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Location: 440 Geary Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: (415) 885-0200
Fax: (415) 436-6613
Style: Modern Italian
Pluses: Stylish decor, comfortable ambiance and features, convenient location
Minuses: Room heater/air conditioner a little noisy
Prices: Moderate; $145 -150 double
Rooms: 110
Nonsmoking rooms: yes
Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club, Discovery, JCB, Carte Blanche
Cancellation policy: 24 hours
Parking: valet parking $17 a day; available 6:30 a.m. to 12 midnight Sunday to Thursday, 6:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday; access during non-valet hours available by prior arrangement with the front desk
Restaurant: No
Room service: from California Pizza Kitchen
Wheelchair accessible: yes
Special Features: Complimentary continental breakfast delivered to your room
Fitness center
Business Center with complimentary access to two PC's with WordPerfect and a laser printer; copier and fax access for a nominal charge
In-room honor bars and safes
Complimentary coffee available 24 hours
VCR in every room, vending machine rents tapes for $6.95
Nintendo available on room TV
Desk phone with long cord and data port, second phone in bath
Voicemail for messages

If you're tired of cookie cutter hotels with boring decor, try the Hotel Diva. In 1986 the owners spent $12 million to transform a 74-year-old hotel into the modern Italian-style Diva, and they did such a good job, the hotel won an award for best hotel design from Interiors Magazine. The lobby is sleek stainless steel, while the rooms are soft gray with splashes of color. The beds are furnished with European-style duvets, and the bath fixtures are simple and elegant. Even the bath kit is stylish, with orange, lime green, hot pink and peacock blue bottles, all with the Hotel Diva logo. Someone paid attention to the details, and it shows.

The rooms at the Diva are comfortably appointed with desk, side chairs, TV and VCR. Most rooms are removed from the street and have windows overlooking light wells, so you get quiet but not much of a view. Water pressure in the shower is excellent, not always the case in an older building.

The hotel also pays attention to guest services, as indicated by the list of amenities above. I like having direct access to the copier and fax machine, though I'd prefer something other than WordPerfect on the PCs. I also appreciate having voicemail. The video vending machine offered a good range of choices, from action pictures to kid's movies.

The Diva is just a block and a half from Union Square so it's convenient for sightseeing and shopping, and it's right in the heart of the theater district. The California Pizza Kitchen on the first floor offers pizza, pasta and salads and will deliver to your room, plus there are many good restaurants nearby. My only complaints about the Diva are really minor. The in-room heater/air conditioner is a little noisy. Also the pastries at breakfast are mediocre, though the coffee and juice are fine. If you want a better breakfast, head for Dottie's True Blue Cafe or Sears Fine Foods, both just a short walk from the hotel.