1 Hotel San Francisco

The redwood at every lift landing in 1 Hotel San Francisco came from an old San Francisco bridge, and from the bay side there is a working one to compare it with: the Bay Bridge, beyond the palms of the Embarcadero. The building was Hotel Vitale until 1 Hotels remade it in reclaimed wood. Barn boards floor the lobby, and behind the beds blocks of timber are laid in a patchwork, lit from above, with a tan leather headboard set against them. Ask for the bay side, a Waterfront or a Bay Bridge room. The City rooms get the office towers. On the roof are the chef's garden and the beehives, and stone tubs where the spa runs a soak in Pacific mineral salts.

Recommended for anyone who means to see San Francisco on foot, and for families happy to trade a pool and a kids' club, which it does not have, for a tent in the room: the Starlit Sleepover puts one up for the children, with a star projector and cookies and milk, and connecting rooms sleep six. The location is what guests praise, and fairly: the Ferry Building is steps from the door, and Chinatown and North Beach are a walk. For anywhere further the bikes are free, electric ones included, and the dog can come too, or the cat, whatever its size. Terrene cooks from the roof garden and Northern California produce, and the bar keeps its ingredients to within 50 miles. Even the fruit in the lobby is reclaimed: the farmstand sets out the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market's imperfect produce, which would otherwise have been thrown away, salvage on a smaller scale than a bridge.