san francisco Travel Guide
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The Inn at The Presidio in San Francisco to Open in April

Finally, there's a pulse on the hotel scene of San Francisco. News is out today that The Inn at The Presidio will open in April, making it the only new hotel to open in EssEff in all of 2012.
The 22-room hotel will be created out of the historic Pershing Hall which was previously where all the bachelor military brass stayed when the Presidio was a functioning military post. (Now it's an urban national park as well as a National Historic Landmark District.)
Seventeen of those rooms will be one-bedroom suites but all guests will have access to the expansive front porch with rocking chairs, a landscaped terrace with a fire pit, a guest lounge, complimentary continental breakfast,wine and cheese receptions in the afternoon and the glorious bay views.
With the Presidio being such a historic spot, the Inn will certainly pay homage to the military days of yore. From the press release:
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Twitpic of the Week: The Sun Also Rises In San Francisco
In the ever-expanding universe of Twitter, there is one particular trend @HotelChatter happens to quite enjoy: candid hotel photos. These Twitpics range from stunning views to anti-views to celebrity tomfoolery and everything in between. And we can't get enough of 'em! Every Monday, we will feature one "Twitpic of the Week" to commemorate our favorite hotel-themed snapshot. Got a favorite of your own? Want to show off your sweet suite? Send it in!

We caught Conan O'Brien with his goofy hotel cookie last week, so we thought we'd change the mood today with something a little more...picturesque. @dens, also known as Dennis Crowley, co-founder of Foursquare, tweeted this shot from his room at San Francisco's Parc 55 Wyndham last Wednesday morning, capturing some brilliantly illuminated boats out in the bay.
Mandarin Oriental Hotels / San Francisco Hotels / Hotel Amenities / Hotel Stationery / → All Tags
It's the Little Things at Mandarin Oriental San Francisco

Usually we’re all about the latest technology and perks like free WiFi, but sometimes the little things a hotel does is the fastest way to our hearts, and it was the old school touches at the Mandarin Oriental San Francisco that made one recent stay memorable.
Budget Hotels / EuroCheapo / Hotel Booking Sites / San Francisco Hotels / → All Tags
EuroCheapo: Not Strictly Euro But Still Cheapo

The other week we helped out a tech reporter looking for a hotel room under $200 in San Francisco's Union Square.
But if you're in need of a hotel room for even cheaper (like under $100 or even under $50) then consider the ultimate cheap experts--EuroCheapo.com which just launched a San Francisco budget hotel guide. Yes, despite their name EuroCheapo has branched out beyond Europe to New York City (that guide launched a few years ago) and now to EssEff.
All of the 25 recommended hotels (including B&Bs and hostels) in EuroCheapo's San Fran hotel guide are not just wallet-friendly but they've been snuffed out by the site's editors with in-depth write-ups and best of all, their own photos so you can see just exactly what you're getting for your $100 or less.
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A Little Bit Of Inception From The Top Of The Mark
How’s this for an Inception moment? There we were, yesterday, having lunch at the Top of the Mark in San Francisco’s Intercontinental Mark Hopkins, looking idly at the view of the Transamerica Building, the Golden Gate Bridge and Twin Peaks when we cast our eyes southwest and noticed The Clift. We’d stayed there last week, so that tickled us.
But then our eyes panned a little to the right and saw a tiny rooftop oasis with palm-type plants and bushes and sun loungers. And as we were thinking how cute it was, we realised that it was the penthouse at the Hotel Adagio. And, coincidentally, our room, since we’d checked in at 11pm the night before to find the hotel full. The only room available? The penthouse. So instead of walking us to another hotel, lovely Peter at the front desk did us the honors.
So there we were in the rooftop bar of one hotel, looking at our ex hotel and our at-the-time-current hotel room. Yes, it was as convoluted as a Christopher Nolan script.

Hotel Bars / Hotel Cocktails / InterContinental Hotels / San Francisco Hotels / → All Tags
Grab-a some Grappa at Intercontinental San Francisco's Bar 888
We’ve heard of vodka bars and whiskey bar, and even absinthe bars, but on a recent visit to the Intercontinental San Francisco, we found the hotel’s Bar 888 was dedicated to cocktails made with an oft-neglected spirit, grappa.
Yeah, grappa’s totally not everyone’s favorite, especially because the ones we’ve gotten in the States until now have been…shall we say, substandard. Not to mention that it’s usually drunk as a digestif rather than a pre-dinner libation. Bar 888, however, has assembled one of the city’s, if not the country’s largest collection of the spirit, with over 120 hand-selected grappas, for curious drinkers and sophisticated imbibers alike to sample both individually and in a carefully curated menu of specialty cocktails that showcase the liquor’s unexpected versatility.
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What is Alex Trebek is a Badass for Chasing Down a Hotel Burglar?

