72 Best Hotels in San Francisco, California

The sustainability and green-everything boutique hotel concept planted its flag in San Francisco in 2022 after a substantial renovation of the Hotel Vitale, a longtime Embarcadero stalwart. From the actual moss that resides in a frame by every guest room, to the reclaimed wood design elements and leather headboards in each room, nature—hip, somewhat posh nature—is the clear theme. It curiously feels like a Tulum jungle yoga getaway meets upscale urban aesthetic. Some rooms have spectacular bay views where you almost feel on top of the Ferry Building and a few suites have stunning terraces overlooking the skyline. Don't miss the cocktails in the ground-floor restaurant, Terrene, which frequently incorporates discarded or upcycled ingredients into its drink creations.

The nautically themed Argonaut's spacious guest rooms have exposed-brick walls, wood-beam ceilings, and best of all, windows that open to the sea air and the sounds of the waterfront; many rooms enjoy Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge views. Anchors, ropes, compasses, and a row of cruise-ship deck chairs fill the lobby. The building is part of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, whose visitor center occupies the ground floor.

Green, pet-friendly, and equipped with high-speed fiber-optic Wi-Fi, the tech-oriented Axiom nimbly provides a boutique experience business and leisure travelers applaud. Just steps from the Powell Street cable-car turnaround, the hotel offers service that’s polite, intuitive, and efficient. The public spaces, including a check-in area filled with California-themed books, evoke the past while projecting an au courant vibe. Many rooms are old-school small but make sensible use of the available space.

This 1928 landmark—renovated and reopened in 2022—welcomes guests in its ornate, high-ceilinged lobby and classically elegant rooms that come equipped with 21st-century tech amenities but evoke the hotel's heyday with gorgeously restored wood plank floors and plush white comforters. Together the lobby—decked out with chandeliers, Italian marble, and velvet furnishings—and wood-paneled library next to the mezzanine bar's grand fireplace bring to mind a half-restored Italian castle. Guests can look forward to the reopening of the legendary, top-floor Starlight Room.

A handy Castro location, reasonable prices, and the holy grail of San Francisco lodging—free parking—make this courtyard-style motel with cool mid-century vibes a favorite. The spacious guestrooms have fun splashes of color, generous bathrooms, mini-fridges, and coffeemakers, and there's a rooftop terrace for lounging in the sun. For those without cars, the historic F-line trolley passes the motel, and there are plenty of dining and shopping options right outside.

Fancy moldings and 10-foot-tall windows grace the red-carpeted lobby of this brick Victorian listed on the National Register of Historic Places that has rooms of varying size and setup. Rooms have dark-wood antique-reproduction furniture; standard rooms can feel cramped, but the junior suites and suites are more spacious and have different kinds of kitchen facilities. All suites have a bidet in the bathroom and whirlpool bathtubs. Continental breakfast, afternoon tea, and wine are served beneath a crystal chandelier in the lobby.

Close to Chinatown and Fisherman's Wharf, this affordable lodging with basic rooms decked out with oversize pillows, earth-toned bedding, and large flat-screen TVs is a great pick if you brought your family and have a car to park. Big windows offer the occasional glimpse of downtown, cable cars ding by outside, and a helpful staff and free parking and Wi-Fi add to the allure. Off-season rates are a steal.

Located in the former Ghirardelli chocolate factory, these one- to three-bedroom residences deliver elevated comfort and style, with fully equipped gourmet kitchens, brick walls, plush bedding, in-room laundry facilities, fireplaces, and modern furniture in chocolate and lavender hues. Most rooms have views of Alcatraz and the bay. These are undoubtedly some of the city's most spacious rooms, which make it an excellent upscale choice for families or those working remotely.

Dominating the top of Nob Hill like a European palace, the Fairmont indulges guests in luxury: rooms in the main building, adorned in sapphire blues with platinum and pewter accents, have high ceilings, decadent beds, and marble bathrooms; rooms in the newer Tower, many with fine views, have a neutral color palette with bright-silver notes. Architect Julia Morgan's timeless 1907 lobby design includes alabaster walls and gilt-embellished ceilings supported by Corinthian columns. Amenities and special services—like free chicken soup if you're under the weather—keep guests coming back. Don't miss drinks at the Tonga Room, an over-the-top tiki lounge serving tropical cocktails. It's also a winter wonderland during the holiday season, with a giant gingerbread house anchoring the lobby each December.

Occupying floors 5 through 17 of a skyscraper, the Four Seasons delivers subdued elegance in rooms with contemporary artwork, fine linens, floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook Yerba Buena Gardens or downtown, and bathrooms with soaking tubs and glass-enclosed showers. Highlights include the city's plushest robes and slippers, dimmer switches on all lights, and 24/7 gourmet room service. From the contemporary street-level lobby, take the elevator to the vast Equinox Sports Club, where you have free access to the junior Olympic pool, full-size indoor basketball court, and the rest of the magnificent facilities, classes, and spa services. MKT, the hotel's restaurant, focuses on seafood and Northern California's bountiful produce.

