updated on May 11th, 2019
There are hundreds of hotels in San Francisco and trying to decide the best value for money when visiting can be frustrating. In hopes of helping you narrow your San Francisco hotel search down, we’ll suggest our favorite in downtown San Francisco.
Located off of Kearny St., The Hilton San Francisco Financial District is our go-to for stays in SF. The hotel is right across the street from Portsmouth Square and a couple blocks from Columbus Street, making it incredibly easy to wander through both Chinatown and Little Italy.
When staying in the Financial District Hilton, the top floor “balcony bayview” executive rooms are incredible. They offer views of The Bay, Alcatraz, Coit Tower and Columbus Street, all while affording the smells and sounds of downtown San Francisco. It might be a bit more costly but we feel the opportunity to sit outside on the large balcony is worth it.
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If you’re not able to snag a balcony bayview, you can try to get a city view, or if that fails, there is always the stairwell near the elevators. It’s open-air and while fenced, the top floor, you can get a taste for the view and ambiance.
Staying on the executive floor or above also gives you access to the Hilton San Francisco Financial District executive lounge, which serves a complimentary breakfast in the morning and hors d’oeuvres in the evening. There are also adult beverages available in the evening with a cash bar.
The 1971 movie, Dirty Harry with Clint Eastwood, had a scene filmed here. (Scorpio used an adjacent building as a sniper’s nest and shot a woman in the rooftop swimming pool. The rooftop pool was closed 2006 when the hotel became a Hilton property.)
The main lobby provides a restaurant, a bar, and an interesting “Cloud Lounge” that has a full concierge, “media wall”, and $5k massage chairs… make a point to try those out, especially after a day of walking the city!
While this hotel is in the mid- to upper-budget for visiting San Francisco, we have yet to find a better place to stay. And, if you’re a Hilton Honors member, you’ll be able to cash in some points to stay for less.
Want to check out the Hilton San Francisco Financial District? Search for great rates here:
Booking.com
