@movernie
So…..I was in San Francisco on a Press Trip with Air Canada to cover its brand new Maple Leaf Lounge, located at Terminal 2 of San Francisco International Airport (SFO). You can read more about the Maple Leaf Lounge here.
The original itinerary of this Press Trip was only for about 2 days, since a one-way direct flight from Toronto to San Fran is approximately 5 hours and 30 minutes, I asked Air Canada if I can stay for a few extra days and I will find my own hotel accommodation for the extra stay. All they needed to do was to reschedule my return flight home. I told them that I wanted to explore what’s new in San Francisco, especially my last time in San Fran was during the 2019 NBA Finals Raptors Title Run, so post pandemic, there would be new things to do in San Fran. Without hesitation, Air Canada was fine with my request. Thank you Air Canada!
I reached out to a number of hotels that are located in the downtown core to see if anyone of them would be interested to host me and the team from InterContinental San Francisco replied back with open arms. They would luv to host me! I would like to give them a special shoutout as we were working in a tight schedule to have everything planned and the team was super responsive, acted quickly and booked me in for a room right away. Talking about efficiency and getting things done! #Impressive!
The Uber ride from SFO airport to downtown San Fran took about 30 minutes, which isn’t too bad especially the scenic route seeing slopes of mountains and ocean water along the highway kept me amused. The moment my Uber ride stopped at the entrance of the InterContinental San Francisco, I was greeted by the friendly door man. Since I only had a backpack and a carry-on, there wasn’t really anything for him to help me with. He pointed me to the door to enter into the hotel lobby.
Then, I was greeted by another staff at the front of the entrance. I think he was a valet parking attendant, so I had encountered many friendly staff who gave me a great impression of this property already.
Then, I waited in line for my check-in. There were about 3 people in front of me but since there were about 3 staff working at the counter, it didn’t take long before it’s my turn. The staff greeted me with a nice smile and asking how my flight was and welcomed me to San Francisco and to the InterContinental hotel.
He asked for my name and once he found my reservation, everything was silky smooth. He knew exactly who I was and knowing the purpose of my stay. He told me that I was upgraded from a normal room to a Corner Suite at a high floor plus I was provided with “InterContinental Lounge” access that provides special guests with breakfast, afternoon tea, snacks and hors d’oeuvre and drinks at night. I also have access to the swimming pool, jacuzzi and gym (For a fee, any guest who stays at InterContinental San Francisco can get access to the lounge as well).
I have to say, I am a low maintenance, easy going guy, anything that a hotel offers, I am fine with. But for the fact that InterContinental San Francisco provided me with the Corner Suite and Lounge Access were a totally good surprise! Totally unexpected but greatly appreciated as I have more space to work from the hotel, plus food & beverages within the hotel helped me take care most of my meals so that I can work comfortably in the hotel and I don’t have to keep researching where to eat. Thank you InterContinental San Francisco!
During my visit, it happened to be Pride Month, so I could see special signages, decorations, photogenic backdrop for people to take selfies with. I thought that was a nice touch!
This hotel is conveniently located close to the Moscone Convention Center, pretty much a short 5-minute walking distance, so during my stay, many guests were attending the Data + AI Summit. So, the lobby became a networking and mingling ground for many of them.
The hotel has a gift shop near the entrance. Then there is a chilling area with working desks and sofas for people to work and relax at the lobby.
I luv the complimentary iced water and lime water station, that’s a nice touch especially when I was thirsty while waiting in line to check-in.
Further down the hall, there is a bar area and a restaurant called “Luce“. Apparently, the locals come here to try the well-known Chef Dennis Efthymiou six course tasting menu that are inspired by the modern Mediterranean and European cuisine. I saw some pictures in the elevator and they look phenomenal with good visual presentations.
There is also a Bistro 888 in the hotel that offers breakfast buffet or cocktails in the evening.
Everything is close by around this hotel, which is the biggest draw. I felt very comfortable walking around during the day & night. If you don’t want to walk far, there is a Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ that serves lunch & dinner. And their food options are delish and I know it coz it has franchises located in Toronto, Canada, where I call home.
If you walk around a little further down the block, there are Thai restaurant, coffee shops, Vietnamese restaurant, etc.
One thing people need to know about San Francisco is that…….it’s common to have homeless roaming around the city (whether it’s during the day or night), it’s a problem and a challenge for the municipality to control or to solve the problem, it’s just something that tourists and the locals have to live with. For those who are not used to seeing homeless in their own city or country, you may feel uncomfortable about homeless, one thing I noticed during my stay at the InterContinental San Francisco was that….I didn’t encounter any homeless outside the hotel and I didn’t see any in the nearby streets at all.
I noticed that many tourists who wrote Google Reviews at other San Francisco hotels will say there are homeless people around the area. To me, I am more interested to know how many homeless outside the area of their hotels? One? Ten? Hundreds of homeless? Finding the right hotel in San Fran is KEY but if there are only 1 or 10 homeless, I am fine with it coz that’s just a norm everywhere in Downtown San Fran. If it’s hundreds of them, then I may prefer not to stay in that area, just for my own comfort and peace of mind. The reason why I mention about this….is that…..you can’t avoid them in San Fran so whenever a tourist give a hotel a low rating of 1-star, I am annoyed coz homeless are everywhere and it’s not really the hotel’s fault, they can’t control over that, so stop giving them low rating for the non-sense. Your review got to be reasonable and fair. That’s my rant!
Anyhow, there were no homeless during my stay at the InterContinental San Francisco!
Overall, I really really enjoyed my stay here at the InterContinental San Francisco. I enjoyed my Corner Suite, the lounge access, the facilities such as the swimming pool and jacuzzi were marvelous. And the lobby and bar area on the ground level, everything was perfect.
Special thank you to InterContinental San Francisco for hosting me! If I ever come visit San Francisco again, I will definitely choose InterContinental San Francisco even if I have to pay out of my pocket, coz this is a worthwhile hotel for my money. I highly recommend you to consider staying at this wonderful InterContinental San Francisco.
Click here for a tour of my 1 King Junior Suite Corner View.
Wonder what the InterContinental Club Lounge is like? Click here to see if it’s worth your money to purchase for your access.
Check out the swimming pool, hot tub and the fitness center here.
InterContinental San Francisco – Downtown San Francisco, California, USA
Website
Address: 888 Howard St, San Francisco, CA 94103, United States
Phone: +1 415-616-6500
Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/ej5CcmU59wzCksdXA
