Hotel Provides Much More Than A Prime Location In The City By The Bay
In San Francisco, there are more hotels than there are landmarks (and that’s saying something) so figuring where to stay can be as challenging as figuring out your itinerary for “the City.”
This post provides a recommendation on the former while other posts in PubClub’s San Francisco guide can help with the latter.
The San Francisco Hilton Union Square features location, restaurants & rooftop nightlife. It even has a tour company that can set you up with tours across the city as well as the Napa and Somona wine countries. In 2019, this Hilton is celebrating its 55th anniversary in Union Square.
Here’s a breakdown of its primary attributes.
The Location
You can not only leave your heart in San Francisco, you can be in the heart of San Fransisco.
The San Francisco Hilton Union Square is in the heart of the pulsing downtown and shopping area, which also contains some really cool and unique restaurants like Kin Khao Thai Eatery in the Parc 55 and quirky yet lively bars, like Louie’s, where you can get a Hamm’s beer and a shot for six bucks.
A five-minute walk from the BART station (Powell Street) and the cable car turnaround at Powell and Market, the Hilton has walking-distance access to the financial district and is 14 blocks down Market Street to the Embarcadero. Street cars will take you to Pier 39 and Pier 33, the latter of which is the Alcatraz Tours dock.
The Hotel Rooms
With space at a premium in this city, I have been squeezed into some pretty tight hotel rooms in San Francisco. Not so at the Union Square Hilton. In fact, the room PubClub.com had was so large, I thought for a second we were in Las Vegas.
This room has two king-sized beds, a counter and desk running almost the entire length of the wall and a balcony so spacious you could put a couch and even a portable bar on it and still have space to walk around and enjoy the view.
And oh, the view – spectacular. The bay is visible from every angle (including the Golden Gate Bridge) with fellow skyscrapers filling up the foreground.
The rooms have plenty of outlets and even a power strip for all of today’s electronic needs and there is a safe in the closet.
The maids are honest, too. I had a $20 bill fall on the floor and it was there when I returned to the room.
The Restaurants
A buffet breakfast is served at Poached ($32) and by night that same space becomes Urban Tavern, which is upscale food in a relaxed setting.
You can’t go wrong with ordering anything off the Urban Tavern menu and I went with Grammother’s Bolognese (whenever I see the word “grandmother’s” or “gramdma’s” on a menu, I’m a sucker for it). It’s the restaurant’s most popular dish and you’ll understand why if you get it.
LIVE! Hear the #chef from Urban Tavern in the #HiltonHotels, Union Square #SanFrancisco explain its delicious menu. #live #livestreaming #restaurants #dining #hilton100 https://t.co/A22xxKGw8c
— pubclub (@pubclub) May 25, 2019
That being said, I actually I recommend the Prime Beef Bavette Steak. That is the over-the-top meal that you will remember the rest of your trip and even after you return home because it is so sensational.
Urban Tavern also has an extensive list of liquors so you can get a really good cocktail here as well as a top-notch dinner.
Here’s a complete rundown of restaurants and bars in the Hilton:
• Hilton restaurants and bars
The Nightlife – Citiscape Bar & Lounge
Forty-six floors above the downtown San Francisco streets, Citiscape provides 360-degree views of the city, the bay, the Golden Gate Bridge and pretty much everything below you. This semi-upscale bar is a nightlife destination – it’s particularly exceptional for dates and groups – and is laid out perfectly, with high glass walls on two sides of its length.
There are tables on two different levels on both sides, providing plenty of seating to drink and take in those views. There’s also a bar in the center, which is a prime singles mingling area on weekends.
The bar has an outstanding variety of different spirits – including several rums – which means you can have more than just the standard nightclub cocktails. Cheese and snack plates are available for the late-night munchies.
The dress code at Citiscape is business casual (feel free to step it up a notch if you prefer) and there’s no cover charge.
Check-In And Check-Out Texts
If your room is not ready when you arrive, the hotel staff will send you a text telling you when you can come back and check in; in the meantime, go out and explore the city. They also send a text near the end of your stay so to check out, all you have to do is reply to that text. There’s actually a person doing this and they put their name on the text, which adds a nice and personal touch to it.
Tower Tours
You don’t have to go far to book a tour, for Tower Tours has a kiosk just behind the lobby. Tower Tours can get you around the city or to the wine countries and even to the California redwoods and Carmel/Monterey. Its city tour includes a visit to Alcatraz, which is the toughest ticket in town when it comes to things to do in San Francisco.
Hilton San Francisco Union Square Fast Facts
Location: One block behind Union Square and three blocks from the Powell Street cable car turnaround at Powell & Market
Address & Map: 333 O’Farrell Street
Phone: (415)771-1400
Website Link: Hilton San Francisco Union Square
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