AC Hotels by Marriott | July 20, 2017

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – JULY 20, 2017 – AC Hotel San Francisco Airport/Oyster Point Waterfront – the newest property within the AC Hotels by Marriott brand – will open in September 2017. Conveniently located just 10 miles from downtown San Francisco and 10 minutes from San Francisco International Airport, this brand-new 187-room property is the perfect addition to South San Francisco’s growing biotech hub, providing the area with an upscale experience in a waterfront hotel that’s already being called a work of art. The architectural touch point is a wall of glass facing the San Francisco Bay, while the rest of the European-style structure surrounds a central al fresco courtyard.

AC Hotel San Francisco Airport/Oyster Point Waterfront is designed for entrepreneurial and innovative travelers who frequent the Bay Area. Featuring AC Hotels by Marriott’s signature open-concept spaces, modern furnishings, and sleek lines, this hotel will appeal to style-savvy business travelers and vacation-goers seeking a sophisticated European-inspired experience.

Calming neutral color palettes create a modern oasis for busy travelers. Guestrooms and suites feature crisp white linens, open closet systems, and furniture elevated from the ground that gives way to sleek hardwood floors.

The beverage and food program provides flexible options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even just a quick snack. The AC Kitchen serves both a “Grab-n-Go” and buffet breakfast with flaky croissants, savory egg tarts and freshly sliced Iberico prosciutto.

Serving lunch and dinner, the AC Lounge offers travelers a chic space to connect or conduct business meetings by day and a hub of social buzz by night. The extensive beverage program highlights local craft beers, specialty wines by the bottle and on tap, and expertly made drinks including the hotel’s signature “Karl the Fog” cocktail. Guests can indulge in tapas-style bites and snacks such as charcuterie and cheeses, as well as a Spanish-inspired menu for lunch and dinner. Weekly “lounge activations,” in collaboration with Bay Area artists, musicians and culinary experts, provide an authentic and local cultural experience.

Hotel amenities include a 24-hour fitness center with an indoor heated pool, a library featuring an array of inspiring titles, complimentary airport shuttle, complimentary parking, complimentary WiFi throughout the hotel, and hydration stations on each floor. The AC Store, open 24 hours, offers a selection of locally sourced beverages and snacks for purchase including Blue Bottle Coffee, IT’S-IT Ice Cream Sandwiches, and Dandelion chocolates.

With the opening of this vibrant new property, South San Francisco’s growing business community gains state-of-the-art space for meetings, events, and presentations. AC Hotel San Francisco Airport/Oyster Point Waterfront features five meeting rooms, totaling more than 8,000 square feet of flexible space with the latest high-tech equipment; catering is available as well. For those in need of a spot for a quick meeting, this AC Hotel in the Cove at Oyster Point offers a media salon that is rentable by the hour. Wireless service buttons are provided in the public and meeting spaces, enabling guests to immediately request a staff member’s attention.

Conveniently located just one mile from a Caltrain station, guests can easily take public transportation directly to San Francisco and arrive just steps from AT&T Park, located along the Embarcadero. The hotel is nestled on the edge of Oyster Cove, a calm inlet along the San Francisco Bay Trail. On this four-mile stretch of the San Francisco Bay Trail that runs between two marinas, guests will be brought back in time to a place where oysters were farmed and ships were built. This area is perfect for running, biking, and fishing.

AC Hotel San Francisco Airport/Oyster Point Waterfront is located at 1333 Veterans Boulevard, South San Francisco, CA 94080. To learn more and to make a reservation, call (650) 742-9211 or visit www.achotelsfo.com. Follow the hotel on Facebook at www.facebook.com/achotelsfo and Instagram & Twitter @achotelsfo.

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Greg’s hospitality career spans 25 years, beginning at the ripe age of 17, when he accepted his first job in the hotel industry as a waiter at the Courtyard by Marriott in Brentwood, TN. Since then, Greg has held positions at five brands under the Marriott umbrella, including The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco Marriott Marquis, Courtyard by Marriott, Residence Inn and, most recently, the Residence Inn by Marriott in San Diego, where he served as General Manager. Greg is particularly excited to take on his role at the new waterfront AC Hotel at Oyster Point.Greg holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from San Jose State University, and is a certified life coach through Marriott.

