Showing: 1 - 4 of 4 RESULTS

San Remo San Francisco : Hotel with a PRIME location!

San Remo Hotel San Francisco

The San Remo was the 2nd hotel we stayed in during our recent visit to San Francisco. We were invited by the tourism board of San Francisco to 2 hotels – Palace Hotel as well as the San Remo hotel.

Facade of the San Remo Hotel San Francisco
Facade of the San Remo Hotel San Francisco

History of the San Remo Hotel San Francisco

The history of San Remo hotel goes something like this…

On 18th April 1906, San Francisco was hit by a devastating earthquake and fire which literally levelled the city. Massive works were required to build the area. Hence, A.P. Giannini, founder of the Bank of America thought of an idea to build a hotel to house the men who were expected to rebuild the area. The New California Hotel was thus founded. Over the next few years, the hotel was home to sailors, fishermen and even chocolate makers from Ghiradelli’s chocolate plant. In 1922, the New California Hotel was renamed to San Remo Hotel.

Warm cozy yet rustic corridor of San Remo Hotel
Warm cozy yet rustic corridor of San Remo Hotel
Pay phone with a retro looking sign above (San Remo Hotel San Francisco)
Pay phone with a retro looking sign above (San Remo Hotel San Francisco)

Instead of just staying in your room at San Remo, you should really take a walk about the hotel. Just wander through the stairs and its corridors, you’ll realise that there’s alot of history in store for you. There are pictures of the founding family, people who used to work in San Francisco and also the quaint rustic feel of the entire hotel.

In addition, the receptionists here are really cool as well. They know their stuff and can easily direct you to where you want to go or arrange transportation on your behalf. Alex was our receptionist when we checked in and he was knowledgeable in telling us where to go and what to do and when we needed an airport transfer the next day, he immediately made the arrangements. Quick as a jiffy!

Our friendly receptionist Alex when we checked in at San Remo Hotel San Francisco
Our friendly receptionist Alex when we checked in at San Remo Hotel San Francisco

Room of San Remo Hotel San Francisco

As the premise is actually quite small, you’ll need to know that toilets and common facilities are shared in this hotel…

Common toilets with shower areas in San Remo Hotel
Common toilets with shower areas in San Remo Hotel
Wash basin near the toilets San Remo Hotel San Francisco
Wash basin near the toilets San Remo Hotel San Francisco
TV Lounge Area San Remo Hotel San Francisco
TV Lounge Area San Remo Hotel San Francisco
Little chillax area with a massage chair  (San Francisco San Remo Hotel)
Little chillax area with a massage chair (San Francisco San Remo Hotel)

You may also wish to know that there’s an area where drinks and coffee is available. However, do note that the water is not replenished in the evening. In the morning, it may run “dry”. Good to squirrel some away before you sleep! 🙂

Coffee Tea and Water close to the reception area (San Remo Hotel San Francisco)
Coffee Tea and Water close to the reception area (San Remo Hotel San Francisco)

Another thing which you may want to take note is that since the reception is located on the 2nd floor and rooms on the same floor or higher, you will have to carry your luggage up one flight of stairs. A relatively narrow one as well. So try to pack light if you’re staying at San Remo Hotel.

As for the rooms, we must say that they are well decorated. Beautiful bedsheets, traditional curtains and wooden furnitures really brings out the feel of a historic hotel. Our room came with a wash basin which was a plus! There’s also a portable heater which worked really well and kept our room nice and warm 🙂

One of the rooms with a painted mural window at San Remo Hotel San Francisco
One of the rooms with a painted mural window at San Remo Hotel San Francisco
Our room with a queen sized bed (San Francisco San Remo Hotel)
Our room with a queen sized bed (San Francisco San Remo Hotel)
Comes with an attached sink, toiletries and an actual window in San Remo Hotel Room
Comes with an attached sink, toiletries and an actual window in San Remo Hotel Room

What we really loved about staying at San Remo Hotel San Francisco

1. Fior d’Italia, America’s Oldest Italian Restaurant is located at the ground floor. Upon arrival, we noticed that there’s an italian restaurant located at the first level of the hotel. It even has a sign that says “America’s Oldest Italian Restaurant”. With this sort of signs, you’ve got to try it right? Food must be good for it to survive this long. Sure enough, we did not regret our decision…

