Another hotel bucking the aristocratic aesthetic trend is the Orchard Garden at 466 Bush St. at Grant Avenue, just a few feet from the Chinatown Gate. The visual palette is far lighter and more serene than some of its boutique hotel competition, but the Orchard Garden, set to open in November, seeks to distinguish itself from the pack on grounds that are more than simply stylistic.
"Upon accreditation, we will be the first LEED-certified hotel in California," said Stefan Mühle, general manager of the sister Orchard Hotel, "and we are very confident that we will receive it." LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Scale certification is meted out by the U.S. Green Building Council and rates how environmentally efficient a building is.
Not surprisingly, natural light is critical to the Orchard Garden's mission and aesthetic. The lobby's design is light and airy, with wooden accents and a skylight above the restaurant. Archie Held's bronze and glass water sculpture and bronze screens comply with the hotel's Public Art Program and complement the bright, spalike quality that pervades the open, optimistic space. Style aside, though, this hotel is a hardworking little conservationist.
"People often ask," Mühle said, " 'What's so green about your hotel?' It's true we don't have solar panels on the roof, but we're green in a lot of unsexy ways. The backing to the carpet is made of recycled material, the toilet paper, too, and the linens. The cleansers are made with fruit extracts, and the room keys automatically shut off all the lights when you leave the room. A lot of what we do is informed by wanting to be green, but also by just being economical and smart."
Rounding out the field of the forward-looking is the chic Clift Hotel at 495 Geary St. The surrealist lobby; spare, mod rooms; and well-apportioned bar and restaurant by design doyen Philippe Starck give a wry, postmodern nod to the old-school before running gleefully amok. The centerpiece is, of course, the Redwood Room. A jaw-dropping vestige from the hotel's early days, the walls are covered in Deco redwood panels, and a dim glow lends the whole place a voluptuous old-time feel. The bar, however, has been replaced with modernist lapidary glass, and the video monitors on the walls shift from gilt Klimts to guilty lovers eyeing each other surreptitiously. The Clift appropriates many of the tropes of San Francisco's traditional hotels (see the fire burning away in the massive fireplace in the lobby) while achieving something significantly more avant-garde.
Now, before those of you who like your old-boys' clubs dim and your Manhattans stiff light up the phone banks at the Office of Historical Preservation, rest assured that some old San Francisco charm is still alive and well. Though the Patent Leather bar went the way of the Edsel a couple of years ago, the St. Francis at 335 Powell St. can still satisfy your craving for when Silent Cal still ran things.
But if you have a yen for a more contemporary or adventurous touch, consider the work of Dreyfus and his colleagues in modernization. "At Le Méridien I wanted to change how people look at things through light and color," Dreyfus said. "Imagine going into your hotel room and seeing San Francisco all in blue. That's something you wouldn't be used to."
Aaron Britt, Special to The San Francisco Chronicle - Sunday, October 29, 2006
