Going to San Francisco : Where Should I Stay?

Of course you want to take a vacation here. But where to stay?

There are 176 hotels in the naked city (so says the convention and visitors bureau, anyway), and in the last two months I’ve seen 58 of them. I’ve also heard a few things, the way a nosy lodger does.

The hottest property with the rich, famous and discrete? The Sherman House, say several cabbies and others. The Sherman, an immaculate old mansion on Green Street, was converted into a luxury lodging 10 years ago, and the cheapest of its 14 rooms fetches $190 a night.

The best new hotel? Given the shortage of openings in these recent recessionary years, the answer is easy: the modern but understated Hotel Milano, which opened May 8 on Fifth Street near Market.

What does a typical visitor pay for lodging in the city? $103.17 nightly, says PKF Consulting, a hotel market research firm that calculated an average after surveying actual rates paid (not the higher “rack rates” that are often published) at four dozen “representative” properties over the first half of this year.

I came up here in August and September to gather and measure nuggets like this, in an utterly subjective sort of way. Having come to know several hotels in San Francisco over the last few years, I slept in half a dozen that were new to me, and took careful looks at public and private rooms in more than 50 others. I now have shampoo and matchbooks to last me years, and some good news: San Francisco, long celebrated for the volume, charm and variety of its hotels, is still well worth celebrating--plenty of high style and good value, but also their opposites, and more than a few mysterious quirks.

Sorting through all this, a guest forms more than a few opinions. (For my top-10 lists, read on.)

The single most handsome room, public or private, in any San Francisco hotel? I’d say the Garden Court off the lobby of the Sheraton Palace, where an iron-and-stained-glass skylight ceiling constructed in 1875 arches over a dining area half the size of a football field. Crystal chandeliers dangle. Potted palms throw frond shadows on floral carpet. And last month, each table wore a purple exclamation point--an iris in a vase. (Sunday brunch there is $39 a head; go instead for afternoon tea: $15.95 for tea, sandwiches, pastries and scones.)

The most disarming elevator notice: the brass plaque in the tiny lift of the budget New Abigail on McAllister Street. Though the property was renovated four years ago, the elevator dates to 1925, an old-fashioned metal cage with accordion doors, and the plaque reads this way: “Hi, I’m Elliott the elevator. I’m one of the Abigail’s most unusual antiques, but I’m quite sensitive. So, if you have something bad to say about me, wait ‘til you’ve exited me. Enjoy your stay!”

Other subjects are thornier. Why, for instance, are L.A. music industry types so smitten with the 5-year-old Phoenix Hotel on Eddy Street? Yes, the design is tropically funky and shrewdly promoted (by its owner Joie de Vivre hotels, the same company that runs the New Abigail, as it happens), and it houses a tasty, colorful Caribbean restaurant, Miss Pearl’s Jam House. Yes, rock stars stay here (rack rate: $89 a night). But it remains an only semi-rehabilitated grungy old motel in the crime-ridden Tenderloin area, with outdoor hallways, minimal privacy and 44 rooms of ticky-tacky furniture lined up around a pool and courtyard. On many nights, I suspect, the Phoenix’s guests are the only people in that neighborhood as the result of choice and not unfortunate circumstances. I say it’s The Emperor’s New Hotel.

And, while I’m complaining, what sort of hotel would welcome a new guest by leaving (deliberately or inadvertently) a list of “Acne Do’s and Don’ts” in his bathroom? Answer: The Hotel Diva on Geary Street, an old-building-gone-modernist near Union Square. The room was 210, the guest was me on Sept. 20, and tip No. 1 was “Don’t squeeze . . . “ Call me crazy, but I’d prefer they just left the chocolates on the pillow and let me worry about the consequences.

