Hotels in San Francisco: The Perfect Quirkiness of Hotel Zelos

Hotels in San Francisco are likely to come with plenty of quirks and plenty of wows. Many of the buildings that house chic new boutique hotels in San Francisco date back to the early 20^th century when wealth from gold and overseas trading in the ports built the town that was considered one of the country’s most fashionable destinations for business and culture. Buildings shot up after the great earthquake of 1906, and, with lessons learned, ornate high rises housing offices, warehouses and manufacturing set the path for many of the tony boutique hotels in San Francisco that line the city streets today. 

Among those San Francisco hotels is the Hotel Zelos, a Viceroy property that is also part of the Curator Hotel & Resort Collection that features of portfolio of some 90 independent hotels and brands in the U.S. that offer that something extra in design, ambiance and style. 

Hotel Zelos, considered one of the best San Francisco hotels with a view, packs plenty in its name. Folded into the circa 1907 Pacific Building in San Francisco’s SoMa District, the space originally opened as the Kimpton’s Hotel Palomar San Francisco in 1999.  Today, the hotel features 202 ample and sleek guestrooms and suites, as well as a 3,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event space, and a celebrated indoor/outdoor skybar and restaurant called Dirty Habit.
 

Hotel Zelos Location

In San Francisco, location can be everything. Whether guests are there for meetings and conventions at the Moscone Center or large, corporate hotels surrounding Union Square, or simply out to experience the City by the Bay, Hotel Zelos puts them squarely inside the action. The property is adjacent to a sizeable Trader Joe’s and within steps of Nordstrom and San Francisco’s top shopping arena at Westfied San Francisco City Centre, the city’s only indoor shopping area. Galleries, cafes, top restaurants, designer shopping and the city’s best hotels are within a ten minute walk in any direction. An active center of the city, the location of Hotel Zelos is also steps away from cable cars and metros, and the colorful street performances one can expect to see. 

Hotel Zelos Accommodations

Far from the ambient, sometimes rough at the edges, shabby chic surroundings often seen in other boutique San Francisco hotels, Hotel Zelos is design forward with clean spaces in faded grays, complemented by clever wall art and comfortable beds covered in 400 threadcount linens. Interiors were spearheaded by Dawson Design Associates in a general branding for the Viceroy’s Z Collection. While rooms bring views over the streets of San Francisco, all is impressively quiet in the room with rarely a street or hall sound to be noticed. 

Rooms are, well, roomy – between 300 and 400 square feet. Accessibility or ADA-compliant king and double-double rooms run 290 square feet and include larger doorways, TTY and amplified listening devices on request, tactical signage and pre-set closed captioning on the TV. The Luxury King Spa room runs 350 square feet and includes a Japanese soaking tub.

All accommodations come with WiFi, a working desk area, plenty of within-reach outlets and USB ports, Pharmacopia toiletries, comfortable robes and filtered water. 

Hotel Zelos Added Amenities

In the mornings, the hotel offers complimentary fresh coffee and tea on the fifth floor. That hotel also houses the hotel’s fitness center, a comfy room with a wooden floor and stylish used brick walls that houses Peloton bikes, free weights, a boxing dummy, a treadmill and Elliptical and other hardcore equipment with a door that opens 24 hours with an active room key. Guests can also take advantage of the free bike rentals to take on the hills and curves of the city’s wide streets. 

For those who want to order in, spa services are available, as is breakfast. There is no lunch, but Dirty Harry’s is a fun place to go for cocktails and dinner. Seasonal menus are geared for sharing with such options as Lobster Lumpia dipped in kumquat-chile sauce, and venison soaked in fermented juniper and blueberry on offer. Entrees include salmon, burgers and steak. 

Dirty Habit is a local meeting spot as well and known for boasting one of the largest small-batch whiskey selections in the city. The bistro runs an outdoor movie series to Thursday nights with an expanded dinner menu.  The movie series features cult-classic movies alongside themed cocktails and dinner through October 20. With lounge seating and toasty patio heaters and a large-scale projector screen, the ‘Second Summer’ Outdoor Movie Series takes on a silent cinema format with each guest receiving his or her own set of Sound Off wireless noise-cancelling headphones. 

Meeting at Hotel Zelos

Hotel Zelos San Francisco provides some 5,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event space, often an ideal size for corporate tête-à-têtes or social gatherings. The hotel offers eight different venue spaces, all designed to carry out the speakeasy theme of Dirty Habit in spaces that range from 400 to 920 square feet and accommodate between 15 and 120 guests.

A Place for Pets

Guests can bring their pets along and expect to receive some welcomed amenities, such as dog walking. The property partnered with WAGS to accommodate busy guests and their families. And, of course, Trader Joe next door is a convenient spot for restocking treats.

Caveats?

Parking in San Francisco is expensive. The cost for parking at Hotel Zelos is $55 per night and that rate is not defrayed by resort fees. 

Packages

Several packages are available on the website with base rates running around $350 per night.