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Ah, San Francisco. Popularised as a lot right now for Silicon Valley and its starry foodie scene as its cable vehicles (the nation’s solely transferring historic monument) and steep streets, it is a place that’s lengthy been on the forefront of innovation. Whether it’s cultivating a clutch of boutique hotels that rip up the rulebook on the whole lot from design to angle, utterly rebuilding and reinventing itself after being decimated by an earthquake, or cementing its place in sartorial historical past when resident Levi Strauss invented his denim denims for native miners, San Francisco is a nicely of inspiration.
That’s even earlier than you even get to its big-ticket attraction: the structure. Its principal landmarks, the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island, pull in their justifiable share of tourists for good cause, however right here’s one thing chances are you’ll not have recognized: “SF” was one of many earliest adopters of sustainable building strategies. From repurposing deserted ships to create properties, banks and companies throughout the Gold Rush, to realising, in 1906, that native redwood timber would assist fireproof town, San Franciscans have all the time been a free-thinking bunch. It may clarify why they have been a few of the nation’s earliest adopters of farm-to-table and nose-to-tail cooking, why range in neighborhood has lengthy been supported, and why they’re a few of the solely Californians who eat bread. Just don’t check with their metropolis as “San Fran” — it’ll get you a one-way ticket dwelling.
Main photograph: Hotel Zetta, South of Market
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1. The Battery, Financial District
Best for adults
Spending time at this cool spot, on the favored northern tip of San Francisco, could make you’re feeling such as you’ve blagged your well beyond a velvet rope. A members’ membership with 14 industrial but luxurious bedrooms — suppose daring artwork, plush velvet and steel four-poster beds, dressed with impossibly comfortable linen — the vibe right here is all New York exclusivity, with a crowd that’s distinctly San Francisco; patrons are profitable tech sorts, whereas employees don au courant Patagonia fleeces. Don’t miss full of life in-house restaurant 717B, the place bar-style meals meets an intensive Californian wine record.
Spa N
Pool N
Price £££
2. San Francisco Proper, Mid-Market
Best for design
Over in Mid-Market, this jewelry field bolt gap has been placing its personal stamp on a metropolis that, ought to its most well-known hotels be any indication, is reasonably keen on a impartial tone. All artfully clashing prints, colour-popping florals and jewel-toned textiles, each its rooms and public areas alike have grow to be a favorite of the artistic and freelance crowd. We can see why: the rooms usually are not solely tricked out (suppose tablets and audio system, rainfall showers, and a hotline for doc printing and in-room vitamin drips) however, with one of the snug bunk rooms we’ve come throughout, inexpensive in addition.
Spa N
Pool N
Price £
3. Hotel Zetta, South of Market
Best for enterprise
This trendy spot in the Bay Area is common among the many metropolis’s movers and shakers. Not solely is it dwelling to one in all San Francisco’s most chichi eating places, the Cavalier (whose menu places a fine-dining spin on British pub classics), however you’ll discover native tech bros and freelancers sipping craft beers and taking part in shuffleboard after work in the foyer S&R Lounge and close by Playroom. Meanwhile, Silicon Valley’s bigwigs escape to consuming den Marianne’s. The greatest bit? It’s nailed in-room gadgetry; there’s the whole lot from transportable Bluetooth audio system and on-demand recreation consoles to noise insulation and easy-to-use espresso machines.
Spa Y
Pool Y
Price ££
4. Palace Hotel, South of Market
Best for decadence
As the identify may counsel, San Francisco’s most historic lodge is as palatial because it comes. Once worn out by an earthquake in 1906, it re-established itself to grow to be the dwelling of selection for everybody from Hollywood royalty to visiting dignitaries. Here, you’re to count on the perfect: stylish, dove-grey bedrooms with superb excessive ceilings; conventional afternoon tea taken beneath a gilded glass dome and whacking nice chandelier; and one of many metropolis’s most storied nightclubs. Art and design lovers are spoiled: whereas the constructing’s lavish beaux-arts structure spans a complete block, it’s additionally only a ten-minute stroll from SFMOMA (town’s trendy artwork museum) downtown.
Spa Y
Pool Y
Price £££
5. 1 Hotel San Francisco, Bay Area
Best for sustainability
Formerly the Vitale (recognized domestically for its rooftop spa, in addition to its patio-based completely happy hour), this waterfront Bay Area property has been not too long ago reborn in the palms of 1 Hotels — a gaggle that arguably created the blueprint in sustainable luxurious for lodge chains. The rooftop spa has re-emerged from a facelift courtesy of Bamford (and has been joined by the property’s beehives and intensive produce backyard), interiors have been largely crafted from reclaimed wooden and its farm-to-table restaurant Terrene takes culinary inspiration from each San Francisco’s Mexican and Latin American communities. We’re huge followers.
