I spend so much time in San Francisco, review local restaurants and cafes, and yet, until now, I have never posted a list of my favorite SF hotels. Since the world has woken up from the long summer holiday, visiting friends and business colleagues have been pressing me for a list of places to stay. Note please, I have listed nothing in the Fisherman’s Wharf area, which one must avoid at all costs. I also broke down and listed hotels that belong in the “chain” category (which I normally despise but in this case I make an exception for the Joie de Vivre group, otherwise this post would be very short indeed). For whatever reason I can’t find really good stylish B&Bs and boutique hotels that meet my “design” test (i.e. modern urban chic; no flower-patterned curtains, crocheted doilies on tables). As for other areas of San Francisco, the city is famous for being anti-growth and anti-change so most of the new hotels are concentrated downtown. And remember: you do NOT want to end up at Fisherman’s Wharf or Cannery Row which are nothing more than dismal tourist traps with awful restaurants and junk food.
Diva
440 Geary St.
San Francisco, CA
+1 415 885 0200
www.hoteldiva.com
Union Square
Hotel Rex
562 Sutter St.
San Francisco, CA
+1 415 433 4434
www.jdvhotels.com/rex
Union Square
Clift Hotel
495 Geary St.
San Francisco, CA
+1 415 775 4700
www.clifthotel.com
Union Square
Hotel Kabuki
1625 Post Street
San Francisco, CA
+1 415 922 3200
www.jdvhotels.com/kabuki
Japantown / Fillmore
Hotel Tomo
1800 Sutter St.
San Francisco, CA
+1 415 921 4000
www.jdvhotels.com/tomo
Japantown / Fillmore
Hotel Adagio
550 Geary St.
San Francisco, CA
+1 415 775 9388
www.jdvhotels.com/adagio
Theater District / Union Square
Hotel Vitale
8 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA
+1 415 278 3700
www.jdvhotels.com/vitale
On the Embarcadero across the Ferry Building, views of the SF Bay; the bar gets very busy in the late afternoon and early evening, good for people watching
Phoenix Hotel
601 Eddy St.
San Francisco, CA
+1 415 776 1380
www.jdvhotels.com/phoenix
Rock ‘n Roll hotel in the Tenderloin
Hotel Triton
342 Grant Avenue (at Bush Street)
San Francisco, CA
+1 415 394 0500
www.hoteltriton.com
Chinatown/ Union Square; Cafe de la Press, one of my favorite cafe/restaurants is a few doors down
Hotel Metropolis
25 Mason St.
San Francisco, CA
+1 415 775 4600
www.hotelmetropolis.com
Union Square
Go to my Google map of San Francisco hotels mentioned in this post.
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Here is a Google map with my favorite San Francisco restaurants and cafes. Read reviews of all my favorite restaurants and cafes in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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