For most visitors to the city, the first stop is Union Square, where the I. Magnin, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bullock & Jones, and Polo Ralph Lauren shops are, where the cable cars begin their round-trip route to Fisherman’s Wharf, and where the city’s greatest concentration of hotels is found. Traffic on the streets and sidewalks is heavy, noise at night can be an issue, and the numbers of homeless grow greater as you draw closer to Market Street, but there’s no more all-around convenient location. Average nightly rates, the analysts at PKF say, hover around $105.

That’s cheaper than the Financial District, where weekday business travelers push average rates to about $150, and a bit more costly than the Fisherman’s Wharf area, where T-shirt shops are threatening to overwhelm the maritime atmosphere and seafood restaurants, and room rates run around $87. In the Civic Center area, convenient to the Opera House and Symphony Hall but marred by crime and grime, average rates are down around $73.

Seeking out hotels with distinctive style, I paid most attention to amenities, design and service, but kept the size of the tariff in the back of my head. In searching for value, I paid more attention to price than to the packaging of the soap in the shower. (Some distinctively designed mid-range properties, most obviously the Hotel Triton and the Milano, could have fit onto either list.) On both lists, the order of hotels is alphabetical, not preferential.

Exclusion from these lists is not a condemnation. On Nob Hill, for instance, the venerated Huntington, the Stouffer Stanford Court and the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental hotels looked grand as ever (the Fairmont remains in demand, as well, though its borderline-garish lobby made me think of an aged performer trying to look young by using more makeup), but the newer Ritz-Carlton outshone them for me. (It did the same for readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine, who last year ranked the Ritz-Carlton fourth-best hotel in the United States. The other San Francisco property in its top-10 was Campton Place on Stockton Street, ninth.)

Similarly, though the Sherman House and the Majestic are the only low-profile, smallish historic properties listed among the most stylish hotels, travelers can find similarly intimate historic lodgings at the Archbishop’s Mansion (15 rooms near Alamo Square Park) and the Queen Anne (49 rooms near Japantown). Other caveats: These lists omit properties with fewer than 14 rooms, and generally lean toward one-of-a-kind hotels and away from familiar chains such as Hilton, Holiday Inn and Hyatt.

Readers should also keep in mind that, notwithstanding the shortage of new properties, the city’s hotel landscape is constantly changing. In November, the beloved but much-trampled Westin St. Francis near Union Square begins a yearlong, $50-million renovation of its rooms. In January, the Four Seasons Clift, one of my favorites, is expected to lose the “Four Seasons” in its name as part of a change in ownership and management. (The new management will be Grand Heritage Hotels, which also operates the Georgian in Santa Monica and the U.S. Grant in San Diego among its 13 U.S. properties.)

Nearby on Powell Street, meanwhile, the bedraggled 417-room Sir Francis Drake has been bought by the Kimpton Group, operator of 12 justly celebrated, and much smaller, San Francisco “boutique” properties. (The Drake reopened in April after renovation. Unfortunately, the fresh paint, new fabric and even new furnishings in the Drake’s rooms seem like Band-Aids on a property tired to the bone, and hotel officials are asking off-putting rates of $140 nightly and up.

That’s more than Kimpton asks at most of its other, more inviting properties, such as the Juliana and Vintage Court on Bush Street, and the Villa Florence on Powell. Maybe the Drake will brighten when the property’s still-closed restaurant and rooftop nightclub re-open--but hotel officials can’t say exactly when that will be.)

TOP 10 FOR STYLE * Campton Place. For those who want luxury but don’t need a sprawling, glimmering lobby in the St. Francis/Fairmont tradition. Intimate, hushed atmosphere, lots of marble, beige and brown (new carpeting and linens arrived this past summer), 117 rooms and a well-regarded restaurant. Convenient to, but not besieged by, Union Square and its crowds. Created from two old hotels in 1983, and until this year managed by the Kempinski chain. Now independently managed. Rack rates: $195-$330. Weekends: $195-$270. 340 Stockton St.; telephone (800) 426-3135 or (415) 781-5555.

