Escape to San Francisco

A Diablo editor enjoys being a a city girl again while taking in new and revamped hotels and visiting a few old haunts.

Growing up in Walnut Creek, I always looked to the big city across San Francisco Bay as a place where I one day wanted to live. I got the chance to be a San Francisco dweller in the 90s as a young married woman. I loved it. My husband and I would walk to cool neighborhood restaurants or pop into art galleries or major museums across town. I also loved going on runs through picture-postcard neighborhoods and, best of all for a movie fan like me, taking in weekend matinees at art-house movie theaters.

Parenthood took us away from the city and eventually brought us back to Walnut Creek, which of course, is a great place to raise our son. And there’s lots more happening in this urbanizing suburb than when I was growing up.

And San Francisco is always there. In fact, I got to be a city girl again recently. My husband encouraged me to take myself on a little vacation to our former home base. While savoring some Me-time, I checked out some new and revamped hotels in some of the city’s most popular neighborhoods for out-of-towners to visit, ate at some favorite spots, checked out some cool art and a new urban wine tasting room and saw movies, movies, movies.

Actually, we in the East Bay are pretty lucky to live so close to one of the world’s favorite tourist destinations. These days, with the recession, vacationing closer to home—and saving on airfare or auto fuel—is not such a bad idea. Also, with tourism down in San Francisco, hotels are so happy to welcome locals that you might be able to get some good deals.

Ghiradelli Square

To Stay:

Fairmont Heritage Place, Ghiradelli Square. Officially, the accommodations in this new Fairmont property, created at the site of the original brick Ghiradelli factory, consist of one- two- and three-bedroom luxury residences. That is, you buy one-tenth ownership, which allows you up to five weeks a year in your own San Francisco pied-a-terre. But if you’re not in the market for new property, you can still stay here on a hotel-like basis. Check for “promotional stay availability” at fairmontheritageplace.com to see if there are any units available on particular dates. These units represent San Francisco living at its trendiest, combining elegant, inviting furnishings with historic elements—exposed brick walls and tall windows that offer city or Alcatraz views. The Fairmont is also set to open an adjacent 10,000 square foot spa that will be open to both guests at Heritage Place and to the public.

To Eat: Ghiradelli Square itself has transformed itself from a once faded tourist magnet into a destination for even foodie-conscious locals patronize. It now features Cellar360, an urban wine tasting room that sells a variety of California and European and Australian wines. It also hosts special public events, such as an introduction to the wines of the Carneros appellation. Ana Mandara may be best known for its celebrity founders—Don Johnson and Cheech Marin—but its chef, Kai Duong, creates delicious sophisticated Vietnamese food—lobster ravioli with coconut mango sauce or cashew and pine nut-encrusted fish with pomegranate sauce—in a setting reminiscent of a French colonial hotel in Saigon. 891 Beach Street at Polk Street, (415) 771-6800, anamandara.com.

To Do:

Ghiradelli Square is a block away from the San Francisco Maritime National Museum. The main part of the museum, in the Aquatic Bathhouse building, is undergoing major renovations, but you can still walk over to the Hyde Street Pier and tour historic ships, from the 19th and early 20th centuries, which give you the feel of what it was like to be a sailor on an 1800s merchant vessel or a passenger on a paddle steamboat.. (415) 447-5000, nps.gov/safr

At Aquatic Park, you can catch a ride on the Powell-Hyde cable car ($9 for a day-long pass, sfcablecar.com) to head over to Union Square, or you can haul yourself on foot up Hyde Street to Lombard Street at the top of Russian Hill where you can then descend the famous curvy, brick-lined portion of the street. Also within walking distance of Ghiradelli Square is Fort Mason, Marina Green and boutique-and-restaurant-lined Chestnut Street in the Marina.

Nob Hill:
The Stanford Court Hotel, one of the grande dames of Nob Hill hotels, has recently undergone a serious upgrade so that its lobby and spacious rooms, while still emphasizing elegance, have more of a sleek, modern feel. A top floor room affords you amazing Bay and city views. 905 California Street, (415) 989-3500, mariott.com. 

To Eat: 
Of the many streets I love to stroll along in the City, Taylor Street, between Sacramento and Green streets, is one of my favorites. It is lined with gracious old apartment buildings and provides a bridge from the top of Nob Hill to the top of Russian Hill.

At the corner of Washington Street, is one of those beloved neighborhood restaurants, Venticello Ristorante, which received a 2009 San Francisco Bay Area and Wine Country Michelin Guide nod as a Bib Gourmand. That is a restaurant that offers good value: two dishes and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less. The restaurant is cozy with a rustic-looking interior, a large wood-fired oven, and a sliver of a view of the Bay Bridge. I enjoyed the fire-grilled prawns appetizer and gorgonzola and pear pizza.

For a before-dinner martini, or an after dinner Cognac, stop in at the cozy, wood-paneled bar of the Big Four restaurant at the Huntington Hotel. It offers a real old San Francisco feel. In fact, according to a rich (and eccentric) Russian Hill man whom my husband and I once met while on one of our city walks, the Huntington is a favorite watering hole for old money society types.

To Do: Nob Hill is centrally located, and you can hop on a cable car, MUNI bus, or walk to many of the city’s notable destinations: Chinatown, North Beach, the Union Square shopping district, the theater district around Geary Street, even the South of Market cultural arts district, which is home to the Museum of Modern Art, the new Jewish Contemporary Museum, and the Yerba Buena Arts Center.

Posted at 10:08 AM in Diablo Getaways | Permalink