General ManagementSan FranciscoCaliforniaUnited States

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Representatives of the OYO Hotel were granted a reprieve until 1 p.m. Tuesday to show progress on 19 pages of code violations brought forth at a hearing Friday morning before the Bradford City Board of Health.

The rooming license of the facility was suspended last week due to numerous code violations.

Ashok Bhatt, regional manager for Millstone Investment which owns the property, was present, coming in from San Francisco to address the matter. City administrator Chris Lucco presented the case for the city, while health officer John Peterson was the judge for the hearing.

Lucco began by spelling out the city’s case.

“On Tuesday, Oct. 17, health director Michael Cleveland approached me about multiple serious code violations at the OYO Hotel,” Lucco said. “Most notably, the inoperability of the majority of exits.”

Exits were chained shut, screwed shut or otherwise inoperational. Lucco said more inspections were done, including on Oct. 23 and 24, and many more code violations were found.

Bhatt opened by saying, “Negligences have happened and we apologize for that. Most of the work which was required was completed already,” he said, referring to the earlier inspection by Cleveland. “A new list was provided yesterday and I immediately took action. I have instructions to my people to do the job. I went straight to Home Depot and purchased all the items for the imminent issues.”

He noted he wished to cooperate fully with the city, and said his employees were warned not to lock fire doors or remove smoke detectors. “We are doing the best we can,” he said. “We are supporting the local low-income community.”

Bhatt added that the goal is to be able to sell or lease the building to someone local.

Cleveland was the first to the stand, addressing issues with the building itself. Included are that fire doors should be operational and paths should be clear, the chain blocking the fire escape should be removed, smoke alarms need to be operational, exit signs should be lighted, an exterminator is needed for a severe cockroach and bed bug infestation, the roof needs extensive repair or replacement, windows need to be in place, the sidewalk must be evaluated and repaired and the brickwork on the McDonald’s side of the building is “in dire need of repair,” he noted.

After explaining a certified letter had been sent to Millstone in San Francisco and was received, Cleveland said the clock starting counting on when repairs needed to be made.

Lucco asked, “Have any of them been addressed?”

Cleveland looked over the list again, said the exit signs were lighted and a burned receptacle was partially replaced.

“In the past when you have found violations, did you work well with management to give them time to address them?” Lucco asked.

Cleveland said yes. “Due to the age of the building and the age of the systems, it’s not as easy as going to the hardware store to get replacement parts.”

He added that while there are multiple issues, the biggest problem is the staff blocking fire exits.

“I was not aware of them innocently doing that,” Bhatt said.

Lucco objected, saying Bhatt could ask questions, but not testify. Bhatt then asked Cleveland for suggestions to address the doors.

“Potentially cameras,” Cleveland said. “It’s my understanding from the staff that occupants of the building were letting people in who weren’t supposed to be in the building. My suggestion would be cameras or even buzzers on the doors.”

Property maintenance officer Brandon Plowman testified next, authenticating a 19-page list of code violations found at the OYO, and reading a synopsis of it. He said there were 68 people living there — 37 adult males, 25 adult females, six juveniles including a child as young as 3, and a total of 27 pets — 18 cats, eight dogs and one guinea pig.

The main concerns, he said, were unsafe or inadequate electrical, heating, sanitation and plumbing. The existing code violations showed a “complete disregard for the safety of the occupants and visitors,” Plowman said. He detailed live electrical wires near water, overloaded electrical systems with space heaters because the heating system isn’t adequate, a threat to passersby from loose bricks; sinks, tubs and toilets not working; crumbling plaster, peeling paint, water damage, 40 windows missing or broken and more.

“The fire escape is barely secured to the building and not capable” of serving its purpose, he added. Lucco said it is being held on by a ratchet strap.

Property Maintenance Officer Travis Crawford took the stand, presenting a thumb drive with more than 400 photos taken of the code violations in and around the building.

Bhatt called only one witness, Julie Tipton, who identified herself as office personnel at OYO. She detailed several areas where they have started with repairs, and several where they were working to get estimates.

In his closing statement, Bhatt said, “We were unaware of these issues. We are taking prompt action. The number one priority of the fire exits, before I leave this city, we are putting in those cameras. The other violations, any and all electrical issues, the paint, the ceiling and broken things, as my witness Julie said we are in good progress and on top of the issues now.”

He added that Millstone had taken quick action when they learned of the issues. “No one wants, including me, this building to be shut down. I will hope you restore the license of the building.”

