and wanted to try something different. I would not come back based on this stay, as there are so many other choices, and better ones, available.
Featured Image is the lobby, adorned by bottles in the ceiling and stripped whisky barrels as the wall. Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links which, should you click through and/or make a purchase, grant me a commission. Also, I only post in the best interest of my readers. Lastly, thank you for supporting my blog and my travels.
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