Facade of Fior d'Italia - America's Oldest Italian Restaurant
Facade of Fior d’Italia – America’s Oldest Italian Restaurant
Linguini with meatballs at Fior d'Italia - Possibly the best pasta ever eaten! (17USD)
Linguini with meatballs at Fior d’Italia – Possibly the best pasta ever eaten! (17USD)
Risotto Funghi at Fior d'Italia - Confirm the best Risotto ever tasted (16USD)
Risotto Funghi at Fior d’Italia – Confirm the best Risotto ever tasted (16USD)
Ricotta Cheesecake paired with Dessert Wine at Fior d'Italia San Francisco
Ricotta Cheesecake paired with Dessert Wine at Fior d’Italia San Francisco

Ok, the pics don’t really do justice to how good the food was (blame it on the romantic lightings! :p) The mains we had were simply some of the best italian food we’ve tried. No wonder it’s still around after so long. Pure simple, great tasting food. Yummy! Oh, you’ll also get a 15% “Neighbour Discount” for staying at the San Remo Hotel, remember to show your room keys when paying!

15% discount for dining at Fior d'italia if you're staying at San Remo Hotel
15% discount for dining at Fior d’italia if you’re staying at San Remo Hotel

2. PRIME LOCATION. What we really REEAAALLLYYY love about San Remo Hotel is its location. It is just 4 blocks away from Fisherman’s Wharf! We were even able to grab some supper from the wharf which is about a 7 minutes walk away (inclusive of waits for traffic lights). From there, you’ll be able to grab some of the freshest seafood around and see the sea lions at pier 39!

Steamed Dungeness Crabs at Fisherman's Wharf San Francisco
Steamed Dungeness Crabs at Fisherman’s Wharf San Francisco
Sea Lions at Pier 39 - they just happened to be there one day and have been there ever since!
Sea Lions at Pier 39 – they just happened to be there one day and have been there ever since!

If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!

Related Posts

This is part of our coverage of San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver USA. Check out these posts if you’re visiting the West Coast of USA!

Top 5 Things to do and Attractions in Vancouver Washington USA!
Top 11 Things to do and Attractions in San Francisco USA
Top 8 Things to do and Attractions in Seattle USA!
Things to do and Attractions in Eureka California!
Metropolitan Grill Seattle : Are the steaks worth it?
Seattle Underground Tour by Bill Speidel : A tour not to be missed!
Seattle Space Needle , Chihuly Garden and Glass and the Monorail to Westlake Center
World’s first Starbucks in Seattle – Do not be confused!
The Crab Pot Sea Feast : A Seattle MUST TRY!
Pike Place Market : (Possibly) Seattle’s Top Tourist Attraction!
What’s YOU MUST DO at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf!
Pizza and beers at Umbria San Francisco!
Great Eastern Restaurant Chinatown San Francisco : Even Obama visits it!
The steep slopes of San Francisco : A Pictorial Post
San Francisco’s “Crookedest Street” at Lombard Street!
Scenic Oregon Drive from Vancouver to San Francisco!
Travel Through Time with Historic Monuments at Vancouver Washington!
Vancouver Washington’s Natural Wonders!
Catching Portland Winterhawks in action after Burgerville Meal!
Why You should eat at Beaches Restaurant than McMenamins in Vancouver Washington
Red Lobster….FINALLY!
Inn at the Market Seattle : All about Location Location Location!
San Remo San Francisco : Hotel with a PRIME location!
Palace Hotel San Francisco : A great mix of History, Class and Luxury!
Heathman Lodge Vancouver Washington : One of our best hotel stays EVER!
Hilton Vancouver Washington : Classy Stay & Room with a View!

For your convenience, we have arranged for the best hotel deals at San Remo Hotel San Francisco right here!

* Special thanks to San Francisco Travel and San Remo Hotel for hosting us to an amazing stay here and making our US trip possible!

Palace Hotel San Francisco : A great mix of History, Class and Luxury!

Palace Hotel San Francisco

Palace Hotel San Francisco together with San Francisco Tourism Board (SanFrancisco.travel) invited us for a stay at this gorgeous hotel while we were travelling in the West Coast of USA (yes, it was the Golden Gate Bridge that brought us back to USA).

Entrance of Palace Hotel San Francisco
Entrance of Palace Hotel San Francisco

We have to be honest here. Our first impression of Palace Hotel was that it could be just a normal hotel with the usual gym and swimming pool facilities. Little did we know that we were actually invited to a grand old dame of San Francisco!