We've written a bunch about staying safe in hotel rooms lately but even well-known nerds celebrities need to learn how to protect themselves when staying in hotels.
"Jeopardy's" legendary host Alex Trebek revealed yesterday that his hotel room in San Francisco had been broken into and that he ruptured his Achilles tendon as he chased the robber down.
Trebek revealed the traumatic incident (in Jeopardy-speak) right before he hosted the National Geographic Geography Bee at Google Headquarters in Mountain View.
What is, it happened at 2:30 a.m., chasing a burglar down the hallway of my San Francisco hotel when my Achilles tendon ruptured and I then fell on carpet, bruising the other leg in process. Surgery on Friday," Trebek said, according to Patch.com.
San Francisco police have confirmed the incident and the subsequent arrest of Lucinda Moyers, 56, who was booked on charges of burglary and receiving stolen property, namely the victims' purses and wallets. TMZ is also reporting that the suspect lifted a bracelet that Trebek's mother gave him.
Hotel Renovations / Grand Hyatt Hotels / San Francisco Hotels / → All Tags
The Grand Hyatt San Francisco Tries to Give New Rooms a Residential Feel
The Grand Hyatt San Francisco is in the midst of a $70 million renovation, giving its lobby, open-kitchen restaurant and lounge and meeting facilities an upgrade, but the rooms are finished with their makeovers.
All 630 rooms received a facelift, and 21 were converted to hypoallergenic accommodations. The rooms were made to be more residential, but we're especially digging the technology inside them.
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This Hotel Now Has a Dedicated 'Proposal Desk' for Clueless Romantics
If you don't have deep pockets like Kris Humphries to propose to your own Kim Kardashian with a $2 million rock, you gotta get creative. Luckily, you can get some help: Take your smitten self to the InterContinental Mark Hopkins's Proposal Desk.
The San Francisco hotel's new service will brainstorm with you and execute the perfect way to ask your lovey-dovey to marry you. Whether it be filling a hotel room with her favorite flowers, hopping on a hot-air balloon or having an airplane ask the question in sky-writing, the Proposal Desk will make it happen.
Family Friendly Hotels / Kids Programs / Personality Hotels / San Francisco Hotels / → All Tags
Just What We'd Expect from Personality Hotels--Kids with Personality
Personality Hotels is the master of creating crazy packages—after all, it was the brand that gave us snuggie sutra. But this time it's setting its sights on wooing a younger crowd, a much younger crowd.
The hotel chain is offering Kids with Personality, a new year-round program that gives children some complimentary check-in swag. For the summer, it will offer regal-themed goodies in honor of Prince William and Princess Kate, two people kiddies probably don't know.
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And the Lobby that Looks Most Like a Red Lobster is...
If there was an award for the hotel lobby that most resembles a Red Lobster, that award would go to San Francisco' Argonaut Hotel. The place is a tourist hotspot purely because of its location at Fisherman's Wharf and, as a result, the place is almost too packed to appreciate the nautical tchotchkes.
The Argonaut, despite its unique looks, is actually part of the Kimpton Hotels chain, which means that every evening brings a complimentary hosted wine reception for the guests, plus the other goodie of free WiFi in the rooms (if you sign up for the free InTouch loyalty program).
Hotel High Tea / San Francisco Hotels / Crescent Hotels / → All Tags
San Fran's Crescent Hotel to Host an Exotic Pop-Up Tea Salon
It's summer and a hot cuppa may be the last thing you want. But we'll risk overheating to take some sips at Crescent Hotel's pop-up salon, but there won't be an egg salad sandwich or Earl Grey in sight.
Dubbed Kettle Whistle, the exotic three-flight afternoon tea will feature Taiwanese oolong and some untraditional pairings. The event will take place throughout the Bay Area each month. The inaugural pop-up tea salon will take place in the hotel's Burritt Room on June 25.


