This city prides itself on, among other things, the arts, especially anything literary. Writers come to town to read their works in quaint settings and many high-end hotels stock their libraries with only the classics. And then there are hotels named after famous authors, such as the Executive Hotel Mark Twain. Besides boasting the name of San Francisco's literary icon, the hotel puts guests two to five blocks from Union Square's high-end shops and entertainment, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the Moscone Convention Center, and cable cars for quick rides to Fisherman's Wharf, North Beach and Chinatown. Golfers, take notes: four (no pun intended) miles away, the Presidio Golf Course, lined with century-old eucalyptus and pine trees, lies deep inside the city's verdant park near the Golden Gate Bridge.
The hotel's lobby offers a quiet respite from the busy city streets, with a small seating area and high-speed Internet access. This is San Francisco after all, so guests will find dining options serving everything from steak to sushi and saki to Starbucks. The hotel's Sultan dishes up American-style breakfasts and Indian and Pakistani lunches and dinners. Bistro 339 serves Creole-style cuisine and live jazz.
Meanwhile, guests rooms are decorated with wide-slat plantation shutters, custard-yellow walls and framed prints of city images. They include refrigerators, movies, data ports, safes, coffee makers, and free coffee and tea. Guests can open the windows to luxuriate in the cool San Francisco breezes.
Business and leisure travelers appreciate the hotel's relatively small size, affordable alternative to the swankier places and central location near the city's prime shopping district.
Trivia: name the famous jazz singer who was arrested in a raid on room 203 in 1949 but later acquitted. ("Jeopardy" theme playing here). Answer: Billie Holiday.
