San Francisco · Since 1913
131 rooms on Powell Street, in a building that has been a hotel since 1913 — through the Exposition, Prohibition and every version of this city since.
The hotel
Powell Street runs from Market up over Nob Hill, and the cable cars have climbed it since 1888. We are on the first block, which means the turnaround is at the end of the street and Union Square is at the other.
The building opened in 1913 as the Golden West, put up for the visitors the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition was expected to bring. It has 6 floors, 131 rooms and 7 suites, hardwood floors throughout, and mosaics in the entry that have been there since 1935.
The rest of the story is worth reading — it involves a 10,000 square foot speakeasy and a detective who became a novelist.
Rooms
The room we put most people in and the one we hear least about, which is the compliment. A king bed, a seating area, a desk that works, and blackout curtains for the mornings after a long flight.
A king bed in the footprint of an Urban room. Hardwood floors, a private bathroom and a proper desk with a lamp and an outlet at desk height.
There is one of these. It looks out over Powell Street, where the cable cars have run since 1888 and still start their climb from the turnaround half a block below.
The neighbourhood
Not a drive, not a transfer, not a shuttle. This is what is within ten minutes of the front door on foot.
Come and stay
Call for a room, a late arrival, or a question the site does not answer. We are at 114 Powell Street, on powell street between market and ellis streets.