Where the United Nations Charter was signed. The Tonga Room tiki bar is an institution. History and kitsch, co-existing magnificently.
The Fairmont San Francisco opened in 1907 on the summit of Nob Hill, rebuilt after the earthquake and fire of 1906 on a foundation that survived both. It is the most historically significant hotel in the city — the United Nations Charter was drafted in its Garden Room in 1945, and every American president since Taft has stayed here. The grand lobby, with its marble columns and ornate ceiling, remains unchanged in its essential character and is the most impressive hotel entrance in San Francisco.
The 606 rooms occupy the original building and a 1962 tower addition. The tower rooms have the superior bay and city views; the original building rooms have the character. The Penthouse Suite, once occupied by Tallulah Bankhead, is the largest hotel suite in the city at 6,000 square feet. The Fairmont's service standard has been refreshed several times and now operates at a level consistent with its five-star designation.
The Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar in the hotel's basement is a San Francisco institution: a 1945 Polynesian tiki bar with a pool where a boat floats and a simulated rainstorm occurs hourly. It is deliberately and magnificently kitsch, and the wait for a table on weekends is consistently 45 minutes. The Laurel Court restaurant provides a more formal alternative in the hotel's light-filled rotunda.
The Fairmont's historic weight makes it the most narratively satisfying anniversary hotel in San Francisco. A dinner in Laurel Court, followed by the Tonga Room — which has been operating continuously since 1945 and shows no signs of stopping — is an anniversary evening that the city's newer hotels cannot offer. The penthouse has a fireplace and a grand piano. See all anniversary hotels →
The Fairmont's rooftop terrace, available for private events, overlooks Nob Hill in three directions. The hotel's event team has coordinated hundreds of proposals and executes the format — champagne, flowers, private setup — reliably and without the theatrics that reduce a serious moment to a production number. The Tony Noonan's Pub in the lower level is where the relief drinks happen afterward. See all proposal hotels →
From $350/night. Check availability.
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