Must-see hotels in San Francisco

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…

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

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

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…

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

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…

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…

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…

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

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…

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

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…

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

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…

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…

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…

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

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

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…

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…