The best places to stay in San Francisco

By Daniel Sogg

Hotel Vitale offers a blend of sophistication and youthful verve.

San Francisco's dizzying array of hotels make deciding where to stay a challenge. How do you choose, for example, between jaw-dropping views of the bay from a soaring high-rise and the gilded splendor of a Victorian mansion built with Gold Rush riches? Since the city is crammed with diverse neighborhoods, each with its own feel, choosing the right hotel might come down to selecting the area that best suits your travel plans. Kick off your search by browsing our recommended places.

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Featured Hotels
Hotel Listings

Featured Hotels

Hotel Vitale
8 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA 94105
Telephone (415) 278-3700
Web site www.hotelvitale.com
Rooms/Suites 191 rooms, 8 suites
Rates $199–$1,500 per night

Sophistication and youthful energy might sound like an unlikely couple, but the marriage comes off gracefully at Hotel Vitale, the flagship property of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, owner and operator of 28 Bay area hotels. This impressive property, which opened in March 2005, has more than enough to commend it: stylish design, luxury amenities and a superb location along the Embarcadero facing the bay.

The decor is modern but relaxed. The rooms and the lobby share a calm, predominantly natural palette, featuring beige and limestone tones accented by sea blue. About 60 percent of the rooms have at least a partial view of the bay. The superb circular suites each offer an oversize soaking tub, a walk-in shower with rainforest showerhead and a 180 degree perspective encompassing the Bay Bridge and the Ferry Building. Free wireless is available throughout the hotel, and every room offers broadband and a flat-screen TV.

SpaVitale has three treatment rooms and two private outdoor soaking tubs, each nestled in a grove of bamboo. If the on-site fitness facility doesn't satisfy, complimentary passes are available to the Y, half a block away. The extensive outdoor terraces are ideal for relaxing or taking in the sweeping expanse of the palm-lined Embarcadero stretching toward Fisherman’s Wharf.

The 125-seat Restaurant Americano serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. In the evening, Bar Americano bustles with hordes of young professionals lured by the 3,000-square-foot patio and the chance to make new friends.

The sleek, contemporary decor of the St. Regis makes it a stylish neighbor for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

St. Regis
125 Third St.
San Francisco 94103
Telephone (415) 284-4000
Web site www.st.regis.com
Rooms/Suites 213 rooms, 47 suites
Rates $409–$10,000 per night

Anyone anticipating a West Coast redux of Manhattan's Beaux Arts classic should think again. The St. Regis San Francisco, which opened in November 2005, is decidedly contemporary, with a bevy of high-tech amenities, luxury resources such as a 9,000-square-foot spa, and a sleek decor suited to its South of Market location alongside the Museum of Modern Art.

Though the lobby, restaurant and expansive bar-lounge make a visual impression with cream-colored travertine marble floors, dark zebrano wood and a 16-foot-long jet-black fireplace, it's the spacious rooms (each a minimum of 410 square feet) that really stand out for their warmth and attention to detail. Soothing tones of beige, cream and taupe dominate, with stitched, cappuccino-colored leather adorning the walls of the foyers. Bathrooms are unusually luxurious, with a seating bench in the shower and a hefty soaking tub. Once in bed you need not move: a digital assistant controls the shades, adjusts the temperature and summons either the butler or concierge. The rooms all have large plasma-screen TVs and both wireless and wired Internet access.

Spa Remède includes five massage rooms. You'll also find a 50-foot lap pool, a sauna and Jacuzzi in the locker rooms, a well-equipped fitness center and a yoga studio where private Pilates sessions can be booked. Ame restaurant, open for lunch and dinner, features Asian-inspired cuisine and a sashimi bar, and Vitrine serves breakfast and offers outdoor seating on the terrace overlooking Yerba Buena Gardens.

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The Huntington Hotel, in the stately Nob Hill district, is the picture of Old World charm.

Hotel Listings

Campton Place
340 Stockton St.
San Francisco 94108
Telephone 866-332-1670
Web site www.camptonplace
.com
Rooms/Suites 101 rooms, 9 suites
Rates $335–$1,850 per night
Campton Place is convenient to Union Square, a hub for high-end stores such as Neiman Marcus and Dior.

Fairmont
950 Mason St.
San Francisco 94108
Telephone (415) 772-5000
Web Site www.fairmont.com/sanfrancisco
Rooms/Suites 530 rooms, 61 suites
Rates $229–$12,500 per night
The Fairmont shines brightest in its Gilded Age lobby, replete with massive gold-trimmed Corinthian columns, and in its 24-story tower, which has stunning views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate.

Four Seasons Hotel
757 Market St.
San Francisco 94103
Telephone (415) 633-3000
Web site www.fourseasons.com/sanfrancisco
Rooms/Suites 231 rooms, 46 suites
Rates $430–$5,700 per night
Contemporary and sophisticated, the decor of Four Seasons is exemplary, with refined art and glasswork. The hotel's designers have a keen eye for texture too: silk coverings decorate the walls, rich wood grains and plush fabrics adorn the chairs, and couches and beds entice with a tactile allure.

