“Architecture is just the art we live in.”

Finding myself in my favorite culinary city, I found a rather indulgent and succulent hotspot to call home for a work and pleasure stay in San Francisco. Inspired by the classic hotels of the 20th Century, The Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel is one of a kind, with surprising touches in the luminescent crevices of every turn. Starting with prosecco mornings in my mirror clad rooms to views of the topography of Union Square and Tenderloin, the hotel is testament that you cannot say party without saying art.

Most apparent is the impeccable furniture collection, akin to an Alice in Wonderland styled other world where things are more topsy turvy than meet the eye! I found myself often wandering through the many spaces in the hotel, always returning to an oversized chair in the lobby which mandated many fun pictures, even more so when I noticed the owners daughter was sticking her tongue out underneath it!

Renovated interiors by Philippe Starck and a furniture collection by Ray and Charles Eames, furniture by Salvador Dali and other notable pieces, I found it most interesting to know that the purple of the walls was an ode to Karl the Fog of San Francisco, with a precisely matching hue, and that the orange of the tables in the rooms was the exact color of the Golden Gate Bridge.

For culinary options, I found myself nightly in the legendary Redwood Room, made entirely from one redwood tree harvested from the Sacramento river! With an array of bespoke cocktails, I found the spin on a classic negroni and the sparkling wines to be the best accompaniment to the beet raita and naan pita, which I devoured sumptuously while perched in the etched glass bar by Starck.

With a testament to a subdued atmosphere and a juxtaposition of contemporary and vintage style which is unsurpassed in the colorful city, I had truly found my home away from home in San Francisco. Cheers to that!