The area around Union Square in San Francisco is blessed with plenty of great architecture and important historical monuments, so it’s good to see a new kid on the block, such as Hotel G, keep its renovations sympathetic. The property was built in 1908 as The Fielding Hotel, and the hotel’s designers, New York firm Hun Aw Studio, recognised that much of what would make the place special again was already there. They set about restoring as many heritage features as possible – elements such as the concrete and wooden floors.
Onto these long-standing features were laid some nice embellishments, although rather than new, they are best described as timeless. Among the recent additions to the 13-floor, 158-room hotel are Victorian settees, vintage schoolhouse chairs, mid-century writing desks and fine old banker’s lamps. One truly new feature is the colour scheme, which re-inforces the classic theme by employing a light grey (“fog”) on the walls and painted white wooden panelling. The artwork on show is also worthy of special mention; the hotel has partnered with Creativity Explored, a non-profit for adults with developmental disabilities to exhibit and sell their art.
