Archive for June, 2009

The Pickwick Hotel in SOMA, San Francisco, CA

Saturday, June 13th, 2009
The Pickwick Hotel was built in 1926.

The Pickwick Hotel was built in 1926.

I work in the downtown/South of Market (aka SOMA district) of San Francisco. In the six years I’ve worked at the Chronicle newspaper, I’ve watched the two blocks to the east of our offices at Fifth and Mission literally metamorphose.

What was once a pretty seedy area is now a cultural destination — home to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Jewish Museum, the Yerba Buena Gardens and MOAD (the museum of the African Diaspora). And with the opening of the Westfield Centre (Bloomingdales’ flagship, Borders and H&M to name a few), new heights of retail and a chichi food court have been attained on the block.

But standing steadfast throughout the transformation, kitty-corner from my office, the Pickwick Hotel has lodged weary travelers for nearly 100 years.

The Pickwick retains an old-school vibe. In the lobby, an elegant gold chandelier twinkles, ceilings soaring to the mezanine level, and a polite, uniformed staff greets guests.

A room on the business class floor.

A room on the business class floor.

There is a variety of accommodations, from standard rooms that can be let for as little as $69 to the handsome “business class” rooms on the eighth floor to the elegant executive suites that are more like well-appointed little apartments that go for up to $349 per night.

Beds are topped with goose down comforters and pillows and bathrooms are swathed in marble with deep soaking tubs. Some amenities, like flat-screen televisons and iHome docks, vary with the price level but all rooms include:

  • free wi-fi
  • refrigerators
  • individual climate control
  • work desks
  • free newspapers
  • coffee/tea makers
  • two-line phones with voicemail
  • iron and ironing boards
  • cotton robes
  • double-paned windows
  • Bed & Body Works products

Three restaurants are in the building. Anchoring the Mission Street corner, Little Joe’s in a San Francisco institution serving Italian fare and breakfast from 6:30 to 10 a.m. On the opposite end is Cafe Venue, a great lunch spot serving delicious made-to-order salads (the chop chop salad rocks), sandwiches, soup, pasta and a fabulous breakfast buritto). Also tucked in along the block is the Sushi Club.

The Pickwick has a small fitness room and three meeting rooms of varying sizes. It’s no wonder that it’s a solid choice for many business travelers and attendees of conferences at the nearby Moscone Center.

Photos by Lisa Dion

The Pickwick's lobby has an old school vibe.

The Pickwick Hotel lobby has an old school vibe.

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Posted in Hotels, affordable, historic, moscone center, shopping, soma, south of market, specials | No Comments »

The Palomar Hotel, Downtown San Francisco, CA

Monday, June 8th, 2009
The swanky, sweet Palomar Hotel in downtown Frisco.

The swanky, sweet Palomar Hotel in downtown Frisco.

My friend Dave is turning 30 next month and his girlfriend Ann and I often take lunch walks on Tuesdays since we both work in downtown San Francisco. She got a good deal to on hotwire.com to stay at the Hotel Palomar, so she booked it for the night. But she really had no idea what to expect.

The hotel is a block from my office at the San Francisco Chronicle.

I was about to cancel our noontime rendezvous with her last week to take a tour of another property, when, in anticipation of her stay, she asked me to check out the Palomar instead.

Good call.

Not only is the Palomar, home to the world-class Fifth Floor restaurant, a stylish and beautiful venue, but as part of the Kimpton Group, the details, amenities, and service is exemplary.

Aaron Anderson, the front desk manager, greeted us and took ample time to give us a thorough tour.

The Palomar’s theme — Art in Motion — is prevalent throughout, beginning in the lobby. Currently through September 14, the show CHAGALL: Visions of a Storyteller, is being presented by the hotel in conjunction with the Linearis Institute. All of the artwork is available for purchase, and on select Fridays and Saturdays, docents are on tap for tours and to answer questions about Chagall and his work.

A hotel that doubles as an art gallery? Me likey!

The stylish lobby at the Palomar, San Francisco

The stylish lobby at the Palomar, San Francisco

Being a newspaper gal, I noticed the free copies of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal right away (I assume all the copies of the Chronicle had all been scooped up) in a corner of the first-floor lobby.

The fifth floor lobby is the locale of the daily wine hour between 5 and 6 p.m. If ice cream is more your flavor, you’re invited stop by for complimentary scoops daily, between 2 and 3 p.m.

Wall sconces in the hallways provide subdued lighting and delicate orchids greet visitors as they step out of elevators laid with parquet floors.

Of the 198 rooms configured around a square that lets in light from above, 11 are deluxe suites. Recently renovated, the rooms pop with spicy colored pillows, duvets, and upholstery as well as sculptured carpeting, and touches of animal prints (rugs, robes). There is free Wi-Fi throughout, a small fitness center (if you desire something bigger with a pool, passes to Club One a block away are available for $15), CD/DVD players and flat-screen tellies.

The Palomar Hotel is filled with art.

The Palomar Hotel is filled with art.

