This blog post was made in collaboration with The Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel. All my opinions are my own.
Where is The Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel located?
Address: 495 Geary St, San Francisco, CA 94102
The Clift is located in a convenient part of San Francisco: Geary Street. The Clift is central to anything you want to do in San Francisco, all without requiring a car to get around.
How to get to The Clift Royal Sonesta
🚗 By Car:
If you are driving to The Clift you will find valet parking for about $62 per day.
🚝 By BART:
The BART connects San Francisco, Oakland, East Bay, San Jose and the Peninsula. We used the BART to go out to Oakland as well as from the San Francisco airport. If you are using the BART to get to The Clift from either the Oakland or SFO airports, the it is an easy 8 minute walk to the hotel from the Powell Street stop.
✈️ By Plane:
There are a ton of flights into San Francisco or Oakland every day. From Seattle, San Francisco is an easy 1 hour 30 minute flight.
Some highlights from my stay at The Clift Royal Sonesta
🏢 The Hotel
The hotel is a beautiful building that first opened in 1915. It was recently remodeled and, in my opinion, still has some of the old charm.
We were booked in a Junior King suite which has a living space with a TV, coffee maker and a mini fridge. The bed was super comfortable and we had amazing views of downtown San Francisco. The best part of this hotel that all hotels should take note of: the TV’s have a Google Chromecast option that allows you to cast your own TV show to the TV. It seems like a small detail, but I really appreciated it.
There is an onsite bar called the Redwood Room that has beautiful floor to ceiling wood paneling, large chandelier light fixtures and a floor to ceiling alcohol display. The Clift also has an onsite restaurant called Frederick‘s that currently serves coffee and breakfast dishes, however, they are working toward being open for lunch and dinner as well. I was given a tour of some of the highlights of the hotel, so I also got to check out some of their meeting spaces. They can accommodate a 100 person meeting!
🛎️The Staff
Everyone was super helpful from the moment we checked in to when we checked out. Everyone said hi when they would see us and the general manager who gave us the tour was down to earth and nice!
⛰ The Location
The hotel is located on Geary Street. If you love shopping, hang a right out the front door and are right in the middle of some of the best shopping. If you are in San Francisco to see a play, you can’t get any closer to the Curran Theater than right next door! We were there to see Harry Potter and loved being able to walk two steps to the theater.
How to Spend your Weekend in San Francisco
Go to a performance at the Curran Theater
- How to get there: Walk next door to The Clift
- Address: 445 Geary St, San Francisco, CA 94102
There are different performances all the time at the Curran Theater. Currently, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is playing. If you like Harry Potter at all, I highly recommend you check it out! The way they were able to incorporate the magical elements was done so well!
Visit Golden Gate Bridge
- How to get there: Take a 20 minute Uber/Lyft ride
- Address: Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA
There are so many good viewpoints of the Golden Gate Bridge. Here are a few I recommend you check out:
- Langdon Court Parking Lot – there are 2 trees that perfectly frame the Golden Gate Bridge
- Battery East Road Trail – This one crosses under the bridge so you can get some pretty close shots
- San Francisco Bay Trail – This one is at the very bottom of the bluff near the beach
Go to the Fisherman’s Wharf / Pier 39
- How to get there: Take a 20 minute cable car ride from Powell Street to the Wharf
- Address: 160 Jefferson Street Baker’s Hall, San Francisco, CA 94133
You could spend a few hours here as there are so many restaurants, bars, and shops to check out. The only In n Out in San Francisco is here as well.
Here are some places to check out:
- In n Out
- Ghiradelli Square
- Umbrella Alley
- Bourdin’s for a chowder bread bowl
- The carousel at Pier 39
- Alcatraz or views of Alcatraz
- Sea lions at Pier 39
Get a lobster roll at Sabella & La Torre
- How to get there: Take a 20 minute cable car ride from Powell Street to the Wharf
- Address: 2809 Taylor St, San Francisco, CA 94133
- What to order: lobster roll and 1/2 dozen oysters
The Fisherman’s Wharf is the best area to get a lobster roll. There is so much fresh seafood in that area. We picked this spot randomly, but it ended up being good!
