San Francisco · Hotel shortlist
4 star hotels in the historic centre, San Francisco
Stefan Bauer The American west
These are my five favourites in San Francisco, out of the 12 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.5 down to 4.2.
Staypineapple, An Elegant Hotel, Union Square San Francisco is the one I would book myself.
Highest rated of the five
Staypineapple, An Elegant Hotel, Union Square San Francisco
★★★★★4.5 from 2,051 reviews
Staypineapple, An Elegant Hotel, Union Square San Francisco comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.5 from 2,051 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.
It is a 4 star property, found under historic centre and around $285 a night on the dates we checked.
12 hotels in San Francisco qualified for this list and five made it. The Hotel Castro is the one I would book if the first is full.
Why it works for this trip
- Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
- Bara drink without going back out
- Step free accesslevel entry and a lift
- Dogs allowedno kennel to arrange before you fly
All five, ranked
-
1
Staypineapple, An Elegant Hotel, Union Square San Francisco
★★★★★4.5 from 2,051 reviews
- Bar
- Pet friendly
- Air conditioning
- Accessible
-
2 -
3Kimpton Hotel Enso
★★★★★4.4 from 924 reviews
- Spa
- Gym
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Parking
- Pet friendly
-
4Hotel Kabuki - JDV by Hyatt
★★★★★4.2 from 1,821 reviews
- Spa
- Gym
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Parking
- Pet friendly
-
5Courtyard by Marriott San Francisco Downtown/Van Ness Ave.
★★★★★4.2 from 519 reviews
- Spa
- Gym
- Restaurant
- Parking
- Kid friendly
- Air conditioning
How this list was put together
12 San Francisco hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.
Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.
The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.
What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.
Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.
Stefan Bauer The American west
Chases total solar eclipses. Seven of them on four continents, from Wyoming to a fishing town in Chile. Banks days off through the on-call rota and books the trips years ahead, because eclipse dates do not move.
Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.