When you picture San Francisco, you probably imagine the intensity of the Financial District, or perhaps the vibrant street life of the Mission. Maybe the throngs of visitors at Fisherman’s Wharf come to mind, too.
All of these neighborhoods are indeed iconic San Francisco spots. But there’s another, often overlooked part of the city with a totally different character.
The Presidio of San Francisco is a massive park on the city’s north side.
Converted from a former early 1900s military base and located right on the water, the Presidio is a vast, open space that feels like it moves at a very different pace from the rest of the city.
Right in the heart of the Presidio is a historic lodge that takes full advantage of its unique location.
The Lodge at the Presidio is in a prime location right on the Presidio’s main lawn. It’s an ideal combination of a historic building and modern, recently built features.
It also happens to be the closest hotel to the Golden Gate Bridge.
I stayed with my wife and our kids, and I found that the Lodge at the Presidio is a perfect spot for travelers seeking a quieter home base in San Francisco, fans of the Golden Gate Bridge who want to stay literally steps from it, and business travelers attending conferences or events in the Presidio itself.
Here’s my review.
The Basics
The Presidio originally served as a base for soldiers protecting San Francisco and America’s West Coast, beginning in the 1700s, but with the main modern military buildup around the early 1900s.
Many of the structures in the city today are historic buildings that once housed officers’ quarters, barracks, storage areas, and more.
The Presidio is built around a large central lawn that was the original parade grounds for the base.
Over the years, the Presidio Trust and other organizations have converted this military legacy into a home for the city’s nonprofits, mission-oriented organizations, restaurants, and startup companies.
The Lodge at the Presidio is located in one of these historic buildings, dating to 1919. Lest you think that the lodge itself will be creaky and old, though, the building was converted and turned into lodging very recently–in 2018.
That makes it an ideal blend of a centrally located historic structure and a modern, upscale hotel. For people who enjoy historic structures—but not necessarily “historic” air conditioners or “historic” plumbing—the rooms are outfitted very similarly to a boutique hotel property.
The location is absolutely ideal. You’re right on the main lawn, with views out over the San Francisco Bay.
You also have perfect views of a certain red bridge from nearly every room—more on that later!
The Lodge at the Presidio hosted my family so we could review and photograph the hotel. The Bay Area Telegraph paid for incidentals.
The Room
Again, despite being a historic property, the Lodge at the Presidio has modern conveniences like elevators and a modern check-in desk.
We were on the second floor, down a hallway covered in creative historical images showing the property’s military origins.
Our room was a spacious deluxe king bedroom.
It included a large wall-mounted TV, a comfortable king bed, and plenty of room for a pullout bed, since we are a larger family.
Many people staying here are probably business travelers. Our room had a nice-sized desk area where you could easily set up with a laptop and get some work done.
A Nespresso coffee maker and other thoughtful touches like large umbrellas for rainy season days enhanced the room.
The bathroom was one of the nicest features of our room. Historic structures often have older, tiny bathrooms that don’t feel like they meet the standards of a modern luxury property.
The Lodge at the Presidio’s bathrooms aren’t like that at all. Tastefully done in modern black-and-white tile and metal, the bathroom was a gorgeous space, while still preserving little details like the property’s historic windows.
It included a spacious soaking tub, modern vanity, and more.
Another amazing feature of the room didn’t reveal itself until the morning. When we woke up and opened the windows, we were initially greeted by fog.
As it lifted, we saw a spectacular sight—the Golden Gate Bridge slowly emerging from the fog banks and completely filling the frame of our room’s window.
This is the closest place you can stay to the Golden Gate Bridge, and it’s a brief walk—or an even shorter bike ride—away from the lodge.
The proximity to one of San Francisco’s most iconic landmarks is reason enough to stay at the Lodge at the Presidio.
The hotel also prides itself on sustainability, achieving a LEED Gold status. There are sustainability-minded features throughout, like a sealed bottle of filtered water in the rooms, and a modern HVAC system in the main areas that prioritizes incoming fresh air to keep the space ventilated without using too much power.
The Food
The Lodge at the Presidio does not have a full restaurant on site. There are several restaurants nearby, including Dalida, a few doors down, which is one of my favorite Middle Eastern spots in the city.
That said, restaurants are fewer and farther between in the Presidio than in other parts of the city.
The Lodge at the Presidio makes up for that by offering an excellent breakfast, which is included in the price of your room.
This is presented as a continental breakfast, which usually evokes visions of lukewarm yogurt and a handful of apples sitting out on a table.
The spread at the Lodge at the Presidio is not like this at all.
We came down in the morning with the kids and found a delicious breakfast setup that included locally made pastries, crusty sourdough bread with butter, jam, and other high-quality accompaniments, plenty of coffee and juices, a full charcuterie spread, and more.
Especially traveling with kids, I really appreciated the variety and quality of the items on offer.
We ended up sitting in the comfortable main room with the breakfast spread for about two hours.
Board games, a fireplace, and historical artifacts make this feel like a very cozy place to sit and hang out, especially on a foggy San Francisco morning.
We were even able to make some small sandwiches with sourdough bread, cheese, and charcuterie to take for the road.
For a business traveler looking to fuel up before pitching their latest AI startup, or a family like ours looking to fuel up the kids before the next leg of a road trip, the breakfast is an excellent addition to the stay.
The Location
There’s a lot to do in the Presidio itself. You can easily walk from the lodge to Crissy Field, or bring a bike and ride over the Golden Gate Bridge—an iconic experience.
Tunnel Tops Park is very close by as well, as are meeting places like the Officers’ Club in the Presidio.
The Walt Disney Family Museum is literally next door.
If you’re coming to the Presidio for a conference, the lodge should be an ideal, upscale place to stay. The Presidio’s conference facilities are an easy walk from the Lodge.
Of course, you also have easy access to everything San Francisco has to offer. The Presidio offers a free shuttle to other parts of the city, but many people choose to take a Waymo from the Presidio to other destinations.
The Verdict
Overall, the Lodge at the Presidio made an ideal place for our family to stay in the city.
If you want the street culture and urban feel of a big city, you may want to look elsewhere in San Francisco. Other neighborhoods will allow you to walk to tons of bars and restaurants or visit clubs.
If you are instead looking for a quiet and amazingly serene home base that’s in the heart of the city but feels a world apart from San Francisco’s urban core, the Presidio is a perfect fit.
The combination of a great breakfast and a massive lawn—where your kids can run and play—as well as nearby Crissy Field, where they can dip their toes in the bay, makes this an ideal spot for family travelers.
For business travelers, the larger rooms, well-appointed lobby, quieter setting, and the inspiration of having the Golden Gate Bridge right outside your window also make this an ideal spot.
I’ll also add that the Presidio feels like an extremely safe, clean, and quiet part of the city. I’ve never bought into the San Francisco “doom loop” narrative, but for travelers who want to visit the city yet might feel uncomfortable staying in its urban core, the Presidio would be an ideal place to set up a home base.
For us, living in the Bay Area means we’re familiar with much of the city. Still, this felt like a lovely spot for a staycation and gave us an ideal way to experience a part of the city we don’t make it to as often.