Night view of Palace Hotel San Francisco
Night view of Palace Hotel San Francisco

Established in 1875, Palace Hotel has undergone several restorations especially after the great earthquake of San Francisco in 1909 (although only 9% of the hotel was damaged) and after the 1989 earthquake of a 7 scale earthquake. When Palace Hotel reopened in 1991, its 1909 glory was restored at a cost of more than $150 million!

The cool thing about luxury hotels with a history is that

1. They are usually in the city centre. This is because cities build outwards from its centre and as it grows, the older buildings which are originally close to the city centre would then become prime locations! For Palace Hotel, it just a stone’s throw away from Union Square and the world famed, San Francisco Chinatown

2. Many famous people stayed here before. Famous personalities who stayed here before included Mark Twain, Thomas Edison (would you believe it?!), Oscar Wilde, Winston Churchill (seriously?!), Presidents of USA (including Franklin Delano Roosevelt) and more recently actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg.

We also realised that these are in STRIKING RESEMBLANCE to Singapore’s very own Grand Old Dame – The Raffles Hotel!

At the Lobby of Palace Hotel San Francisco

Due to the festive period, the lobby of the hotel was brightened up with some decorations of its own…

Christmas Decorations in the lobby of Palace Hotel
Christmas Decorations in the lobby of Palace Hotel
Huge Christmas Tree in the Garden Court of Palace Hotel San Francisco
Huge Christmas Tree in the Garden Court of Palace Hotel San Francisco
Entrance to the Garden Court with 2 Nutcrackers Displays
Entrance to the Garden Court with 2 Nutcrackers Displays
Reception area of Palace Hotel San Francisco - Morey on the left who assisted us during check in
Reception area of Palace Hotel San Francisco – Morey on the left who assisted us during check in

As with our stay at Hilton Vancouver Washington, we were actually anticipating a package from San Francisco travel. Although it was not there upon our arrival, our receptionist Morey, helped us by checking through the records again (twice) and going back to the storeroom (twice) just to confirm that our package was indeed late. In addition, he also gave us advice to get the package tracking number (if available) and to contact SF travel again. All this while, maintaining his professional attitude and service. With such great attitude and service, it is no wonder that Palace Hotel ranks highly in their reviews as well.

Before long, Morey passed us the room keys saying

“There you are. Enjoy your stay at the Deluxe King Suite!”

So we wondered to ourselves, a suite? Perhaps, we just heard wrong. Better not put our hopes too high just to let them fall smack down right? So we got our stuff and headed to our room, walking past this BEAUTIFUL hallway…

Beautiful Hallway of Palace Hotel San Francisco
Beautiful Hallway of Palace Hotel San Francisco
Staircase of Palace Hotel San Francisco
Staircase of Palace Hotel San Francisco

Deluxe King Suite Palace Hotel San Francisco

As we entered into our room, we were pleasantly surprised by the sheer size. The room had an entrance area, living area, study area, bedroom, couch in the bedroom as well as a bathroom complete with bathtub. In one word – HUGE!

Here’s a video tour of the Deluxe King Suite at Palace Hotel San Francisco…

And so, our ears were not wrong when we heard Morey tell us about the Deluxe King Suite. A pleasant surprise for us indeed!

Study area in Deluxe Suite Palace Hotel
Study area in Deluxe Suite Palace Hotel
Living area Palace Hotel San Francisco
Living area Palace Hotel San Francisco
Keurig Coffee Machine - Though coffee is available in the lobby in the mornings
Keurig Coffee Machine – Though coffee is available in the lobby in the mornings
Huge King Size Bed in Suite of Palace Hotel
Huge King Size Bed in Suite of Palace Hotel
Comfy Couch in the Bedroom Palace Hotel San Francisco
Comfy Couch in the Bedroom Palace Hotel San Francisco
Bathroom of Deluxe King Suite Palace Hotel San Francisco
Bathroom of Deluxe King Suite Palace Hotel San Francisco
Bathtub in the Deluxe Suite Palace Hotel San Francisco
Bathtub in the Deluxe Suite Palace Hotel San Francisco
Shower Gel and Bath Salts Palace Hotel San Francisco
Shower Gel and Bath Salts Palace Hotel San Francisco

What we love about the room is its privacy. Because of its entrance (small little area where you leave your shoes), you have a distance away from the other rooms, giving you tranquility in your room. The other thing we love about the room is of course its size. We had ample space on the desk for our nightly summary, snack and watch some TV in the living room and lie down on our bed, again with the TV on! Yeah, sometimes we wonder if we’re travelling or just going to US to watch TV :p

Facilities at Palace Hotel San Francisco

Gym and swimming pools are a common fare at classy hotels such as the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. But the cool thing about the fitness centre at Palace Hotel is its sunroof…

Gym overlooking swimming at Palace Hotel
Gym overlooking swimming at Palace Hotel
Swimming pool on 4th floor of Palace Hotel
Swimming pool on 4th floor of Palace Hotel
Another view of the swimming pool with gym in the background (Palace Hotel San Francisco)
Another view of the swimming pool with gym in the background (Palace Hotel San Francisco)

The sunroof also makes the entire pool area really inviting during the day time!

In addition to the facilities, Palace Hotel has 2 other cool hang out places at the ground floor of its premise. Known as the Pied Piper Bar & Grill, it is named among the 7 finest bars IN THE WORLD! This is along the ranks of Ritz in London, the 21 Club in New York and the La Floridita in Havana. In that respect, the Pied Piper Bar sets the standard in opulence and elegance, definitely a place you want to check out when you’re in San Francisco.

Of course, the other venue is the Ghirardelli Chocolate Company right round the corner of the building. We had the Sea Cliff “Treasure” Sundae (with cookie at the bottom) and it was definitely one of the best sundaes we’ve had. With the rich chocolate from Ghirardelli, it totally puts a different spin to the common term “Chocolate Sundae”.

Sea Cliff Sundae with warm Ghirardelli cookie at the bottom of the sundae
Sea Cliff Sundae with warm Ghirardelli cookie at the bottom of the sundae

Created in 1852, Ghirardelli is today a familiar name for gourmet chocolate in San Francisco. Here’s a quick snapshot of the history of Ghirardelli…

History of Ghirardelli Chocolate Company
History of Ghirardelli Chocolate Company

Conclusion

After staying at the Palace Hotel San Francisco, you’ll realise that there’s really few places that can compare with this hotel that mixes history, class and luxury all in one. What’s more, the location of the hotel is simply unbeatable – walking distance to Union Square, Chinatown and along the Market Street where the historic F-line plies.

A hotel recommended for all visitors to San Francisco!

If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!

Related Posts

This is part of our coverage of San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver USA. Check out these posts if you’re visiting the West Coast of USA!

Top 5 Things to do and Attractions in Vancouver Washington USA!
Top 11 Things to do and Attractions in San Francisco USA
Top 8 Things to do and Attractions in Seattle USA!
Things to do and Attractions in Eureka California!
Metropolitan Grill Seattle : Are the steaks worth it?
Seattle Underground Tour by Bill Speidel : A tour not to be missed!
Seattle Space Needle , Chihuly Garden and Glass and the Monorail to Westlake Center
World’s first Starbucks in Seattle – Do not be confused!
The Crab Pot Sea Feast : A Seattle MUST TRY!
Pike Place Market : (Possibly) Seattle’s Top Tourist Attraction!
What’s YOU MUST DO at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf!
Pizza and beers at Umbria San Francisco!
Great Eastern Restaurant Chinatown San Francisco : Even Obama visits it!
The steep slopes of San Francisco : A Pictorial Post
San Francisco’s “Crookedest Street” at Lombard Street!
Scenic Oregon Drive from Vancouver to San Francisco!
Travel Through Time with Historic Monuments at Vancouver Washington!
Vancouver Washington’s Natural Wonders!
Catching Portland Winterhawks in action after Burgerville Meal!
Why You should eat at Beaches Restaurant than McMenamins in Vancouver Washington
Red Lobster….FINALLY!
Inn at the Market Seattle : All about Location Location Location!
San Remo San Francisco : Hotel with a PRIME location!
Palace Hotel San Francisco : A great mix of History, Class and Luxury!
Heathman Lodge Vancouver Washington : One of our best hotel stays EVER!
Hilton Vancouver Washington : Classy Stay & Room with a View!

For your convenience, we have arranged for the best hotel deals at Palace Hotel San Francisco right here!

* Special thanks to San Francisco Travel and Palace Hotel for hosting us to an amazing stay here and making our US trip possible!

[Going on Vacation?] Your support helps to keep our content on 2bearbear.com fresh each week! 🐻🐻✈️🧳Buy us a Coffee☕🍩🥐 OR
This is default text for notification bar