Hip Guide to Hotels in San Francisco
Name: Fairmont Hotel
Address: 950 Mason St. (map it)
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At the top of California Street, The Fairmont Hotel sits at perched at one of the highest points in the city. Nearly every other major hotel in San Francisco is located in SOMA, Union Square, or Embarcadero, but the Fairmont, a hotel in a league all its own, calls Nob Hill its home. Still close to all the popular neighborhoods, yet away from the wall to wall commerce and buzz of the downtown area, the Fairmont defines old school elegance and class.

The Fairmont was built in 1907, which makes it all the more remarkable that it has 591 rooms, 55,000 sq. ft of function space, and a freight elevator big enough for cars. Walk through the front doors and you know this place has always meant money. While you might turn a few heads if you've been out all night and come staggering into the lobby at 4AM, not everybody wants to be in the middle of Union Square and this place has it's charms as well. Take for example the Club One inside the hotel. While other hotels might have a converted utility closet with a couple treadmills and a loud TV, the Fairmont has an actual health club. The only other place in SF with that kind of set-up is the Four Seasons. Then there's the Tonga Room, the hotel bar and restaurant. There's a tiki band in the middle of a pool of water, the place is enormous. While this fact in and of itself does not make it special, the sheer size of it, in the middle of the exclusive Nob Hill neighborhood is pretty amazing. Nearby, check out the Mark Hopkins hotel with their evening Jazz on the top floor. Heading down California Street, you can cut into China Town or head to the bottom into the Financial District. You'll even have a chance to ride the Cable Car for transportation and not just novelty, (it stops right in front of the hotel). This is a recommended hotel for romantic weekends or for the urban adventurers who don't want to endure the street noise of Union Square when they're sleeping late. You're sure to impress anybody you bring to the Fairmont Hotel.

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