Mac Goodspeed

While there are plenty of amazing hotels in San Francisco for all kinds of budgets and needs—from hotels for romance to pet-friendly stays – true aesthetes will want a chic boutique hotel in San Francisco, as beautiful as it is comfortable. The boutique hotels that sit throughout every corner of the city capture the true spirit and essence of San Francisco, giving you the true San Fran experience from day to night. Make your trip that touch more interesting and stay somewhere cool and unique. Whether you’re trying to tap into the rocker vibe of old or the gorgeous vineyards of nearby Napa Valley, we’ve got you covered with our pick of the best boutique hotels in San Francisco.  RECOMMENDED: The best luxury hotels in San Francisco Who makes the cut? While we might not stay in every hotel featured, we've based our list on top reviews, hosts and amenities to find you the best stays. This article includes affiliate links. These links have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines. 

Bringing a psychedelic sensibility to modern design, Hotel Zeppelin maintains a classy and flirtatious atmosphere in all 196 of its rooms, which are decked out with pop art and vintage record players (check out your favorite vinyl from the front-desk's library for free). Keep busy at the vintage-style game rooms or the red-brick lobby, where avant-garde lighting and retro charcoal sofas make it the perfect spot for a night cap after a night in Union Square. 

Union Square seems a prime place to land after circumnavigating the globe. The Sir Francis Drake doesn’t double down too hard on its theme—although our doorman friends out front in the red Beefeater outfits are some cheeky fun—and instead holds itself to a cautious opulence. The hotel can feel homely even among gold-leaf ceilings, chandeliers, and regal red and blue Victorian posh furniture scattered amongst the variety of marble in common areas. The architectural style idiosyncratically blends in classic San Franciscan styles as well, tossing into the marble mix some horse-head lamps courtesy of Jonathan Adler. The Drake’s offbeat elegance, from its stunning steep entryway staircase to the licorice-looking red statue of the man himself behind the bar, is cultivated with fun precision.

The hippest boutique around has been welcoming guests to Union Square for about a century. After a facelift from famed French designer Philippe Starck, the hotel was decked out with chandeliers, fireplaces, groovy rugs and minimalist-but-comfy furniture. After stints at the lovely Asia de Cuba restaurant and revered Redwood Room bar, plop down on the massive blue chair in the lounge for people watching and digesting. 

If Don Draper were going westwardly rogue today, he’d look no further than the Phoenix. This funky pastel paradise in the Tenderloin evokes a 1950s beach motel, complete with tropical courtyard, studio-evocative swanky rooms, and, of course, a pool at the center of the action. The hotel is a rocker’s dream home base—and, for some legends such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam, a reality as they were making names for themselves in the Bay. You can feel their footsteps throughout the boutique hotel and out the door to the nearby Bill Graham Civic Auditorium and Great American Music Hall. In accordance with the relaxed but attentive design, Travel & Leisure called the Phoenix their #1 Hippiest Hotel in 2012, as if it needed more chill.