San Francisco

San Francisco is a city where architecture and landscape constantly compete for attention. Victorian and Edwardian houses climb impossibly steep streets, cable cars cross neighbourhoods built around dramatic hills, and the Golden Gate appears unexpectedly between buildings. Yet the city’s design identity extends far beyond its famous painted façades. Art Deco landmarks, Mid-Century Modernism, converted industrial buildings and ambitious contemporary architecture add layers to neighbourhoods from SoMa and the Mission to Pacific Heights, while the Bay Area’s long history of counterculture continues to give San Francisco an independent creative streak.

Food and drink have been central to the city’s identity for generations. San Francisco helped pioneer America’s farm-to-table movement, and proximity to Northern California’s farms, fisheries and vineyards continues to shape its restaurants. Chinatown, the Mission’s Mexican and Latin American communities and generations of Asian immigration have created an exceptionally diverse food culture, from dim sum and taquerias to some of America’s most ambitious contemporary kitchens. Add natural wine bars, influential cocktail spots, exceptional coffee and Napa and Sonoma within easy reach, and eating and drinking become essential parts of experiencing the city.

San Francisco’s most interesting hotels embrace its architectural eccentricities. Historic landmarks, Victorian buildings, former industrial spaces and boldly redesigned grand hotels offer alternatives to conventional downtown luxury, often combining serious art, adventurous interiors and lively bars or restaurants. At DNA Hotels, we curate the places where architecture, food, culture and San Francisco’s unconventional spirit come together—hotels that capture a city whose greatest charm has always come from refusing to become too predictable.