Big City Adventure and Personality Hotels: Hotel Diva

I was provided a complimentary stay at Hotel Diva in San Francisco, so I could experience Personality Hotels firsthand. All opinions expressed are my own.

A trip to “The City” is always a welcome adventure. We’re fortunate to live only 2 hours from San Francisco and for us country lovin folk, a trip to SF is always packed with awe and excitement. Many consider San Francisco the Paris of the West, due to its beauty, sophistication, diversity and variety of things to see and do. Finding the right hotel can be a daunting task, as hotels range from high end luxury to the proverbial flop house. We found just the right lodging that blends Big City, Perfect location and country friendliness – at the boutique hotel – Hotel Diva on Geary St. right near Union Square. 

Recently, we treated 3 grandsons to a day at AT&T Park to see our favorite Giants play. We’ve driven to SF many times, but this time we chose to put on our Big Kid pants and use public transportation to get us there. Be warned – if you chose to go by the Ferry in Vallejo without reserved seats, which get snatched up quickly, be prepared to arrive WELL in advance for the ferry to the SF Ferry building. We just missed getting tickets, and chose to drive to a Berkeley BART station, park and ride BART into The City. It was a gorgeous day and the walk from the Embarcadero Station to AT&T Park was enjoyable and invigorating. After the game (sadly, Giants lost ) we chose to avoid the crush of public transportation and walk to our hotel in Union Square – a brisk 15 min walk in shirtsleeves on a sunny Spring Day. 

Hotel Diva is perfectly located right on Union Square with bountiful shopping, eateries and the Curran Theater just across the street. The VERY friendly and accommodating staff got us checked in and situated. Grandpa wasn’t planning on spending the night, so he left me with the boys and caught the BART back to our car in Berkeley. Cleverhousewife and Little Girl were scheduled to arrive later that evening to spend the night and the next day with us at the recently moved and expanded Exploratorium right on the water at the Embarcadero. 

One of the highlights of staying at Hotel Diva is it’s right next door to David’s Jewish Delicatessen. We’ve been going there for almost 30 years to get Hamentaschen – a delectable Jewish pastry with prune or poppy seed filling.  Another  of the many perks of being right on Union Square is Macy’s! I’d forgotten to pack pajamas, so after I fed the boys Pizza from the boutique Pizzeria next door we walked the block to Macy’s – but not without stopping at the Giants Fan Store along the way. Who knew there were Lego characters of some of the famous SF Giants players? I’ll spare you the details of the boys playing Hide and Seek, and Wrestlemania in the lingerie dept of Macy’s. Needless to say, they didn’t see the significance of decorum when shopping in a Big City department store. 

Back at the Hotel Diva, we enjoyed the comforts of our well appointed room.  Right across the hall was the Tea Room featuring complimentary blends of lovely, relaxing herbal teas. On another floor was a fun room decked out with Perrier paraphernalia. The boys sipped their soda out of the in- room wine glasses and ate the remaining snacks from the ballgame while grandma relished sips of herb tea to calm some frazzled nerves. Later that night Emily and Little Girl met up with us for a restful night in preparation for our big day at the Exploratorium. 

When looking for just the right hotel in San Francisco that won’t put a huge dent in your travel budget, consider one of the Personality Hotels – you won’t be disappointed. We were treated to take part in Hotel Diva’s debut of their PREGNANT & PAMPERED package – a $49 add on at the 3 Personality hotels in SF – Hotel Diva, Kensington Park Hotel and Hotel Union Square. This luxury package, created for expectant moms includes:

Upon check-out the friendly front desk staff provided each of the children with an activity packet full of little games, coloring pages, stickers and coupons to Ghirardelli which kept them engaged and busy on the long car ride home later in the afternoon. Thank you Hotel Diva for a wonderful stay in “The City”! We’ll surely be returning for a repeat performance.