5 Star Fun in San Francisco: Executive Lounge at the Intercontinental

Appetizers at the executive lounge at the Intercontinental SF

The relaxing executive lounge

Anytime I stay in a hotel, I want to have access to the executive lounge. But like airport clubs, these lounges vary in quality.

The large indoor pool

I recently stayed at the Intercontinental in San Francisco, where the lounge had great views, an outdoor patio, a fantastic breakfast, and food and drinks throughout the day.

Yogurt parfait at breakfast 

When we arrived, our room wasn't ready, but at check in, we were told we could go hang out in the lounge for a bit. It was almost 5pm, so we were surprised that our room wasn't ready, but since the hotel offers a late check out, it can't have all the rooms ready at once.

[Note: the guy checking in next to us started yelling when told his room wasn't ready. Had he tried smiling or being somewhat nice, he might have been offered lounge access. It does work]

And since my daughter had just played six game of Ultimate Frisbee at a tournament, she was happy to just chill in the hot tub for a bit. But first we had espressos in the lounge, and some fruit and cheese.

The bathroom at the Intercontinental

We left our bags in the lounge, and when we returned to get them, a full bar was set out, along with appetizers from the Michelin-starred on site restaurant, Luce. We had dinner plants, but this is a fantastic amenity. When our kids were little, we made sure to always upgrade our room to club level so they could have a quick snack before dinner and not complain if our food took awhile.

Our king sized bed

The Intercontinental has a large fitness center, next to the indoor pool. We used the weights and yoga mats after a mostly flat run along with waterfront, then had breakfast in the lounge before starting our day.

The lounge had copies of the New York Times, and the expansive place meant we could eat and read in relative privacy. A waiter came around offering smoothies and refilling coffee cups and water glasses.

Note: I was offered a media rate at the Intercontinental. Opinions expressed are my own.