It's not exactly prime season for luxury hotels that likely cater to business travelers. But after the second change of ownership in five years and a full renovation, the former Loews Regency (nee Mandarin Oriental Hotel) has reopened as the Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco at Embarcadero.
Notably, this is not the only Four Seasons in the FiDi environs, and it is not on the Embarcadero at all — though it's a few blocks away. The hotel at 222 Sansome Street (or 345 California Center) is one block west of One Embarcadero Center, and it occupies the top 11 floors of the 48-story, twin-tower structure, just like the previous hotels did.
As the SF Business Times reports, a scheduled May 1 opening was pushed back to October 1, and despite a noted lack of tourists or travelers, the hotel had its grand opening last week.
There's reportedly a new fitness center down on the third floor of the building, and a ground-floor restaurant is still in the works and still in search of a chef. For now, the Four Seasons has partnered with The Snug in the Marina to provide in-room meals and cocktails.
Also in the works: an open-air Sky Deck on the 40th floor, which is not yet open. (This sky deck opened as the Terrace Lounge in the Loews Regency in April 2019, and it was billed as the "highest-floor outdoor bar in SF.")
The Mandarin Oriental originally opened here in 1986, featuring luxury dining and hotel accomodations in its diagonally situated, double-tower configuration — with offices on the lower floors. In 2015 it became the Loews Regency under the ownership of Loews Hotels, and it was sold again in May 2019 with the Four Seasons brought on to manage the property.
The hotel continues to offer expansive views of downtown, Telegraph Hill, the Bay and the Bay Bridge. And the Four Seasons has apparently installed a new visual game to be played on the glass-walled sky bridges based on the children's game I Spy.
The hotel rooms have been renovated as primarily two-room suites of about 1,000 square feet. The rooms each have two office workstations, two beds, and two sofas — and there's tech support.
General manager Robert Megargle is pushing the in-town tourism angle, saying locals should check out the hotel for "a much-needed staycation" if they're "looking for a change in scenery from your work from home set-up." With that in mind, this new Four Seasons is offering packages including overnight parking and complimentary drinks for two.
