Golden shots
Sara Wallis develops a huge appetite for Insta-cool San Fran
California cool, a total foodie and unashamedly itself, San Francisco is like the slightly alternative cousin of other more shouty American cities. You know, the laid-back relative that turns up late, sticks on some jazz and asks if you’ve tried the latest Korean street food trend. Classic America meets Silicon Valley tech to bring an eclectic explosion in this city-of-hills that boasts a proud history but has swagger. The place where the Chinese Fortune Cookie was invented, home to the beloved Giants baseball team and the “movie star status” Golden Gate Bridge, where even the famous fog has a name (Karl, if you’re asking). You can’t fanfare one of the most notorious prisons in the world, the formidable Alcatraz “Rock” that housed infamous gangsters such as Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly, and not have edge. Fresh off my Norse Atlantic flight, a great low-cost long-haul option, I checked in to the newly opened LUMA Hotel in the city’s up-and-coming Mission Bay area.
My spacious, modern room with a panoramic view was so hi-tech it took me 20 minutes to locate the light switch.
A call to room service alerted me that Lumie, a polite little waiter-bot, could whizz coffee straight to my door. Lumie sadly did not bring cocktails, but the hotel’s “hottest rooftop bar” Cavaña was only an lift ride away.
An aspirational part of town, the new waterfront neighbourhood, Mission Rock, with luxury apartments, offices, shops and planned lush green park, is just across the street.
So it felt like being transported back in time when I moved to the central 120-year-old The Westin St Francis half-way through my stay – a hotel rooted in tradition that has welcomed celebrities and world leaders… and me.
The stunning flower-filled lobby is Insta-worthy, while sweeping staircases lead to elegant rooms overlooking the iconic Union