San Francisco's newest hotel just $50 a night — if you're not afraid of strangers

Exterior of San Francisco's new Found Hotel Exterior of San Francisco's new Found Hotel Photo: Kris Tamburello, Found SF Photo: Kris Tamburello, Found SF Image 1 of / 43 Caption Close San Francisco's newest hotel just $50 a night — if you're not afraid of strangers 1 / 43 Back to Gallery

While San Francisco hotel prices continue to soar into the stratosphere, a new hotel has opened in the heart of downtown with a starting nightly rate of just $35 to $50.

The only thing is, to get that rate you’d have to share a room with up to six other people you probably don't know.

A former youth hostel at 140 Mason St. (on the Tenderloin side of Union Square) has been converted and reborn as the FOUND Hotel San Francisco, which opened this week. It has 45 shared rooms and 30 private guest rooms; a press release states that rates start at $50 a night for a bed in a shared room and $150 a night for a private room. (But when we called the hotel, the receptionist said that sometimes rates run as low as $35 per night.) There's also a mandatory $6 "Urban Fee."

The shared rooms are equipped with four to six upper and lower bunks. The hotel says it will make female-only shared rooms available upon request, based on availability. Overall, the hotel has 220 beds spread over 75 rooms.

Each room is furnished with a bathroom, pillow-top mattresses, and daily housekeeping service. Shared rooms come with free WiFi and “a locker large enough for most backpacks,” according to the hotel’s website. Earplugs are available at the front desk in case you are bunking up with a snorer.

Private rooms have twin or queen beds and also feature TVs, work desks and free WiFi. Take a look at the slideshow at the top of this post to see inside.

Even if a bunk in a shared room isn’t your thing, the $150 starting rate for a private room is a very good deal by local standards. According to STR, a hotel data tracking company, the average nightly room rate in San Francisco during Nov. 17-23 was $376 (Note: In fairness, rates were higher than usual that week due to the big Dreamforce convention. San Francisco's average daily rate in 2018 was $264). However, a quick scan for cheap hotels in mid-January on Kayak.com turned up several results in the $60 range for rooms in the Tenderloin.

A verified review about FOUND San Francisco on Orbitz.com states, "I liked how they have an option of offering hostel-like accommodations and the boutique hotel feel. For the price, newness, and location. You can’t beat it, especially in San Francisco! Definitely be back!" Another review on Booking.com: "The hotel is just recently renovated so the beds, pillows, and towels are all new. Even though it is newly renovated, the underlying mechanisms are still old, like light and TV did not work at first and the elevator takes a while to arrive."

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FOUND Hotels has similar properties in Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and San Diego, with additional locations coming in Miami and Los Angeles next year. The company calls itself a “co-living lifestyle brand,” and says it appeals to “digital nomads who live life with a free-spirited attitude.”

It’s not a total bare-bones experience; the FOUND San Francisco also has a restaurant with "modern American cuisine" and a cocktail bar with a late-night menu, both opening in early January. Take a look at the slideshow at the top of this post to see inside.

The hotel calls its front desk agents “guides,” who can help direct guests to the city’s local attractions and experiences.

Would you stay at a ultra-budget hotel like this? Tell us what you think in THE COMMENTS.

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Chris McGinnis is SFGATE's senior travel correspondent. You can reach him via email or follow him on Twitter or Facebook. Don't miss a shred of important travel news by signing up for his FREE biweekly email updates!