Palace Hotel

The Palace Hotel stands at the corner of Market and New Montgomery streets and has a long and eventful history. The original Palace, financed by the banker William Ralston, opened in October 1875 and was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and fire. The present building, completely rebuilt, opened on 19 December 1909. President Woodrow Wilson spoke in the Garden Court in 1919 in support of the League of Nations, President Warren G. Harding died in an eighth-floor suite in 1923, and in 1945 the hotel hosted a banquet for the opening session of the United Nations.

Today it is a Luxury Collection hotel, part of Marriott, with 556 rooms including 53 suites. A $150 million restoration and seismic retrofit closed the hotel from 1989 to 1991, and a further renovation in 2015, designed by Beatrice Girelli of Indidesign, refreshed the guest rooms, pool, fitness centre, lobby and Garden Court. The hotel is owned by Kyo-Ya Hotels and Resorts.

The Garden Court is the hotel's showpiece, a grand dining room under a glass dome on the site of the original hotel's skylit Grand Court. It is the setting for the Signature Afternoon Tea, which can be booked online and is a good way to see the room even if you are not staying. Off the marble lobby, the Pied Piper bar and restaurant is named after the large Maxfield Parrish painting that dominates it, a 16-foot mural that was briefly removed for auction in 2013 and returned after public protest.

Guests have use of a heated indoor pool beneath a glass skylight and a fitness centre next to it with cardio and weights equipment. Check-in starts at 4pm and check-out is at noon, and valet parking is offered. Rooms combine classic styling with modern comforts, and some look out over downtown.

The location is one of the most convenient in the city. The hotel is within walking distance of Union Square and close to public transport. It suits business travellers, couples and history lovers, and anyone who wants a central base with a sense of occasion. If you are visiting for afternoon tea, book ahead, particularly at weekends and in the holiday season.