1000 Van Ness Garage

1000 Van Ness Garage worked out pretty well when I parked in the area for a show at the Great American Music Hall.

It's a bit expensive; paid $24 for a few hours. However, it's safe, enclosed, and has multiple stories.

This parking is horrible. I paid subscription and I was charged incorrectly monthly. The email provided from the statement doesn't work and you don't get any response. I called and you don't get help. The staff won't help you either. The only way to get your money back is through dispute.

Ming, I'll delete this review if you please help me get my car back.

tl;dr My car is gone.

I was paying through a third party provider. I had a monthly pass, although 1000 Van Ness made me come in every month to manually get a new pass with them. (As other reviewers have noted, they accept money from third parties but treat them so badly.)

They shut down due to COVID. Everything was locked, and they weren't picking up the phone. I had no way to renew my pass. I couldn't get my car out. (Others could, but my pass for the month had expired, so I couldn't get to my car.)

Then, I got a notice they had my car towed for being abandoned. I never stopped paying; they just stopped staffing the parking garage and I couldn't get to my car! They had all my information on file, but never told me. I was paying the whole time!

Ming won't help me get my car back. The towing agency said they no longer have it. So I paid $400/mo for Ming to have my car impounded, and now it's gone.

Ming, please just help me get my car back and I'll delete this.

My SO and I parked here for a movie, the movie parking price is a pretty good deal $8/5 hours if you get it validated at the theatre. But what gets this 1 star review is the parking security attendant.

When we came one of the only parking spaces was inbetween a crooked (over the lines) car and a well parked car, we did our best to park straight but we ended up crooked, but still 100% within the lines. The crooked guy we parked next to was over the lines but whatever.

When we come back to the car after our movie and grabbing some food I notice a strong urine scent. It did not smell like that when we first came in. It was raining today but the movie and food took at least 4 hours. I look at our car and the driver side and rear driver side door are still wet...that's strange...wait, is that PEE?? Our car is silver and I could make out the slight yellow tinge, I bent as close as I dare and smell, YUP, definitely urine. I look down and there's a puddle right below the wet part of our car. SO and I are obviously horrified and honestly, mostly confused how that even happened. I try my best to get into the car without touching the stains, I also happened to have a wetwipe with me so I could clean my hands until we got home (I'm assuming the offender made great effort to pee on the handles).

As we're leaving we see the parking security attendant, and I say "hey, should we mention this to him?" SO goes "Yeah." SO rolls down the window.
SO: "Uh, hey, so-" (We're immediately cut off)
Parking: "Yeah, so you are parked crooked, and you make EVERYONE else park crooked you know? So that's why."
Us: "Uh, yeah but the person parked when we came in was crooked, that's why we were also crooked."
Parking: "No, it was you. I saw on the camera, that's why I came up here, I saw you park crooked on the camera and so I came up now."
(Keep in mind, we were parked in the second space from the corner and the camera was facing the ramp. So we doubt he could see us park.)
Us: "You saw us park crooked...? Well, we just wanted to say that someone peed-"
Parking: "Yeah, you parked crooked so that's why that happens."
Us: "Wait you saw someone pee on our car?"
Parking: "Yeah. And you park crooked so everyone else park crooked. *he gestures with his hands to show us*"
Us: "You saw them pee on our car on the camera? Is that why you are here?"
Parking: "No, we are not liable for anything, I just here to make sure no one break into cars."

This whole conversations repeats THREE TIMES. The parking attendant was clearly pissed at us for parking crooked and made a point to come meet us when we came back to our car.

What really got to me was that he refused to believe that someone else parked crooked forcing us to, even though he stated that same principle in practice from our car. BUT MOST OF ALL, he mentioned before we ever made any hint about the urine, that "That's why that happened." He said something happened to our car before we mentioned it. And he even stated he saw it on camera. I'm honestly thinking he himself peed on our car because of how pissed he was at us for parking crooked.

Last thing I'll mention, there were 3 spots in the corner before a pillar divides them from the rest of the lane. So if we really did force someone to park crooked it was the one guy to our right, not the whole lane like he demonstrated for us multiple times.