Hilton San Francisco Financial District
750 Kearny St.
San Francisco 94108
Telephone (415) 433-6600
Web site www.sanfranciscohiltonhotel.com
Rooms/Suites 542 rooms, 7 suites
Rates $169–$1,500 per night
The new Hilton San Francisco Financial District features modest prices and Asian-influenced decor.

Hotel Bohème
444 Columbus Ave.
San Francisco
Telephone (415) 433-9111
Web site www.hotelboheme.com
Rooms/Suites 15 rooms
Rates $159–$179 per night
Hotel Bohème in North Beach has a quirky pensione style that harkens back to the Beat era, with late-1950s photos adorning the hallways.

Hotel Drisco
2901 Pacific Ave.
San Francisco 94115
Telephone (415) 346-2880
Web site www.hoteldrisco.com
Rooms/Suites 29 rooms, 19 suites
Rates $239-$569 per night
The Hotel Drisco was built in 1903 in Pacific Heights, one of the city's most exclusive neighborhoods. Rooms are bright and airy, with a relaxed, residential appeal.

Hotel Palomar
12 Fourth St.
San Francisco 94103
Telephone (415) 348-1111
Web site www.hotelpalomar.com
Rooms/Suites 182 rooms, 16 suites
Rates $209-$759 per night
Hotel Palomar offers particularly outstanding value for a top-flight property and is home to Grand Award–winning Fifth Floor restaurant.

Huntington Hotel
1075 California St.
San Francisco 94108
Telephone (415) 474-5400
Web site www.huntingtonhotel.com
Rooms/Suites 96 rooms, 40 suites
Rates $350–$1,230 per night
The Huntington, one of the standouts in Nob Hill, offers graceful Old World charm and a lovely spa.

Mandarin Oriental
222 Sansome St.
San Francisco 94104
Telephone (415) 276-9888
Web site www.mandarinoriental.com/sanfrancisco
Rooms/Suites 154 rooms, 4 suites
Rates $505–$3,000 per night
The Mandarin Oriental certainly ranks among the city's top-tier destinations, with Asian-inspired luxury and the level of service expected by a high-end clientele.

Palace Hotel
2 New Montgomery St.
San Francisco 94105
Telephone (415) 512-1111
Web site www.sfpalace.com
Rooms/Suites 516 rooms, 36 suites
Rates $319–$4,400 per night
This opulent hotel, with Austrian crystal chandeliers and rooms with high ceilings, is home to Kyo-ya, the most elegant sushi bar in town.

Queen Anne Hotel
1590 Sutter St.
San Francisco 94109
Telephone (415) 441-2828
Web site www.queenanne.com
Rooms/Suites 39 rooms, 9 suites
Rates $105–$350 per night
The Queen Anne, located near Japan Town, is a formidable century-old structure, built in 1890 by a Comstock Lode millionaire. Though not big on amenities, it has the high ceilings, wood paneling and inlaid-wood floors you'd expect in a showpiece Victorian mansion.

Ritz-Carlton San Francisco
600 Stockton St.
San Francisco 94108
Telephone (415) 296-7465
Web site www.ritzcarlton.com/hotels/san_francisco
Rooms/Suites 277 rooms, 59 suites
Rates $475–$8,000 per night
The Ritz-Carlton, housed in an imposing 1909 neoclassical structure, sports a new interior following a $12.5 million guestroom renovation. Gone are the vaguely precious pink tones, now replaced by a sleek, modern design with soothing cream and beige colors. The Ritz, in Nob Hill, sits three steep blocks north above the stores of Union Square.

San Francisco Marriott
55 Fourth St.
San Francisco 94103
Telephone (415) 896-1600
Web site www.marriott.com/property/propertypage/sfodt
Rooms/Suites 1,394 rooms, 134 suites
Rates $199–$3,500 per night
The San Francisco Marriott is near the upscale San Francisco Shopping Centre and the unique Metreon entertainment complex.

W
181 Third St.
San Francisco 94103
Telephone (415) 777-5300
Web site www.whotels.com
Rooms/Suites 401 rooms, 9 suites
Rates $239–$2,000 per night
The W is adjacent to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Hotel Palomar, which is home to Grand Award–winning Fifth Floor restaurant.

Westin St. Francis
335 Powell St.
San Francisco
Telephone (415) 397-7000
Web site www.westinstfrancis.com
Rooms/Suites 1,165 rooms, 30 suites
Rates $159–$3,300 per night
The Westin St. Francis, which houses the Grand Award–winning Michael Mina restaurant, is ideal for those who want to shop at the upscale stores in and around Union Square.

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Excerpted from "A Bevy of Top Hotels" by Daniel Sogg, from Wine Spectator magazine, Oct. 15, 2006.

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