San Francisco is a city you will fall in love with – from the moment you leave the airport right to the driving across the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge that is famously set in movies.
Staying at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel will make your San Francisco experience so much more memorable, because it’s a true Union Square landmark rich with history right at the heart of the city.
The moment your Uber driver stops outside the hotel, you will be whisked in by the red-suited doorman, Tom, who has met and greeted many Hollywood stars, and will no doubt treat you like one too. It’s OK if you pretend you’re a bit of a star for a while, because the glamorous charm of the hotel will captivate you into believing you’re one. And of course, it will be your very own movie in the making right from the start!
As the standard for luxury when the hotel opened in 1928, eclectic, custom furnishings add to the hotel’s sense of adventure and playful atmosphere. As you climb the red-carpeted steps you will find yourself thrust right in the heart of the buzzing lobby bar and your eyes will be immediately captured by the opulent interior of retro-meets-Edwardian with sky-high ceilings, glowing antique chandeliers and − the grandest of all: the vast mirrors backing a bar fit for a king.
The grand staircases, gilded ceilings, sleek marble walls, and crystal chandeliers will evoke an old-world charm, while the thoughtfully updated furnishings in the lobby as well as guest rooms and suites showcase how modern comforts fit beautifully within the classical setting.
Even the elevators are sleek with their new walnut panel walls and custom-woven wool Axminster carpets that take guests to the 416 renovated guest rooms. The design of the rooms draws on the hotel’s history while delighting guests with lighter, sleeker touches, including a new bed pillow with a handwritten letter from Sir Francis Drake to Queen Elizabeth printed on Dupioni fabric, new custom lounge chairs in a deep slate grey fabric and winged sides, custom millwork bed boxes from mahogany wood, and new full-blackout roller shades.
To mark its recent $11 million renovation, the Sir Francis Drake has unveiled a slate of new guest experiences that include an irreverent high tea for bath time, a luxury shower amenity kit, and the ‘Suite Slumber’ San Francisco slumber party.
Additional elements in all the hotel’s five suites include bar stools in polished stainless steel with a mosaic colour seats as well as custom glass dining tables with polished stainless-steel legs. The patio of the Presidential Suite also received a special update with a new outdoor area rug by Safavieh in the Damask medallion pattern, a natural teak armchair by Pon International, a drum side table by Janus et Cie, a Restoration Hardware dining table with double-coated aluminium slate, and Grupo Ketal patio chairs.
But best of all, the city is literally at your doorstep offering shopping, dining, entertainment, and much more.
And this is where the true fun begins.
The Sir Francis Drake Hotel is literally a block from bustling Union Square that is known to be an epicentre of activity and San Francisco’s coveted shopping core. Here you can catch the Red Bus tour and get a beautiful overview of the city and hop off when you want to explore a bit more.
And no San Francisco visit is considered complete without riding one of the remaining cable cars that used to be part of a system established nearly 150 years ago. You can hop on right outside the hotel and it will take you right down to Fisherman’s Warf, where you can catch a tour to Alcatraz Island and hire bikes to ride across the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge right down to the beautiful little city of Sausalito, where you wine and dine and catch the ferry back with your bikes and all.
There is so much to discover in San Francisco, you will definitely want to go back − and stay at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, of course.
