SF Hotel Stories

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. Wednesday, 4/22/2026, 1:30 - 3:00 Activity: Tai-Chi Anza Branch Thursday, 4/23/2026, 11:00 - 12:00 Workshop: Breath Meditation with Don Narin Richmond Branch Friday, 4/24/2026, 1:30 - 5:00 Activity: Watercolor and Associates Glen Park Branch Saturday, 4/25/2026, 10:15 - 11:00 Activity: Family Music Circle Portrero Branch Sunday, 4/26/2026, 12:30 - 4:30 Workshop: SAT T

Ask anyone on the street to name a famous San Franciscan. They may come up with a Willie Brown or a Joe Montana, but not the name Tom Sweeney. Then ask that person if he knows the Beefeater-clad doorman at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel and his answer is an emphatic yes! In fact, for many decades he was the most famous person in the city and my old colleague. Tom Sweeney was the legendary doorman at what was then the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, now called the Bacon Grand, for 43

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. Tuesday, 4/14/2026, 5:00 - 7:00 Social: Dungeons & Dragons Main Branch Wednesday, 4/15/2026, 1:00 - 1:30 Tutorial: Basic Tech Help Excelsior Branch Thursday, 4/16/2026, 11:00 - 12:00 Workshop: Breath Meditation with Don Narin Richmond Branch Friday, 4/17/2026, 1:00 - 2:00 Author: Read-Aloud & Drawing with Sara Alfageeh North Beach Branch Saturday, 4/18/2026, 10:30 -

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. The hotel was in an area between old-money Nob Hill, the fashionable Union Square shopping district, and the less desirable neighborhood called the Tenderloin. The latter was San Francisco’s version of Skid Row, but in pre-pandemic times it was a popular destination for tech work

SOMA is not only the population-controlling drug from Aldus Huxley's Brave New World, but is one of San Francisco's highly sought after destination neighborhoods. Like West Hollywood (WEHO) in Los Angels, SOMA stands for SOuth MArket, as in south-of-Market Street. It is also home to many of San Francisco's top hotels, with names like the W and the Four Seasons. Once more, some of the most renowned boutique hotels can also be found in the neighborhood. The SOMA District of Sa

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. Tuesday, 4/7/2026, 11:00 - 11:30 Storytime: For Preschoolers North Beach Branch Wednesday, 4/8/2026, 12:00 - 1:00 Tutorial: Computer Basics Main Thursday, 4/9/2026, 10:30 - 11:00 Storytime: For Families Bilingual in English/Español Excelsior Branch Friday, 4/10/2026, 3:00 - 4:30 Social: Therapy Dog in the Library Eureka Valley Branch Saturday, 4/11/2026, 8:30 - 9:15 A

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 second chapter. When the engineer was not there, I would field maintenance calls as well. Bear in mind I am the least technically adept man on the planet. I once asked my neighbor to take a look at my cassette tape player because the tapes weren't going in correctly. He

Ever since the San Francisco Art Institute opened in 1871, only two decades after the Gold Rush, San Francisco has been a destination for artists and art lovers. When visitors demand a high esthetic from their lodging it is only natural that hotels rise to the occasion. There is certainly artistic merit in the design of the hotels themselves, in the form of architecture. Goethe once referred to architecture as "frozen music." Early pioneers in architecture like Julia Morg

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. Tuesday, 3/31/2026, 11:30 - 12:00 Storytime: Celebrating Sakura, Japanese Cherry Blossoms Main Branch Wednesday, 4/1/2026, 1:30 - 3:00 Activity: Tai-Chi Anza Branch Thursday, 4/2/2026, 10:30 - 11:00 Storytime: For Families Bilingual in English/粵語課程 (Cantonese) Main Branch Friday, 4/3/2026, 1:00 - 4:00 FULL: Services: AARP Tax Prep Bayview Branch Saturday, 4/4/2026, 1:

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. As the ad-hoc-defacto-impromptu-emergency concierge of the Franklyn Hotel (as I also liked to refer to myself, although I was technically just a bellman), I had to deal with other demands as well. Traditionally, if a guest called down for some reason, the re

SFHotelStories has endeavored to analyze, extrapolate and opine on the Venn Diagram overlap of San Francisco and hospitality. I have written and commented on all things about travel and tourism in the city. From highlighting specific hotels and their unique history, to the state hospitality and Covid, to budget travelling. I have attempted to bring the reader into this both very public, but also mysterious world. San Francisco hotels are just buildings, and one of the attr

The city's libraries are not only a source of information, but a great place to see FREE events and exhibits. . Tuesday, 3/31/2026, 10:15 - 10:45 Storytime: For Babies West Portal Branch Wednesday, 3/25/2026, 4:00 - 5:00 Gardening Club Excelsior Branch Thursday, 3/26/2026, 11:00 - 11:30 Tutorial: Basic Tech Help Adult Community & Neighborhood Tech Time Excelsior Branch Thursday, 3/26/2026, 6:45 - 7:45 Book Club: Mother-Daughter, Kristiana Kahakauwila's Clairboyance West Port

Lodging takes many forms in a hospitality-laden destination like San Francisco. We've got Airbnb's. We've got motels, and hotels, and Bed & Breakfasts. We even have sleeping pods for tech workers, and if you don’t know what those are, believe me you don’t want to know. Yet the most basic type of lodging in this city are youth hostels, and they are often the most affordable option in San Francisco. If you like this article, please hit like and follow us. You can also foll

I don't know why so many woman agree with this? 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.

To most San Franciscans, and history buffs, The Big Four refers to the railroad barons who each had their own mansion on Nob Hill. For the record: Leland Stanford, Collis P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker. But if you work in the hotel business in San Francisco, it refers to the four major hotels which crown Nob Hill. One of them is the Fairmont Hotel. The other three carry the namesake of their past denizens: The Mark Hopkins Hotel, The Stanford Court, and

Found in an actual restaurant bathroom. 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.

"We drive into the future using only our rearview mirror. " --Marshall McLuhan 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.

Mission Dolores By the time the United States defeated Mexico in the Mexican-American War (1848 to 1848), the sleepy port village of Yerba Buena connected to the Mission via a two-plank road. After the Gold Rush of 1849, Yerba Buena and its port eclipsed the village around the mission as the cultural and economic center of the region. With the American victory came land disputes among the Mexican-owned rancheros, including those around the mission. The American government p

Welcome to Incoming, from SFHotelstories. Your concierge weekly guide to the pulse of what's happening in San Francisco. EVENTS The Chinese New Years Parade The Chinese New Year Parade meanders its way through downtown San Francisco and Chinatown on March 7th, to commemorate the Year of the Horse. This is one of the most popular events in the city, so arrive early. It's only going to be you, me, and about 100,000 other people. If you like this article, please hit like an

If you like this passage, 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.