I had not known this at all until today, but San Francisco’s hotels seem to be caught in a battle of strikes and lockouts over a labor dispute.
At the Hilton and the Westin St. Francis near Union Square, workers have maintained picket lines and demonstrated continuously with loudspeakers. Many of the restaurants inside have been closed, and room service apparently is barely available. Security guards stand firmly at every door to prevent employees from getting inside. It has a menacing atmosphere. The hotels are nearly empty. It is not an atmosphere in which one could possibly relax. Staying in Palo Alto was absolutely the right decision. Incidentally, I could not even enter the Westin because I had to show a key to get inside. When I said I wanted to go to the café, I was told that because of the strike, all the restaurants and cafés were closed. I do wonder about charging almost normal rates under these circumstances.