Hotel Zetta San Francisco

In San Francisco, things are different. The locals have a finely-tuned sense for anything that could possibly come off as pretentious — which might be another way of saying that luxury, in San Francisco, means reclaimed wood, salvaged antiques, and a healthy dose of funkiness where an L.A. hotel might opt for glossy glamour. Either way, funkiness is what you get from Hotel Zetta, along with a playful edge that’s inspired by the tech industry, likely Zetta’s main source of patronage.

So instead of gilt and chandeliers — or alongside the gilt and chandeliers, to be scrupulously accurate — you’ll find the lobby dominated by a two-story Plinko game, and a second-floor lounge that features billiards and shufflepuck tables alongside its swanky modernist sofas and chairs. Meanwhile the guest rooms find an added measure of refinement; sure, the modular desks and vintage-hardware lamps are a subtle nod towards DIY culture, but you’re just as likely to be drawn in by the king beds with their leather headboards, or the luxe mosaic-tiled baths.

Hotel Zetta, in the end, is at home with just about any crowd. Which is a good thing, given the location. It’s south of Market but on the west end of SoMa, offering easy access not just to the convention center but to the Mission, Union Square, even the Financial District at a short hop — as well as some less savory neighborhoods, depending on which way you walk. In this compact city, though, where everything is a brief BART or taxi ride away, it’s what’s inside that matters, and these interiors are spaces in which you’ll gladly spend some time.