Hotel Drisco by Gregory McNamee

Pacific Heights, as filmgoers know, is yuppie heaven: the neighborhood is fantastically expensive, chockablock with $10 million starter mansions, but the amenities match the price tag. So it is with the Hotel Drisco, which is elegant, utterly charming, quite beautiful, and quite old (which is to say, built just a couple of years before the 1906 earthquake). The hotel’s exclusivity is served by a couple of factors: it lies away from the city’s touristy bustle, astride steep hills; and it is a touch on the expensive side - though worth every cent. Make up for some of the expense by walking through the surrounding neighborhoods into the Presidio of San Francisco - another venue well known to cinema buffs.

The rooms
There’s not a bad room among the 48 in the Drisco. Each offers a view either of the leafy, well-kept neighborhood or of a sun-splashed formal courtyard done in California Mediterranean style. The rooms are equipped with antique furnishings and lavishly comfortable beds, along with modern technological conveniences. Coupled with the excellent service, this is all good reason for the hotel’s reputation as one of the best small venues in the Bay Area.