Fairmont Heritage Place, Ghirardelli Square

Fairmont Heritage Place, Ghirardelli Square Review

Housed in the former Ghirardelli chocolate factory, these one-to-three-bedroom serviced apartments might possibly be the most luxurious accommodations in San Francisco. Decadent Ghirardelli chocolates at check in and at the nightly turndown are a nod to its history. But beyond bonbons, the effusive staff arranges dining and theater reservations, deposits guests (and picks them up) within a two-mile radius in the hotel's Cadillac Escalades (for free), serves a fine Continental breakfast, plus coffee and tea throughout the day and wine and cheese in the evenings. Spacious apartments—with fully equiped gourmet kitchens, original brick walls, regal marble soaking tubs, plush bedding, flat-screen TVs, in-room iPads, laundry facilities, modern furniture in chocolate and lavender hues, and views of Alcatraz (in bay-view residences)—promise both comfort and style without being stuffy. The homey atmosphere spills into the game lounge throughout the day and out onto the Club terraces, where guests congregate around fire pits and gaze at the bay. In 2012 the hotel added a state-of-the-art fitness center.