Sigh. The saddest hotel in all of San Francisco -- no, make that California -- must be the Hotel Nikko. The place is set to reek of crushed hopes and dreams and probably also failure.
Get this: this summer, the Hotel Nikko's Rrazz room will be the first stop for Idols in Concert, the "traveling cabaret" of former American Idol contestants who placed mostly between fifth and eighth in the first six seasons of the show. This is not to be confused with the American Idols Live! tour; this is the Idol B-Team.
In a very, very depressing article, the SF Chronicle writes:
Beginning in July, 17 castoffs from the first six seasons of the popular Fox television singing competition will get a reprieve from the county fair circuit...finalists such as Gina Glocksen, Constantine Maroulis, Lisa Tucker, Christina Christian and Paris Bennett [Ed note: Who, who and who?], plus a handful of less memorable names...will reprise the performances that got them the most votes on the series.
It just makes us sad, you know? The show runs for 9 weeks at the Nikko before moving on. Tickets cost somewhere between $45 and $55; rooms at the Hotel Nikko start around $180.
Let's just say, hypothetically, that you and three of your friends were stranded in San Francisco with only $50 each. Would you rather spend that money on four tickets to the Idols in Concert show or, um, chip in to score a room at the 4 Diamond hotel hosting it?
A couple weeks ago we wrote about the tired-looking Westin St Francis. We don't want to assume we are some kind of soothsaying project of visionaries, but let's just say we found it very interesting that the grand dame of San Francisco has just announced they are undergoing a $40 million renovation anticipated to be complete in Spring 2009.
Starting on the ground floor, the lobby renovation is headed up by none other than Jesus-for-hospitality-design, Rockwell Group. The lobby will take on a modern palette with blues and browns for the color scheme and guests will notice a cooler, more hip feel (picture hanging edison bulbs and sleek couches.)
However, the traditional aspects that made the hotel famous in the first place will still be honored such as glass and metal reproductions of the lobby's original globe chandeliers.
The Beefeaters at Sir Francis Drake know something you don't know.
We got around to reading the April issue of Budget Travel just a tad late this time around but we noticed a very cool thing they mentioned in their "This Just In!" section.
The Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco is celebrating its 80th anniversary by allowing guests to tour its hidden speakeasy. The hotel, which is now a Kimpton, is offering the tour as part of the "Ultimate Prohibition Package" which promises to transport guests back to the Roaring 20s.
The Prohibition Room, which served as a speakeasy during the 1920’s and 30’s, is located between the first and second floors of the hotel and is accessible only with a special turn-of-the-key on one of the Drake’s elevators.
The hotel also had a bunch of other promotions going on in April but the speakeasy package is still going on.
Starting at $209 a night, the package includes accommodations in a newly renovated King Deluxe Room; complimentary valet parking; signature cocktails at Bar Drake; a tour of the clandestine Prohibition Room; and a choice of a $50 dining credit for Scala's, the hotel's restaurant, or for in-room dining.
Tommy gun-toting mobsters and frantic prohibition officers not included.
We were very excited to stay in a grand dame hotel like The Westin St Francis on the south edge of Union Square. We don't always go for landmark hotels like this, but the occasion called for it and we went in with eager eyes. The other organ that immediately kicked into high gear were our stomachs. The St Francis is home to famous chef Michael Mina, yum!
Walking into the lobby struck another one of our senses and not in a good way. The place smelled old. As if we were stepping into a museum replete with that stale library scent. Sure, the lobby is impressionable--there's echoey marble everywhere--but this is not a strikingly modern, architecturally progressive hotel lobby like THOR.
Then again, we were thankful it wasn't a W Hotel lobby...er "living room". Blech!
San Francisco's Hotel Union Square just finished an "extensive modern makeover" this April, incorporating brick walls, mosaic murals and custom furnishings, like platform beds, into its 131-room hotel. Seems it may have needed the upgrade.
One guest who stayed as recently as March said "never again" about his stay, thanks to a small room and air-conditioner that didn't work, two of the more common complaints among other guests. But come April, that had changed--at least according to the sole reviewer who stayed at the hotel since the start of its renovation: "Our room on the fifth floor was plenty big enough for four of us," said one, who did note that the clan was used to smaller European rooms.
Renovated or not, guests do seem to enjoy the pleasant staff (that counts for something doesn't it?) and Hotel Union Square's central location. Also, the hotel is part of Personality Hotels so you know free WiFi is guaranteed.
With holidays just around the corner, hotels are in a giving mood. If you spend two nights at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco, a third night is on the hotel.
Simply arrive on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday for a three-night stay and explore great holiday shopping and dining just steps away from the hotel.
This offer is valid through December 15, 2007 and is only good for three nights. Rooms start at $129 a night.
Big cities are sometimes not the right place to hope for a hotel room with a good view. That's mostly because big cities are full of big buildings and there just ain't that many spots--unless you go up really high--to get a great view. So even San Francisco's Maxwell Hotel has let us down with this pretty unattractive view of rooftops, air conditioners and advertising.
In the past, the Personality Hotels group to which the Maxwell Hotel belongs has done a sweet deal on free parking and gas, so it's not all bad. Plus, the hotel offers room service from famous San Fran deli, Max's on the Square. Top it off with free WiFi and we're willing to close the blinds and enjoy our stay.
Our tip for a killer view in San Francisco is a room at the Hotel Vitale where you might be lucky enough to see the Golden Gate Bridge instead of a gray rooftop.
Much like the promotion over at the Hotel Nikko, the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco is looking for a couple who may have met under the hotel's historic Great Magneta Grandfather Clock which turns 100 this year.
Over the past century, the refrain "meet me under the clock" has become a cherished rallying cry for generations of guests and San Franciscans alike, and the clock has served as the official gathering place for families, friends, lovers and international adventurers.
The Viennese clock was originally built in 1856 and was officially dedicated to the hotel on November 30, 1907.
To commemorate this anniversary, the hotel wants to find a married couple who met under the clock. We're guessing those that met there by chance or on a date are the ones the hotel is looking for.
Couples can submit an essay (no more than 350 words) and a photo of themselves to the hotel by October 31st. A winning couple will be selected by the hotel on Nov. 5 and will be awarded with a public vow renewal ceremony under the clock on Nov. 15 with a reception in a suite with champagne, gourmet hors d'oeuvres, "clocktails" and a wedding cake created by Executive Pastry Chef Jean-Françios Houdré.
Also, the couple gets a three-night stay in the honeymoon suite courtesy of the hotel, airfare to San Fran (if needed), spa treatments for two, and breakfast and dinner for two in the historic Oak Room. To enter visit the Meet Me at the Clock website.
Meanwhile we hear that the Hotel Nikko's contest has been extended to anyone who has ever married or honeymooned at the hotel during its 20 years in business.
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by Jenna
