SF Hotel Stories

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. If you like this article, please hit like and follow us. You can also follow us at www.sfhotelstories.com Saturday, 9/5/2026, 3:30 - 5:00 Workshop: Memoir Writing with Jing Li Richmond Branch Sunday, 9/6/2026, 1:30 - 3:00 Activity: Mushroom Appreciation Craft Bayview Branch Tuesday, 9/8/2026, 1:00 - 2:30 Social: Knitting Circle Glen Park Branch SFHotelStories.com is l

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. Tuesday, 8/25/2026, 1:30 - 3:30 Activity: 歡唱華語金曲 / Chinese Pop Karaoke Chinatown Branch Wednesday, 8/26/2026, 3:00 - 4:00 Social: K-Pop Family Dance Party Excelsior Branch Thursday, 8/27/2026, 6:45 - 7:45 Book Club: Mother-Daughter, Huda Al-Marashi's Hail Mariam West Portal Branch` Friday, 8/28/2026, 4:00 - 5:00 Activity: Therapy Pets at the Library Excelsior Branch S

The Permanently Closed San Francisco Visitor Informaon Center This just in... How can many major cities in the United States have a tourist information center, but not San Francisco, the fifth most popular destination in the United States according to Condé Nast? I reached out to Mayor Daniel Lurie's office and left a message as to how the one sole lone place on the internet, where all other links lead you too, for all things San Francisco travel (It's in the name SFTravel,

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. Tuesday, 8/18/2026, 1:30 - 3:30 Activity: Bocce Ball North Beach Branch Wednesday, 8/19/2026, 10:00 - 11:00 Storytime: For Families at Mission Creek Park South Mission Bay Branch Thursday, 8/20/2026, 4:00 - 6:00 Workshop: Manifesting Art Journals with Asé Arts Richmond Branch Friday, 8/21/2026, 3:00 - 5:00 Activity: Knitting Circle Anza Branch Saturday, 8/22/2026, 2:0

The Still Shuttered San Francisco Visitor Information Center The visitor center. The ubiquitous first stop on most traveler’s To-Do list. It's the kind of place you decry as cheesy or quaint; a throwback to a more innocent time before the internet gave everyone their own Oracle of Delphi. Until that is, you realize you are in a place for the first time and don't know where to eat or what to do. Then the helpful person behind the desk isn't as much an anachronism as you tho

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. Tuesday, 8/11/2026, 10:15 - 11:45 Activity: Knit and Craft Circle Merced Branch Wednesday, 8/12/2026, 11:15 - 12:00 Presentation: Proud to be Portuguese Main Branch Thursday, 8/13/2026, 11:00 - 12:00 Workshop: Breath Meditation with Don Narin Richmond Branch Friday, 8/14/2026, 1:30 - 5:00 Activity: Watercolor and Associates Glen Park Branch Saturday, 8/15/2026, 11:00

In the post 1906 Earthquake-era the Clift Hotel, located in the heart of San Francisco's Theater District, was the last of the classic hotels to open after the disaster, but before the opening of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. The World's Fair which announced to the planet, San Francisco has recovered from the earthquake and ready for the world to come back. In fact, almost 20 million people attended the event over that year. The Clift Hotel opened its do

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. Tuesday, 8/4/2026, 1:00 - 2:30 Craft: Tinfoil Printing Richmond Branch Wednesday, 8/5/2026, 6:00 - 7:00 Workshop: Yoga with Tendwell Collective Ingleside Branch Thursday, 8/6/2026, 1:00 - 3:00 Workshop: Exploring Gelli Prints with Asé Arts Mission Bay Branch Thursday, 8/6/2026, 6:00 - 7:30 Film: Hamburger Eyes Video Fest Main Branch Friday, 8/7/2026, 1:00 - 5:00 Activ

This is my birthday month, and I will be traveling. Please enjoy some of my favorite posts while I am on the road. Random Art In San Francisco Feb 20, 2025 Since its earliest beginnings San Francisco has been a center for artistic expression. The city was barley 20 years old when its first great art school (and one of the oldest in the United States) the San Francisco Art Institute opened in 1871. Great artists like Maxfield Parish and Diego Rivera found San Francisco an e

