New Virgin Hotel San Francisco: What's inside? City's new-from-the-ground-up hotel opens this winter

Exterior view of the new Virgin Hotel San Francisco, which is set to open in the first quarter of 2019 Exterior view of the new Virgin Hotel San Francisco, which is set to open in the first quarter of 2019 Photo: Chris McGinnis Photo: Chris McGinnis Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close New Virgin Hotel San Francisco: What's inside? 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

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The new, 194-room, Virgin Hotel San Francisco should open "in the first quarter of 2019" according to General Manager Michel Notten. And this week, I was invited in for a look at the hotel's progress.

UPDATE: Feb 19, 2019- the hotel has opened. More about that here

The new-from-the-ground-up, 12-story, steel and glass building has been under construction since 2016 on Fourth Street between Howard Street and Folsom Street. It's directly across Fourth Street from the Moscone Convention Center, and next door to the new Yerba Buena/Moscone Muni station , part of the the new Central Subway Project.

This will be the second Virgin Hotel, the first one opened in Chicago in 2015. (More about that here: 6 Cheeky Features of the new Virgin Hotel Chicago)

The hotel's PR folks are keen on a measured release of visuals of the highly anticipated hotel, so this tour with the hotel GM was for my eyes only...no photographs of the interior were allowed.

So instead of a slideshow (which will come soon enough) I'll provide a description of what I saw and a few more details. (Hotel website here; you can view renderings at the top of this post.)

>Walking in through two immense wooden doors from Fourth Street into a high-ceilinged, but narrow lobby area, guests will be greeted by staff with tablets in hand for registration-- there will be no formal "front desk."

>To the right, through a glass wall will be the "Funny Library" coffee shop, which will also have a streetside entrance. The hotel hopes to engage locals as well as guests with its lobby area.

>From there, you can veer right toward elevators, or left into the big and bright "Commons Club" illuminated by two-story floor to ceiling windows. A big long bar area lighted by three giant bare bulbed chandeliers and punctuated with round leather bar stools. To the left is the "Shag Room" where visitors can find quiet respite from what will likely be a cacophonous, lively lobby.

>Toward the back is the Commons Club restaurant where chef Adrian Garcia (formerly of Quince, Benu in SF) will be turning out "globally inspired California cuisine." Again, the hotel hopes to attract locals as well as guests into this space-- commuters from the Muni station next door and pedestrians along Clementina Street will no doubt be drawn in by the scene. Musical entertainment from a DJ will boom and twinkle out of bright red Void Acoustics speakers suspended from the ceiling. Notten told me that it should feel "like a membership club without the dues."

>Back near the front, there will be a dramatic red carpeted stairway adorned with a white wall of various moldings and carvings (you'll just have to wait and see it yourself). This stairway leads to a mezzanine area where the hotel's primary function space is located. This includes a ballroom, but my favorite part was an indoor/outdoor space with a balcony that overlooks Fourth Street and the Moscone Center-- it includes a big bar area, large screen TVs, heaters, and nice views and fresh air. I'd love to hang out here!

Photo: Virgin Hotels At the Virgin Hotel San Francisco, rooms are called "chambers" and...

>I was able to see one guest room (referred to as a "chamber" by Notten) that was fully furnished-- it appeared almost identical to the rendering you'll see here. What's most unusual about the rooms is a clever use of space: there is no entry corridor. From the suede gray and fire engine red hallway, you enter into the room's bathroom, with a sink to the right and a vanity and closets to the left. The oversized, white-subway-tiled shower and toilet rooms on either side of the sink are separated by translucent doors. From there, you enter the room (which are 270-330 square feet).

>Each room sports a custom, patented bed with a white tufted leather headboard and unique corner footboard. There's a bright red retro SMEG refrigerator in the corner full of food and booze that the hotel promises will be "street priced" similar to what you'd at a nearby corner store. (For example, a Red Bull will be priced at about $3.50)

>In-room wi-fi will be free and fast enough for streaming according the hotel GM Notten. Best of all? The hotel will not charge a "resort fee" or an "urban amenities" fee at all, an increasingly common practice at many other San Francisco hotels now assess (as well as those in many other cities). Notten said that this follows a corporate policy of no nickel and diming of guests. (Read my rant about hotel resort fees here.)

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>Rooms will start in the $300 per night range and rates will vary depending on demand (such as when there's a big convention across the street).

>The hotel's piece de la resistance will likely be its yet-to-be-named rooftop bar. Again, the rendering supplied by the hotel does a very good job illustrating what it will look like. The space boasts nearly 360 degree views and three distinct areas all shielded from the wind by large glass panes. I can't wait to see this place hopping when there's a big convention like Dreamforce or OpenWorld happening across the street.

Stay tuned! We'll be back with more when the hotel opens sometime between now and March 31.

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Chris McGinnis is the founder of TravelSkills.com. The author is solely responsible for the content above, and it is used here by permission. You can reach Chris at chris@travelskills.com or on Twitter @cjmcginnis.