Peterson said, “As health officer, I am deeply concerned and troubled by the infestation problem. You have no quotes, no movement to eradicate the problem. The other is hot and cold running water, which are basic necessities of life.”

He mentioned the other problems too, including the wiring. “If you read that report, all of these are life safety issues. I have a major concern for the nearly 80 people, the pets and the guinea pig.”

Peterson took a short break before reconvening the hearing. He said he would take the matter under advisement, would ask the health director and property maintenance to inspect the OYO again on Halloween, and reconvene a hearing at 1 p.m. Tuesday to see what sort of progress had been made before making a decision.

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OAKLAND Athletics have been edging closer to joining the Oakland Raiders, their once-neighbors, and securing a move to Las Vegas.

The MLB team’s relocation push comes after numerous failed attempts to build a new ballpark in the San Francisco Bay Area — with one of the biggest projects falling through 18 years ago.

The Oakland Athletics revealed new ballpark plans in 2005 with the arena, located across the street from the aging Coliseum, supposed to fit 35,000 spectatorsCredit: Oakland A’s
The ballpark would feature one of the biggest scoreboards in the major leagues and a built-in hotel or an apartment building with thousands of residential unitsCredit: Oakland A’s
The A’s reportedly saw at least eight attempts to build a new ballpark fail before the franchise began Las Vegas relocation talksCredit: 2023 Getty Images

In 2005, then-A’s owner Lew Wolff revealed plans to construct a new home for his team just north of the iconic Coliseum.

It would consist of a two-tiered stadium with a capacity of 35,000 and one of the largest scoreboards in the major leagues.

The development would also feature a shopping plaza, a new subway station, and even a built-in hotel in one of the outfield walls — or an apartment building with thousands of residential units.

“The Oakland Athletics don’t just want to build a new ballpark, they want to build an entire neighborhood,” The East Bay Times wrote at a time.

The sports complex would be located across the road from the Coliseum, stretching from 66th Avenue all the way to High Street — on a land of about 100 acres.

The ballpark itself was estimated to cost between $300-$400 million, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.

It was expected to be built mostly with private funds, though.

However, the project’s success hinged on getting more than 30 business owners occupying the land to sell their properties and relocate.

“We are not here to ask you to bully people out of their property,” Wolff said in 2005.

“Maybe there are some people who are community-orientated and who would step back and support this.”

In the end, the A’s and Oakland politicians failed to strike an agreement with the landowners and the development plans fell through.

Currently, the area is home to businesses ranging from coffee wholesalers to auto parts and plumbing supply stores — and even features a flea market.

The A’s saw at least eight different ballpark construction projects fail before they began Las Vegas relocation talks, NBC Bay Area reported this year.

The franchise has reportedly purchased and secured public funding for a new $1.5 billion arena along the famous Strip, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

MLB owners are expected to vote on the team’s relocation in mid-November.

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Reset Hotel, a new hotel coming to Twentynine Palms, a Palm Springs exurb adjacent to the North Entrance of Joshua Tree National Park, has started construction with $11.2 million in C-PACE financing from PACE Loan Group (PLG). Qualifying C-PACE improvements include plumbing, HVAC, electrical, lighting, building envelope, and seismic measures. The 30-year loan is combined with a $7.5 million first mortgage.

Located at 7000 Split Rock Ave., the project will use modular techniques to reduce the construction time by nearly half and is expected to open in early 2025. Once complete, the hotel will be managed by Sightline Hospitality, a manager of independent, soft-branded, and unique-branded hotels that was founded in 2019 and based in San Francisco.

“Given the lack of high-quality, experiential lodging options near Joshua Tree National Park, we believe the C-PACE investment will support the sponsor’s vision for a unique new amenity to the area,” said Rafi Golberstein, CEO of PLG. Jacob Roth, VP at PLG, provided underwriting expertise on the loan.

“Given the location near Joshua Tree, our team knew that having a C-PACE component both demonstrates our commitment to the environment and strong financial stewardship,” said Adam Wininger, one of the developers of the project. “PACE Loan Group was a pleasure to work with, providing a clear and uncomplicated path to closing.”

PACE Loan Group’s Matthew McCormack will be among the experts taking the stage at Connect Investment & Finance 2023 on Oct. 24 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont, IL. Click here to register.

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STAR EDITORIAL BOARD

Last Thursday’s announcement of a hotel proposal at Charles Krug Winery raises some legitimate questions:

Where will the water come from? How will guests and employees get in and out? What will be the economic benefits for St. Helena?