* Four Seasons Clift Hotel. Two blocks from Union Square in the heart of the theater district. Old-world formal setting and service. The lobby may seem an uneasy truce among mirrors, flowers and wood paneling, but it leads to the Art Deco splendor in the Redwood Room bar and the chandeliers and traditional flourishes of the French Room restaurant (jacket required). Five stars (Mobil) and five diamonds (AAA). Hotel dates to 1915. 329 rooms. Rack rates: $225-$370. Weekends: $195-$265. 495 Geary St.; tel. (800) 332-3442 or (415) 775-4700. * The Inn at the Opera. Located to suit music and dance lovers (opera, symphony and ballet venues neighbor the building), and obviously designed and operated with them in mind. Impeccable furnishings and dim, dramatic lighting, especially in the hotel’s downstairs Act IV restaurant. A grown-up place. 48 rooms. Rack rates: $125-$170, $110-$165 on weekdays. 333 Fulton; tel. (800) 423-9610 (from California) or (415) 863-8400.

* The Inn at Union Square. Not much space, but miles of style. 30 rooms on six floors. The tiny lobby, wedged between storefronts, is decorated with trompe l’oeil bookshelves. All else is upstairs (each floor has its own sitting/breakfast room and fireplace). Georgian furniture. Rack rates: $120-$180. 440 Post St.; tel. (800) 288-4346 or (415) 397-3510.

* The Majestic. Built in 1902 as a hotel and full of elegant old furnishings, including a mounted butterfly collection under glass in the Cafe Majestic bar. (Cafe Majestic serves dinner and is open to the public.) 57 rooms, 30 with fireplaces. Many of those rooms have four-poster beds and claw-footed tubs, too. Only drawback for most travelers is location--relatively far from all the usual tourist destinations. But for others, that’s a plus. Rack rates: $125-$160. 1500 Sutter St.; tel. (800) 869-8966 or (415) 441-1100.

* Mandarin Oriental. In the Financial District, a promising but often-overlooked possibility for upscale-but-not-filthy-rich leisure weekend travelers. The 7-year-old hotel (lone U.S. property of the widely admired, Hong Kong-based Mandarin Oriental hotel group) occupies the ground floor and the 38th through 48th floors of the First Interstate Center skyscraper. Thus, its 158 rooms, decorated in canary yellow, have spectacular views of the bay and skyline, including the city’s signature TransAmerica building a few blocks away. California Street cable car line runs within half a block. The Silks offers East-West cuisine downstairs. Rack rates: $260-$395. Weekend rates: $149-$299. 222 Samsone St.; tel. (800) 622-0404 or (415) 885-0999.

* Hotel Milano. Opened in May. Stands next to the Nordstrom-anchored San Francisco Shopping Centre, a few blocks from both the Yerba Buena Arts Center (new home of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) and Union Square. Contemporary Italian design, so calm and stark (unlike the similarly priced and sized Triton) that it feels vaguely Japanese. (The Nintendo game tucked away in every room could also be a factor.) 108 rooms. The restaurant, Bistro M, which opened in August to admiring notices, is run by erstwhile Angeleno chef Michel Richard. Rack rates: $120-$160. 55 Fifth St.; tel. (800) 398-7555 or (415) 543-8555.

* Petite Auberge and the White Swan Inn. They’re unusually close siblings, so I’m counting them as one. Petite Auberge is the French country twin; the White Swan Inn, two doors down the street (a locksmith shop separates them), is its English counterpart. Both have 26 rooms and are run by Four Sisters Inns, which has three other “romantic country inn” properties around the state. This location is unbeatable, above Union Square and below Nob Hill. Cozy fireplaces, unexpectedly spacious breakfast and sitting areas; 18 of Petite Auberge’s rooms include fireplaces, and sitting room decor includes stuffed animals. White Swan has a library and a fireplace in every room. White Swan Inn (rack rates of $145-$250), 845 Bush St.; tel. (800) 999-9570 or (415) 775-1755. Petite Auberge (rates of $110-$220), 863 Bush St.; tel. (800) 365-3004 or (415) 928-6000.

