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SAN FRANCISCO’s BEST ●Hotels●Elsewhere
PACIFIC HEIGHTS/PRESIDIO HEIGHTS
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Chateau Tivoli Bed & Breakfast 1057 Steiner St./Golden Gate Ave., Alamo Square. 3 stories; 9 rooms. Afternoon snack, continental breakfast (champagne brunch Sat-Sun). No pets. No parking. Mark Twain and Enrico Caruso were once guests in this opulent landmark 1892 mansion. The charming Jack London room has a sitting area in a sunny cupola and also a bathroom with ceiling eaves, dark wood wainscoting, and a clawfoot tub. The gorgeous Aimee Crocker room sports a canopy bed with draped netting and an ornate painted ceiling.
Hotel Drisco 2901 Pacific Ave./Broderick St. 4 stories; 43 rooms. Fitness room. Afternoon snack, evening wine, continental breakfast. No pets. No parking. Built in 1903, before the ‘06 quake, this Edwardian-style building is in a quiet residential neighborhood. It maintains its original dark-wood interior trim and is elegantly decorated and furnished. Turn-of-the-19th-century millionaires are said to have kept their mistresses lodged here. Later, President Dwight D. Eisenhower bunked here due to its close proximity to the Presidio. Rooms are spacious and comfortable, and the suites have good views.
Hotel Majestic 1500 Sutter St./Gough St. 5 stories; 58 rooms. Restaurant; room service. No pets. Valet parking. Built originally as a private mansion in 1902 and converted to a hotel in 1904, this small Edwardian hotel survived the 1906 earthquake and fire and is the longest continuously operating hotel in San Francisco. It sports bay windows and high ceilings and is restored to its original grandeur with gorgeous vintage marble, exotic woods, and rich brocades and wallpapers. It offers a cozy, soothing retreat from the world outside. Each sumptuously decorated room has either a canopied four-poster bed or a two-poster bed with a bonnet canopy, and fine French and English antiques are used throughout. Many rooms have clawfoot tubs. Why, even rock stars have been known to head straight for their posh room immediately after a concert to cocoon. Julia Roberts, The GoGos, and numerous Nobel laureates have slept here, and the hotel was once the permanent residence of actresses Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland.
Named for a butterfly, the lobby bar, Avalon, displays a collection of rare butterflies from South America and Africa. A simple menu of sandwiches and salads is available.
Inn at the Presidio and Lodge at the Presidio
Laurel Inn 444 Presidio Ave./California St. 4 stories; 49 rooms. Some kitchens. Afternoon snack, continental breakfast. Self-parking. Located far from the usual tourist haunts, in a nice residential area near Sacramento Street shopping, this motel has spacious rooms and a stylish 1950s-modern decor. East-facing rooms have good city views, and it’s hard to beat the price.
BY THE SEA
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Ocean Park Motel 2690 46th Ave./Wawona St., Sunset District. 25 rooms. Some kitchens. Hot tub. Free parking. Located near the ocean and just a block from the zoo, this landmark streamline moderne gem dates from the 1930s and was San Francisco’s first motel. It maintains its original nautical decor and interior cedar paneling, and some windows are shaped like portholes. Rooms are attractive and homey, and several spacious family suites are available. Amenities include a playground, a barbecue area, and mature gardens with Monterey pine and cypress trees.
MISCELLANEOUS
HOSTELS $. Continental breakfast. No pets. More description.
●Union Square 312 Mason St./Geary St. 6 stories; 270 beds; 40 private rooms. This is in a prime location with an on-site laundry.
●Civic Center 685 Ellis St./Larkin St. 7 stories; 262 beds; 10 private rooms. All rooms in this beautifully restored vintage hotel have an en suite bathroom. Amenities include a restaurant-quality guest kitchen.
●Fisherman’s Wharf Fort Mason, Bldg. 240, Bay St./Franklin St. 144 beds; 5 private rooms. Restaurant. This former Civil War barracks is situated on a peaceful knoll with a magnificent view of the bay.
Motel Row A plethora of lodgings lines the 20-block corridor stretching along Lombard Street from Van Ness Avenue to the Presidio.
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