In San Francisco, accommodations are sometimes about location: Union Sq. for purchasing and theatre, Nob Hill for grandeur, SoMa for design. However the metropolis’s best-kept hospitality secret isn’t in any of these neighbourhoods. It’s in a nationwide park. The Presidio, with its eucalyptus groves, mountain climbing trails, and jaw-dropping views of the Golden Gate Bridge, is residence to 2 boutique accommodations that stealthily supply essentially the most distinctive stays within the Bay Space: the Inn on the Presidio and the Lodge on the Presidio.
Background and Idea
The Presidio was as soon as a 1,500-acre U.S. Military put up, a fortified presence on the mouth of the bay since 1776. Its brick barracks and stately halls have since been reimagined as cultural centres, museums, and in two instances, boutique accommodations. The Inn on the Presidio, which debuted in 2012, remodeled the bottom’s bachelor officers’ quarters right into a Georgian Revival-style guesthouse with verandas and fireplace pits. Six years later, the Lodge on the Presidio joined the fold in a former barracks with front-row Golden Gate views. Each are members of Historic Motels of America, each LEED Gold licensed, and each handle to make historical past really feel recent, fashionable, and comfortably livable.
Location
The Presidio straddles metropolis and nature in a means that few locations on earth do. One second you’re sipping espresso on a large porch with fog drifting via eucalyptus timber; ten minutes later, you may be within the Marina District purchasing the boutiques on Union Avenue. Miles of mountain climbing and biking trails, Crissy Subject seashore, a historic golf course, and the Golden Gate Bridge itself are all inside strolling distance. You may go to North Seaside or Chinatown by day after which retreat to a firepit-lit courtyard by night time.
Insider bragging rights come baked in right here: The Lodge is the closest lodge to the Golden Gate Bridge, and its courtyard virtually factors on the orange towers. The Inn affords an much more intimate vibe: fewer rooms, rocking chairs on two verandas, and a clubby really feel. Each accommodations preserve alive the cherished ritual of nightly wine and cheese hour, the place visitors swap tales over California vintages and charcuterie earlier than venturing out (or staying cosy by the firepit).
Rooms and Suites
The Lodge has 42 rooms, most with hovering ceilings and large casement home windows framing both the bridge or the Essential Parade Floor. Interiors nod to the positioning’s army previous with clear traces, canvas ottomans, and wool throws, softened by plush beds and modern artwork. The Inn is smaller, with simply 22 rooms (17 of them suites), plus 4 extra within the separate, newly renovated Funston Home, only a few steps away. (The Funston Home, with its communal lounge and eating rooms, is right for households or teams.) The Inn’s Georgian Revival bones lend an old-world allure, with fireplaces and richly hued Ralph Lauren-esque dwelling areas. Each properties channel the breezy, eucalyptus-scented ambiance of the park proper into the guestrooms.
My Rooms / Suites
On the Inn, my suite felt extra like a refined non-public residence than a lodge room. A separate lounge supplied ample area to stretch out, and a non-public door opened immediately onto the upstairs veranda, the place shaker-style rocking chairs neglected the grounds. Sitting there with a espresso in hand (thanks in-room Nespresso machine), it was straightforward to think about the constructing’s former life as officers’ quarters, now recast for visitors preferring their San Francisco stick with equal components heritage and luxury. The toilet was wearing good-looking navy-blue tile, a recent flourish inside the constructing’s historic body.
My room on the Lodge seemed throughout the extensive sweep of the Essential Parade Floor, the place canines and their house owners turned the grassy expanse right into a day by day stage of carefree exercise. From the tall casement home windows, town’s skyline framed the horizon, a reminder that whereas the Presidio seems like an escape, downtown San Francisco is rarely distant. Inside, the room was expansive, a real dwelling area slightly than only a place to sleep, with a settee, two straightforward chairs, and a desk thoughtfully positioned for working or writing. The Nespresso machine promised an environment friendly caffeine repair, whereas the minibar felt extra like a curated cupboard, stocked with deluxe-sized spirits, wine, and upscale snacks. As with my suite on the Inn, it too was a room wherein to linger, whether or not to look at the parade of canines outdoors or to savour a night drink with out leaving the consolation of 1’s quarters.
Meals and Drink
Neither lodge has a full-service restaurant, which solely enhances the sensation that you simply’re staying in a park lodge or non-public membership. Each, nevertheless, supply bountiful continental breakfasts (European spreads with pastries, charcuterie, oatmeal, yoghurt, recent fruit and powerful, regionally roasted Equator espresso), and each host the beloved wine and cheese hour every night. For extra substantial meals, visitors can wander inside the park to Dalida, a classy Mediterranean-inspired restaurant, Colibri, the place fashionable Mexican plates and mezcal cocktails draw a energetic crowd, and Piccino, the most recent Presidio addition, serving pizzas and pastas.
Different Services
Each accommodations supply bicycles for exploring the Presidio’s expansive path community, plus spacious verandas and fireplace pits for individuals who desire their recreation with a glass of Pinot in hand. Past the accommodations, the Presidio itself unfolds like a self-contained universe: the spectacular Tunnel Tops Park with its sweeping views and picnic lawns; the historic Presidio Golf Course, and Presidio Bowl. Lively sorts gravitate towards the indoor climbing and trampoline parks, whereas tradition seekers head straight to the fabulous Walt Disney Household Museum, the place interactive displays carry the story of Walt’s life to vivid element.
Simply outdoors every lodge door lies Crissy Subject. As soon as a army airstrip, it has been remodeled into considered one of San Francisco’s most beloved stretches of waterfront, a breezy promenade the place joggers, picnickers, and exuberant canines share the stage in opposition to a backdrop of bay and bridge.
Closing Ideas
The Lodge on the Presidio and the Inn on the Presidio don’t supply spas, Michelin-starred eating places, or marble-lined ballrooms. What they provide is one thing far rarer: the prospect to remain in the midst of a nationwide park inside one of many world’s nice cities. Whereas the facilities at every rival these at any luxurious lodge, each are as a lot about entry: to the bridge, to trails, to San Francisco at its most cinematic and serene.
High Tip
When you’re a first-timer, ebook the Lodge for the Golden Gate views; it’s the one place within the metropolis the place you possibly can actually get up with the bridge outdoors your window. Return visitors or these looking for extra intimacy will love the Inn’s clubby vibe. Whichever you select, don’t skip the nightly wine hour when visitors convene to commerce journey tales and native suggestions in opposition to the backdrop of bay breezes. It turns your keep right into a convivial expertise shared.
Pictures courtesy of the Inn and Lodge on the Presidio
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