What qualifies a hotel as one of the best in San Francisco? Well, we know that for some the best hotel is the most luxurious, while for others it's the one that offers, say, the most for kids, or the most bang for the buck. So this list breaks things down by category -- in other words, it includes the top hotel from each of our other San Francisco "best" lists: best luxury hotels, best value hotels, best kid-friendly hotels, and so on. We're able to create these rankings because a team of Oyster reporters spent several weeks exploring 59 of the city's top hotels. We slept in the beds, ate in the restaurants, tested the service, and scoped out the neighborhoods, all with an eye toward selecting the most distinguished properties. Those that made this list are truly the best of the best.
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Best Luxury Hotel
- Hotel: The St. Regis San Francisco
- Average Price: $482/avg. night
- Pearls: Rating: 5.0 Pearls
- Location: SoMa/Financial District, San Francisco
Built in 2005, the St. Regis offers the best in modern luxury: Highly attentive, personalized service includes a 24-hour butler staff; the relaxation rooms at Remede Spa serve chocolate truffles and champagne; the hotel's Ame restaurant is a notable destination in its own right; and the rooms and suites match the city's best for space, superior technology, and amenities. Its artsy SoMa surroundings, modern glass building, and impressive contemporary art collection lack the historical grandeur of the Nob Hill grand dames, but in substance it stands shoulder to shoulder, or above, its hilltop competitors.
Best Value Hotel
- Hotel: Laurel Inn
- Average Price: $198/avg. night
- Pearls: Rating: 3.0 Pearls
- Location: Nob Hill, San Francisco
Modern décor, unusually large, well-furnished, apartment-like rooms -- many with mini kitchens -- and lots of included perks place the 49-room Laurel Inn at the top of our list of best values for San Francisco. Generous free extras include Wi-Fi, all-day coffee and tea, a glass of wine, and afternoon lemonade and cookies, while parking is more reasonably priced than at other San Francisco hotels ($18 a night). Guests also get discounted passes to a local gym with adult and children's pools. And the hotel's location, in beautiful, residential Pacific Heights, amid upscale galleries and boutiques, is a welcome alternative to other frenetic, tourist-heavy neighborhoods.
Best Kid-Friendly Hotel
- Hotel: Radisson Hotel Fisherman's Wharf
- Average Price: $182/avg. night
- Pearls: Rating: 3.0 Pearls
- Location: Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco
The Radisson doesn't play up its family appeal, but it should. Its heated outdoor pool is among the nicest in the city, especially given the electric firepit, gardens, palm trees, and plenty of deck chairs and umbrella tables on the pool deck. And while there are about a half-dozen other big-chain hotels vying for tourists in the family-focused waterfront area of Fisherman's Wharf, and the Radisson is closer to the wharf than the Hilton, Hyatt, Sheraton, and Holiday Inn (and it's often cheaper too).
Most Romantic Hotel
- Hotel: The Huntington Hotel
- Average Price: $308/avg. night
- Pearls: Rating: 4.0 Pearls
- Location: Nob Hill, San Francisco
Nob Hill, San Francisco's swankiest neighborhood, is home to many of its grandest hotels -- stately old buildings with cavernous marble-filled lobbies and hundreds of rooms. By contrast, the elegant 136-room Huntington Hotel is more intimate and unassuming. Yet it's just as luxurious as its neighbors. The spacious, newly renovated rooms overlook either the city or quiet Huntington Park across the street. The formal staff is attentive, yet discreet. The hotel's Nob Hill Spa is one of the city's best, and guests can use its indoor pool and lounge with a fireplace for free.
Best Hotel Restaurant
- Hotel: The Westin St. Francis
- Average Price: $254/avg. night
- Pearls: Rating: 4.0 Pearls
- Location: Union Square, San Francisco
Its grand, neoclassical dining room is unlike any other, but it's the bold, New American flavor combinations that earned celebrity chef Michael Mina's namesake restaurant a Michelin star. Each dish on the $105 prix fixe menu is served as three distinct small plates: Wolfe Ranch quail and corn, for example, comes served pan-seared with polenta; as confit leg with sweet corn veloute; and with foie gras, black winter truffle, and corn bread crumble. The small plates on the $135 seasonal tasting menu are each paired with a different wine, like crispy skin striped bass with McKinlay pinot noir. But, if you're not prepared to pay three figures for your meal, come early for the cheaper three-course pre-theater menu ($55), or you can just sit in the lounge area and order a la carte.
Best Boutique Hotel
- Hotel: Campton Place Taj Hotel
- Average Price: $294/avg. night
- Pearls: Rating: 4.5 Pearls
- Location: Union Square, San Francisco
Housed in two adjoining century-old buildings, this 110-room boutique is a revelation in bustling Union Square -- a treasured high-end property that's also surprisingly casual. The sprightly doorman chats with you as he leads you to the small, gleaming lobby full of fresh-cut orchids and paintings by local artists. The lobby's lack of opulence belies the hotel's level of luxury, which includes an impressive array of services and premium in-room amenities. The restaurant, Campton Place, is an institution in its own right, complete with a master sommelier (one of 150 people in the world to hold that title) and a wine cellar with 1,500-plus labels.
Best Business Hotel
- Hotel: Le Meridien San Francisco
- Average Price: $278/avg. night
- Pearls: Rating: 4.0 Pearls
- Location: SoMa/Financial District, San Francisco
With a location in the heart of the Financial District, classy meeting spaces, a solid business center, two on-site restaurants, a hopping bar scene, and free Wi-Fi in public spaces, Le Meridien stands out among business-friendly San Francisco properties. Rooms feature all the extras of a five-pearl lodging --- from bathrobes, Frette linens, and 24-hour room service to a well-stocked minibar, a large work desk, and overnight shoeshines -- plus there's an on-site fitness facility.