* The Ritz-Carlton. Nob Hill. The old headquarters of the Metropolitan Life Insurance company, built in 1909, took on its new life as a 336-room luxury hotel in April, 1991. Antique furnishings, subdued lighting, big sprays of flowers. Well-regarded Dining Room and Terrace restaurants and high standards for service. It lacks the broad city views that many of its Nob Hill neighbor hotels offer, but youth and vigor compensate. Dominated on weekdays by high-end business folk. Indoor pool. Rack rates: $240-$425. Weekends: $200-$345. 600 Stockton; tel. (800) 241-3333 or (415) 296-7465.

* The Sherman House. Built in 1876 for an arts patron named Leander Sherman, this French-Italianate mansion (written up in Architectural Digest soon after its 1985 opening) and its carriage house now house six one-bedroom suites and eight guest rooms, all but one with fireplaces. Antique furnishings, brocaded fabrics. The location is isolated in a high-toned residential street, so expect to drive, use cabs or walk a great deal . White exterior and a snazzy checkerboard floor in a well-regarded nine-table restaurant that is generally open to guests only. Member of the exclusive Relais & Chateaux luxury hotel organization. 14 rooms. Rack rates: $190-$375 for rooms, $575-$825 for suites. 2160 Green St.; tel. (800) 424-5777 or (415) 563-3600.

Honorable mention: Between Union Square and the theater district, adjoining the much-admired Postrio restaurant, stands the sophisticated, comfortable Prescott Hotel (166 rooms at 544 Post St.; tel. 800-283-7322 or 415-563-0303), asking rack rates of $165-$195 and offering a “Winterfest” discount at $125. If you’re intent on staying in the touristy Fisherman’s Wharf area, but you want a distinguished hotel there is the Tuscan Inn (221 rooms at 425 N. Point St.; tel. 800-648-4626 or 415-561-1100) with the very good Cafe Pescatore downstairs, rack rates of $138-$178, and a “Hot Toddi” seasonal special rate, Nov. 1-March 31, of $105 nightly.

TOP 10 FOR VALUE * Andrews Hotel. If ever you wondered where the smallest bathrooms in San Francisco hoteldom are, this could be your answer. But they’re clean, and the small rooms to which they’re attached are adeptly put-together. The hotel, 15 years old in its current incarnation, is well located two blocks west of Union Square. 48 rooms on six floors. Fino bar and restaurant downstairs. Rack rates: $82-$106. Seasonal discount Nov. 15-Jan. 8: $79-$106. 624 Post St.; tel. (800) 223-0888 or (415) 563-6877.

* Hotel Bedford. Built in 1929 and renovated top-to-bottom (that’s 17 stories) last year, the Bedford is sensibly furnished and run by amiable staff. 144 rooms. Rack rates: $109-$119, but special rates of $89 can be had when demand is low. 761 Post St.; tel. (800) 227-5642 or (415) 673-6040.

* The Carlton Hotel. One of the Kimpton 13--which is to say, it’s clean and displays a little style and European sensibility, despite its low price. Convenient to Union Square. 158 rooms. The Oak Room Grill serves breakfast and dinner. Rack rates: $114. “Winterfest” discount rates Nov. 5-April 30: $59. 1075 Sutter St.; tel. (800) 227-4496 or (415) 673-0242. * Chancellor Hotel. Near Union Square on the Powell Street cable car route. 140 rooms. Behind a modest public face, brass fittings, dark wood wainscoting and other nice touches (renovated earlier this year). Chancellor Cafe serves three meals daily. Rack rates: $114. Winter special, Nov. 15-April 30: $89. 433 Powell St.; tel. (800) 428-4748 or (415) 362-2004. * The Fitzgerald and the Hotel Sheehan. (Close siblings under the same ownership.) A hotel site since the 1920s and idle for several years, the Fitzgerald opened in August, 1993. It’s got no pretentions (“The People’s Court” was on the breakfast room TV when I looked in), but is clean and convenient to Union Square. Pub on premises, and access to the nearby Hotel Sheehan’s indoor pool. 47 rooms. The Fitzgerald (rack rates: $69-$109) is at 620 Post St.; tel. (800) 334-6835 or (415) 775-8100. The Hotel Sheehan, two blocks from Union Square, has 71 simple, tidy rooms, 10 of which have shared toilets. Formerly a YWCA (which explains the indoor swimming pool), the hotel was redone and re-opened six years ago. Rack rates: $85-$99; “economy” rooms with shared baths, $50-$60. 620 Sutter St.; tel. (800) 848-1529 or (415) 775-6500.

