Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
mornings, a free origami class is conducted in the lobby overlooking a Zen gar-
den. Guests may also sign up for a free tour with a Golden Gate Greeter, local vol-
unteers organized by the hotel's owners (Joie de Vivre Hotels) to share the city
with visitors on walking tours of 2 to 4 hours. Also choice is the location at the
eastern end of a mini-mall of thoroughly authentic Japanese restaurants and
shops. This is a case of a hotel with prices that are cheaper on weekdays than
weekends. Weekday rates are about $129, and prices go up to $159 on weekends,
when the place is popular with Fillmore Street clubgoers, and corner rooms are
usually about $30 more. For a splurge, I like the Executive Sauna Suites, which
have their own sitting areas and, yes, their own private Japanese sauna; those come
in around $190.
$$$-$$$$
The building housing the atmospheric
The Queen Anne
555
(1590
Sutter St., at Octavia;
%
800/227-3970 or 415/441-2828; www.queenanne.com;
AE, MC, V)
is so architecturally important that it's the first stop of the daily walking
tour offered by the Victorian Home Walk (p. 129). Back in the day, it was a live-in
finishing school for girls, and now it's a lovingly restored B&B with rich dark wain-
scoting, inlaid wood floors, and a remarkably wide stairway atrium that's open all
the way up to a colored-glass skylight. Its ground-floor parlor is stuffed with
antiques and upholstered sofas, drips with crimson draperies, and burns warmly
with a gas fire—it feels like stepping into the past. Accommodations in the 48
rooms are also charming, if less ornate, and start at $140 in winter before jumping
about 40% in summer. Beds are notably soft. Room 208 is used for wheelchair-
using guests, which means the bathroom is enormous; ask if it's booked. A stay
comes with a morning paper, continental breakfast, and afternoon sherry and cook-
ies in the parlor.
THE MISSION & THE CASTRO
Not historically the favored locations for stays, these areas are gaining traction
amongst those who want to sleep away from the briefcase crowd. Part of the
rebirth is owed to the Mission, which over the last generation has become
the
place in town for hip cafes, clubs, eating, and shopping. The Castro, as always,
attracts the Rainbow Flag crew, although in truth its westerly location on the map
puts it far away from the major city attractions. Both areas, though, are suited to
those who plan to have a nightlife in town.
$
Few large properties in the Mission have managed to crawl very far out of
flophouse status, but it's gradually happening thanks to places such as 40-unit
The
Hotel Tropicana
(603 Valencia St., between 17th and 18th;
%
415/701-7666;
www.thehoteltropicana.com; MC, V),
which charges an unheard-of $299 a week
(no nightly rates) for shared-bath units with kitchenette (fridge/freezer, micro-
wave, but no burners or ovens) and TV with cable. For your own bathroom,
add $100 per week, which is still fantastic. Colors are bright and merry, with a
bubbly tropical theme by way of IKEA, and the facilities are spotlessly taken care
of—so much so that it looks brand-new. Even the guests seem more bushy-tailed
than those typically attracted to places with weekly rates. I'd suggest you think
twice about many blocks in the Mission, but this one is quickly gentrifying and
plenty of cool, hipstery, and buzzed-about places to eat are within quick walking
