Last weekend we had an opportunity to stay the night in one the legendary hotels in San Francisco; The InterContinental Mark Hopkins. It is said to be one of the true luxury hotels in San Francisco.
When I started my blog, I decided that I wont be doing hotel reviews like most travel bloggers do. The reason for that is, that I don’t like to read them myself. I would rather read fun travel stories or introductions to the hotels, and then I read the reviews from the sites that only do those. So that is why I wanted to tell you our story of spending a night at Nob Hill.
THE COLOURFUL HISTORY OF MARK HOPKINS
The Mark Hopkins Hotel was opened in 1926. At first, this was the location of a luxurious mansion of a man named Mark Hopkins. His mansion burned in a fire caused by the big San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Later, the Mark Hopkins Institute of Arts was opened at the same location, and it was there until George D. Smith bought the building and decided to build a hotel to replace it. Over the years, the Mark Hopkins Hotel has undergone several renovations. It was built in the Spanish Renaissance and French chateau styles.
Many US. presidents and celebrities have stayed at the hotel. For example: Elizabeth Taylor, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and the Rolling Stones have been guests there, as well as Prince Philip of England and Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. The Mark Hopkins used to host a popular dance club and event venue. It has always been a popular wedding venue.
Today the Mark Hopkins hotel is registered as California Historical Landmark #754.
BEST PART OF THE ROOM – THE VIEW
Our room was on the 6th floor facing the courtyard of the hotel. In my opinion, the best part of the room was absolutely the view, even though I’m sure that the rooms facing the back of the hotel had even better views. I can imagine what it would feel like to look at the Golden Gate or Bay Bridge from your room. The room itself was pretty standard, clean but old. Everywhere in the hotel you could see how old it is, and maybe it could use a little facelift in order to hold on to its reputation as a luxury hotel.
We only stopped at the room briefly to leave our things and then headed to the cocktail bar upstairs. But before that we went back to the lobby downstairs to see the little exhibit which showcases old items from the hotel’s history. There is also a fun detail next to the elevators in each floor; a mail chute. By putting mail into it upstairs, it would drop all the way down to the lobby to wait for the mailman to pick them up.
Old items at the lobby
Mail chute
TOP OF THE MARK
We arrived at the top floor cocktail bar, Top of the Mark, right before sunset. Also kids are welcome there until 10 pm. The Top of the Mark is said to be one of the best views around San Francisco since the hotel is also on top of Nob Hill. Since it was still early, we got a nice table with a view. We ended the fun day with some cocktails and enjoyed watching the sun go down. Everywhere you turned, you could see people taking pictures of it.
The Top of the Mark was opened in 1939 when the owner George D. Smith decided to transform the top floor penthouse into a restaurant. He was not sure if the guests would actually be willing to take the elevator all the way to the 19th floor, but the bar became an instant success. The rumour is that he was not able to come up with a name for the bar, and he told someone that he didn’t know what he should call the top of the Mark. People then pointed out that it should be called “Top of the Mark”.
While I came back home with the kids, my husband stayed longer in San Francisco. I wish I could have stayed too and see the rare super blue blood moon and the eclipse from the hotel. Oh well, it was still very pretty.
Wow, what a stunning hotel! The mail chute concept sounds interesting and unique. The view from the room is indeed superb and Top of the Mark is definitely one of the highlights of the place.
Thanks for your comment Suma.
It’s so interesting that the hotel had such a past before it became so – I can’t believe it was an Institute of Arts before. I love things like that. I have to say the views are just spectacular. I don’t normally stay in luxury hotels but I could be convinced for this one!
Yes, that is one thing I really loved in this hotel; the history.
Looks like a really great place to stay, and those views are definitely amazing! Top of the Mark will absolutely be hihg on my list for my next San Fran visit 🙂
Great to hear Bruce! I hope you can make it soon.
Oh, this is super sweet! Looks like you had very nice views from the room indeed! I think a lot of SF hotels are pretty old on the inside..anyway, The Top Of The Mark seems like a kind of place my husband and I would love. I think we’ll plan a romantic evening there one day to see the sunset per your advice!
Yes, you should go there if you have a chance. I’m sure you are right, many hotels in the city are quite old.
It sounds like people come to this hotel for watching the sunset from Top of the Mark. After looking at the hotel pictures, I agree with you that it needs a facelift. But I’m sure they will need a lot of fund.
I think a lot of people must come over at the time of the sunset. And it was really worth it too.
I’ve never been to San Francisco, but the views from the Top of the Mark sure are spectacular. The hotel looks very charming and coupled with its rich history, it looks like the perfect place to stay. Was the breakfast any good? That is one of the best parts when staying in a luxury hotel.
I agree, the breakfast is a big part of the stay. This time though the breakfast wasn’t included and we were in a rush to get out from the hotel.
I never read or heard about a hotel with such rich history. And this one has such wonderful views as well. The rooms, lobby and everywhere else the luxury of the hotel is quiet evident. And the capture of the moon..did your husband take it from the hotel? That is so beautiful.
No, I took that picture from our backyard. 🙂
Wow, a hotel with such a rich history and heritage that it was labelled as a historical monument – that’s something! I’m not the kind to splurge on luxury hotels, but this looks quite cool, especially the mail chute which must have seen better days back in the olden times haha! 🙂
Yes Nathan, I really thought one can feel the history inside the hotel. It was pretty cool!
Love the historic charm of this hotel. Especially that mail chute – I’ve never seen that before!
The view from the penthouse restaurant and bar is fantastic! Same with the views from your room.
Thanks for sharing your story about your stay at this luxurious hotel. I enjoy reading hotel reviews because it helps me choose where to stay!
Thank you Louise!