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Marina District San Francisco
The Alpha Inn & Suites offers visitors a comfortable home base hotel near San Francisco’s famous Marina District. There is always something to do at the Marina District: it is one of the places where San Franciscans and tourists come to play. Bounded by the bay, the Presidio, Lombard Street, and Van Ness Avenue, the neighborhood actually has a marina, home to the Golden Gate and the St. Francis yacht clubs. The Marina Green overlooks the slips and is also a magnet for cyclists and skaters, volleyball teams, and Frisbee fanatics. All this is walking distance from the Alpha Inn & Suites.
Marina District Shopping and Dining
When you stay at one of our hotels in the Marina District of San Francisco, you are steps away from all the wholesome and/or upscale recreation, shopping, dining, and clubbing you could ever want. Decadence often sets the mood along Chestnut, the Marina District’s main street, where young professionals gather on the weekends. People-watching starts early: by 10:30 there are long waits at popular breakfast spots such as Judy's Cafe. Apartment buildings, shops and restaurants burst at their seams with beautiful, young, and fit 20- and 30-somethings. After a leisurely brunch, Union Street is arguably the best pace in the city to window-shop on a sunny afternoon.
The singles scene is always hopping on Friday and Saturday nights. It’s definitely not a place for a mellow evening! Chestnut Street also has an incredible variety of high-quality restaurants catering to every palate, all an easy walk from our San Francisco Marina District hotel. This is a much appreciated benefit of our guests: unless you want to pay to park in one of the neighborhood's few garages, finding a parking spot can take up to an hour.
For a panorama of the bay, Alcatraz, and the Marin Headlands, walk from our hotels near the Marina District to the San Francisco Marina Green, where you can walk, jog, or bike along the newly refurbished Golden Gate Promenade. From the Marina, the promenade extends west through Crissy Field to Fort Point and east around Fort Mason toward the Maritime Museum. The Marina Green is also one of the most popular kite-flying spots in the city. Pick up a kite at the Warming Hut café and bookstore, where organic and fresh foods are served.
Marina District Sights & Culture
The Marina District San Francisco sits on the site of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, staged after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake to celebrate the reemergence of the city. Aside from the Palace of Fine Arts (POFA), all other buildings were demolished to make a residential neighborhood. The architecture throughout the Marina has a great deal of retro Art Deco charm.
If you'd prefer high culture, head directly from our Marina District San Francisco hotel to Fort Mason, home to nonprofits like the Mexican Museum, the San Francisco African American Historical & Cultural Society, and the Museum of Craft & Folk Art. Or come back at night when the Magic Theatre, which launched playwright Sam Shepard's career, presents the emerging dramas it is known for.
Crissy Field: The Golden Gate National Parks Association has fulfilled its vision of creating a space that synthesizes recreational public space with environmental restoration. Walkers and joggers who frequent our hotels near the Marina District in San Francisco have embraced the field's shoreline path, known as the Golden Gate Promenade. On sunny days, kids, picnickers and Frisbee enthusiasts blanket the grassy 28-acre expanse. Cyclists have their own bike-only path, and, when the wind is good, world-class sailboarders can be seen skipping and soaring across the water. On the environmental end, huge portions of Crissy Field's original airstrip have been pulled up to allow for the attempted restoration of 20 acres of original tidal marshland. So far, the effort looks promising; for the first time in 60 years, some native animals are timidly beginning to show their faces in the area.
Fort Mason: Like Crissy Field, Fort Mason is a former military enclave now protected by the Golden Gate National Parks Association. Visitors will most likely want to focus on the lower buildings and piers, officially know as Fort Mason Center. The center provides a wealth of cultural and educational societies, museums and nonprofits, including but not limited to the San Francisco African American Historical and Cultural Society, Long Now Foundation Museum and Store, and the Museu ItaloAmericano. Fort Mason hosts numerous performances, festivals and exhibits throughout the year, so be sure to call (415) 441-3400 before you go.
Palace of Fine Arts: Created as the landmark building for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, the Palace of Fine Arts is indisputably the San Francisco Marina District's (if not all of San Francisco's) architectural grand dame. Though the structure was specifically designed to honor the completion of the Panama Canal (and was intended to be temporary), its construction and the exposition itself were symbols to city residents and to the world that San Francisco had overcome -- and in fact risen above -- the catastrophe of the 1906 earthquake and its consuming fire. Today the Palace of Fine Arts is home to one of the city's most beloved museums, the Exploratorium, which hosts more than 600 science and art exhibits, including the Tactile Dome, an experiential maze designed to disorient the senses. Call ahead to find out about special events and exhibits, or inquire at the front desk of the Alpha Inn & Suites Marina District hotel. 3601 Lyon St., (415) 397-5673.
Marina District Sights & Culture
Hespe Gallery: Hespe primarily represents emerging and mid-career California-based painters and artists. Shows in this small space change monthly and openings are often held on second Thursdays, though there are a few held on Saturdays. 1764 Union St., (415) 776-5918.
Hourian Fine Art Galleries: This small gallery has a decent selection of paintings and prints from local artists, including works by owner Mohammad Hourian himself. The gallery also offers custom framing and restoration. 1843 Union St., (415) 346-6400.
Images of the North: North in the case of this gallery refers to the Arctic, featuring Inuit sculptures, prints, masks, and jewelry. Sculptures of bears, eagles, and mythological figures fill the space. 2036 Union St., (415) 673-1273.
Book your stay in our Marina District San Francisco hotel.
2505 Lombard Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
Phone: (415) 921-2505
Fax: (415) 563-2371
Email: