The Algonquin-inspired Hotel Rex.
The literati have a place to call home in San Francisco.
Hotel Rex, a handsome boutique hotel near Union Square, honors literary legends and their legacies in much the same manner as the famed Algonquin in New York.
OK, without the hundred-year history or the wit of Ms. Dorothy Parker.
But here, you might stumble upon a poetry reading or an author event in the clubby book-lined lobby when checking in, or enjoy live jazz on Fridays at the plush library bar.
At the very least, you can relax with a free glass of wine offered from 5 to 6 p.m. while browsing the titles of the collection.
I was pretty harried when I arrived for my overnight stay at the Rex a few years ago. I’d left my purse filled with cash (from my bartending gig at the Fillmore) at a cable car stop in Chinatown. When I realized it, (on the cable car several stops later), I jumped off, flagged a cab and rushed back. It was there, untouched, my tips in tact.
I needed a drink. The front desk generously sent my husband and I a shaker full of chilled cosmopolitans to our room shortly after we arrived.
Despite the impressive desk that took up a good portion of it, our room wasn’t much to write home about. It was small, dark and sans view but decorated with cool artwork and a hand-painted lampshade. The bed with pillow top mattress was exceedingly comfortable. It was also incredibly quiet.
The sumptuous book-lined lobby and bar at the Hotel Rex in San Francisco.
Downstairs among the antiquarian books are computer stations in a study decorated with vintage typewriters should you want to emerge from the era of the roundtable salon and attend to your modern-day business. There is free wi-fi in the rooms as well.
There are 92 rooms and two suites that start at $139 for a week night.
Hotel Rex is named for San Francisco poet and essayist, Kenneth Rexroth, who among other accomplishments, introduced Allen Ginsberg to Gary Snyder, two major players in the San Francisco Beat scene.
Hotel Rex’s aptly-chosen “philanthropic partner” is 826 Valencia, a program dedicated to supporting students with writing skills workshops, classes, field trips, and tutoring founded by San Francisco author/memoirist Dave Eggers.