* Golden Gate Hotel. Simple, but cozy, and very well located just above the bustle of Union Square, with a cable car line running less than a block away. 23 rooms, 14 of which have private baths. 1913 building, handsome wicker furniture. Helpful staff. Rack rates: $89; with shared bath, $59. 775 Bush St.; tel. (800) 835-1118 or (415) 392-3702.

* The Hostel at Union Square. The bottom end. Certainly not for everyone but eminently affordable--and convenient to Union Square. Opened in 1992 and managed by Hostelling International. About 225 beds in about 70 rooms. Young, backpack-wielding clientele. Alertly managed. Typically two to six people per room. Larger rooms (about one-third of total) have private toilets. Guests, an estimated 80% of whom are from outside the United States, stay up to 14 nights. Any age over 18 accepted (children with guardians OK). Rates: $18 per person, $15 for dues-paying members of Hostelling International. Reservations accepted. 312 Mason St.; tel. (415) 788-5604.(The other hostel in town, which I didn’t get to, is Fort Mason International Hostel, Building 240, Fort Mason; tel. 415-771-7277,which offers 155 beds in 21 rooms, charges $14 per person and accepts reservations.)

* Hotel Nikko. Good value, if you can get the $119-a-night rate. A 7-year-old great white slab of a building. Lots of white marble, many international businessfolk, indoor sky-lit pool. 522 rooms. Japanese restaurant Benkay upstairs, California-flavored Cafe 222 downstairs. Rack rates: $215-$275. Holiday package available Nov. 13-Dec. 30: $119 (rate also often available October. 222 Mason St.; tel. (800) 645-5687or (415) 394-1111.

* San Remo Hotel. A 1906 Italianate Victorian hotel. I was skeptical, largely because 61 of the 62 rooms share bathrooms (also, the handsome tin-ceilinged restaurant space downstairs is idle and up for sale), but the atmosphere is tidy and endearing (stained-glass skylights, redwood wainscoting, narrow hallways), and if you’re willing to sacrifice the privacy, you gain a little charm and save. Interesting neighborhood, too: at foot of Russian Hill, near North Beach and not far from Fisherman’s Wharf. Rack rates: $55-$65. (The room with private bath goes for $85 and books far in advance.) 2237 Mason St.; tel. (800) 352-7366or (415) 776-8688.

* Hotel Triton. Could just as easily be listed among the most stylish--but the prices are too good. Wiggly chairs, polychromatic walls, black pillows with purple buttons, a meeting room labeled “Creative Zone” and a young, energetic clientele. Opened in 1991 to a swell of publicity, and on Sept. 14 grabbed a bit more by unveiling a Jerry Garcia suite, featuring designs by the lead guitarist of the Grateful Dead. Adjoined by the inviting Cafe de la Presse newsstand-cafe, with gate to Chinatown across the street. 140 rooms. Rack rates: $119-$169. Seasonal “Winterfest” special Nov. 5-March 31: $89-$149. 342 Grant Ave.; tel. (800) 433-6611or (415) 394-0500.

