Not entirely sure when we started spending so much time in hotels, but there's definitely an allure to being a temporary guest in your own city. Spending the evening in a hotel room has some sort of distinct charm that makes reminds me of F. Scott Fitzgerald stories and the Fatty Arbuckle debacle. Most of our hotel going has been centered around warm weather and a pool, but this time the draw was just the opposite: a room with a fireplace. Mr Rolls never ceases to amaze me.
Cocktails and card games next to a blazing fire log make a great way to spend a rainy Saturday.
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The Ritz all booked up? The Carriage Inn is another new makeover by the Joie De Vivre folks (of Phoenix Hotel fame) and I have to say they did a pretty swell job. All the rooms are named for famous (and infamous) San Franciscans and you can take your pick among such notables as Lili Hitchcock Coit and Frank Chu. They seem to have an endless list of special rates and their prices aren't even bad to begin with, perhaps prompted by their location at 7th and Mission. Though they don't have a pool, rumor has it they just renovated the Best Western Americania across the street, home to our favorite afternoon swimming spot and the place where Franklin and I first fell in love in the biblical sense.