Each luxurious room at the city's second Four Seasons has spectacular city and bay views; the hotel occupies the top 11 floors in two wings connected by a glass skybridge atop one of San Francisco's tallest and most recognizable buildings. There are touches of San Francisco history throughout the chic modern, redesigned guest rooms—golden thread woven into wall coverings as a nod to the gold rush, and lighting fixtures inspired by the city's streetcars—and guests can rely on all the usual Four Seasons pampering with a spiffy fitness center, spacious rooms, massive flat-screen TVs, and bedside charging stations.

At the edge of the FiDi and Union Square areas, this boutique hotel manages to be both hip and welcoming, with modern touches on historical bones and smallish guest rooms with all the technological amenities modern travelers require. Guests lounge in the lobby by the hotel’s pièce de résistance, a massive, hand-sculpted art-nouveau fireplace that looks like it leaped out of a fairy tale. The hotel has a garden and jogging track, and original 1911 skylights and abstract artwork contribute to the inviting atmosphere.

Travelers looking for charming accommodations around Union Square will enjoy this four-story Edwardian building with bay windows, an original birdcage elevator, hallways lined with historical photographs, and rooms decorated with antiques, wicker pieces, and Laura Ashley bedding and curtains. Only 14 rooms have private baths, some with claw-foot tubs, but every guest can enjoy the afternoon tea and homemade cookies served in the cozy parlor.

Renovated in 2018, this Spanish Colonial Revival–style Embarcadero hotel has nice touches that enliven the guest quarters, including 42-inch high-definition TVs, quirky mathematical wall clocks, and lumbar pillows adorning beds with Frette linens, as well as a daily wine hour and the convenience of being attached to the Ozumo sushi restaurant. The hefty obligatory amenities fee includes morning coffee and evening wine, loaner bikes, and access to the excellent adjacent YMCA fitness facilities.

Business travelers patronize this hoppin' Hilton for its airy guest rooms and large work desks, but even in high season the weekend rates drop significantly, luring leisure travelers. The third-floor Sky Bridge over Kearny Street connects this giant hotel with Chinatown's Portsmouth Square, and the Financial District and North Beach are steps away. Constructed in the early 1970s, the Hilton is nothing to look at but occupies a plot of land whose history dates back to gold-rush days.

This is the largest hotel in California—sometimes the lobby feels like downtown at rush hour—and many rooms in the silvery tower enjoy views that rank among San Francisco's finest. The rooms have sleek earth-tone furnishings and soundproof windows; some of the bathrooms have glass shower stalls. The hotel borders the sometimes-dicey Tenderloin area, but the 46th-floor Cityscape Lounge offers panoramic views and good cocktails, so you should stay in at least one night.

Near Union Square shops, theaters, and restaurants, this appealing hotel has small but tastefully appointed rooms with smart TVs, device docking stations, comfortable bedding, and fancy bath products. The lobby's recessed fireplace and warm wood and stainless-steel accents lend a modern feel, as does the wall with attached iPads for guest use. The mandatory "urban fee" includes access to the gym facilities a block away at Abri's sister hotel, Villa Florence, and morning coffee and newspapers in the lobby.

For many budget travelers the Beresford's pluses—reasonable prices, central location, and sightseeing assistance—outweigh minuses that include the small rooms, outdated decor, and no air-conditioning. The rooms are generally well maintained and contain standard-issue furniture, flat-screen TVs, earth-tone linens, and small bathrooms. The common areas include a small sitting room, a business center, and an exercise room.

This beautifully designed boutique hotel bordering the Tenderloin impresses with gorgeous art-deco styling in touches such as floor-to-ceiling gold-painted steel peacock screens and starburst tile in the lobby. The art-deco sensibility extends to the rooms, some on the small side, which feature earth tones and metallic curtains and compact yet well-appointed bathrooms with full tub and shower. Art-deco screens, plush velvet curtains, and turquoise banquettes give the hotel’s pricey American bar/restaurant, Gibson, a luxurious feel.

Located in the heart of North Beach, this small hotel takes you back in time with cast-iron beds, large mirrored armoires, and memorabilia recalling the Beat generation—whose leading light, Allen Ginsberg, often stayed here (legend has it that in his later years he could be seen sitting in a window, typing away). Rooms have a bistro table and two chairs; bathrooms have cheerful yellow tiles and small showers.

The Castro has been waiting for this brand-new, 12-room hotel, designed for travelers who appreciate smart design and embrace self-service. There’s no staff on-site—upon reserving, guests receive simple instructions for accessing the building, followed by a code for the front door, elevator, and room just before check-in. The five-story property is close enough to the action to be convenient and just far enough away to blend in with this lovely residential area. Done in crisp whites with colorful splashes, the small rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows, a terrace, and clever details that maximize space (like under-the-bed luggage compartments and drawers) and Nespresso machines. In place of headboards, rooms have murals made up of tiny photographs of LGBTQ+ life that together form images of gay icons. Snug bathrooms have black fixtures and blue hexagonal tiles in cool designs; the marble-top sink is in the sleeping area. The hotel’s Lobby Bar next door and a rooftop lounge with firepit overlooking the neighborhood add hangout spaces.