Honorable mention: The Marina Inn (40 rooms at 3110 Octavia St. in the Marina District, tel. 800-274-1420 or 415-928-1000) is plain but affordable at $65-$85. Same goes for the Millefiori Inn in North Beach (16 rooms at 444 Columbus; tel. 415-433-9111) at $85, though a room renovation and modest rate increase are scheduled at Millefiori in the next month. The Stanyan Park Hotel (36 rooms at 750 Stanyan St.; tel. 415-751-1000) in Haight-Ashbury is a safe, reasonable choice (though service is uneven) in a popular but crime-troubled neighborhood; rack rates of $78-$96. Back in the Union Square neighborhood, the Spartan but up-to-date Hotel David (56 rooms at 480 Geary St.; tel. 800-524-1888or 415-771-1600) offers free parking, free full breakfast at David’s (the city’s most famous Jewish deli) and asks $99-$109.

San Francisco 10 for Value * 1. Andrews Hotel * 2. Hotel Bedford * 3. The Carlton Hotel * 4. Chancellor Hotel * 5. The Fitzgerald & Hotel Sheehan * 6. Golden Gate Hotel * 7. The Hostel at Union Square * 8. Hotel Nikko * 9. San Remo Hotel * 10. Hotel Triton *

10 for Style * 1. Campton Place * 2. Four Seasons Clift * 3. The Inn at the Opera * 4. The Inn at Union Square * 5. The Majestic * 6. Mandarin Oriental * 7. Hotel Milano * 8. Petite Auberge & White Swan Inn * 9. The Ritz-Carlton * 10. The Sherman House

Tell Us Your Favorite San Francisco Hotel

Pleased by the hotel picks here? Perplexed? Recognizing that our readers have strong and well-informed opinions when it comes to the Bay Area, we’re curious. Name your overall favorite San Francisco hotel (just one, please), tell us why in 25 words or less, and send your choice on a postcard (preferred) or in a letter. In a future Travel issue we’ll be reporting results and repeating some reader remarks. Address postcards and letters (NO PHONE CALLS, PLEASE) to:

SAN FRANCISCO HOTELS

Travel Section

Los Angeles Times

Times Mirror Square

Los Angeles, Calif. 90053

A Few Words About Room Rates

The prices quoted here, unless otherwise noted, are “off-the-rack” rates--the amount hotels extract from unquestioning travelers who don’t know any better--for a room for two people. Travelers can almost always pay less by following one or more of the following strategies:

Reserve through a wise travel agent. Book through a discount reservation service such as San Francisco Reservations (telephone 800-677-1550) or Discount Hotel Rates (tel. 800-576-0003), both of which routinely shave 20% off “rack” rates. Use a 50%-off nationwide hotel discount coupon book such as those sold by Encore (tel. 800-638-0930; $49 a year) or Entertainment Publications (tel. 800-285-5525; $27.95 a year). Ask about corporate rates, package offers, weekend, weekday or seasonal specials. (Business-oriented hotels in the Financial District are especially likely to have attractive weekend discounts. And the Kimpton chain is offering “Winterfest” rates from November to March or April, depending on the property, with discounts of $30-$81 off “rack” rates.)

Travelers should remember that hotels typically offer weekend discounts and other special rates only “subject to availability”--thus, the best prices are unavailable on nights of highest demand--and that rates are in near-constant fluctuation. All the numbers in this survey have been checked and double-checked, but some may already have become outdated.

Travelers should always confirm rates themselves before making a reservation.

Many of the hotels below offer complimentary continental breakfast, which can vary from a Styrofoam cup of coffee and stale roll to stylish china and fresh bakery creations with fruit. Unless noted otherwise, all rooms have private toilets. In dense, damp and windy San Francisco, swimming pools are a rarity; don’t expect one unless it’s specifically mentioned.

Two more monetary notes: San Francisco’s room tax of 12% is not included in any of the numbers quoted here. And if you drive in the city, you will face daily parking charges of roughly $12-$24 (the more expensive the hotel’s room rates, the more it’s likely to charge you for parking). Many hotels drop the parking charges as part of their package offers.