22 Best Hotels in San Francisco, California

Green, pet-friendly, and equipped with high-speed fiber-optic Wi-Fi, the tech-oriented Axiom nimbly provides a boutique experience business and leisure travelers applaud. Just steps from the Powell Street cable-car turnaround, the hotel offers service that’s polite, intuitive, and efficient. The public spaces, including a check-in area filled with California-themed books, evoke the past while projecting an au courant vibe. Many rooms are old-school small but make sensible use of the available space.

In their six-story structure dating back to 1910, hosts Claude and Micheline Lambert created a bit of Paris a few blocks from Union Square, with rooms individually decorated with pastel colors, a stenciled ceiling, and prints of works by Picasso, Chagall, Klimt, and other European artists. The hotel is on the National Register of Historic Places and has a wonderful vintage French atmosphere, but it also contains some relevant modern touches like free Wi-Fi and flat-screen TVs.  Look online or call for special packages and discounted rates.

Travelers looking for charming accommodations around Union Square will enjoy this four-story Edwardian building with bay windows, an original birdcage elevator, hallways lined with historical photographs, and rooms decorated with antiques, wicker pieces, and Laura Ashley bedding and curtains. Only 14 rooms have private baths, some with claw-foot tubs, but every guest can enjoy the afternoon tea and homemade cookies served in the cozy parlor. Breakfast is served down the block at the Cornell Hotel de France.

A frothy homage to 1950s Beat writers, 1960s hippies and rockers, and other local agents of change, the hip Hotel Zeppelin appeals to a youngish crowd with high-tech amenities and an inviting, sometimes boisterous, game room with a pool table, quick-shot basketball wall, and other entertainments. A fireplace and bar area give the lobby a warm communal atmosphere, while smart TVs, blackout shades, and spacious maple-top work desks in the guest rooms satisfy the desires of 21st-century travelers. The hotel's restaurant, PLS on Post, serves towering burgers and shakes with peace, love, and soul (PLS).

With a strong location at the convergence of Chinatown, the Financial District, and Union Square, this boutique anchor attracts a design-conscious crowd and is highlighted by its intricately decorated lobby featuring marble floors, a wood-beam ceiling, and art from around the world. The focal point is a 1940s mural depicting Mission Dolores, uncovered during demolition work. Rooms are sophisticated and homey, with white wainscoting, cool blue custom-upholstered headboards and benches, bright-red splashes, and Frette linens. Complimentary coffee and biscotti are served every morning, and the afternoon's free beer, wine, and canned cocktail hour is well attended.

Fancy moldings and 10-foot-tall windows grace the red-carpeted lobby of this brick Victorian listed on the National Register of Historic Places that has rooms of varying size and setup. Rooms have dark-wood antique-reproduction furniture; standard rooms can feel cramped, but the suites and junior suites are more spacious and have different kinds of kitchen facilities. All suites have a bidet in the bathroom and whirlpool bathtubs. The generous breakfast baskets have a good variety of offerings, and afternoon tea and wine are served beneath a crystal chandelier in the lobby.

Built to accommodate visitors to the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, this favorite of budget travelers has cable car views from its modest lobby. High ceilings lend Edwardian grandeur to the moderate-size guest rooms; check out the pillow menu with a dozen choices. The small, clean bathrooms have extra-deep tubs, branded rubber ducky included. Complimentary coffee, tea, apples, and cookies are available around the clock in the lobby.

Close to Chinatown and Fisherman's Wharf, this affordable lodging with basic rooms decked out with oversize pillows, earth-toned bedding, and large flat-screen TVs is a great pick if you brought your family and have a car to park. Big windows offer the occasional glimpse of downtown, cable cars ding by outside, and a helpful staff and free parking and Wi-Fi add to the allure. Off-season rates are a steal.

At the edge of the FiDi and Union Square areas, this boutique hotel manages to be both hip and welcoming, with modern touches on historical bones and cozy guest rooms with all the technological amenities modern travelers require. Guests lounge in the lobby by the hotel’s pièce de résistance, a massive, hand-sculpted art-nouveau fireplace that looks like it leaped out of a fairy tale. For guests visiting on business or working remotely, the marble-topped desks with ergonomic chairs (and the Illy espresso machine for caffeine) are a big plus.

Business travelers patronize this centrally located Hilton for its airy guest rooms and large work desks with an ergonomic chair. But even in high season, the weekend rates drop significantly, luring leisure travelers who will appreciate the giant TVs, chaise lounge, and blackout curtains. The third-floor Sky Bridge over Kearny Street connects this giant hotel with Chinatown's Portsmouth Square, and the Financial District and North Beach are steps away. Constructed in the early 1970s, the Hilton is nothing to look at but occupies a plot of land whose history dates back to gold-rush days.

Near Union Square shops, theaters, and restaurants, this appealing hotel has small but tastefully appointed rooms with smart TVs, device docking stations, comfortable bedding, and fancy bath products. The lobby's fireplace and warm wood and stainless-steel accents lend a modern feel.

