Hotel Tomo
1800 Sutter St, San Francisco, CA, USA
Neighborhood: Japantown
Check availability as rates may vary for dates. Best rate guaranteed.
Recycling is great for household goods but as it turns out it’s even better for hotels. Formerly the Best Western Miyako Inn, the Tomo is part of America’s great surplus of cheap-but-uninspired mid-century budget hotels, re-designed and re-purposed into a boutique hotel that takes its style cues from contemporary Japanese pop culture.
That “Best Western” isn’t still in the name as some kind of ironic joke — the Tomo, oddly, is a partnership between the venerable cheap-motel chain and Joie de Vivre, the hip and homegrown San Francisco boutique hotel group. And if the words Best Western still put you in mind of floral bedspreads and Gideons bibles, you’ll be quickly disabused by one look inside this place.
It’s not just the crisp lines and bright futuristic furnishings; it’s the murals on the walls, the video installations in the lobby, the iPod docks and LCD televisions in the rooms, and in the “gaming suites,” the PlayStation 3s and Nintendo Wiis. There’s a vending machine in the lobby selling t-shirts and toys from Giant Robot, and the shop itself is just blocks away — you’re in the heart of San Francisco’s Japantown. What there isn’t is anything that could rightly be described as luxury; this is still a Best Western, after all, but pretty much anything you’d need is close at hand, from a wealth of restaurants (Japanese and otherwise) to the Kabuki Springs & Spa.
- 125 Rooms
- Style: Cutting-Edge
- Atmosphere: Lively
- 47 Guest Reviews
- Hotel Tomo
- 1800 Sutter St
- San Francisco, CA, USA
- Neighborhood: Japantown
Hotel amenities and services
- 100% non-smoking hotel
- 24 hour concierge
- 24 hour front desk
- 24 hour gym
- Bar
- Business center
- Central air conditioning
- Free wi-fi
- Lounge
- Luggage storage
- No pets allowed
- Offsite gym facilities
- Restaurant
- Self service parking (charges apply)
- Shopping area nearby
- Wake-up service
Other San Francisco Bay Area hotels
47 Guest Reviews
All reviews are from Tablet guests with verified stays.
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- gill
- Stayed August 2012
- Rating: Good
What I liked:
decor
location
price
style and approach
What the hotel could do better:
parking cost $25 and i wasnt told about this
vending machine broke
air conditioning didnt work
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- Lauren
- Stayed September 2012
- Rating: Poor
What I liked:
Liked the location in Japantown, and the restaurant in the hotel was good.
What the hotel could do better:
Service was terrible. We arrived late, after 10pm, and asked at the front desk for advice about a restaurant that is open late. They acted uninterested in helping us, and just gave us a flyer for ordering pizza and said everything was closed. We left, walked a couple of blocks, and found a ton of open restaurants. Either they really don't know the area, or they didn't care to help.
This hotel is really just a remodeled Best Western. Boutique hotels generally are smaller and have very personal staff, and this hotel is just the opposite.
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- Douglas
- Stayed September 2012
- Rating: Good
What I liked:
The staff were very pleasant and helpful. My wife left my phone charger plugged into the wall and when I discovered it missing upon arriving home she spoke with Gill Eklof at the front desk who found it and mailed it back to us.
What the hotel could do better:
Nothing, had a wonderful stay!