One response the idea doesn’t deserve — at least not at such an early stage — is a flat “No!”

In the days since the announcement, we’ve been disappointed by some of the knee-jerk anti-hotel sentiment. The attitude among a vocal segment of St. Helenans seems to be A) This is a hotel, B) Hotels are bad, ergo C) This is bad.

That’s not a thoughtful response. Our community is capable of better than that.

There are right and wrong ways to develop hotels, and it’s too soon to tell which category the Noble House/Wine Train/Krug proposal falls into.

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The still-unbuilt Farmstead project is a model for how a hotel plan can boost the economy, respect the surrounding community, promote St. Helena’s values, and mitigate for its own infrastructure demands.

Maybe the Krug project is just as good. Maybe it’s a disaster. Maybe it’s promising but needs some fine-tuning. Who knows? We haven’t even seen a room count.

In the early days of Rodney Friedrich’s decades-long campaign to build a hotel at Vineland Station, he was presenting his plan at a community meeting when one of his easels fell over. The staunchly anti-hotel crowd cheered with schadenfreude.

We hope those days are over. We need to approach this new project with a spirit of open-minded inquiry.

A June report from Urban Land Institute San Francisco urged the city to pursue more lodging to fund quality-of-life community investments like park maintenance, sidewalk improvements and affordable housing. Downtown businesses say they’re struggling to attract the level of foot traffic enjoyed by more hotel-friendly communities like Calistoga, Yountville and downtown Napa.

As our storm drains and roads crumble and our public works to-do list gets longer and more expensive, St. Helena has been trying to change the perception that we are closed for business. The new General Plan and zoning code signal that St. Helena is open to innovative forms of commerce.

The Farmstead hotel proposal, David and Elyse Walker’s tasteful and historically appropriate restoration of the Vasconi’s building, Ann Backen’s NoMa Café and Collective, and Elliot Bell’s new Charlie’s restaurant demonstrate that smart and creative entrepreneurs are again investing significantly in our town.

That’s why we need to give the Krug hotel proposal a fair hearing before we take a position for or against it.

Is this the right project to help St. Helena’s economy? Is it the right size? What about water demand, sewer capacity and traffic? What are the implications of extending the urban limit line to encompass the project site?

We should attend next week’s meetings, ask those questions, and generate an informed opinion based on the answers — not just shout “No!”

Community meetings on hotel plan

5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25

5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26

St. Helena High School gym

The Star editorial board consists of Napa Valley Register editor Dan Evans and community volunteers Norma Ferriz, Shannon Kuleto, Bonnie Long, Peter McCrea, Chuck Meibeyer, Gail Showley and Dave Yewell.

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Pebblebrook Hotel Trust has jettisoned the Hotel Zoe Fisherman’s Wharf for $68.5 million, one of two hotels it planned to sell in San Francisco.

The Maryland-based real estate investment trust sold the 221-room hotel at 425 North Point Street, the San Francisco Business Times reported. The buyer was undisclosed.

Pebblebrook bought the 33-year-old Hotel Zoe in 2015 for $122 million, or $552,000 per room. The sale, priced at $309,955 per room, is expected to close by year’s end — for a $53.5 million loss.

Last spring, the Bethesda-based REIT indicated it was also poised to sell the 196-room Hotel Zeppelin San Francisco at 545 Post Street. It may have scotched those plans after opening the PLS on Post anchor restaurant last month, according to the Business Times.

It purchased the 110-year-old Hotel Zeppelin in 2014 for $49 million, or $306,000 per room.

The sale of the Hotel Zoe marks the fifth hotel Pebblebrook has sold in the city since 2021.

The hospitality firm began 2020 with 12 hotel properties in San Francisco, its largest hotel market. Then as the pandemic ramped up, it sold four of its hotels across the city.

The sales included the Sir Francis Drake in early 2021 to Northview Hotel Group and Angelo Gordon; the Villa Florence later that year to AWH Partners and The Roxborough Group; The Marker last July to an affiliate of Stockdale Capital Partners for $77 million, or $370,000 per room; and Hotel Spero last August to an affiliate of Fairwood Capital for $71 million, or $380,000 per room.