In closing, if you park here, get your parking validated, but also don't even park the slightest bit crooked because some asshole who works there is gonna pee on your car.

DO NOT PARK HERE!!!! Unless you plan on being in the lot for about 12 hours, this is a rip off.

I went to see a movie at the AMC which validates your ticket for 5 hours and you STILL have to pay $8 (as if movie prices weren't bad enough). So after deciding to see two movies, I am ready to leave the garage and pay the $8. Unfortunately, I was there for 5 hours and 10 minutes, leaving me with a $17 bill. I can't understand why they make you pay the max price for only 10 minutes.

The person working was not understanding and there was nothing he could do to pro-rate the amount.

Find somewhere else to park your car while going to see a movie.

I've parked here for years, going to the theaters that are housed in the same building, and I also park here on weekdays as it's not too far from work.

they have 1 upper level which is reserved for employees or handicapped parking, the street level which has 3 employee spots and 5 reserved spots, the rest of the garage is free game.

their rates are not too bad for the area, i believe it's $6.00 an hour with a max of $17. they have an early bird special, in before 9, out before 7:30 and it's $8.00. they also have a special price for government employees in the area (city, state, & federal buildings are in close proximity to the garage) where you buy discounted tickets and they end up costing you $5 a day to park...not bad considering parking closer to the government building can cost $15 a day. there's discounted parking also for movie-goers...it used to be $4 for 4 hours, but i think the prices went up recently.

the staff is pretty helpful and the office is located on the street level, near the entrance to the elevators. i've never had a problem parking here as there's always a "rover" on a bike going up and down making sure there's no one messing with any of the cars.

I believe I was over-charged for a validated ticket. Although the parking attendant eventually was somewhat nice and gave a reduced price, that was still an over-charge.

Not the cheapest and you have to deal with all the movie patrons. However for the Great American Music Hall and other drinking adventures on Polk you can avoid the sketch of the area

Seriously this garage is not honest to their customers who come to them via SpotHero. There have also been apparent communication issues between them and Spothero. So definitely think twice before you pay the reservation for here on Spothero.
I did monthly parking with them thru SpotHero twice, both experiences are horrible. First time I had to spend 30 minutes to deny their manager's relentless attempt to talk me into leaving SpotHero and joining their permanent membership with extra 35 dollars before I could get my parking pass from him. I told him no because such arrangement wasn't shown on SpotHero at all when I paid the reservation so I wasn't willing to do so.
The second time the attendant tried to force me to give him 35 dollars by telling me that otherwise he won't give me my parking pass, in the attitude as if I got away last time and he wouldn't let it happens again, even after I showed him the receipt from SpotHero that I already paid so he cannot hijack my parking pass for the 35 dollars, which I didn't see at all on both SpotHero's website and the receipt.
On top of such unfair and dishonest tricks, they are always late in response for new parking passes. And always reluctant to issue parking passes to customers who already paid on SpotHero, and were not aware of the hidden 35 dollars when they made the purchase.
What is worse is that this garage is not willing to acknowledge the fact that they don't know exactly when they put the 35 dollars fee on SpotHero's website, yet they demand the money after I showed them proof that Spothero didn't mention such extra fee on my parking pass, and it wasn't there on the website either when I made the purchase many days ago.
When I questioned both the attendant and Spothero what if I chose another garage next month, how much refund I will get for this 1-time 35 dollars for permanent parking, none of them knew how to answer.

I am a fan because they do a deal for gov employees. $5.50 for the day. Not too bad. It is relatively safe, its covered, it is a great place to nap in your car on your lunch hour and most the guys that work there are real dolls. Juan in particular and the cool ass Ethiopian guy.

The only thing that has ticked me off in my 3 years of parking here daily is every so often, well pretty often, the ticket machines when you are exiting malfunction and it takes more time to exit. Which sucks because I pretty hostile after work and just want to leave the TL ASAP.

Also good place to park before heading over to the Jiggly Room across the street (;