Finding Nirvana at The Mark Hopkins Hotel Lounge

August 29, 2017 Margalit Sturm Francus

One of my favorite perks when staying at a hotel is getting access to its club level lounge when it has one. Some disappoint, and others make me regret I can’t stay longer. Last week my son and I had the privilege of staying at San Francisco’s iconic Intercontinental Mark Hopkins Hotel. After being so impressed with the Mark Hopkins Hotel, I decided to add a post on the Lounge as well. Here is all about our Mark Hopkins Hotel Lounge experience.

Location of the Mark Hopkins Hotel Lounge

Unlike other hotels, the Mark Hopkins Hotel Lounge is on the lobby floor. Of course, it would have great to have this fabulous lounge on a higher elevation to see the spectacular city views, but I can still say that even with no views, this lounge has ranked quite high on my list of favorite lounges.

How to Get Access

IHG guests with top loyalty status, such as the InterContinental Ambassador or IHG Platinum and Spire will be up graded automatically. Those that have a lower status are at the mercy of availability. Or the last option is to pay out of pocket. It does range from $70-$110 per person per day, and kids are $25 a day plus the 8.5% sales tax.

Décor

The Mark Hopkins Hotel Lounge décor does an excellent job of blending luxurious old-school elements with modern functional touches. The two rooms club area and restaurant are decorated in hues of browns and golds. Though the palette of colors was a bit dark to my taste, it was not overwhelming as there were plenty of light colored items to brighten the rooms up. The long communal table outfitted with individual outlets is certainly the best center piece of the club lounge. A close second is the black and white chandeliers.

Seating was plentiful and comfortable ranging from higher chairs at the long table and lower upholstered ones at the various tables. One item I didn’t care about were the two equine marble statues that hung in front of the serving tables, but I guess they did blend into the general theme.

Hours of Operation

Open from 6:30 AM to 8:00 PM, you are sure to find fresh food available. Here you can even take your snacks and drinks back to your room if you prefer a quieter atmosphere.

The Mark Hopkins Hotel Lounge Food

Let me start by mentioning how much we liked the food. From the plentiful breakfast buffet to the happy hour appetizers everything by chef Michael Wong was top quality.

Breakfast

The breakfast spread was filling and delicious. It included a choice of lox, mackerel, cold cuts, hard cheeses along with the obligatory bacon, sausage, and scrambled eggs.

There was even a separate table with Chinese delicacies- sticky buns, rice, steamed vegetables, and dumplings. Those who crave some carbs and sweets could choose from a variety of pastries, waffles, and or pancakes.

If you are looking for a healthier breakfast, there is plenty of cut fresh fruit, fruit and granola cups, yogurts and cereals. Also, there were plenty of beverage choices starting with orange juice, sodas, bottled water and yes, specialty coffees.

Snacks

To our delight, the lounge stayed open throughout the day. We munched on fresh spicy potato chips, excellent trail mix, cookies and specialty chocolates all made in house.

The Happy Hour

The Mark Hopkins Hotel Lounge happy hour was equally spectacular. Of course, they had an open bar with hard liquor and excellent Napa Valley wines. The two days we stayed there were several appetizers like coconut jumbo shrimp, crab cakes served.

Other offerings included melon and prosciutto, cheese platters and various fruit. Though they didn’t have a gluten free or vegetarian option per se, they always had cut up vegetables and dips available. In fact, one could eat in the lounge and never spend a penny on outside food.

Service

What made the Mark Hopkins Hotel Lounge memorable? I can easily say it was the atmosphere! It was extraordinarily clean and quiet. I watched as David the manager took care of table arrangements and setup. On a personal note, he was incredibly friendly and helpful answering all my questions.

I really loved how the staff made everyone feel like they belonged there. Mind you this is a top hotel. We’ve stayed at many hotels, and sometimes the staff has a standoffish snobby attitude particularly if they regard some people as different than their regular clientele. Here the staff was nonjudgmental and incredibly welcoming!

Our Takeaway

We stayed as long as we possibly could at the club lounge. We were grateful that the staff let us stay past our check out time pretty much until we had to head home to San Francisco international airport. It was so pampering and comfortable we even skipped plans to tour the city.

[mappress mapid=”134″]

Have you been to the Mark Hopkins Hotel Lounge?
What do you look for in a good hotel lounge?