But Pebblebrook, now owner of eight hotels in San Francisco, has expressed confidence throughout the pandemic in the city’s economic turnaround. In 2021, it sank $25 million into renovating the Hotel Vitale, now the 1 Hotel San Francisco at 8 Mission Street.

Jon Bortz, CEO of Pebblebrook, has been bullish in earnings calls on San Francisco’s long-term prospects — even as its deteriorating public image led him and Park Hotels & Resorts CEO Thomas Baltimore to fly out to the city and meet with Mayor London Breed to discuss homelessness and high-profile property crimes. 

He came away encouraged, according to the Business Times.

Pebblebrook still maintains a presence on Fisherman’s Wharf, with its 361-room Hotel Zephyr Fisherman’s Wharf at 250 Beach Street.

— Dana Bartholomew

Read more

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Do you remember when, near the start of the pandemic, the government launched its national retraining scheme and everyone had a right old giggle because waiters were being told to retrain as boxers, and classical music conductors were being asked if they’d ever considered a career as a chimney sweep? Well, if I lived in Toronto and my life suddenly went down the swanny, I know what I’d retrain as. I’d retrain as a window cleaner. Hear me out.

For half the year temperatures flit between a clement 16°C and a tropical 30°C (things get a little chilly come winter, I’m told, but I figure the blizzards will do the hard work once things get properly Arctic). You’d be plying your trade at the edge of Lake Ontario, three times the size of Devon, so ocean vistas (basically) and an enlivening sea breeze. It’d keep you fit. The views would be top. And you’d get to work by yourself (the dream, right?). Mostly, though, I’d retrain as a window cleaner because in Toronto you’d never go out of work.

If you thought the march of the soul-crushing high-rise apartment block was purely a London phenomenon, think again. Cheap-looking glass towers are hot in Toronto. They’re called condominiums here, of course, but you already knew that from all those Botox-and-sunset-filtered American ‘realty’ TV shows.

The nasty glass buildings trudge all along the Queen Elizabeth Way. They peter out around Humber Bay, but not before making you wonder whether it’s all some sort of racket; whether a group of window-cleaning wiseguys, in cahoots with a bunch of mob-affiliated developers, have muscled into the city’s planning department and given everyone inside the shakedown with the threat of a squeegee up the jacksie. How else to explain how these canyons of doom towers ever get built? No one asks for them. Not in London, not in Toronto. It’s not the sort of thing you expect to see in Canada. For whatever reason, romanticised preconceptions probably, you expect Canada to be better than that. It’s not, sadly.

You can see just how filthy rich I’d be from Harriet’s. The view from the ritzy rooftop bar of 1 Hotel Toronto is one big construction site of towering green glass and how’d-they-get-those-up-there cranes. Peer beyond and you can just about make out Toronto’s lower-rise Entertainment District and historic Old Town, where buildings are made of brick and stone, and those that aren’t aimed their architectural ambitions a little higher than the bottom line.

It will cost you tens of thousands of pounds to stay in the hotel below the bar. It’s not that rooms at 1 Hotel Toronto are astronomically expensive. It’s just that once you’re home, the wife will insist on redecorating the entire house in a palette of greys and beiges. Those polished floor tiles in the hall will have to be ripped up and replaced with bleached floorboards; the living room furniture traded for tables and chairs made of reclaimed wood and carved stone; a living wall will have to be installed somewhere in the kitchen. And house plants. You’ll need to get used to watering a lot more house plants. For your impending top-to-bottom home renovation, you have David Rockwell to thank.

At the beginning of 2020, the New York-headquartered biggest-name-in-interior-design was employed to turn the ageing Thompson Hotel, famous for throwing MBA after-parties, into the first Canadian outpost of the US-based eco-luxury hospitality group, 1 Hotels.

As well as a forest of salvaged wood and a reception desk carved from a chunk of polished white stone, upon the hotel’s August 2021 opening, guests were welcomed to a lobby littered with giant granite boulders, shelves made from a dismantled barn (now bowing under a jungle of crotons, dracaenas and Madagascar dragon trees), and a stunning wall installation made from (what looks like) massive potpourri (I’ve massively undersold it there).

‘Sustainable luxury’ – buzzword klaxon – is 1 Hotels’ shtick. So, an internal courtyard that doubles as a herb and vegetable garden, an on-site composting programme, and a promise to divert at least 85 per cent of waste away from landfill. The luxury bit? Stylishly-dressed staff, bottles of Clase Azul in the lobby bar and bedrooms that offer filtered water on tap and Veuve Clicquot from the minibar.

