SAN FRANCISCO STORY

 

Sooo I just got back from San Francisco about a week ago and wanted to share with you guys a little bit about my trip and my stay at The Grand Hyatt SF. My family and I headed up north to help move my sister in to her new place. I travel to the Bay Area often now because my sister is living there so I love to always explore new places while I’m up there. For this trip, we stayed at The Grand Hyatt SF and let’s just say it was amazing! Everything from the service, to the amenities, to the design, and the location of the hotel were all on point. When I arrived to the hotel, I was greeted by the friendly staff who quickly assisted me and helped me check in. The ambiance of the hotel was beautiful! There was great artwork all around, and it was extremely clean (which is suuuuper important to me!). After checking in, I made my way to the room, which was on one of the highest floors. The view from the room was spectacular! City views all around. And I’m a sucker for a good view! The room was very clean, spacious, and designed well. During my stay, I had access to the VIP Grand Club on the top floor, which had food and drinks all day long, making our stay even better.

When I’m traveling, location of the hotel I’m staying at is very important to me. The hotel was located in the heart of the city, right in Union Square, which made it super easy to get around and basically walk just about anywhere. Just steps outside the hotel you can find yourself in a shopping heaven… SO. MANY. SHOPS. I mean soooo many! You could pretty much find anything you wanted there. Along with that, there were so many cute places to eat in that area, fun bars, and other activities. Location wise, The Grand Hyatt was super convenient! And safe, which is also of huge importance to me.

As for hotel amenities, The Grand Hyatt had just about what you need! Fine dining, a bar/lounge area, coffee shop, business area, and a gym. The gym was on one of the top floors, which seriously had the best view you could ever work out to! Overall, I was very happy with all the amenities the hotel had to offer.

Here are some shots from the hotel: 

The hotel from outside:

The lobby area: 

The view from the room/the room: 

The VIP Grand Club: 

Business area: 

Gym: 

Bar/Dining:

During my stay – I honestly didn’t get to do as much exploring as I would on a normal trip, just because I was helping my sister move in buuuut we had some time to enjoy the city and check out some cool spots! There is so much to do and so much to see in SF so I’ll just break down some of it for you. SF is separated into different districts and communities. Each one is unique in it’s own way and you can expect something different from every single one. These are some areas I recommend to visit:

• Union Square & The Financial District: This is the heart of the city, where I stayed. You can be sure to find tons of shopping and dining in this area. You can pretty much walk anywhere and be surrounded by busy streets! It’s basically SF’s version of Rodeo Drive!
• Golden Gate and The Marina: Super touristy, a place to go to check out the iconic bridge and chill in the Marina area which has tons of good food and bars.
• Fisherman’s Warf: A popular destination, right by the water. Be sure to visit Pier 39. If you’re looking for some great clam chowder, this is the spot! You can also take a boat out to visit Alcatraz from here.
• Chinatown: I loved visiting Chinatown! It really felt like I was in China lol! You’ll really get a feel for the culture just by walking through the streets.
• The Mission: Full of good restaurants and cafes. It’s a very vibrant and cultural neighborhood where you can also find some good cultural food too (really good Mexican!!).
• Haight-Ashbury: Super hipster spot in the city. Great place to go for some vintage shopping!
• Some other touristy spots: The Painted Ladies, Lombard Street, Land’s End, SFMOMA, Dolores Park, Ghiradelli Square, Alamo Square, Sutro Baths, Sausalito/Point Bonita Lighthouse, Coit Tower, Golden Gate Park, Twin Peaks, North Beach, and The Presido. 

Illustration by Anna Simmons

If you know me, you know I love my coffee shops. A few favorites in the city include Phil Coffee, Blue Bottle, and Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters. If you’re looking for a good place to get some pastries, I recommend Tartine (their tres leches cake is a MUST) or Mr. Holmes (make sure you get there early, as they close as soon as they run out which is usually by 2 PM). As for food, some of my places I recommend are Foreign Cinema (if you’re looking for fine dining – super cute and romantic), El Techo (if you’re looking for a rooftop with good mexican food), Tacolicious, Farina, and Ikes (super casual sandwiches). Honestly, I didn’t get to check out the food scene much and I hope to try more places next time I visit! Here are some shots of my time spent in the city:

Chinatown: 

Union Square: 

Tartine/Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters/Farina: 

Other City Looks: 

TIPS:

• If you can, avoid bringing you car! Parking is SO expensive. You can expect to pay at least $50 to park your car over night in a secured lot. I don’t recommend street parking anywhere because your car has a good chance of getting broken into, it happens all the time! Also, utilizing applications such as Uber and Lyft will be really helpful when getting around the city!

• No matter how warm it may seem, do bring a jacket of some sort especially for night time. It always gets super windy and the nights can get pretty chilly. September and October tend to be the warmest months for the city, while the rest of the year tends to be cool. So your best bet is to always carry a jacket around with you!

• Bring comfortable shoes on days you plan on exploring the city. SF is full of steep hills and you’ll definitely be doing a lot of walking!

• Avoid the Tenderloin as much as you can, especially at night. That area, along with Civic Center is not some place you’d want to hangout after dark as it is not very safe.

• Make dinner reservations for anywhere you can, otherwise you’ll be spending a ton of time waiting.

• If you have enough time, explore places outside of the city such as Napa, Half Moon Bay, Berkeley, and Sausalito. There are so many beautiful places to see there as well! 

Overall, I really enjoyed my trip to San Francisco. There’s always so much to do and not enough time. I know I’ll be back soon so I’ll be updating my blog with new tips each time I go! I’d also love to hear about some of your favorite things to do in the bay! 

Xo, Samira