A Historical Marvel in the Heart of San Francisco
I’m going to start with a truth bomb! I’ve never liked San Francisco. The city is hilly, always cloudy, and despite purporting to be 70 degrees and cloudy pretty much every day, it almost always feels like it’s sweater or fall coat weather. What’s more, over time, as more and more communities were pushed out, the city became too tech bro-y for my liking. Having said that, I love the culinary and bar scene out there, and as a fairly open-minded traveler, I have returned once or twice to see if I’ll ever change my mind. Well, spoiler alert: my mind hasn’t changed (Welp?!). HOWEVER, while my mind about the city itself has not changed, I have found something else I like about it — The Westin St. Francis: A historical marvel in the heart of San Francisco.
The Westin St. Francis is a historic hotel that opened its doors in 1904. It is the only hotel located in Union Square, and is a grand icon in the area. Everything about the hotel screams history from the moment you walk in — from the incredibly high ceilings, the enormous amount of breadth and space inside the hotel lobby, and the architecture of a different time. You can’t help but feel the history of all those who’ve visited in the decades past as you traverse this historic hotel. In a lot of ways, as I roamed through the lobby and the halls of the hotel, it felt like being inside a hotel version of New York City’s very own Grand Central Terminal. What’s more, the exterior of the hotel is just as grand as the hotel’s interior. I’m not sure I’d go as far as some who claim it looks like a European Castle, but it definitely has an aura of awe about it.
Unfortunately, because I was only at this hotel for one night, I didn’t get to experience all it had to offer. And, unlike many reviewers and hotel commentators, I limit my reviews to what I’ve experienced and what I can PERSONALLY speak to. So — how did I spend my single night in SF? If you’ve visited, you won’t be surprised to find out that it was raining pretty much the entirety of my stay. So, authentic to the kind of traveler I am, I made the most of the suite I was staying in One of the things I loved about the Westin St. Francis is the fact that it has remarkable and spacious specialty suites. I had the pleasure of staying in the Union Square Suite, a one-bedroom majestic suite, featuring a living room, dining room, television nook, bedroom, and two bathrooms. I dined here both for dinner and breakfast, watched basketball, read a book, relaxed, and just had fun. I may have been rained in, but nothing about my experience was bad. If I ever return to San Francisco, this is where I’m going to stay.
In all, based on my experience, I’m giving this hotel an FFF 4 star rating. I wish it had more amenities so that I could have had more things to do while stuck in the rain. In fairness, city hotels don’t focus too much on amenities; though perhaps they should? Certainly a few brands do. All the same, I’d recommend this hotel.
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