Bedrooms pay deference to that wood-heavy, rustic-chic, mid-century-modern, Japanese-Scandi aesthetic that’s taken over interior design in the past half-decade: bleached woods, taupe walls, potted plants, stone tops, marble floor tiles, potted plants, wicker lampshades, beige sofas, potted plants, pattern rugs, hefty black taps, potted plants, pops of duck-egg blue and greyer-than-green sage and more potted plants. It’s a little overdone.

In what can be a heavy, suffocating city, 1 Hotel Toronto is a breath of fresh air. And not just because of all those snake plants. Flora, its ground-floor cocktail bar, is as sophisticated as any drinking spot in Toronto’s Financial District; the food served in its 1 Kitchen is as accomplished as it is IMMENSE; and it’s not hard to see why the hotel’s rooftop pool became the place to be among movers and shakers.

Last year, 1 Hotel Toronto was named on Condé Nast Traveller’s Hot List of the world’s best new hotels – the only digs in Canada to make the cut. The celebs are back too. We had breakfast next to a genuine Game of Thrones A-lister (clue: House of Lannister).

Back to my window cleaning ambitions. While we were in Toronto, a video of a construction worker went viral after the unlucky soul ended up dangling from a crane several hundred feet in the air. His screams somewhat put me off my career in glass maintenance. Thinking about it, I’d get into house plants. They’re big business in Toronto. And in my house too. It’s all about bringing the outside in, don’t you know.

From approx. £425 per night, 1hotels.com

Read more: In conversation with Relais & Châteaux’s Laurent Gardinier

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Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers walks through the dugout before Game 2 of the National League Division Series against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on October 09, 2021 in San Francisco, California. (Getty Images)

(KTLA) — The Los Angeles Dodgers are in Milwaukee this week for a three-game series with the NL Central-leading Brewers, and while team unity is important during long road trips, one Dodger star is keeping his distance from the rest of the team “just in case.”

According to Orange County Register reporter Bill Plunkett, outfielder Mookie Betts rented an Airbnb with some friends while the rest of his Dodger teammates stayed in a legendary 130-year-old hotel in Milwaukee.

The reason, Betts said, is due to long-rumored reports of hauntings and other creepy happenings at the Pfister Hotel.

The Pfister Hotel is one of the most historic buildings in Milwaukee. The famed luxury hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has hosted billionaires, diplomats and more — it’s also rumored to be home to an intrepid spirit or two.

This is the lobby of the Pfister Hotel seen Tuesday, July 7, 2009, in Milwaukee. The Pfister is Milwaukee’s most regal address, having hosted every U.S. president since William McKinley and scores of celebrities. Today, it’s the place to stay for upscale business travelers and out-of-town visitors, including many Major League Baseball teams. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Betts, 30, who has stayed at the hotel in years past, said he opted for the modern setting instead of the historic grounds “just in case” rumors of the specters and spirits turned out to be true.

“You can tell me what happened after,” he joked with Plunkett. “I just don’t want to find out myself.”

An eight-year MLB veteran, Betts has stayed at his fair share of hotels, resorts and high-rises over the years, but the Pfister Hotel has affected his sleep schedule in recent stays.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Betts told the OC Register. “Every noise, I’d be like, ‘Is that something?’”

The Pfister Hotel has been the subject of haunting rumors for decades, and it’s one of the oldest hotels that MLB teams regularly visit for road trips. It’s led to many reports of strange and creepy occurrences from the players brave enough to stay overnight.

Michael Young, former seven-time MLB All Star and one-time Dodger, told ESPN the Magazine that he heard footsteps “stomping” around in his room. He recalled telling his ghostly visitor to “make yourself at home” but keep the noise down.

California’s Most Haunted: spook-tacular places to search for ghosts in the Golden State

Bryce Harper, a two-time National League MVP, said he had a strange experience when staying in the historic hotel, claiming that his clothes he had laid out the night before ended up on the floor and a table was moved across the room.

“I honestly thought there might be someone in my room. I had no idea what the hell just happened, so I actually looked around, and then I checked to see if the door was still latched, and it was,” Harper said. He told reporters that he thought he may have been the victim of a prank by one of his teammates.

