San Francisco Archives - Magellan Luxury Hotels

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Explore the Golden State in style

The best part about visiting California is that you can choose your own adventure. From exploring the Bay Area to ripping around on a roller coaster to sipping on a world-class wines, it doesn’t matter where you are in the Golden State — fun awaits. Uncork Napa Valley wineries While it produces less than five [...]

Last Minute Gifts: Magellan Luxury Hotels E-Gift Cards

With just a few days until Christmas, you may have a few more gifts to buy for people on your list. And isn’t the gift of luxury travel one of the finest presents you can offer?

Magellan Events Listing: Fashion Fabulous

Visiting a Magellan partner hotel and looking for something interesting to do? Here is a select listing of events taking place across our cities. Events are presented in chronological order. New York City Anna Wintour Costume Center @ The Metropolitan Museum of Art Masterworks: UnPacking Fashion 18 November 2016 – 15 February 2017 Fashion provocateurs Viktor & Rolf pose the question: […]

IfOnly: Remarkable Curated Experiences

San Francisco-based company IfOnly describes themselves as “a marketplace for incredible experiences.” They pair clients with local and international experts in their field – as well as big-name celebrities – for once-in-a-lifetime opportunities such as Heli-skiing with Robert F. Kennedy, cycling with Patrick Dempsey or the ultimate adrenalin rush, a balloon expedition over Mount Everest.

Celebrating Dia de Los Muertos

In the opening sequence of 2015’s Spectre, James Bond, dressed as a calaca – a skeleton – stalks his target through Dia de Los Muertos celebrations in Mexico City. A bit of Hollywood cultural appropriation perhaps, but, like the films of Tim Burton, a popular introduction for those unfamiliar with Mexico’s “Day of the Dead,” an ancient holiday that celebrates […]

Rooftop Beekeeping at Fairmont Hotels

Think of it as a hotel within a hotel. On more than 20 Fairmont hotel rooftops, beekeepers dote year-round on apiaries and bee hotels. A queen and her honeybee minions populate the hives, while pollinators, wild mason bees, take refuge in bee hotels, structures stuffed with natural materials riddled with small holes to mimic the nooks and crannies they love. While honeybees primarily collect [...]

Vintage Clothing: New York vs. Los Angeles

I have a confession to make: I am not a big fan of shopping in general, but I love collecting (and wearing) vintage clothing. Where I find the usual mall experience draining, I find the search for vintage clothing invigorating, a thrilling adventure of never knowing what I’m going to find when, where and for how much.

Tying One On: Corsetry

The corset is probably the most controversial garment in the entire history of fashion, according to Valerie Steele, author of The Corset: A Cultural History. It has been promoted by popular culture as a coercive instrument of women’s oppression that crushed ribs and internal organs, caused diseases, and reduced them to ridiculous slaves of fashion with their attempts at the […]

Open Air Cinema: Movies by Moonlight

As they say, it’s all about location, location, location. To catch the latest blockbuster movie releases, duck into the darkness of your local multiplex. But if you like your movies in a scenic venue with a side of sociability, it’s time to spend your spring and summer nights under the stars catching some classic cinema.

Interview: Welcome to City Running Tours

CEO Michael Gazalah of Manhattan-based City Running Tours explains why exploring a city with the locals makes all the difference. Magellan: City Running Tours is based in New York but offers personalized running tours in cities across the U.S. and in Toronto, Canada. Would you talk about where your big idea came from? About how you got started? […]

Lit Crawl 2016 – The World’s Largest Literary Pub Crawl

Books. Food. Drinks. You can rearrange those three words in whatever priority is most important to you, but the outcome is the same: the holy triumvirate of an interesting social experience known as Lit Crawl. It was the brainchild of San Francisco’s Litquake Literary Festival in 2004 and additional venues have launched in Manhattan, Austin, […]

Three key spots for your San Fran visit

Sightseeing, live music, food and wine, great shopping and more — San Francisco is a visitor’s paradise. But if you’re looking to avoid the run-of-the-mill San Fran visitor stuff — or are simply looking for a little more action on your visit and like to stay up a bit late — there are plenty of […]

San Fran’s Outside Lands — for those with good taste

How many festivals successfully bring together food, music, wine, beer, art and comedy? It doesn’t matter — Outside Lands does it best. Taking place in San Francisco’s picturesque Golden Gate Park from August 7-9, there’s not a city better-suited to bring such elements together for one weekend. First of all, the music lineup is as […]

San Francisco’s incredible Union Square

Its name comes from the pro-Union rallies held in the area just prior to the Civil War. In the mid- to late-20th century it fell into disrepair. Today, Union Square is a completely different animal — it has come to embody the heart of San Francisco. The 2.6-acre square/public plaza — bordered by Stockton, Post, […]

America’s best craft beer festivals

While sales of macro-brewed beer by the big guys continue to slump in the U.S., there’s a category on the upswing that packs plenty of flavor and fun — the craft beer industry. Smaller regional breweries are developing beer in styles that run the gamut from crisp Czech pilsners to smoky, oak-aged porters and everything […]

In bloom — Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival

San Francisco in spring is a sight to behold — the people, the flora, and the neighborhoods seem to sparkle with added excitement and life. And when the 2015 Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival returns — it’s now in its 48th year — it adds vibrant colors, delicious dishes and remarkable cultural feats into the […]

San Francisco’s off-the-beaten-track art scene

With the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art closed until 2016 as it undergoes a significant transformation, art lovers might be hesitant to visit the City by the Bay until its flagship gallery reopens. In fact, those who appreciate art would be well-served by a visit to San Francsico sooner rather than later. There are […]

Hotels go Hollywood

Iconic buildings play important roles in some of Hollywood’s most memorable movies. Imagine King Kong without the Empire State Building, Rocky without the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s steps, or The Shining without the Timberline Lodge. While slightly less dramatic, these three California hotels are great places to stay and just so happen to bring some […]

Fleet Week sails into San Fran

It’s one of San Francisco’s best-loved annual events that doesn’t involve food, wine, the Giants or the 49ers — San Francisco Fleet Week. From October 9 to 13, the city (or, more specifically, the air and the bay) plays host to naval personnel and machines of all types. With an emphasis on humanitarian assistance and […]

Bring your sweet tooth to San Francisco for Ghirardelli’s chocolate festival

San Francisco is a culinary fan’s mecca, a place where brilliant chefs use local ingredients to make innovative dishes, pairing them with regionally made wines that are sure to excite. But sticking around for dessert is a must in San Francisco, home to Ghirardelli Chocolates. For over 160 years this family-owned chocolatier has raised the […]

Hotel Zetta, San Francisco

Don’t let the neo-classical exterior fool you — stepping through the doors and into the lobby of Hotel Zetta is a truly modern experience. You’ll see chandeliers made of eyeglasses, as well as folks seated in ultra-comfy, modern chairs, sipping local beers and indulging in small bites in the lobby’s S&R Lounge. Proceed up to […]

Category: San Francisco