Our Hyatt Regency San Francisco Embarcadero Review

If you’re planning a trip to San Francisco and looking for a hotel that has a convenient and safe location without feeling like you’re sleeping in the middle of Fisherman’s Wharf, the Hyatt Regency San Francisco might just be your sweet spot.

When I was planning our trip to San Francisco, I knew I wanted something close to the water, within easy walking or transit distance from some of the great sites, and without feeling like I was in the center of the tourist hub. And the Hyatt Regency definitely fit the bill!

During our stay, we found that this location on the Embarcadero really nailed the balance while offering great hospitality, even for a large conference-style hotel. There was a cable car stop right outside our door, but we never had to wait in line for it because it was just far enough removed from the busiest parts of the city. And when we had a mishap with a lost item, I was so impressed with how quickly and efficiently they helped us out.

So here’s what we loved, plus a couple things we didn’t, about this hotel and whether I think it’s worth booking for your next trip to the Bay Area.

Plan Your Trip to San Franciso

Want to stay where we stayed? Book the Hyatt Regency San Francisco here.
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Location & Transportation

A classic San Francisco cable car marked “Van Ness Ave California Market Streets 58” travels along tracks in the city’s Financial District, surrounded by tall buildings and clear blue skies. A pedestrian in the foreground photographs the scene, capturing the mix of historic charm and urban energy. — California Cable Car Line approaching the station next to the Hyatt Regency

The Hyatt Regency San Francisco is located near the Embarcadero in the Financial District, close to the Bay Ferry Terminal. This is actually a super convenient location because it’s near the water (and you get some great views), plus it’s near a lot of public transport.

The end of the California Cable Car line is literally right outside the door to this hotel. We could actually look down from our balcony and see it. We bought MUNI tickets that included unlimited cable car rides, so we loved the option to be able to take the cable car each morning closer to where we wanted to go in the city. Normally though, cable cars are $9 per ride.

There’s also a train right next to the hotel, but this is a BART station (although MUNI trains also use it). We found this very confusing (why can’t they all just run on the same tickets?), but if we had known that going in, I think we would have been less confused. So I recommend getting a pass that includes a Clipper Card, that way you’ll have access to both.

Here’s how to get to some of the most popular spots in San Francisco from the Hyatt Regency (besides taking a Waymo, which was our other favorite mode of transportation in San Francisco!):

Chinatown — Take the California Line up to Powell Street and then walk a couple blocks over. A total trip of about 15 minutes.
The Presidio — Take the MUNI (there are several different options…we found the directions in Google Maps always helped!). It takes about 45 minutes.
Pier 39 — Take the historic streetcar F to Fisherman’s Wharf, about a 15 minute journey.

From the airport, we chose to take an Uber to get to our hotel. It costs about $50-$75 to get from SFO to this area of the city in an Uber.

But you can also choose to take BART, which is connected right to the airport. It takes about 1 hour to get to the hotel from the airport that way (vs. 30-ish minutes in a car depending on traffic).

Is This Area of San Francisco Safe?

Another question lots of people have about San Francisco is…is it safe? We felt safe 100% of the time in this area of San Francisco, even at night. In fact, we felt safe pretty much the whole time we were in the city! (The only time we saw anything that made us uncomfortable was actually what seemed like a shoplifting situation in a CVS near one of the most popular tourist areas.)

So yes, this hotel is definitely in a safe area!

Booking & Price

We booked out room using World of Hyatt points, and I had a Suite Upgrade certificate that I used that allowed us to upgrade to a suite for the duration of our 4-night stay. Rooms can be booked up to 13 months out generally.

Typically though, the prices for this hotel run around $600 per night, but you can sometimes find nights with lower rates. But with points rooms being around 23,000 points for standard nights, I think this is a pretty good use of points!

Lobby & Check-In

The towering atrium of the Hyatt Regency San Francisco with layered balconies leading up to a skylight, featuring a large bronze-toned abstract sculpture made of interwoven metal ribbons. Warm lighting and patterned flooring enhance the grandeur of the spacious lobby. — The lobby of the Hyatt Regency San Francisco

The building that the Hyatt Regency is housed in is actually very architecturally interesting. It was built in 1973 by John Calvin Portman and actually holds the Guinness World Records as the largest hotel lobby in the world.

