Hotel San Carlos

Really nice, quaint and historic hotel. Pool was closed for repairs which really put a damper on our stay in hot Phoenix. Staff was very helpful and informative. Would definitely stay there again because of decent prices, especially when the pool is fixed. The monsoon thunderstorm was great to watch from our room that faced the main street out front. The English pasty restaurant across the street is a great place for food and there's an Irish bar right next door. For an even better experience, check out the Valley Bar in the alley across the street.

Beautiful hotel! So much history and charm. I came to stay at room 720, and I was not disappointed. It exceeded my expectations in every way and I had a great, truly unforgettable experience. ||The staff were very friendly and accommodating.|| Yes the hotel is old, but that’s exactly its appeal and renovating it would absolutely diminish its character. It’s great just as it is. ||The only negative is that it does not have parking. However, there are plenty of public parking garages in walking distance (just around the block). ||It’s a lively part of downtown Phoenix, with tons of restaurants and safe to walk around.

Outdated but historical building. Really gave you that old school vibe. Pool is still closed but you can go out on the mid floor roof top. Controlled AC so you might get hot. Plenty of food and shopping with in walking distance. No on site parking. All in all it was just for an experience. So it was cool.

I really enjoyed my stay here! The rooms are small, yes, but it's good for a one or two night stay. We went to a concert at the Footprint center, and it was a 10 minute walk. Saved us a lot of money on ubers and parking. The AC worked fine in our room, so I'm not sure what the other reviewers mean about it being unbearably hot because I was there in the dead of desert summer and was fine. The beds are a little uncomfortable and the sheets are rough, but those are my only complaints. Would stay here again!

Positive: Location is fantastic. Very classic old school hotel. Fantastic Mexican restaurant in the hotel. Staff was fantastic. Negative: Dont in the summer. It was 89 degrees in my room. And at night the "AC" stopped blowing. Obvious a recurring problem as desk has box fans. Parking is off site. Slight walk or, a shortcut through a nasty alley with homeless laying around. Pool closed.

The staff is great, very friendly and helpful. 2 restaurants are attached to the hotel, a great Mexican that has street level outside seating and an Irish bar/restaurant that is fun and festive. BUT - the hotel is old and tired, with plumbing that dates back about 100 years, limited room size, and walls/carpets that could use a good refreshing. The historical photos and news stories in the halls are a treat

If I could give this hotel zero stars I would. We were in town for a work conference and booked at the Hotel San Carlos due to its proximity to the venue. From the moment we arrived, the experience was appalling. There was nowhere to pull up to unload or check in—no valet, no designated area, nothing. We were forced to park in a sketchy garage about a block away and haul all of our luggage through the street.||During that short walk, we were aggressively approached multiple times by unhoused individuals, some of whom got uncomfortably close, asking for money. It felt unsafe from the very beginning.||Once inside, the situation only deteriorated. The building is extremely outdated, and not in a charming or historic way—in a neglected, almost condemned way. Our rooms were hot and stuffy, with no working air conditioning. The only airflow came from a noisy, decades-old fan that sounded like it might fall off the ceiling at any moment. The furniture was worn, the beds were sagging, and the bathroom resembled something you'd expect in a prison—cramped, grimy, and absolutely uninviting.|Security was nonexistent. There were no bolts or secondary locks on the doors, and the entrance to the building itself required stepping over people sleeping on the ground outside. The door to the room didn’t even reach the ceiling—there was a flimsy accordion-style panel filling the gap, which meant we could hear every single noise from the rooms next door. And I mean everything.||The TV had maybe five channels, the gym was out of order, and the pool was completely drained. The ceiling showed signs of serious water damage, with sagging and cracked areas that looked like they might collapse. The floors had an alarming amount of "give" to them when walking, like you were about to fall through. And the mirrors—floor-to-ceiling above the bed—felt less like a design choice and more like a clue that this hotel might primarily serve an hourly clientele. It did not feel like a place for professionals, families, or anyone who values safety or cleanliness.||To put it plainly, this was the most horrifying hotel experience I’ve ever had. I didn’t feel safe, I didn’t feel clean, and had we stayed we certainly wouldn’t have slept. We couldn’t get out of there fast enough and thankfully were able to secure accommodations elsewhere. ||If you're considering staying here—don’t. It felt like the kind of place you leave with a disease or in a body bag.