Any wine lover knows that the infamous ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates and Producers) Festival is not one to be missed, especially by the hosts of "Cork Dorks," a Krush 92.5 radio show created exclusively for winos. During their time in San Francisco, the Cork Dorks stayed with us at Hotel Union Square, taking time to share a glass with our CEO, Yvonne Lembi-Detert. Check out the video, below, also featuring clips of our amazing penthouse suite! Cheers.

The Cork Dorks | Personality Hotels from Coast Cinema on Vimeo.

Any San Francisco local feels the impact of the huge tech boom originating just south of and now within our city. The landscape, style, and local economy is changing and evolving into something completely different than before. Even the conversation is filled with new content and buzz words, with lingo like "cloud storage," "wearables," and "did you see that drone flying over the office the other day?" taking over the daily chatter. As techy as this city may be becoming, as resistant as some long term natives may be, our philosophy stands: embrace the change and celebrate the perks! So, in honor of the tech boom, we've come up with a list of our favorite (and some more fashionable) tech gadgets & apps present in our current culture or near to launching.

1. Tory Burch's newly designed bracelet trackers for Fitbit

Ever notice those functional, yet not-so-fashionable, bracelet trackers everyone's wearing? It may help with nutrition, exercise, and sleep tracking, but it surely doesn't meet the style standards of today. Alas, a more fashionable version by Tory Burch. Available for pre-order now. 

2. Airfy's smart home automization Beacon

A gadget that power-saves, times appliances and electronic devices for automatic turn-off, and wakes everything up when you wake up (music, coffee maker, water heater, the works)! Talk about environmentally friendly. Pre-order available on their Kickstarter page.

3. Shyp, stress-free packaging and shipping

Prepping and sending packages can be so time consuming and quite honestly, boring. Shyp is an app that allows you to forget all about the unwanted stress of sending a package and does the dirty work for you. Just snap a picture of what you want to send, where you want to send it, and Shyp will pick it up for you, wrap it, and send it off smoothly. Only in San Francisco, launching soon in NYC.   

4. Mighty, the fully proofed portable speaker

While the Rebel Speaker they launched last year was only waterproof, this updated version is sand/dustproof and floatable! It also connects to your phone for easy calling to friends or talking to Siri. Mighty is still trying to get funded via Indiegogo, support here.

5. The USB cassette mix tape, Milktape

Ever since tapes and CDs were replaced with MP3's, gone are the days of giving and receiving hard copy mixtapes. And let's face it, Spotify and Dropbox versions just aren't as sentimental. Milktape looks like a tape, comes white as a blank canvas (for DIY personalizing), and contains a USB adapter inside the tape for easy importing. Bound to be the next big thing in contemporary courting, watch their absolutely adorable launch video here.

 the Marketing Babes

   

   Photo by Micah Weiss

In celebration of Gay Pride this year, we asked our close friend and highly acclaimed designer, Jonathan Rachman, what his favorite go-to spots are around town. Here’s his itinerary for a fabulously Gay Day:

1. Favorite Book Store: City Lights! Go for its history, significance to the queer/beat community, and great array of reading options. Dubbed a "Literary Landmark." (261 Columbus Ave. San Francisco, CA 94133 (415) 362-8193)

2. I love a drag show for Sunday brunch at the Starlight Room. Who doesn’t like a boozy brunch with bloody marys and mimosas? “A classic Sunday brunch with attitude!” (450 Powell St, San Francisco, CA 94102 (415) 395-8595)

3. Visit City Hall and read about Harvey Milk. Knowledge is power, know your history! (1 Dr Carlton B Goodlett Pl, San Francisco, CA 94102 (415) 701-2311)

4. Right in the Castro, Harvey’s restaurant and bar! It may not be the hippest bar anymore, but it pays homage to Harvey! Great place for people watching. (500 Castro Street, San Francisco, 94114 (415) 431-HARV)

5. Good Vibrations: not your sleazy sex shop. You name it, they have it; “Creating a buzz since 1977!” (multiple locations* 603 Valencia Street at 17th San Francisco, CA 94110 (415) 503-9522)

6. Get lost in Haight Ashbury, where tourists and locals collide.  And while you’re there, go check out Piedmont Boutique for your ultimate Pride costume wear! (1452 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117 (415) 864-8075)

7. Cafe Flore, also known as “Cafe Hairdo.” Best outdoor cafe with great drinks. Where old school meets new school and generational queers mix! (2298 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94114 (415) 621-8579)

8. Hotel DIVA: with a name like diva, puhlease - need I say anything more?? (Hint: If fully booked, go to Hotel Union Square, I heard it is newly and fabulously re-designed by this local gay guy!)

Let's play ball! Grab some cracker jacks, a Ghirardelli Sundae, an order of garlic fries, and a Cha Cha Bowl because the 2014 MLB season has officially started and with a big bang! With a splash walk-off homerun, grand slam by a pitcher, spectacular fireworks show, almost inside-the-park-HR by the White Shark, you would think I was talking about a whole season of highlights, however these are just the highlights of opening week!

The boys in orange and black have shown great enthusiasm and one can only imagine what the rest of the season will be like! If you are not a season ticket holder, but want to go to a few games with some fun giveaways, here are a couple of my favorite ones: 
  
Sat, Apr 26 1954 Replica World Series Ring 
Sat, Jun 7 Sergio Romo Super Hero Socks 
Sun, Jun 8 Hello Kitty ® Giants Plush 
Sun, Jun 15 Giants Father's Day Necktie 
Sat, Jun 28 Brandon Belt or Brandon Crawford Bobblehead 
Sun, Jul 13 Angel Pagan Bobblehead 
Sat, Aug 16 Virgin America 2-for-1 Flight Voucher 
Sun, Aug 31 Star Wars Day - R2D2 Beanie 

But most importantly, going to the baseball game is not just watching men in uniform hit a ball, it’s more of an experience, which I feel can even be compared to a day in Disneyland. Once a year, The Giants put together an awesome experienced-filled day, where you can purchase tickets for the game, and separately pay $800 to have a family of 4 sleep on the field. All of us Giants’ fans would love to camp out in on the field of dreams, but not all of us have a grand to spend. So, if you want to save some money but still have an amazingly memorable baseball experience from sun up to sun down, boy do I have the best secret in the world to share… are you ready?