It’s an interesting shape too, because if you look at the hotel from above it kind of looks like half a pyramid lying on its side. And the inverse of this is true on the inside, as each level slants up towards the ceiling.

When you walk into the lobby, you’re in a large atrium with concrete railings looking all the way up, abstract art (including a large piece called Eclipse by Charles O. Perry), and glass elevators. It’s very modernist and brutalist, and honestly despite all the concrete I thought it was really beautiful.

I always love atrium type lobbies because I think it is fun to be able to look down from your hallway and see what’s going on in the hotel. So I enjoyed that aspect of this one!

Check-in was super smooth and the staff was very friendly, and we were up to our hotel room in no time!

Room (Suite) Review

A modern hotel room with a neatly made bed, gray upholstered headboard, and a bedside table with a lamp and telephone. A tan armchair with a gray pillow sits near a floor-to-ceiling window with sheer curtains, offering a view of nearby city buildings. — The bedroom in our Balcony Suite

As I mentioned, we used a Suite Upgrade Certificate to upgrade to a Balcony Suite here. And I’m so glad we did because our room was super spacious and I LOVED having a balcony!

We had a large living room with a full-sized L-shaped couch that folded out into a bed (our daughter slept here). There was also a desk, another sitting chair, a TV, and a long table where we could put all the stuff we dropped when we came in the door (like keys and wallets and such).

A stylish hotel suite living area with a beige sectional sofa accented by rust and black pillows, a round white coffee table, and a modern armchair with an ottoman. A large framed artwork of San Francisco’s Painted Ladies hangs on the wall, while sliding glass doors with sheer curtains let in natural light. — The living room in our Hyatt Regency Balcony Suite

Then we had a separate bedroom with a king-size bed, and an en-suite bathroom with a large shower. There was only one sink in the bathroom though, and the toilet was not separated off into its own room.

Modern hotel bathroom with a light-toned vanity and rectangular sink, a wall-mounted wooden towel rack, and a glass-enclosed shower with mounted toiletries. Neutral tile flooring and soft beige walls create a clean, minimalist look. — The main bathroom in our Hyatt Regency Balcony Suite

There was, however, another half bath between the living room and the bedroom, which was a big plus!

We also had a balcony that spanned across both rooms, which I really enjoyed. Although we didn’t have a great view of the Bay Bridge or the Embarcadero (some rooms do) I enjoyed being able to look out over the buildings of the Financial District.

View of San Francisco’s Financial District from a high-rise balcony, showing tall office buildings and the pointed spire of the 555 California Street tower. A busy street lined with cars and cable car tracks runs between the skyscrapers under a clear blue sky. — The view of the Financial District from our balcony.

Overall, the room was super comfortable. The bed slept well, everything was clean, and I thought the modern but warm decor was perfect. And while there are things that could have been different that would have made our room go up on a notch in my ratings (like a separate toilet room), it was a solidly good room and I don’t have any complaints.

Of course, if you book a regular room as opposed to a suite, you’ll have less space. However, the solid standards that were met in our suite should remain the same.

Food & Beverage

Regency Club

Bay view from a high-rise lounge showing the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge stretching across the water under a clear blue sky. A small table and chairs sit by the window, with part of the Hyatt Regency San Francisco’s “#RevolveAtTheTop” sign visible in the foreground. — We loved eating breakfast at the Regency Club with this view each morning! I can’t guarantee the same great weather we had though!

I’ll be honest. Since I had Globalist status and we had access to the Club, this was pretty much the only place we ate each day.

And y’all! If you can get access to the Regency Club here, do it! This is one of the coolest Hyatt Clubs I have been to!

To get access to the Club, you will either need to be a Hyatt Globalist, get a room at Club Level, or have a Guest of Honor certificate you are redeeming for Globalist benefits.

It’s at the very top of the building in what used to be a restaurant called The Equinox. And it rotates around for different views of the city! (Usually 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the evening.) We had so much fun sitting up here and eating breakfast or snacks throughout the day and just moving around in the slow circle to see the city.

