Hotel Zetta, San Francisco
BACKGROUND Opened in 2013, Hotel Zetta is one of four properties managed by the Viceroy Hotel Group in San Francisco. All have a young, unconventional character in keeping with the city itself. The building dates back to 1913.
WHERE IS IT? In SoMA, or south of Market Street. This street is well served for public transport, with Muni buses and streetcars on the road and, below ground, the Muni metro and the BART, which will whisk you to the airport in around 25 minutes.
The area’s warehouses have morphed from sweatshops into stylish restaurants, nightclubs and apartments, with the headquarters of companies such as Twitter and Uber located on Market Street.
WHAT’S IT LIKE? You’d have to be a po-faced individual not to like a hotel that greets you with a smile and a glass of sparkling wine, so Hotel Zetta and I got off to a great start. Although there was a group in front of me, also being served some fizz, I didn’t have to wait long for my key, with my bag taken up to my room for me.
Reception is on one side of the open-plan ground floor, where a soaring bar resembles a modern-day high altar, its display of gleaming bottles climbing the wall like stained glass. An ample choice of seating, from comfy sofas to tables and chairs, caters for travellers and locals looking to work or relax.
The décor is both elegant and playful, the juxtaposition neatly epitomised by chandelier-like lighting, which closer inspection revealed to be made from spectacle frames. There is something of the Art Deco in the simple forms of the furniture, given lustre by plush materials.
ROOMS There are 116 rooms and suites. Rooms sit in three categories: Superior (23 sqm), Deluxe (28 sqm) and Premier Studio King (34 sqm). My Premier Studio King had a living area with corner sofa bed in addition to the (comfortable) king-size bed. Its dark colour scheme gave it a rather moody atmosphere, compounded by low levels of natural light. The appearance was a little too hard for my taste and I wouldn’t have been very keen to spend daylight hours in here, despite its generous proportions. That said, I’d imagine most guests would be enjoying the inviting spaces elsewhere in the hotel.
The room was well-equipped – there was a 46-inch TV, through which a smartphone could be streamed, a Bluetooth speaker, ample workdesk, bathrobes, espresso machine, minibar and good free wifi.
It fared well on the storage front, too, and the en suite had a large, powerful shower and good-quality Roil toiletries.
BESTFOR
A playful ambience that invites guests to linger in the communal spaces.
DON’TMISS
Taking one of the free bikes out for a spin.
PRICE
A flexible midweek stay in February started from US$319 (£248) including taxes and guest amenity fee.
CONTACT
55 Fifth Street; tel +1 415 543 8555; viceroyhotelsandresorts.com/en/zetta
FOOD AND DRINK If the lure of San Francisco’s bars and restaurants hadn’t been so great, I would have been content with those inside the hotel. Alongside the chic lobby bar, serving a full menu and cocktails, is snug yet cool Marianne’s, which has a cosy, speakeasy air, and the main restaurant/bar Cavalier, which has a British brasserie theme. British brasserie is an oxymoron in my book, but this stylish space worked for me when I came here for breakfast. I enjoyed a good egg, bacon and watercress sandwich, US$13 (£10), and an excellent cup of coffee, US$4 (£3.10), as soft shafts of Californian morning light fell around me through tall arched windows.
MEETINGS The hotel has three wellequipped meeting rooms, alongside the extensive communal space. Two are more formal, while the Playroom also functions as leisure space (see below for details).
LEISURE The Playroom is geared for both business and pleasure (or the increasing overlap between, particularly in progressive California). Here you’ll find console games, board games, sofas, pool tables, big screen TV, and tables and chairs for more formal work. The hotel also has a fitness centre, a virtual reality room and free bicycle hire.
VERDICT It’s hard to think of anything this hotel lacks, with staff eager to help guests with any request – including printing reams of Powerpoint presentation for one bereft traveller. While my room didn’t appeal to my aesthetic, it was well-equipped and the great design elsewhere made Hotel Zetta a compelling place to hang out. As a solo traveller, I felt very at home.
A soaring bar resembles a modern-day high altar