Best Hotels for Foodies in San Francisco

A quietly stylish boutique surrounded by the tourist circus of the Wharf, with comfortable rooms, complimentary evening wine, and a surprisingly well-insulated calm that belies the busy streets outside. The waterfront location is ideal for families wanting Alcatraz ferry access right outside the door.

• Fisherman's Wharf
• Families
• Views

Philippe Starck transformed this 1915 hotel into one of America's most theatrical lobbies — the Giant Chair and illuminated bar anchor a space that's simultaneously witty and sophisticated. The Redwood Room, panelled in a single 2,000-year-old redwood, is among the city's most storied cocktail bars.

• Union Square
• Design
• Historic

Arguably the most scenic budget accommodation in any US city — a converted Civil War barracks inside the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, with direct bay views and free walking tours. Private rooms are available alongside dorms, and the nightly social atmosphere is genuinely warm.

• Fisherman's Wharf
• Budget
• Solo

A Kelly Wearstler-designed masterpiece in a restored 1909 Beaux-Arts building, with patterned tile, brass fixtures, and a rooftop bar that has become one of the city's best. The location in the revitalising Mid-Market corridor puts it close to Twitter HQ and Civic Center cultural institutions.

• Mid-Market
• Design
• Rooftop

San Francisco's best kept secret — a 48-room Edwardian boutique on one of Pacific Heights' most beautiful residential streets, offering butler-delivered morning papers, an included wine and cheese hour, and the kind of hushed, residential calm that feels genuinely restorative after a day of sightseeing.

• Pacific Heights
• Boutique
• Couples