Eighteen rooms across the seven-by-seven: marble halls at the crest of Nob Hill, design hotels off Union Square, waterfront glass at the Embarcadero, an Argonaut on the Wharf and a Beat-era walk-up in North Beach. Fog optional, views included.
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The grand dame at the crest of Nob Hill, marble halls and real bellmen, with the Tonga Room downstairs and cable cars rattling past the entrance. A lobby that still hushes people.
Pip’s Tip Cable cars at the door and the Tonga Room downstairs, which is a night out on its own.
Top of the Mark still gives you the best full-circle view in the city over a martini. Rooms below are quiet and traditional, and Nob Hill keeps you above the street noise.
Pip’s Tip Top of the Mark gives the best full-circle view in the city. Worth a drink even if you stay elsewhere.
A 1909 neoclassical landmark with columns out front and unhurried service inside. Deep beds, a proper club lounge, and Union Square a downhill walk when you want the shops.
Pip’s Tip A 1909 neoclassical landmark on Nob Hill. Club lounge, and the service is quiet rather than showy.
The old Sir Francis Drake reborn without the kitsch: deco bones, deep green and brass, and Starlite back open on the 21st floor for a nightcap over the rooftops.
The Redwood Room is still the best looking bar in Union Square, carved paneling and low light. Rooms upstairs are pared back and white, and the theaters are one block over.
A small house on a steep Sutter Street block built around Beat poetry and vinyl. Compact rooms, real design intent, and a fireplace lounge that fills up around six.
Irreverent in the right ways, with a game room, a loud soundtrack and murals of the city's misbehaved decades. Strong value for a block this central.
Butler service, an indoor lap pool and floor-to-ceiling glass over SoMa. Luxury that does not announce itself, with SFMOMA and the Yerba Buena gardens across the street.
The Garden Court under its vast leaded glass ceiling is worth the stay on its own. Rooms are classic and generous, and the Pied Piper bar keeps its old swagger.
Playful and genuinely smart: a two-story game mezzanine, a lobby built from salvaged art, and rooms with a designer's discipline. Well placed for Market Street and the museums.
Kelly Wearstler at full volume, layered pattern on pattern, with Charmaine's rooftop lounge and its open-air fireplaces above. The most confident design in the city right now.
Reclaimed wood, living plants and Bay Bridge views from a stretch of waterfront where you can walk to the Ferry Building for breakfast. Terrene has an outdoor patio for cocktails.
Occupies the top eleven floors of a downtown tower, so every room looks out over water and bridges. Small, discreet, and the service comes close to flawless.
A converted brick and timber warehouse right on the water at Hyde Street Pier. Exposed beams, nautical blue, a courtyard with a fire pit, and Alcatraz out the window.
Beach house calm a block off the Wharf: rattan, cream linen and an interior courtyard with fire pits and a bar. Pescatore handles dinner without fuss.
A handful of small rooms above Columbus Avenue in the block the Beats made famous. Bistro chairs, black and white photographs, and North Beach cafes on either side of the door.
A 1903 Edwardian on a residential crest, run like a private house. Breakfast and evening wine are included, staff learn your name, and Fillmore Street is a walk downhill.
Japanese in bones and mood, with deep soaking tubs, shoji screens and a planted courtyard. The Fillmore jazz rooms and Japantown restaurants are inside two blocks.
The grande dame at the top of Nob Hill, with the Tonga Room still running downstairs.
Group rates when the family travels. Members hear first.
Stays are one chapter of Pip's Lifestyle, find the lounges, rooftops, brunch spots and the Domino Club below.
