Sitting for lunch by the window at Colibri Mexican Bistro, you can see people walking with shopping bags, running back to their office after lunch, racing to make sure they do not miss the MUNI or BART train. All in all, the Union Square area of San Francisco is never dormant, there is always movement and it is rare to see people standing around, for there is always something to do or see in our beautiful neighborhood.
However this was not the case yesterday at Hallidie Plaza, located near the entrance to Powell St. Station, below the Cable Car Turnaround. For about five minutes, people running to take BART decided to wait, and were ok with missing their train, people held off on their lunch dates to see what was going on in this Plaza.
A Flashmob of about 40 dancers moving to “Don’t Stop Me Now,” stopped all foot traffic. With participants of the BID, and Alonzo King LINES Ballet dance center, Hallidie Plaza was filled with spectators recording, twitting, facebooking what they were seeing. It was a great way to start the lunchtime!
If you find yourself wanting to do something fun this Saturday, the Alonzo King LINES dance studio will have a $5 special, in which you may try “bite sized samples,” of the different types of dance classes they have- which are about 80 different classes a week!
Tired of running around Union Square, full with these crazy shoppers? Why not take a leisurely stroll through quiet Golden Gate Park to Ocean Beach, watch the dogs run around, frolicking in the crashing waves. And maybe catch a beautiful sunset at the west end of San Francisco?
There are beautiful restaurants & bars along the oceanfront like The Cliff House, Beach Chalet and also some tiny Java Café’s where the local surfers go to have a coffee or hot chocolate to warm up after a day in the cold waters. These restaurants and cafes help set the tone of historic San Francisco. These buildings with such rich architecture paint the perfect nostalgic picture and often send you into a time warp.
If you are more of an indoor person, Golden Gate Park has 2 awesome museums: the Academy of Sciences and the DeYoung Museum which offer galleries, an aquarium, rainforest, planetarium and various other activities for the single traveler or family.
Get out of bustling Union Square and into the quieter area of San Francisco: The Golden Gate Park!
Visiting San Francisco and making the best itinerary is not always the easiest task. With museums like the Legion of Honor, and SFMOMA, places like Coit Tower, Fisherman’s Wharf, and all the shops in and around Union Square, it’s a bit difficult to choose what touristy adventure one would want to take. Therefore some prefer walking in the shoes of a local, and if that’s you, then boy are you in for a treat!
This weekend is gearing up to have many Bay Area folks coming into the city and joining the fun. So what is it that the locals are buzzing about and Cable Cars are ringing about? The answer is sports! Football that is!
This Saturday is the big game, a divisional playoff game where the San Francisco 49ers will host the New Orleans Saints. So if you want to blend in as a local, make sure to wear your red and gold this Saturday. Although there are a few tickets being resold, the price for tickets range from $150 to over $1,000 for a single ticket! So make sure you hang out at the Daily Grill, or Union Square Sports Bar to see what happens!
We recently partnered up with PAR Springer-Miller to integrate ATRIO, a new and intuitive, guest-centric technology...Well they wanted to get to know their client a little more and asked some great questions to our CEO and founder Yvonne Detert. The answers were hilarious so we had to share!
Name: Yvonne Lembi-Detert
Position: President & CEO
1.What is the best thing about working at Personality Hotels?
Arriving at work and planning on doing something planned, and then doing something that is completely different! Coming into the office and welcoming the many different personalities & seeing all the smiles is the best! It changes your day.
2.Tell us a crazy story from working at Personality Hotels.
OMG the list never ends. I personally loved rolling in Mel Gibson’s dirty sheets after he checked out, and convincing my COO to talk to Vanilla Ice! Or how about having the challenge of turning an unhappy guest into a very satisfied guest who becomes your best friend? Gina Lollobrigida ordering Rice Krispies in Italian & calling them “A Snap, Crackle & Poppa!” Having a lady call me up & scream at me that the package I created called: “Fatal Attraction” was so wrong because I was encouraging extra marital affairs. HELLO!
3.What is last great movie, good book, CD, or TV show that you’ve watched/listed to?
Films: Crazy Stupid LOVE, 4 Christmas’s, & Elf. TV: The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bitchin Kitchen, I Love Lucy, Dancing with The Stars
4. How long have you worked at the hotel?
1980 OMG!!!!! Forever!
5.Where is your “Must See” attraction in San Francisco (or the area)?