If you’re cold, cozy socks are available. If you’re lonely, dial up and ask for a pet goldfish. The staff at this hip yet warm hotel are there to make it all good.

Randi mentioned her imminent stay for the occasion of her hubby’s upcoming birthday. Aaron and his staff immediately put in for a room upgrade and a few other niceties including breakfast.

Now that’s hospitality. Know what I’m sayin’?

Photos by Lisa Dion

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Posted in Fifth Floor restaurant, Hotels, San Francisco, amenities, art, kimpton group, pet friendly, reasonable, servies, south of market, stylish | No Comments »

The Embassy Suites New York, New York City, NY

Saturday, June 6th, 2009
The impressive atrium at the Embassy Suites New York.

The impressive atrium at the Embassy Suites New York.

I had a business trip to New York, and had procrastinated booking my hotel. I’d heard that there were great last-minute deals to be had in NYC, so I figured to grab one of those via Travelocity a few days prior to departure. Most of the deals were in Times Square, but I was looking to stay somewhere different, and I found it at the Embassy Suites New York in Battery Park.

At $149 per night for a Travelocity “four star” hotel, it seemed to be quite a deal. My room was indeed a suite- two separate rooms- with a king-sized bed, flat-screen TV, couch, desk, coffee table, and a smallish bathroom. The rooms all wrapped around a soaring atrium that was pretty dramatic. Instead of a fancy hotel restaurant and bar, there was a Chevy’s. Now as far as chain restaurants go, you could do a lot worse, and Manhattan isn’t exactly a hotbed of kickin’ Mexican food like we have aqui. I’m a fan of their fajitas, and twice my lunch was a very economical bowl of chicken tortilla soup. Hotel guests get 10 percent off.

There’s also an 11-screen movie theater, but what’s annoying is that the box office is four flights below the theaters, and there’s nothing to tell you that until you get all the way up there if you grab the escalators from the mezzanine.

Included in your rate is a complimentary breakfast buffet with made-to-order omelettes and other standard fare, as well as a free cocktail at the appropriate hour. I didn’t make it to any of the social hours, but I was reminded how unappetizing it is to watch Americans saddle up to a buffet trough and grab fistfulls of bacon and sausage. Just because you can shovel chunks of every farm animal known to man onto one plate, doesn’t mean you should.

Annoyingly not included is WiFi, which is ten bucks for 24-hours. And I was not amused at the hotel-wide test of the fire alarm system in the am following a very late night.

The neighborhood, Battery Park, is just a couple of blocks from Ground Zero in the fractured heart of lower Manhattan. Directly outside the hotel there were plenty of cabs, and the subway was just three blocks away across the Westside Highway.

The Embassy Suites New York is a great hotel for the business traveller, but not the best if you’re visiting New York for the first time or want to be close to the action. It is very clean and modern, but not exactly full of personality. Is it really a “four star” hotel? I’d say not. But a good solid three-star, for sure.

This post was written by guest blogger, Dan Dion.

Photos courtesy of Embassy Suites.

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Posted in Chevy's, Hotels, New York City, battery park, complimentary breakfast buffet, deals, embassy suites, ground zero, movie theater | No Comments »

The Grove Inn, Alamo Square, San Francisco

Monday, June 1st, 2009
The Grove Inn is quiet and comfy.

The Grove Inn is quiet and comfy.

The Grove Inn is a discreet, unassuming little place east of Alamo Square Park (think “painted ladies” — that iconic row of Victorians in San Francisco).

The location is residential but close to the shops, restaurants, cafes and bars in Hayes Valley, Fillmore Street, and Divisidero Street. Six blocks away is Civic Center, home to the symphony, ballet, City Hall and the Asian Art Museum.

A Gold Rush Era boarding house, it was built in 1865, fell into disrepair years later, then was bought and renovated by the present owners, an East German couple, in 1983.

Rooms are sunny and spacious.

Rooms are sunny and spacious.

Rooms are spacious, sunny, and quiet with large double-paned bay windows and 12-foot ceilings. Eight of the 18 rooms have private baths and all rooms have either a queen or pair of twins. Optional trundle beds are available and two for the rooms connect to form a suite that can accommodate four to six people.

Continental breakfast — croissants, pastry, fruit, tea and coffee –  is served daily.

Host Klaus is engaging without being intrusive and quick with historical facts, opinions on current events and stories. The Grove Inn feels live visiting your (or somebody else’s) aunt and uncle from the “old country.” Stacks of reading materials clutter a bit downstairs and there is no shortage of plastic flowers, but the rooms are clean, bright and tastefully furnished.

The Grove Inn is a restored Gold Rush-era boarding house.

The Grove Inn is a restored Gold Rush boarding house.

There is some street parking but also a lot nearby. Prices are a reasonable $110 to $120.

Photos by Lisa Dion

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Posted in Bed & Breakfasts, CA, San Francisco, affordable, alamo square, family-friendly, parking, reasonable, the Grove Inn | Comments Off