The Regency Club serves a continental breakfast each day, as well as hors d’oeurves and drinks in the evening. I thought the food here was perfectly fine, although there wasn’t anything that particularly blew me away. But we went back each morning for breakfast and enjoyed it!

Eclipse Kitchen & Bar

This is the main restaurant in the hotel lobby. They are open for breakfast and dinner.

They serve California-inspired dishes here like Blue Corn Breakfast Tostadas, Stuffed French Toast, or a Farmer’s Vegetable Frittata for breakfast. Their dinner menu includes items like Classic Ensenada Fish Tacos, a Bistro Steak, and a Sweet Potato & Vegetable Yellow Curry.

The space is really beautiful, but I will say that since it is in the lobby it does seem like it can get a little loud and echoey.

The Market

This is the grab-and-go and fast-casual dining spot in the hotel. They are open from 6 am to 10 pm each day (or 11 pm on Fridays and Saturdays).

You can get breakfast items like a Breakfast Burrito a Cheese Omelette, or a Belgium Waffle. And for lunch or dinner there are salads and sandwiches like a Napa Turkey sandwich, a Bang Bang Chicken Wrap, a Farmer’s Market Salad, and even hot dishes like a burger and a burrito.

Hotel Amenities

One of the biggest amenities of the Hyatt Regency San Francisco is the conference spaces. This, of course, didn’t apply to us. But this hotel can have more of a “corporate” feel to it, and it’s clear they host a lot of events here in their spaces below the lobby. (There was actually a conference starting as we were leaving.)

There is also Fitness Center here that looks out into the lobby, which I will say is a little public facing for my gym preferences. But it has plenty of equipment and will definitely work for you if you want to work out on vacation.

There isn’t a pool here, so that’s something to be aware of if you’re traveling with kids who love a hotel swim.

Close-up of a cozy hotel room corner featuring a mustard yellow armchair with a textured gray pillow, next to a modern floor lamp. Above the chair hangs framed artwork depicting a vintage orange and white streetcar in front of San Francisco’s Ferry Building. — Bedroom sitting area (well, okay, just a chair) in our Balcony Suite

Service & Staff

Service here was great. Our room was clean each day, the people at the desk were helpful, and everything went super smooth during our stay!

We actually had one mishap though that the staff was SO helpful with!

When we were driving out the city on our way to Yosemite, we were about 30 minutes away when my daughter realized she was missing her school yearbook that she had *just* received. After I triple checked her backpack to make sure it wasn’t there, we called the hotel to see if it was still in our room, suggesting that maybe it had slid down into the couch cushions.

They immediately went to go look for it, found it, and before I knew it I had an email in my inbox asking for my info so they could send it back to me through a third-party company they use. I really appreciated their quick response, and the yearbook was back in our mailbox by the time we got home from our vacation!

Pros & Cons

Overall, the Hyatt Regency San Francisco was a great hotel! So let’s break down the pros and cons.

Pros

Convenient location with access to transportation
Clean and modern rooms
Plenty of availability
The coolest Hyatt Regency Club!

Cons

It may feel a little too big and corporate for some people
The location, while convenient, isn’t quite in tourist-central

Would I Stay Here Again?

So, when I return to San Francisco, would I stay here again? Absolutely, yes! I thought this was a great hotel, and I would definitely be willing to return to it.

Now *would* I stay here on a return trip? That’s a different question. There are SO many great hotels in San Francisco, and on a return trip I may want to try something different. I especially have my eye on Hotel Kabuki for a more boutique feel.

But if the Hyatt Regency San Francisco is the best option, I wouldn’t hesitate to return.

Book Recommendations

We always love pairing our travels with a great book! Here are a couple recommendations for San Francisco!

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan about mothers and daughters in Chinese immigrant families in San Francisco.
On the Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, another mother daughter story set in the music scene of 1950s San Francisco amidst gentrification drama.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo, a YA book that’s won a ton of awards (including the National Book Award!) about two girls falling in love in 1950s Chinatown, when their romance is very much controversial.

Looking for more options? I’ve got a whole list of books about California here!