1 Hotel San Francisco

8 Mission St./The Embarcadero. 8 stories; 200 rooms. Fitness room; full-service spa. Restaurant; room service. Valet parking $69/night; no self-parking. Pets ok. Destination/resort fee $42/day.

exterior of 1 Hotel San Francisco in San Francisco, California

Situated just across the street from the scenic bay and kitty-corner to the Ferry Building complex of shops and eateries, 1 Hotel San Francisco provides a stellar view of the bay and the Bay Bridge. Design choices take cues from nature, with use of plants throughout and recycled barn-wood flooring in the lobby entry. It is interesting to know that the rustic wood walls in the elevator and adjacent landing areas are beams recycled from the old Bay Bridge. The hotel makes minimum use of paper, plastics, and single-use items. Guest rooms are stocked with a carafe and glasses fashioned from wine bottles, which guests are encouraged to fill along with their own water bottles at the filtered water station located on each floor. A “farm stand” alcove in the lobby provides complimentary snacks that might include apples and fresh lemonade. The imperfect, lightly blemished produce comes from the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market across the street might otherwise be discarded.

front desk at 1 Hotel San Francisco in San Francisco, California

farm stand snack bar at 1 Hotel San Francisco in San Francisco, California

Among the amenities included with the resort fee are:

●Audi e-tron house car service that shuttles guests with a two-mile radius of the hotel (upon availability–first come, first served)

●an Audi self-drive car available for loan

●a variety of fitness and wellness experiences. Examples include complimentary fitness classes, a Saturday Sunrise event, and an Earth Day Watercolor Workshop.

●in-room Nespresso coffee

●casting to in-room TV from your personal device

●purple recycled aluminum regular pedal bikes from Nespresso and Velosophy, and E-bikes from RAD are available to borrow at no cost

special events board at 1 Hotel San Francisco in San Francisco, California

Each of the quiet guest rooms has a small wall plaque of greenery just outside the door and a smooth flat rock etched with “not now” to place on a ledge there as needed. Furnishings are made from a variety of recycled woods, and some walls are lined with sound-dampening cork. Walk-in showers feature luxe amenities from the hotel spa, and bathroom amenities come in packaging that includes fun suggestions on how to repurpose them--a shower cap can double as a camera or snack bowl cover, cotton swabs can also be used as keyboard cleaners and perfume applicators.

view from room 500 at 1 Hotel San Francisco in San Francisco, California

bathroom amenities at 1 Hotel San Francisco in San Francisco, California

Terrene

On the ground floor, Terrene restaurant provides a waterfront view along with a dinner menu that satisfies various stages of hunger, including mezza dips as well as salads, sliders, and seafood. Its bar offers an expansive menu of creative cocktails, with infusions and garnishes made for the tasty drinks by the enthusiastic chef who uses herbs and cuttings from his rooftop garden. He also makes good use of honey harvested from two rooftop bee hives. Breakfast is more casual, with a menu board listing coffees, pastries, and smoothies (I loved the taste and pretty pinkish color of one made with dragonfruit) along with larger options such as a sweet potato waffle and a sunrise bacon-and-egg sandwich. Seasonally, seating is available outside with heat lamps on an expansive patio fronting the scenic bay side.