This rejuvenated, beach-theme 1950s motor lodge with nicely appointed rooms and a fun, heated outdoor pool is all alone in a higher, hipper class of Cow Hollow/Marina boutique hotels. Blown-glass bedside lamps, a bright orange accent wall, and tufted white and silver headboards set an effervescent mood in the guest rooms. The Del Sol is nicely situated halfway between Union Street and Chestnut Street, with easy walking access to both.

Both homey and innovative, the Hotel G has tiled lobby floors, large windows, and high ceilings (giving even the smallish standard rooms an airy feel) that pay homage to the building's century-plus history, while smart TVs, Bluetooth radios, Nespresso machines, and Wi-Fi keep it firmly in the present. Rooms have woven Indian rugs, denim headboards, black-and-white wallpapered closets, floating light fixtures, and throw pillows shaped like the Golden State. The on-site gym is well equipped and open 24 hours.

Fans of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo will want to grab a room---specifically room 401---at this remodeled and rebranded hotel on the edge of Lower Nob Hill, where Kim Novak's Carlotta lived. The character's face in a tile mosaic overlooks the lobby, and the view up the stairwell invokes the movie's title. Comfortable, good-size rooms in restful blues and grays with a splash of gold come with amenities like Keurig coffeemakers and robes. The lobby bar/restaurant Carlotta's (of course) offers waffles and breakfast sandwiches in the morning and cocktails and light fare in the evening.

A little removed from the heart of the wharf area craziness, this smart-looking boutique hotel with guest-room interiors inspired by luxury Mediterranean yachts aims for subtle contemporary elegance in the form of lightly stained woods and soft-brown and golden fabrics and walls. The rooms facing the courtyard are quieter than street-side ones but lack bay views. The on-site Italian restaurant Pescatore serves family-friendly breakfast and dinner, and the daily s'mores offered by the hotel are arguably the most popular amenity.

Built in the 1920s in a Moorish and Gothic style, this former Elks Club retains its period feel and features, with rich marble and dark-wood accents, crystal chandeliers, vaulted ceilings, and antique furnishings in the lobby and vintage touches in the comfortable guest rooms. Complimentary morning coffee and evening tea and sherry are served in the lobby. Convenience and service are highlights here; guests have commented that staying here is more like visiting a friend than being at a hotel.

The stylishly contemporary Le Méridien scores well on both form and function, with compelling artwork throughout the lobby and guest rooms outfitted with polished granite sinks, wall-size San Francisco maps, and floor-to-ceiling windows.

Bougainvillea, fuchsia, and other foliage—real and trompe l'oeil—add color and verve to this 1939 motor court operated by the granddaughters of the original owners, creating a magical mood when everything's in bloom and hummingbirds flit through the quiet courtyard. All the rooms have French country-style furnishings, thick windows, spotless baths, and small shower stalls; 17 units have full kitchens with eating areas. Street noise can be heard in the accommodations along Lombard Street whose bedrooms don't face the courtyard, but most rooms are off the street. The enclosed garages underneath the units are a boon in a neighborhood notorious for its paucity of street parking.

Situated at the foot of the Stockton Tunnel, this beautiful property is now under the careful, hip eye of the Palisociety boutique hotel group, but its strong suits continue to be food and drink, a prime location, and a modern-meets-vintage aesthetic. Patrons enter the small lobby before ascending in a caged elevator to guest rooms and suites or going up a set of stairs to the second floor, where Fisher Loft serves complimentary coffee and pastries mornings. Rooms have exposed white-brick walls that contrast with the chic furnishings (small, café-style round tables in most rooms) and high-end touches like rainfall showerheads and Nespresso machines.

The handsome, if small, rooms at this 1913 theater district hotel evoke an aristocratic feel with geometric wallpaper, black-and-white framed historic photos curated by the San Francisco Public Library, and ornate wooden furnishings. Designed by Arthur Brown Jr., also responsible for City Hall and Coit Tower, this classic retains the original chandelier in the lobby, carved griffins in the hallways guarding guest rooms, and antique headboards and armoires, all accented with contemporary light fixtures and furnishings.

On the southern edge of SFO's runway, this Starwood-branded property has comfortable, compact rooms with triple-paned windows and blackout curtains that help diminish the noise. The glass-front lobby is the place to be, as guests can take advantage of the live music, well-made cocktails at the W XYZ bar, and a pool table and other house games. Throw in Re:fuel, the hotel's grab-and-go eatery, the Re:mix lounge, a heated pool, outdoor sun beds, and a state-of-the-art fitness center (Re:charge, of course) open 24/7, and this funky property starts to seem attractive to those not wanting to trek into the city. Another added bonus: A popular jogging trail runs parallel to the bay.

Located 2 miles south of SFO, the Hyatt Regency is one of the largest airport convention hotels in Northern California, but the spectacular 10-story, 29,000-square-foot lobby atrium sets it apart for those seeking more than the typical business-center ambience. Following a top-to-bottom renovation in 2016, the services and amenities include free Wi-Fi, double-pane windows, roomy workstations, comfortable beds, 49-inch flat-screen HD TVs, and spacious bathrooms. The hotel provides numerous 24-hour business center kiosks, a 24-hour gym, and a heated outdoor pool. A free trolley whisks guests to downtown Burlingame for shopping and dining, and a shuttle services SFO, where you can catch a BART train to San Francisco.