Where the United Nations Charter was drafted. The Tonga Room tiki bar is an institution. History and kitsch, co-existing magnificently.
The Fairmont San Francisco is the grand 1907 landmark on the summit of Nob Hill, rebuilt after the 1906 earthquake and fire under architect Julia Morgan, where the United Nations Charter was drafted in 1945. Book it for a marble-columned sense of history, the kitsch of the Tonga Room and Nob Hill grandeur, not for a modern boutique room or a walkable downtown location.
Independently scored on Room & Design, Service and Location on a 10-point scale for a 9.0 aggregate, held level by grand-but-variable historic rooms and lifted by a landmark Nob Hill setting. See our scoring methodology.
Stay here for the single most historically significant hotel in the city. The Fairmont opened in 1907 on the summit of Nob Hill, on a steel frame that had survived the great earthquake of 1906 only to be gutted by the fires that followed; the young architect Julia Morgan, California's first licensed female architect, oversaw the restoration that brought it back within a year. It was built by the daughters of the mining magnate and senator James Graham Fair, and from the moment it opened it was the address in San Francisco, the hotel where the United Nations Charter was drafted in 1945 and where every American president since Taft has stayed. The marble-columned lobby remains the most impressive hotel entrance in the city, and walking into it is a large part of what you are paying for.
What you get, then, is grandeur and story rather than the last word in contemporary design. This is a hotel that trades on presence, on the sense of standing where history happened, on the cable car clanking past the door and the fog rolling over the hill. For travellers who want that, and who understand that a landmark on Nob Hill is a different proposition from a glossy new tower downtown, the Fairmont delivers something none of its rivals can: the feeling of the old San Francisco at full volume.
Decide first between view and character, because the Fairmont splits neatly into two. The 606 rooms occupy the original 1907 building and a 1960s tower addition: the Tower rooms are larger, more contemporary and carry the superior bay and city views, while the rooms in the original building have the higher ceilings, the thicker walls and the sense of age. For a first stay, a higher Tower floor is the safe choice for the outlook; for a romantic or milestone stay, the historic building near the lobby leans into the occasion. At the very top sits the Penthouse Suite, a 6,000-square-foot apartment on the eighth floor known as the White House of the West, which has hosted presidents from Truman and Kennedy to Obama and Biden and guests from Marilyn Monroe to Mick Jagger; it runs into five figures a night and is one of the great hotel suites in America. Rooms vary in size and refurbishment, so confirm the wing, the floor and the outlook at booking.
The Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar, in the hotel's lower level, is a San Francisco institution and the reason many locals set foot in the Fairmont at all. It is a 1945 Polynesian tiki bar built around an indoor lagoon, where a band plays from a floating stage and a simulated rainstorm falls on the hour, complete with thunder and lightning. It is deliberately, gloriously kitsch, the weekend wait for a table is regularly around 45 minutes, and it is unlike anything else in a five-star hotel anywhere; reserve ahead and lean into it rather than fighting it. For something more formal, the Laurel Court restaurant and lounge occupies the light-filled rotunda off the lobby and handles breakfast, cocktails and a classic dinner in a grand room. Between the two, the Fairmont can carry a whole evening without you leaving the building.
The Fairmont's historic weight makes it the most narratively satisfying anniversary hotel in San Francisco. A dinner in Laurel Court, followed by cocktails and the hourly rainstorm in the Tonga Room, is an anniversary evening the city's newer hotels simply cannot offer. Book a Tower room for the view or the original building for the sense of occasion, and ask the concierge about a cable-car-and-dinner evening. See all anniversary hotels →
The Fairmont's terrace and private event spaces overlook Nob Hill in several directions, and the hotel's team has coordinated hundreds of proposals, executing the format, champagne, flowers, a private setup, reliably and without turning a serious moment into a production. The grand lobby and the rooftop garden both make memorable backdrops. See all proposal hotels →
Nob Hill is the historic-hotel quarter of the city, and the Fairmont's closest rivals sit within a block or two. Here is how the choice lines up.
| Option | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Fairmont San Francisco (Nob Hill) | Landmark grandeur, the Tonga Room, the penthouse, story | Historic rooms vary; steep walk downhill to downtown |
| Ritz-Carlton San Francisco | Nob Hill polish without the museum feel; Club Level | Less iconic; higher rates |
| Palace Hotel | The Garden Court atrium and a downtown location | Not on Nob Hill; a different, business-leaning feel |
Read that as a decision. If you want contemporary polish, the Ritz-Carlton a block away is smoother; if you want a downtown base, the Palace or the St. Regis make more sense. If you want the landmark, the lobby and the Tonga Room, the Fairmont is the one.
The Fairmont is a grand old hotel, and it comes with a grand old hotel's compromises. Because it spans a 1907 building and a 1960s tower, the rooms are inconsistent: some are spacious and freshly refreshed, others are on the smaller or more dated side, so the wing and the specific room matter more here than at a uniform new-build. The setting on the summit of Nob Hill is majestic but genuinely steep; it is a stiff uphill walk from Union Square and the downtown shops, and while the cable car runs past the door, you will want it or a taxi rather than strolling back up. The hotel's scale and ballrooms mean it hosts conferences and events, so at busy times the public spaces can feel more corporate than intimate. The Tonga Room, wonderful as it is, is also touristy, pricey and loud, which is the point but not to everyone's taste. And as with every luxury hotel in the city, expect a nightly facilities fee and expensive valet parking on top of the rate. None of these undo the appeal; they are simply the terms of staying in a living landmark rather than a boutique.
From $350/night. Independent review; we may earn a commission at no cost to you.
More exceptional options in the same city.
It is the grand 1907 Nob Hill landmark, rebuilt after the 1906 earthquake and fire under Julia Morgan, where the United Nations Charter was drafted in 1945. It is also home of the Tonga Room and a penthouse, the White House of the West, that has hosted every president since Taft.
For views, a higher Tower floor over the bay and city; for character, the original 1907 building near the lobby. The 6,000-square-foot Penthouse Suite is the splurge. Rooms vary, so confirm wing and outlook.
A 1945 Polynesian tiki bar in the lower level, built around an indoor lagoon with a floating band stage and an hourly simulated rainstorm. It is magnificently kitsch; weekend waits reach 45 minutes, so reserve ahead.
Yes. Dinner in the Laurel Court rotunda followed by the Tonga Room is an evening the newer hotels cannot replicate. Book a Tower room for the view or the original building for the occasion.
Rooms generally start around 350 US dollars, rising with view, wing and season, plus a nightly fee and valet parking. The Penthouse runs into five figures. Midweek off-season is the best value.
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