Best Hotels Near Stanford University

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.

One of the great American palace hotels, presiding over Nob Hill since 1907 and immortalised in Tony Bennett's 'I Left My Heart in San Francisco.' The lobby's red velvet and marble grandeur is matched by jaw-dropping bay views from upper floors, and the Tonga Room hurricane tiki bar is an unmissable SF institution.

A tech-savvy boutique steps from Union Square with complimentary iPhone loaner, fast streaming, and rooms that pack smart design into a compact footprint. The lobby's local art installations are curated by SF artists, and rates are among the best value for a central SF location.

A design-forward stay in the heart of the Mission with Californian-Mediterranean dining by Jason Fox and a rooftop lounge featuring fire pits and sweeping city views. The neighbourhood's murals, taquerias, and Valencia Street boutiques are steps outside the door.

A 15-room literary hideaway in the heart of North Beach that pays tender homage to the Beat Generation — rooms are named after Ginsberg, Kerouac, and Ferlinghetti, and the walls are hung with black-and-white photographs of the era. Steps from City Lights Bookstore and some of the city's best Italian restaurants.