Spa Y
Pool Y
Price £££
6. Four Seasons San Francisco, Bay Area
Best for gymnasium buffs
What’s the perfect factor about this glass-fronted downtown property? The location’s nice, certain; it occupies 12 flooring in a 42-storey skyscraper that opens immediately onto full of life Market Street, close to the high-end outlets on Union Square. The decor’s cool, too — extra of an industrial vibe than the standard impartial tones related to the conglomerate — and the lodge’s veranda has beautiful views of town’s Yerba Buena Gardens. However, the explanation to mattress in at this swanky pad is the well being amenities; a fantastic spa and complimentary entry to the members-only Equinox gymnasium downstairs, with its full-size basketball court docket, yoga and barre studios, complete class schedule and top-of-the-range tools.
Spa Y
Pool Y
Price £££
7. Cavallo Point, Sausalito
Best for meals
Let’s lower to the chase: whereas foodies are recognized to be spoiled for selection round right here, it’s uncommon to discover a world-class culinary faculty, restaurant and LEED-certified eco-hotel beneath one roof — and Cavallo Point greater than lives as much as expectations. Here, on the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge (in a nationwide park, over the bay in Sausalito), you’re well-positioned to discover wine nation in Napa and Sonoma — and in a Lexus, no much less, because the lodge has a fleet for company. That stated, nobody would blame you when you didn’t need to go away your digs; with the panoramic views from the rooms, the good holistic spa and distinctive natural meals, you’ll really feel a world faraway from town — regardless of being solely 25 minutes away by shuttle.
Spa Y
Pool Y
Price ££
8. Phoenix Hotel, Tenderloin
Best for highway journeys
This restored Fifties motel in San Francisco’s grungy Tenderloin district appears to scream “Americana”. It’s an echo of a lot of its former patrons — iconic rock’n’rollers equivalent to Nirvana and Neil Young, who parked their tour buses in the courtyard and bedded in for gigs at one of many three live performance venues close by. Nowadays, whereas the neon indicators and mid-century structure stay, the brand new era of cool children are likely to flock right here for the trendy rooms that include their very own parking areas — in addition to the raucous pool events in summer time. But it’s nonetheless anybody’s guess as to who you may stumble upon on the bar.
Spa N
Pool Y
Price £
9. The Inn Above Tide, Bay Area
Best for views
If you fancy waking as much as a jaw-dropping panorama of the San Francisco skyline, look no additional; this 33-key inn has a few of the greatest views in the Bay Area. Located over the bridge in Sausalito, the beautiful city the place Otis Redding wrote (Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay aboard a houseboat, this peaceable pad may simply be mistaken for the one; its wood, porthole-lined exterior seems prefer it’s on the water. While there’s not a lot in the best way of amenities — only a drawing room that serves a lightweight breakfast and a every day completely happy hour — the whole lot right here from the interiors to the service is top-notch. Just ask for a room with a balcony to dial up the expertise.
Spa Y
Pool Y
Price ££
innabovetide.com
10. Inn on the Presidio, Presidio of San Francisco
Best for nature
A keep at this artsy retreat, hidden from town chaos amid San Francisco’s protected parkland, offers a style of that elusive old-world Cali — together with completely staggering views of the Golden Gate Bridge (although its sister property, Lodge on the Presidio, holds the accolade of being the closest lodge to the historic landmark).
A former military barracks, it’s now a refined 22-room eco-lodge embellished with unique artwork and navy memorabilia. Guests staying inside its LEED-certified partitions — it’s a spot the place timber are strategically planted in the grounds to minimise air con and no poisonous chemical compounds are used — are usually the form of outdoorsy sorts preferring sleeping on Egyptian cotton than gabardine. During the day, you’ll discover them learning the uncommon flora in Presidio nationwide park or on its seashores for a bracing dip in the water; everybody staying on the Inn can entry the reserve free of charge.
Spa N
Pool Y
Price ££
11. The Line SF, Tenderloin
Best for roof terrace nights
On the outskirts of San Francisco’s gritty Tenderloin district, the Line SF opened in the latter half of 2022 and is hoping to be a part of the realm’s regeneration. Classic mid-century design meets pared-back industrialism in its rooms, with brushed concrete ceilings and pillars softened by nude leather-based headboards and rattan-style drinks cupboards. Larger suites have glass-encased loos and deep free-standing bathtubs with full-size Cowshed toiletries to assist soak any drained muscle groups from mountain climbing San Francisco’s hills. Make certain you nab your spot on the roof terrace come sunset; fireplace pits and marble tables look out over town skyline, whereas drinks specialists whip up bespoke cocktails in the glasshouse bar.
Spa N
Pool N
Price ££
Additional reporting by Faith Strickland
