The stunning view from the 48th floor of the soon-to-be Loews San Francisco (Photo: Mandarin Oriental)
San Francisco’s plushest hotel perch, the Mandarin Oriental, which occupies the top 11 floors of a 48-story office building at California and Sansome Streets, will become a Loews hotel in late March.
The 158-room, recently renovated property is the latest prize in Loews’ push to remake its brand, having recently added hotels (and updating them) in key locations in Washington, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles. It’s also shed laggards, like the dated Loews Metropolitan on Lexington Avenue (now a DoubleTree), moving over to the Loews Regency hotel on Park Avenue.
The new Loews Boston used to be the Back Bay Hotel- inside an old police precinct building (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
There are now 23 hotels in Loews rapidly expanding portfolio of luxury properties. I took a spin through the recently renovated Loews Boston hotel last year and was very impressed. It also recently opened a new-from-the-ground Loews Atlanta hotel in the city’s bustling midtown district. A gorgeous, brand spanking new new Loews opens in Chicago this month.
Downtown San Francisco’s hotel scene is in flux these days, with changes in brand and ownership at the Westin San Francisco Market Street (now a Park Central hotel) and the Parc 55 (now a Hilton hotel).
Have you stayed at a Loews hotel lately? What did you think?
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Music Trash???? Please clarify for those of us who love the Nashville music scene.
Sad to see The Mandarin Oriental go in SF. I believe that particular Hotel was their first in the US. Let’s hope they return in SF. Maybe the new First and Mission development that includes a new Hotel.
I’ve stayed at a few Loews properties; they remind me of nice, newer Westin/Hyatt Regency hotels for the most part. With such a limited number of properties, they still don’t quite interest me…but they bear watching. The MO SF property is a definite plus for fans of Loews, though.
Comment sent via email from MB
Let me tell you how much I enjoy Loews Hotels. They’re stylish without being over the top, hip without making you feel conscious about your age and a terrific loyalty program. My favorites are the Loews Santa Monica Beach (great location, views and pool), Loews Vanderbilt in Nashville (a sophisticated calm away from the Music trash) and the Loews Regency (the ultimate power breakfast AND great new rooms). In short this is exactly what San Francisco needs. I’m excited!
I’m familiar with LA and had no plans to do anything but stay in Hollywood the whole time, so I had no intention of renting a car. BTW, I had even gotten an email from them 10 days ago giving parking instructions – guess they weren’t overbooked then. Yes, I remember that it used to be a Renaissance, which probably was better.
Well, to be honest, you need a car in LA since public transportation is limited. Still, it’s probably because it is the official hotel for the Oscars, they probably had a room block that needed to be expanded. Should’ve taken the offer for 1 free night and book elsewhere for the second night.
Which, btw, this property used to be a Renaissance Hotel when it first opened.
Staying at the Hilton downtown – cheaper than Loews. Since my vision of watching the red carpet arrivals from inside is destroyed, there’s no sense even staying nearby since the surrounding streets will be closed and inaccessible. I stayed nearby last year, but even the sidewalks were fenced off and covered with tarps, so all of us overgrown star-struck teenagers saw nothing!
Yikes, Peggy! Thanks for sharing that little nugget. Loews won’t be shaking up the industry for long if it treats customers like that! So, where are you going to stay? –chris
My first stay would’ve been this coming weekend in L.A. during Oscars weekend. I reserved LAST JULY for 2 nights in Hollywood, ground zero for the festivities. The excitement has been building for me now that the time is near, but excitement has turned to anger after getting a call from the manager the other day. He explained that they’re overbooked and have no room for me. The excuse was that some people were pre-registered. I’ve never heard of anything like that before. I think what really happened is they got other people booked at rates much higher than mine ($329) so they dumped me. Good for the bottom line but bad PR. He offered to pay 1 night for me at the Sheraton Universal, but I turned it down because it’s not near the action and I’d need to rent a car. Their name is mud as far as I’m concerned and won’t ever stay with them anywhere.