Hotel Zetta in San Francisco

Hotel Zetta, the latest addition to Viceroy Hotel Group’s collection, is housed in a neo-classical building and one of San Francisco’s newest hotels. It opened its doors to guests and locals alike this June 2013... and the keywords here are "and locals alike". The public spaces of boutique Hotel Zetta are chalked full of playful décor and areas where you can actually play. Take for example the lofted Playroom which allows you to shoot pool, try your hand at shuffleboard, or get in a game of Atari and Nintendo. The massive Plinko wall (ummmm, yeah – my favorite The Price is Right game) in the lobby definitely sets the tone and screams “go get your play on”! Figuratively, of course. Because they so cheekily meshed old with new, once again...of course, they outfitted an antique British phone booth with Skype.

When we move into the guestrooms, we get hit in the “face” with crazy cool ORIGINAL art comprised of old floppy disks (love the contextual reference to SF). The 116 guestrooms are eclectic with a blend of styles and it seems to work nicely. Warm woods and a de-structured Oriental rug bring a welcoming, causal vibe to the space. Of course, the room is a safe haven for the tech-savvy guest with web-enabled flat screens that allow you to catch up on emails or that Netflix movie you paused, all accessible from your smartphone or tablet device.

The minds, designers, and planners behind this hotel incorporated a lot of strategic thinking, resulting in a final “act” which weaves together a contextual, clever, and novel experience. I must say…well played Hotel Zetta, well played!