San Francisco: Officers’ quarters to become first Presidio hotel

Come April, visitors will be able to stay inside the Presidio at a hotel that was once quarters for Army officers. The one-time Pershing Hall will be transformed into Inn at the Presidio, 22 rooms that come with access to a front porch and rocking chairs -- and one of the best locations in San Francisco.

The new hotel at 42 Moraga Ave. is within the main post where neat red-brick buildings loaded with history form an impressive line. The main post also was the site of the original Spanish military base established in 1776. After falling to Mexico, the base became a U.S. Army post in 1846 and then part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area in 1994.

Most of the hotel’s rooms are one-bedroom suites; prices will range from $195 to $350 a night. Guests also will have access to other on-site amenities such as a gym, indoor pool, rock-climbing wall, trampoline park and miles of hiking and cycling trails.

There’s a mixed bag of things to see at the Presidio: the historic buildings, marshlands and coastal bluffs at Crissy Field, amazing views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the newish Walt Disney Family Museum.

The Presidio Trust, a federal agency that oversees the former base, selected Waterford Hotels and Inns to manage the property. The same company operates the posh Cavallo Point lodge, another Army-post-to-hotel property on the site of the former Fort Baker in Sausalito that sits within Golden Gate National Parks.

The trust spent about $10 million over 18 months to upgrade the property, which is set to open April 1, spokesman Paul Burditch said.

Reservations are being accepted at the hotel’s website or by calling (415) 689-4287.