The new 1 Hotel San Francisco offers a unique sense of calm
I’ve been covering travel for awhile now. Since before smaller airplane seats and even smaller snacks; since before individual TV screens and in-flight Wi-Fi at 36,000 feet.
So, like many explorers, I missed travel terribly during COVID. And, as the pandemic has waned, exploring new hotels, spas and destinations — something I might have taken for granted before — has taken on new meaning. As the parent of young children, so has alone time.
That’s all to say that, after that extended travel pause, when I landed in Northern California this summer for a single night by myself before meeting friends, I was primed for joy.
The new 1 Hotel San Francisco did not disappoint.
I’ve stayed at 1 Hotel properties in Brooklyn and LA before, so I was familiar with the brand’s ethos — all about wellness and sustainability. In-room yoga mats, water refill stations, in-room succulents, living plant walls, sweatshirt material robes — that’s all up my alley. But what I find separates them and makes them a truly timely hotelier is the thought they put into the details. My room in Dumbo had an indoor hammock by floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooking the East River and Brooklyn Bridge. My room in West Hollywood came complete with gratis socks and a thoughtful yogic mantra.
These days, luxury doesn’t live in the most extravagant or ostentatious offerings or in stodgy opulence; it lives in experiential moments of escape. It lives in newness. It lives in fluffy white organic cotton bedding, minimal design and raw woods that smell of cedar. And at the 1 Hotel San Francisco, it lives in hot pink Beet Muhammara dip.
This new property is located in The Embarcadero, just off the water, home to attractions like The Ferry Building, lauded food stands and farmer’s markets. So, the hotel’s restaurant, Terrene, is on theme, working to source ingredients from local purveyors for its produce-forward menu and zero waste cocktails. That includes some tasty discoveries like the afore mentioned dip, coupled with a Carrot Harissa option that should not be missed.
The rooms are beautiful, but not overdone, in keeping with the brand’s deceptively simple aesthetic — lots of soothing earth tones, raw woods and angles, many bolstered by views of the water. When I arrived, I put down my bags and collapsed onto the bed in full surrender for a few minutes. The new Bamford Wellness Spa should also not be missed, intimate but thoughtful with organic and natural products and expert practitioners.
But perhaps most unexpected and special, for me, was their roof deck yoga class, which locals also scurry to attend. The experience is truly unique and transportive. There, adjacent to the chef’s herb beds, a breeze blows in from the water. As guests settle onto their mats, the sounds of laughter and chatter from the street below mixes with the thrum of passing boats.
As class began, I inhaled San Francisco air, so different from my native New York; exhaled jet-lag and stress, and began California dreaming.