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. Tuesday, 7/28/2026, 4:00 - 4:45 Performance: Magic with Perry Yan Main Branch Wednesday, 7/29/2026, 2:00 - 3:30 Workshop: DIY Easy & Delicious Snacks West Portal Thursday, 7/30/2026, 2:00 - 3:00 Performance: Join the Circus with Prescott Circus Theatre Visitacion Valley Branch Friday, 7/31/2026, 1:30 - 3:30 Activity: Summer Watercolor Club Glen Park Branch Saturday, 8

In my upcoming book, Service IS The Business (working title) I share a behind-the-desk perspective of what it is like to work at a real San Francisco hotel concierge desk. Enjoy this brief segment from the third chapter. A guest sat down at the concierge desk and requested my assistance in helping him obtain a statue of an eagle. He didn’t want a stuffed eagle, a toy eagle, or an eagle made by a taxidermist. He needed a life-sized statue of an eagle. I went through a variet

This is my birthday month, and I will be traveling. Please enjoy some of my favorite articles while I am on the road. San Francisco On Zero Dollars A Day Jun 27, 2023 San Francisco is one of the more expensive cities to visit in the United States, excluding the hyper-gouging along the Las Vegas Strip. As a hotel concierge in a pricey tourist destination, I have routinely fielded questions from budget travelers and families about how to experience the city without having to d

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. If you like this article, please hit like and follow us. You can also follow us at www.sfhotelstories.com SFHotelStories.com is looking for contributors: writers, videographers, and photographers. Contact us at SFHotelStories@gmail.com, Subject: Contributors.

In my upcoming book, Service IS The Business (working title) I share a behind-the-desk perspective of what it is like to work at a real San Francisco hotel concierge desk. Enjoy this brief segment from the fourth chapter. I called some assistant managers and bell captains I knew from hotels where I had done on-call work in between film jobs. One day I got a call from Vinny, my old bell captain from the Franklyn. He was now a bellman at the Hudson Hotel, one of Union Square’

This is my birthday month, and I will be traveling. Please enjoy some of my favorite articles while I am on the road. A Shout-Out To The Hotel Concierge Mar 22, 2024 Before there was the internet, there was the hotel concierge. He (or she) was the one you saw to make that hard-to-get dinner reservation, or tickets to that sold-out show. It was the concierge who knew what plays and events were in town, what the most popular restaurants are, and ready to respond to a thousan

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. Tuesday, 7/14/2026, 10:00 - 12:00 Workshop: Plan. Launch. Grow. Business Advising with Gwendolyn Wright Main Branch Wednesday, 7/15/2026, 4:30 - 5:30 Workshop: Recording Studio Orientation Main Branch Thursday, 7/16/2026, 2:00 - 2:45 Performance: Magic with Perry Yan Western Addition Branch Friday, 7/17/2026, 3:00 - 5:00 Activity: Knitting Circle Anza Branch Saturday,

In my upcoming book, Service IS The Business (working title) I share a behind-the-desk perspective of what it is like to work at a real San Francisco hotel concierge desk. Enjoy this brief segment from the third chapter. Slowly, I was learning the ins-and-outs, the Escher-like passageways, of the hotel business. I began to discern who was committed to this job, and who needed it as a step leading to the next job or as a resume-builder. Take the new assistant manager, Joe Pa

This is my birthday month, and I will be traveling. Please enjoy some of my favorite posts while I am on the road. Frozen Music - San Francisco Architecture Jul 25, 2024 Everyone knows famous architects like Mike Brady and Howard Roark designed many buildings in San Francisco. Stop anyone on the street in this city, and just about every citizen will sing their praises as local civic heroes. Of course, none of this is true as these are fictional characters. But most peop

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. Tuesday, 7/7/2026, 1:00 - 2:30 Activity: Lego Free Play Richmond Branch Wednesday, 7/8/2026, 1:30 - 3:00 Activity: Tai-Chi Anza Branch Thursday, 7/9/2026, 11:00 - 12:00 Workshop: Breath Meditation with Don Narin Richmond Branch Friday, 7/10/2026, 1:00 - 5:00 Activity: Watercolor Community of San Francisco Bernal Heights Branch Saturday, 7/11/2026, 11:00 - 12:00 Activi

In my upcoming book, Service IS The Business (working title) I share a behind-the-desk perspective of what it is like to work at a real San Francisco hotel concierge desk. Enjoy this brief segment from the third chapter. Slowly, I was learning the ins-and-outs, the Escher-like passageways, of the hotel business. I began to discern who was committed to this job, and who needed it as a step leading to the next job or as a resume-builder. Take the new assistant manager, Joe Pa