Winter 2011 - 65° Magazine

Holt. “We had a tree-lighting ceremony on December 1 with
Make-a-Wish-Foundation, where we honored the wish of
a three-year-old girl who wanted to go to Disneyland. She
lit the tree by flipping a switch and we hosted her and her
family for dinner in our restaurant after the ceremony.”
A benchmark for the city’s luxury hotels since it opened
in 1991, Holt says this registered San Francisco landmark
was first built in 1909 and was home to Metropolitan
Insurance headquarters for its first 50 years. For the next
20 years, it gave way to Cogswell Polytechnical College,
a school of engineering in the 70s. Now, the Ritz is on
the cusp of celebrating its 20 year anniversary in April
as the Ritz-Carlton San Francisco and $12.5 million in
renovations later, its majestic structure stands as a pillar
on Nob Hill.
Blocks away from literally anything and everything you
need in San Francisco—the Financial District, Union
Square shopping, street events, cable cars schlepping you
to Fisherman’s Wharf, and walking distance away from the
Ferry Building—Holt says the location of the hotel is one
of the many amenities that makes your hotel experience
several notches above the rest. “Our clients look to us as
their guide to the City,” says Holt.
You might live across the Bay or even a state
away; however, spend just one night in The
Ritz-Carlton Hotel in San Francisco and you will
immediately feel worlds away. If not because of
their 400-thread-count, 100% combed cotton
linens, or because the Ritz Carlton has San
Francisco’s only Forbes Travel Guide Five Star
restaurant, hen you’ll swoon over the extravagant
entrance with a pair of Louis XVI blue marble urns
with gilt mountings decorated with 19th-century
Waterford candelabras. Above the beauty and
ambiance, your Calgon experience will have
everything to do with their five-star service and
the experience their staff will lavish on you.
“We basically set the standard within the branding
of hospitality and service,” says Steven Holt, Ritz-
Carlton Market Director of Public Relations, who
was excited about the 40-foot Christmas tree
preparing to be hoisted atop the carport entrance
to the luxury hotel at the time of the interview.
The tree not only helped ring in the holidays, but
it was also a part of one of the many charitable
events in which the hotel and staff participate.
“We partner with many non-profit organizations as
part of our Community Footprints Program,” says
Should you decide to book your stay on the Club
Level Lounge, floors eight and nine, your Ritz-Carlton
experience will be off the charts. “Our service ability sets
us apart, too, since we ‘wow’ our guests and inspire their
loyalty,” says Holt. “It’s the hallmark of our service. We
all work on trying to anticipate the needs of our guests
before they ask for something.”
With 336 rooms to choose from, sixty of which are suites
and two of which are Presidential Suites, the Club Level
Lounge is the place to be. With a dedicated concierge,
and separate elevator key, these more expensive rooms
feature computers, printers, comfortable work stations,
views of the city via the south slope of Nob Hill, and