I love a hotel that provides a real sense of occasion. The Ritz Carlton San Francisco does that in spades.
The minute you pull up to the front doors you’ll be thoroughly impressed by the architecture. The hotel occupies a brilliant, white, neo-classical building on Nob Hill that was built in 1909 as the Pacific Coast headquarters of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.
It’s got character galore, including magnificent columns that march across the front of the building and tremendous detail in every corner and facade, not to mention nook and cranny.
But that’s just the exterior. The lobby is equally striking, with acres of beautiful grey-white marble and a glass table that holds a vase of flowers just slightly smaller than the state of Rhode Island.
There’s a terrific JCB Tasting Lounge in the lobby that offers exceptional wines from Jean-Charles Boisset, including wines from Napa, Sonoma and his vineyards in France. The lounge has a bright, jazzy interior design and a candelabra that evokes old-time Chinatown, or maybe a decadent bar in Paris.
Flowers in the lobby at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in San Francisco, California. JIM BYERS PHOTO
All wines are served in JCB Passion Baccarat Crystal, and guests can choose from three wine-tasting experiences. You also can pair your wines with locally sourced cheeses, or with Regiis Ova caviar.
It’s the only JCB tasting lounge in San Francisco, and it’s popular, so reservations are strongly suggested.
The lounge also sells JCB custom-designed jewelry, signature perfumes, candles, crystal, and books, as well as select merchandise from Baccarat, Christofle, Lalique, and Swarovski.
If you want to create your own perfume, just step down the hall a few feet and check out the Krigler shop, which is the only one in the Bay Area. For $10,000 you can create your own scent, and I’m told they’ve created perfumes for members of the British Royal Family.
The JCB Wine Lounge at the Ritz Carlton San Francisco. JIM BYERS PHOTO
The hotel has a kids club, and children are given the royal treatment at check in, with a special registration desk, a colouring book and pencils, a personalized welcome letter, a food amenity in the room and a kids’ menu throughout the hotel. They also do scavenger hunts focused on the Ritz Kids four key pillars, water, land, culture and environmental responsibility.
They also give a nod to San Francisco’s history with a couple large jars of fortune cookies, which were said to have been invented in the city around 1914.
Rooms and public spaces are decorated in silvery greys, soft blues and white tones that call out the natural tones of the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco fog. As we walked about the hotel I noticed small bits of hallway lights that resemble a coiled rope on a fishing boat, or perhaps the steel strands of the Golden Gate Bridge. Pillows in one of the suites were arranged at an angle, which resembled the sail of a sailboat.
We had a great room that had a partial San Francisco Bay view, as well as a view of Chinatown and Coit Tower. The bathroom had twin sinks and lovely Asprey toiletries. The room also had a small sofa in front of the bed and an espresso maker.
The San Francisco Suite at the Ritz Carlton, San Francisco. PHOTO COURTESY RITZ CARLTON SAN FRANCISCO
The smallest room is a generous 400 square feet. They also have junior and one-bedroom suites. The Ritz Carlton Suite (1,980 square feet) has a grand living room, a dining room for six guests, a kitchenette and a wine cellar. It also offers panoramic views of San Francisco Bay and Alcatraz. The Presidential Suite is 1,960 square feet, with a 1,200 square foot balcony that’s big enough for a game of touch football and tremendous city views. It also features a massive living room, a dining table that can seat six people, a whirlpool tub, and a fully stocked pantry and wet bar and separate service entrance.
There are 336 rooms, 60 of them suites. There’s also a lovely, spacious courtyard and garden that’s a great spot to relax or read a book. There are comfortable wooden chairs scattered about, tall trees and a small fountain. They also offer outdoor yoga when the weather’s right.
The Club Lounge is utterly fabulous, with lovely views, tons of light and bright, colourful pillows. At breakfast you’ll find cheeses, croissants, hash browns, charcuterie, Greek yogurt, quiche, eggs, good cappuccino and much more. In the evening we enjoyed fine wines and liquors, as well as cioppino (a San Francisco seafood stew), cheese and crackers, shrimp and more.
The patio of the Presidential Suite at the Ritz Carlton San Francisco hotel. PHOTO COURTESY RITZ CARLTON SAN FRANCISCO
We didn’t try Parallel 37 for breakfast, but we did luck into a dinner at Lounge, the main floor lobby restaurant with gorgeous lighting and lovely, black-and-white images of members of the San Francisco Ballet. They make outstanding handcrafted cocktails, including one called Uncle’s Fashioned that was smoky and sweet, with flavours as deep as the Pacific Ocean. They make it with Uncle Nearest Premier Whiskey, amaro nonino, pomegranate syrup, and blood orange bitters, then age it in white oak barrels.
The ahi was fresh and clean and bright and the diver scallops, served with beet purée, passion fruit, pancetta vinaigrette and Brussel leaves, were exquisite. The roast lamb lollipops were chew-on-the-bone perfection, and the Marin Coast Black Cod with miso marinade was tender, sweet and delicious.
The hotel has a large, 24-hour fitness centre with state-of-the-art equipment.
Diver scallops at The Lounge at the Ritz Carlton San Francisco. JIM BYERS PHOTO
The location also is wonderful. The California Street cable car stops right outside the hotel, which is at California and Stockton Streets. Union Square is a short walk away, as are Chinatown and North Beach, still a fine spot for Italian food and a sidewalk cappuccino.
The hotel opened in 1991, which means it recently celebrated its 30th anniversary.
All in all, one of the best hotel experiences you can have, in one of the world’s greatest cities.