This rejuvenated, beach-theme 1950s motor lodge with nicely appointed rooms and a fun, heated outdoor pool is all alone in a higher, hipper class of Cow Hollow/Marina boutique hotels. Blown-glass bedside lamps, a bright orange accent wall, and tufted white and silver headboards set an effervescent mood in the guest rooms. The Del Sol is only two blocks from Union Street shopping and restaurants, with easy access off Lombard Street, and it offers free morning town-car service to the Financial District for business travelers.

You can pretend you're a denizen of one of San Francisco's wealthiest residential neighborhoods while you stay at this understated, elegant Edwardian hotel built in 1903. Posh cream- and silver-hued rooms and suites, some with sweeping city views, are genteelly furnished and beautifully combine old-world charm with modern touches. The long list of amenities includes morning newspapers; plush robes; complimentary Wi-Fi; passes to the Jewish Community Center for swimming and exercise; a 24-hour fitness center (though the JCC offers more substantial workout options); 24-hour coffee and tea service, plus in-room Nespresso machines; and bicycles to borrow for the day. There's also complimentary chauffeur service each morning to any destination within the city. The hotel will even move your car to follow neighborhood parking restrictions. A free, expansive continental breakfast is served in a sunny, spacious dining room where tea and biscotti are on offer in the afternoon; wine, hot hors d'oeuvres, cheese, and charcuterie are set out each evening.

Inspiration is everywhere at this intimate hotel, with a prominent literary theme that celebrates San Francisco’s Beat poets, from its lobby wall of books and poetry-laced carpet to in-room libraries and typewriters. Ranging from spacious to smallish, rooms are smartly decorated with gray carpets and splashes of color; some overlook the street, others the tree-filled courtyard. Photos of Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac preside over the lobby Obscenity Bar and Lounge, and a small café offers breakfast, snacks, and coffee. The Union Square location is hard to beat.

Open in 1902, the five-story Majestic is the city's oldest continually operating hotel; its elegant lobby is a graceful haven of antique chandeliers, plush Victorian chairs, antiquarian French books, and Edwardian architecture. Rooms are just as noteworthy for their early-20th-century design, featuring pillow-top beds with soft duvet covers as well as claw-foot tubs and other period touches. Modern notes include flat-screen televisions in each room and complimentary Wi-Fi. The hotel, which survived both of San Francisco's major 20th-century earthquakes, is said to have a friendly ghost. At the Butterfly Lounge, you can peruse the collection of exotic butterflies over a glass of wine or a specialty cocktail. Dinner is served five nights a week at Café Majestic; breakfast is every day except Monday. A few nights a week, local artists conduct fun, often well-attended early-evening painting classes (for a fee) in the café.

Known for impeccable service and satin-smooth style, this youngish grande dame takes its visual cues from traditional kimonos and Japanese calligraphy, with rooms that soothe upscale business and leisure travelers with muted colors offset by judicious splashes of stronger hues. Rooms have smart TVs and other high-tech amenities, and deep soaking tubs and oversize showers in the marble bathrooms. The 10,000-square-foot Club Nikko fitness facility has dry saunas and steam rooms and a glass-enclosed, 16-meter rooftop pool.

With a strong location at the convergence of Chinatown, the Financial District, and Union Square, this boutique anchor attracts a design-conscious crowd and is highlighted by its intricately decorated lobby featuring marble floors, a wood-beam ceiling, and art from around the world. The focal point is a 1940s mural depicting Mission Dolores, uncovered during demolition work. Rooms are sophisticated and homey, with white wainscoting, cool blue custom-upholstered headboards and benches, bright-red splashes, and Frette linens.

A high-style haven on the top five floors of the green-tiled Pacific Building, the Zelos offers a luxurious oasis above the busiest part of town, with spacious rooms decked out with modern art pieces, eye-catching textured carpeting, and sleek furniture echoing a 1930s sensibility. The hotel's softly lighted lounge area with plush sofas gives way to the Dirty Habit restaurant and bar, renowned for its outdoor patio and creative menu. Additional amenities include a gourmet, organic "honor bar" loaded with snacks, a 24-hour fitness center, luxury bath products, and plush robes.

A frothy homage to 1950s Beat writers, 1960s hippies and rockers, and other local agents of change, the hip Hotel Zeppelin appeals to a youngish crowd with high-tech amenities and an inviting, sometimes boisterous, game room with a pool table, quick-shot basketball wall, and other entertainments. A fireplace and bar area give the lobby a warm communal atmosphere, while smart TVs, blackout shades, and spacious maple-top work desks in the guest rooms satisfy the desires of 21st-century travelers.

A little removed from the heart of the wharf area craziness, this smart-looking boutique hotel with guest-room interiors inspired by luxury Mediterranean yachts aims for subtle contemporary elegance in the form of lightly stained woods and soft-brown and cream fabrics and walls. The rooms facing the courtyard are quieter than street-side ones but lack bay views. The on-site Italian restaurant Pescatore serves family-friendly breakfast, lunch, and dinner.