The New York Times, February 12, 2006
Check In: St. Regis San Francisco
The St. Regis brand had a San Francisco debut in November with the opening of this hotel in the Yerba Buena arts district of the city. Its 260 rooms are in a 41-story tower joined to the restored century-old Williams Building and sharing space with the striking Museum of the African Diaspora, which opens onto Mission Street with a three-story glass wall. The hotel joins a luxury market already occupied by the Four Seasons, Fairmont, Ritz-Carlton and Mandarin Oriental. Elias Assaly, the general manager for the St. Regis, also opened the neighboring W San Francisco seven years ago (both brands are owned by Starwood Hotels and Resorts). The contemporary-with-character interior design isn't terribly surprising; while the lobby's showpiece is a 16-foot-long open fireplace, it is powered by gas, and other than the three commissioned public art pieces outside, the wall sculptures and tastefully framed drawings within don't compete with the cutting-edge pieces at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art next door.