So, you have a special birthday coming up, a girls night out? Or maybe you want to give Dad the best Father’s Day gift ever, and you don’t have $800 extra to spend to have a sleepover on the field, well no need to fear, Personality is here! Did you know that there is a hotel, that is about a 20 minute flat walk away from the ballpark, and only steps away from the Powell Bart Station, that has a room designated for a baseball fan? Yep, it’s true, Personality Hotels has designed a Dugout Suite at Hotel Union Square with orange walls, Giants memorabilia and was god fathered by the MVP and Cy Young winner - Mr. Vida Blue himself! So why not purchase the tickets, bring over the pup, and the parents, and go to the game while staying in this amazing king sized bed junior suite that is dog friendly? Oh, and if that’s not enough, get ready to throw on some Art of Shaving product before heading out to cheer on the Giants.

Dream come true, you know it, because we do nothing but dream for you!

Here comes the week-end again and you have no idea what to do with your kids? We have put togehter a list of some obvious kid friendly "to-dos" and some more uniuqe experiences in San Francisco. Get ready to share some love and some fun with your little ones.

California Academy of Science

Considered the greenest museum on the planet, with a 2 ½ acre Living Roof, an expansive solar canopy, an extensive water reclamation system, and walls insulated with recycled blue jeans, the California Academy of Science brings the whole universe under one roof - an aquarium, a planetarium, a natural history museum and more! If you go there you should definitely check the Earthquake exhibit, where you can see, hear and feel two earthquakes.This is the number one museum for kids in San Francisco.

Personality Hotels has teamed up with Cal Academy to offer a fantastic package that includes tickets, discounts to the Moss Room and the gift shops inside the musuem. Check out the package here: GO GREEN

Exploratorium

In case you dont know, The Exploratorium has moved and is now Pier 15 in a brand new building. It has moved but the fun is still the same. Kids will love discovering there exhibits in particular the South Gallery where you have to "think with your hands", or they will enjoy watching a movie on the terrace at Cinema Arts Outdoor Screening.

San Francisco Zoo

Who doesn’t like going to the Zoo? You get to see cute birds, impressive felines and funny monkeys.A few months ago The San Francisco Zoo was very lucky as a baby Sumatran Tiger cub was born on January 10^th.  Jillian is still not an adult but it won’t last very long, hurry to the SF Zoo to see this beautiful creature an many more.

Cable car  

You probably see it every day, but how often do you take the Cable Car? Hop on with your little ones for a city roller-coaster ride. It’s a little crowded but it’s worth the wait. Upon arrival on the Pier you can go say hi to the Sea Lions on Pier 33 or have a delicious ice cream at Ghiradhelli square. 

Cable car Museum

Of course using the Cable Car will raise some questions in your kids’ minds. How does it work? When was it built? Who invented it? No worries. During your ride stop at the Cable Car Museum. It’s free at will get all questions answered. Maybe even yours.

Aquarium of the Bay

Your kids love fishes but you can’t take them to Monterey every other day, why not visit the Aquarium of the Bay instead. Located on Pier 33, the Aquarium of the Bay gives you a good representation of the flora and fauna and the amazing creatures of the sea, that live around the bay. There is also a "petting pool" where little hands can touch the fishes while admiring the great sharks and pretty moon jellies. 

Golden Gate Bridge

I know you have been over that bridge several times, but haw many times have you actually parked and walked on the bridge? Try it with your kids and see how much fun they have running on the bridge and looking at the beautiful view of the bay and the ocean. Dont forget to stop at the Park Conservancy and take a fun photo of you or your family climbing the cables. (*Ask your concierge about discounts for the virtual reality photos)

Alcatraz

This infamous prison is on every single tourist’s to do list in San Francisco and there is a good reason for that, it is a must see. From being a fort, to being transformed into a prison and then occupied by the Olohone tribe this island has been through a lot. Taking your kids to Alcatraz is a real historical adventure. You get to take the boat, visit the prison, the audio guide is great and very descriptive and see one of the most theatrical views of San Francisco all in one.

Pirate Store

Aye Aye Maty! You have some little pirates at home and you don’t know how to quench their thirst for treasure hunting? We have the solution for you. The Pirate Store on Valencia St. This is THE PLACE, to find the best Pirate supplies. The Pirate Shop also offers a range of programs to students aged 6 to 18, to improve their writing skills.  

Concrete Slides

The best thing in a playground are usually the slides but most of the time they are small, metal and you have to climb a ladder to access them. The real fun are the built-in concrete slides that you can sometimes find in parks. In San Francisco they can be found in two places. Number one is the Children's Playground at Golden Gate Park located near the carousel, on Bowling Green Drive near Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. This playground has double shallow chutes with low rails and one curve over a rounded mountain. It is generally crowded, so you usually have to wait in line, especially in summer. But there is always plenty of cardboard strewn around.Number 2 is The Seward Street Slides and Mini Park. Seward Street at Douglas Street, in Noe Valley, between 19th and 20th streets: Tucked next to houses on a steep, shaded hill are twin gray chutes that are narrow with high walls. Remember to bring some cardboard

 We hope you enjoyed our list of kid friendly attractions. Now go have fun!