Catering to people who are into Springsteen rather than Shubert, the landmark Phoenix Hotel is known around these parts as San Francisco's renowned "rock 'n roll hotel." Funky, irreverent, young-at-heart and located at the edge of the hardscrabble Tenderloin neighborhood, the Phoenix is within walking distance of the city's hottest nightclubs and the Civic Center's opera house, symphony hall, civic auditorium, main library and Asian Art Museum. Within walking distance of the Phoenix stands Glide Memorial United Methodist Church, which religious scholars say set the standards for effective inner-urban ministries. The congregation is comprised of entertainers, executive bigshots, gays and lesbians, hookers, the homeless and everybody in between.
Meanwhile, Conde Naste Traveler magazine described the Phoenix as "a Fifties caravan lodge that has risen into a colorful urban oasis." In fact, the hotel rose from being a 1950s-era motor lodge to a funky place with its own hip nightspot, Bambuddha, which also dishes up Southeast Asian cuisine. In addition, the hotel's central courtyard, which is popular with celebrities, is a good, albeit boisterous, place for guests to check out visiting artists and entertainers. The courtyard also features a heated outdoor pool - an oddity in San Francisco. Guests also can enjoy complimentary continental breakfasts in the hotel or at poolside.
Retro guest rooms are spacious and feature tropical bungalow stylings, tropical-print bedspreads, original local art, handmade bamboo furniture, windows that open, cable TVs, pay movies and maid service.
At the Phoenix, the steady stream of rock and film stars, screaming tropical 1950s motor-court architecture, Bambuddha and thatched-roof bungalows make the "hip" label unavoidable, despite the downtrodden Tenderloin district. Where else but the Phoenix, a Joie de Vivre boutique hotel, can guests get complimentary tattoos upon check-in. Yes, Virginia, they're temporary - the tattoos, not the guests.