North Beach, Fillmore St ,Coit Tower, Fort Funston, Stow Lake, The Blue Angels air show in Oct.,the GG Bridge, the rose garden @ GG Park, & so much more. I especially like the view of the ceiling at any Personality Hotel guest room!
6.What are you most excited about seeing in ATRIO?
Change! An improved change to improve our arrival & operations of the mechanics of a hotel reservation that makes our guests recognize the difference, & enjoy the arrival & departure experience of their stay.
We are very excited at Personality Hotels to say that we did our first ad campaign with Vanity Fair. Sure we have advertised before, but this was a very special moment for the PH team - our first campaign in a national magazine. We worked with a wonderful San Francisco based photographer Brandon Doran (http://www.brandondoranphotography.com/) who was able to truly capture the essence of Hotel Diva.
Did you Know: The male we used in this photo shoot with all the amazing tattoos, is actually a random traveler, visiting from Australia, who we found at Chipotle. His art was impressive, so we approached him and asked if he would like to participate. He gladly said yes and an hour later we had him and his girlfriend working on the shoot with us.
Currently the issue with our ad campaign can be found in Western LA. Enjoy.
The Holidays are here. They crept up on us and came too quickly, so now is the time to sit back, relax, drink some spiked egg nog or maybe a hot toddy and enjoy the festivities.
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Festivus, or your own celebration, you cant ignore the influx of candy canes, strings of blinking lights, and promises of best deals. Holiday décor is here, it isnt going anywhere so you might as well sit back, drink a hot toddy, be merry and take it all in.
At Personality Hotels we pride ourselves in being the best boutique hotel group in Union Square (San Francisco for that matter) and we try really hard to do EVERYTHING for our guests. So why not live up to our own standards and provide our guests with a curated list of go-to Holiday “things” that aren’t too tacky or touristy. Enjoy
Dine with Stag
Stag Dining Group is not your typical dining experience. It is clandestine event that delivers a constant changing epicurean menu. The menus are decided well in advance, making sure that everything is sustainable and from local farms and purveyors. Seating is limited and, of course, the location is always kept secret; so if you’re in town quickly grab a seat!
Macys
Ok yes, it’s Macy’s but what’s exciting is the amount of holiday decoration that adorns every spot in, around and on Macys. Oh and ladies, if you need to use the restroom, take a trek up to the fifth floor and go through the doors that take you back to an era before pop up toilets. The women's bathroom in Macys, Union Square is great...
Westfield Shopping Mall - perfect for kids
If you have kids in tow then take a moment and stop at the Westfield Shopping Mall located in the middle of Union Square and take them up to the top floor, let them lay down on the floor and enjoy a little animation fun. Each night, Westfields iconic dome will come to life with animated 3D light spectacular, with music to match.
Shopping in the Mission
A $10 cab ride away from Hotel Diva, Hotel Union Square or Kensington Park, the Mission area is definitely the place to go if you are looking for unique gifts. Stroll along Valencia and pop into a variety of specialty shops. From a Pirate store, to a Taxidermy shop, to Dog Eared Books and back to The Curiosity Shoppe, this area is great to find gifts for those who have it all, or say they don't want anything. After all, who wouldn't want a pirate eye patch?
We have worked with the guys at Let it Ride Design from San Diego to come up with some great and creative products for our guests. Here are our adorable Diva Baby Onesies, available for sale at Hotel Diva. 
Are you looking for exciting Holiday Packages in San Francisco? Because we have adorable boutique hotels, our packages are equally as exciting! Whether you are looking for a family vacation or a girls getaway, we have come up with some pretty enticing offers. Enjoy Stila cosmetics, Colibri (best Guacamole ever) gift cards, and very stylish totes… Just choose what package fits you best!
What other city has oversized artsy painted hearts planted at major destination landmarks for its city goers to enjoy. Where else can you go from climbing the hills and then sliding down for the greatest pizza & Italian wine? Just in 7 miles you can run the Marina or jump on a cable car. San Francisco has it all! My favorite break of the day is a walk past Union Square, where so many locals are eating their lunch on the stairs, on the benches, or on the grass (weather permitting) and picking up a hot chocolate at Café Madeline with their homemade chocolate whipped cream. Yep! It is worth the calories that make you want to run the peaks & valley’s of our great City….San Francisco!