Must-see hotels in San Francisco

  • Yotel San Francisco

    Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa

    Newly situated within the long-standing Grant building, this chic downtown hotel is a West Coast first for parent company Yotel, a chain of compact,…

  • HI San Francisco City Center

    Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa

    The seven-story, 1920s Atherton Hotel was remodeled in 2001 into a much-better-than-average hostel, with private baths in all rooms, including dorms. And…

  • Argonaut Hotel

    The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

    Fisherman's Wharf's top hotel was built as a cannery in 1908 and has century-old wooden beams and exposed-brick walls. Rooms sport an over-the-top…

  • Hotel Kabuki

    Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights

    Welcome to the Steve Jobs of SF hotels – minimalist and austere outside, but inside sneaky psychedelic touches make you wonder who's been microdosing…

  • Orchard Garden Hotel

    North Beach & Chinatown

    San Francisco's original LEED-certified, all-green-practices hotel uses sustainably grown wood, chemical-free cleaning products and recycled fabrics in…

  • Fairmont San Francisco

    San Francisco

    Heads of state choose the Fairmont for its grand hotel swagger – magnificent marble lobby, opulent mosaic penthouse suite, bacchanalian brunches – plus…

  • White Swan Inn

    San Francisco

    Imagine a Nob Hill socialite had a fling with English gentry: there you have romantic White Swan. Each room has its own eccentric English character –…

  • Inn at the Presidio

    The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

    Built in 1903 as bachelor quarters for army officers, this three-story, redbrick building in the Presidio was transformed in 2012 into a smart national…

  • Axiom

    Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa

    Of all the downtown SF hotels aiming for high-tech appeal, this one gets it right. The lobby is razzle-dazzle LED, marble and riveted steel, but the games…

  • Hotel Bohème

    North Beach & Chinatown

    Eclectic, historic and unabashedly romantic, this quintessential North Beach boutique hotel has jazz-era color schemes, wrought-iron beds, paper-umbrella…

  • Parsonage

    The Haight & Hayes Valley

    With rooms named for San Francisco's grand dames, this 23-room 1883 Italianate Victorian retains gorgeous original details, including rose-brass…

  • The Kimpton Buchanan

    Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights

    Roll out of bed and find shopping, spas and shabu-shabu dining at your doorstep. Mid-century modern luxe city-view rooms offer views of Japantown's Peace…

  • HI San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf

    The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

    Trading downtown convenience for a glorious parklike setting with million-dollar waterfront views, this hostel occupies a former army-hospital building,…

  • Chateau Tivoli

    The Haight & Hayes Valley

    The source of neighborhood gossip since 1892, this gilded and turreted mansion graciously hosted Isadora Duncan, Mark Twain and (rumor has it) the ghost…

  • Parker Guest House

    San Francisco

    Make your gay getaway in grand style at this Edwardian estate, covering two sunny yellow mansions linked by secret gardens. Guest rooms hit the swanky…

  • Loews Regency

    Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa

    On the top 11 floors of SF's third-tallest building, Loews offers sweeping bird's-eye views from every room. There's nothing earth-shattering about the…

  • Hotel Union Square

    Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa

    Cleverly stylish Hotel Union Square adds soft touches like tufted headboards and down comforters to complement the original brick walls. The main…

  • Pacific Tradewinds Hostel

    North Beach & Chinatown

    San Francisco's smartest all-dorm hostel has a blue-and-white nautical theme, a fully equipped kitchen (free coffee, tea, and peanut butter and jelly…

  • Hotel Zeppelin

    Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa

    A block west of Union Sq and a half-century back in time, this trippy boutique stay is replete with throw-back details. A Gothic fireplace and mod…

  • Marker

    Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa

    Snazzy Marker gets details right, with guest-room decor in bold colors – lipstick-red lacquer, navy-blue velvet and shiny purple silk – and thoughtful…

  • Hotel Vitale

    Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa

    When your love interest or executive recruiter books you into the waterfront Vitale, you know it's serious. The office-tower exterior disguises a snazzy…

  • Palace Hotel

    Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa

    The 1906 landmark Palace remains a monument to turn-of-the-century grandeur, with 100-year-old Austrian-crystal chandeliers and Maxfield Parrish paintings…

  • Galleria Park

    Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa

    Exuberant staff greet your arrival at this certified-green, recently renovated boutique, a 1911 hotel restyled with contemporary art and handsome…

  • Queen Anne Hotel

    Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights

    Call the 1890 pink Victorian mansion of your San Francisco dreams home for the night. This exemplary Queen Anne was once a girls' boarding school and the…

  • Hotel Carlton

    Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa

    World travelers feel right at home at the Carlton amid Moroccan tea tables, Indian bedspreads, West African wax-print throw pillows and carbon-offsetting…

  • Hotel Drisco

    The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

    One of the few hotels in Pacific Heights, this stately 1903 apartment-hotel tucked between mansions stands high on the ridgeline. It's notable for its…

  • Golden Gate Hotel

    San Francisco

    Like an old-fashioned pension, the Golden Gate has kindly owners and simple rooms with eclectic furniture, in a 1913 Edwardian hotel perched above the…

  • Hotel Mayflower

    San Francisco

    Location, comfort and character at half the cost of places down the block. Built in 1926, Hotel Mayflower has a Spanish Mission–style cloister lobby and…

  • Hotel Zephyr

    The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

    Completely revamped in 2015, this vintage 1960s hotel surrounds a vast courtyard with fire pits and lounge chairs, modern art from nautical junk, and…

  • Phoenix Hotel

    Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa

    This rocker crash pad lures revelers to a 1950s motor lodge with mod paint jobs and hipster amenities (hello, Pendleton blankets). There's a courtyard…

  • Petite Auberge

    San Francisco

    Gracing the slope of Nob Hill is this unexpected French country inn – all sunshine yellow and floral prints, with vintage books flanking cozy gas…

  • Hotel del Sol

    The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

    The kid-friendly Marina District Hotel del Sol is a riot of color, with tropical-themed decor. This quiet, revamped 1950s motor lodge with a palm-lined…

  • Hotel Triton

    Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa

    Forget boring business hotels: Triton's lobby thumps with club music and pops with comic-book color. Upstairs, recently redesigned rooms are bright and…

  • Proper Hotel

    Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa

    Ensconced in a historic flatiron building, this design-forward hotel feels a little bit like Alice in Wonderland, only Alice is all grown up and has…

  • Hotel Zoe

    The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

    Drawing inspiration from luxury yachts for its $16 million redesign, this little sister to the Argonaut Hotel was reborn in 2017 to parent Noble House…

  • Lodge at the Presidio

    The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

    During the Spanish-American war, officers living within these former barracks did not sleep on the custom-made pillow-top mattresses that today's guests…

  • Good Hotel

    Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa

    A revamped motel full of green ideas: reclaimed-wood headboards, repurposed-bottle light fixtures and soft fleece bedspreads made from recycled soda…

  • Red Victorian

    The Haight & Hayes Valley

    For the complete Haight experience, stay in a historic commune. This rambling 1904 Victorian houses a dozen quasi-resident idealists plus guests who share…

  • Carriage Inn

    Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa

    A kooky motor lodge in an ersatz Victorian offers bigger-than-average rooms named for San Francisco icons, swathed in colorful fabrics and festooned with…

  • Hotel Zetta

    Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa

    Opened in 2013, this savvy eco-conscious downtowner by the Viceroy group caters to overworked techies ready to play – above the art-filled lobby there's a…

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