"If you’re looking for a stunning property with a fascinating history, the St. Francis is a good bet. In the early 1900s, the family of railroad magnate Charles Crocker dreamed of transforming San Francisco into “the Paris of the West,” constructing the St. Francis as a sort of centerpiece. The hotel, remarkably, survived the 1906 earthquake, and quickly became a magnet for the glitterati. The parade of people who have passed through the hotel reads like a who’s who of…everyone. Louis Armstrong played here, Shirley Temple posed here, Ernest Hemingway drank here, Emperor Hirohito slept here. Perhaps no hotel is more intricately interwoven into Bay Area life than the St. Francis. Locals know the St. Francis for its opulent holiday display in the lobby, centered on a massive, intricate sugar castle." - Megan McCrea, Jenna Scatena