Take a night tour at Alcatraz
- How to get there: Take an Uber/Lyft to Pier 33
- Address: 2809 Taylor St, San Francisco, CA 94133
I did this tour a few years ago. There is so much history at Alcatraz so I figured taking a night tour would make it feel that much more spooky and haunted. I definitely recommend booking your spot ahead of time as they do fill up especially in the summer months when the weather is nice.
Check out the vendors at the Ferry building
- How to get there: 25 minute walk
- Address: one Ferry Building One, San Francisco Bay Trail #54, San Francisco, CA 94111
The Ferry Building during the day is like a bustling market. There are shops, ice cream, beer and oysters here.
Visit the Palace of Fine Arts
- How to get there: 20 minute Uber/Lyft ride
- Address: 3601 Lyon St, San Francisco, CA 94123
I think this is my new favorite spot in San Francisco. I’ve been missing Europe so this felt like I was being transported to Europe. This space was originally for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exhibition, but is now an events venue. You can also wander around the grounds for free.
Get a mint mojito iced coffee from Philz
- How to get there: 15 minute walk
- Address: 425 Mission St Suite 100, San Francisco, CA 94105
I had been hearing about the mint mojito iced coffee for years and finally got to try it. It is so good! They even use real mint leaves in the drink.
Grab dinner at La Mar
- How to get there: 25 minute walk
- Address: PIER 1 1/2 The Embarcadero N, San Francisco, CA 94105
- What to order: Nigiri tasting, empanada tasting, pulpo (grilled octopus), prickly pear margarita
If you are looking for a nice dinner while in San Francisco, I recommend coming here! La Mar was recommended to us by two different people. I definitely recommend making a reservation.
Get a cup of coffee with amazing latte art at Home Coffee Roasters
- How to get there: 15 minute walk
- Address: 455 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94108
- What to order: Birthday Cake Latte
I stumbled across this coffee shop when browsing blog posts on Pinterest. Home Coffee Roasters does some pretty creative lattes with cute latte art. I wanted to get one that had unique art so I opted for the birthday cake latte.
Check out Umbrella Alley
- How to get there: Take an Uber/Lyft
- Address: 757 Beach St, San Francisco, CA 94109
Umbrella alley is such a cool spot! The owner of the space hired a bunch of talented artists to turn his alley into something beautiful. It is free to visit, but Venmo/Cash App donations are encouraged as he uses the funds to hire artists for his space. if you are also looking for city tours, he does this as well!
Get a drink at Bourbon & Branch
- How to get there: Walk 5 minutes
- Address: 501 Jones St, San Francisco, CA 94102
- What to order:
I LOVE speakeasy bars and we lucked out with one just a few blocks from The Clift. Bourbon & Branch has two different bars.
- Bourbon & Branch: Make sure to get a reservation. Within that reservation you will receive a password. You will need a password to enter the bar. Once inside, your bartender will provide you with a few rules (also written inside the menu). The main two being: no cellphones, keep your voices down. They really wanted to keep the atmosphere a true speakeasy vibe.
- The Library: If you didn’t get a reservation for Bourbon & Branch (like us the first night), the bouncer will still provide you with a password and point you around the corner to The Library. The Library is a much more lively speakeasy with a limited menu of drinks, but the atmosphere is equally as awesome.
Eat brunch at Heist
- How to get there: Walk four minutes
- Address: 678 Post St, San Francisco, CA 94109
- What to order: Captain Crunch breakfast burrito, Corchata (horchata cold brew)
This was definitely my favorite meal of the trip! Heist is a small hole in the wall spot for great breakfast and coffee! You can either do takeaway or eat in at one of their 10 tables. We ended up having to wait about 25 minutes for a table for 4, but it was worth it!
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