I'm quite fortunate to be living in such a central location to popular vacation destinations. 45 mins north lies San Francisco, a little bit past that is Napa Wine Country and the Redwoods; head east and "Hello Lake Tahoe!" and Yosemite. 30 mins south lies Santa Cruz and if you keep going you hit Monterrey, Carmel, 17 Mile Drive, Big Sur, LA, San Diego... You get the picture.
Way back in February five of my friends all happened to be turning 25 around the same time and decked out an art studio in SF for their "Platinum Birthday Party" extravaganza. Knowing neither Shrek nor I would want to drive home (or, rather, would be in any condition to drive home), we splurged on an overnight "CA Staycation" package at the Intercontinental Hotel in SF. The decision was based mostly on the hotel's convenient location to the party (only a 6-block hike in heels!) but also loosely on my associating the Intercontinental name as a luxury accommodation. (When I was working with a travel agent on where to stay in Tahiti, Cairns, and Sydney, there were three tiers for accommodations in each city from which to choose and an Intercontinental was always the "luxury" hotel option.)
After an overnight stay, here are my reasons for recommending this hotel (and for taking advantage of their Staycation Package if you are a fellow Californian):
-Awesome city views
-Delish room service at 3:30 am? Yes, please! Although, they were terribly slow. I think I first attempted to order at 2 am but I guess so did everyone else in the hotel. I couldn't get through! I finally got food at 330 which is FOREVER when you're drunk and hankering for eggs and hash browns. The guy delivering explained he was the only one on duty. Since Shrek was already snoozin' (i.e. passed out) by this time, I wheeled my food down the hall (it came on a classy cart with a flower in the vase!) to where one of the birthday girls was staying.)
-Did I mention the hotel's situated just 3 blocks from downtown SF shopping?!
-Overnight valet parking, usually $50, was included in our package. (As was a $10 gas card. Although, they didn't have one on hand so they just applied -$10 to our room. Score!)
-A continental breakfast buffet for two is also included as part of the package. More scrambled eggs and potatoes (among other delicious options)? Yes, please!
-Our room was quiet (aside from Shrek's snoring), good for sleeping in after a night out on the town
I'm in the process of putting something together for Shrek's 30th which is coming up shortly, and if we stay in the city we've already decided that we'll stay at the Intercontinental and take advantage of their Staycation Package again.
No comments:
Post a Comment