In 2018, Cardinals players Carlos Martinez and Marcell Ozuna bunked up together after allegedly spotting one of the Pfister’s unaccounted for guests. Martinez, a pitcher, started the next day’s game against the Brewers and was hammered by Milwaukee’s batters and was pulled after giving up seven runs in only four innings.

So maybe Betts’ extra precautions aren’t that crazy, even if the change of venue simply promises a sounder sleep. If the Dodgers want to maintain their spot near the top of the National League, he and his teammates will probably need to be well-rested.

Let’s just hope Betts and his friends didn’t mistakenly book a stay at one of Airbnb’s most haunted hangouts.

The Dodgers dropped their first game of their series against the Brewers in Milwaukee, but were on their way to winning the second game on Tuesday. The series concludes Wednesday.

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It’s hard for 79-year-old concierge Thomas Wolfe to move through San Francisco’s historic Fairmont Hotel without a tale of celebrity or bit of high society gossip popping into his mind. 

A passing dog reminds him of when Lassie’s trainer, Rudd Weatherwax, stayed in the 1907 Beaux-Arts landmark. A settee prompts him to tell the tale of Vogue’s André Leon Talley taking up the entire piece of furniture with an expansive gown. 

“When they told me royalty was going to be here,” Wolfe told the famous fashion journalist, “I didn’t realize it was going to be you.” 

Wolfe, celebrating five decades of service, has cared for actual royalty (when he met the Queen Mother at the Ritz Carlton in London he knew “exactly what to do”) and celebrities ranging from Marlene Dietrich and Ivana Trump to Bob Hope and Tony Bennett. The Fairmont has been the choice of every president from William Howard Taft to Joe Biden. But a concierge doesn’t take care of only the rich and famous. 

Concierge Thomas Wolfe, left, speaks with guests Carole Quin, center, and Peter Quin, right, at The Fairmont, in San Francisco. | Source: Jeremy Chen/The Standard

The etymology of “concierge” is Latin for “fellow slave,” and the duty of a concierge is to “be subservient almost to a fault,” said Elizabeth Wilson, administrator of the prestigious Les Clefs d’Or society for elite members of the profession.  

Not every concierge receives the distinction of entry to the Les Clefs d’Or (it’s more difficult to become a member of the group than to get a job at the FBI, people have told Wilson), but everyone in the field aspires to it. Now with 44 member countries in the organization, Wolfe set up the American chapter himself as the first representative of the profession in the U.S. 

“He is a treasure,” said Evan Baker, director of communications at Les Clefs d’Or. “No concierge in the USA would be where we are today without him.” 

The proof of a Les Clefs d’Or concierge is the organization’s signature pin—two crossed golden keys in honor of both its name (it means golden keys in French) and the profession itself, since concierges used to be the ones to keep the keys for Medieval castles, the only ones trusted with access to all rooms. 

Wolfe greets every person who passes by with a smile and a cordial greeting. For him, there’s nothing more important than showing people they are valued—something everyone needs but which can feel in short supply these days. 

“It’s not just taking care of the guests,” Wolfe said. “But all the people who are around you.” 

The Art of a Concierge  

Everything about Wolfe makes you feel like you’re interacting with a character in a Wes Anderson movie—more specifically, M. Gustave in The Grand Budapest Hotel. Wolfe sports bright red glasses and long coattails; he has a half-Chihuahua, half-Greyhound service dog named Chanel; he cracks witticisms and inside jokes. 

Wolfe landed his first hotel job as a humble desk clerk in Washington, D.C., before moving on to a similar position in 1967 at a swankier venue: the Ritz Carlton in London. It was there that he first fell in love with the job of concierge, a position that didn’t yet exist in the U.S. 

“I was amazed by his great style, by the way he carried himself,” Wolfe said of the concierge he met in London. “I thought to myself, I’ve got to have this job, this is the job for me.” 

But he soured on the idea after learning how long it could take to become a concierge—as much as 18 years—and moved to San Francisco in 1973, lured by the sophistication and quality of life in the city.  

Within a month of his new job at the stately Fairmont, hotel owner Richard Swig told him of his dream: building the first concierge program in the United States. Swig said he wanted Wolfe to start it, in part because of his European experience.  

“That’s not opportunity knocking,” Wolfe said. “That’s opportunity smashing the door down.” 

Concierge Thomas Wolfe types on an old typewriter at his desk in The Fairmont. | Source: Jeremy Chen/The Standard

That wasn’t the only time Wolfe seemingly manifested his reality, according to his recollections. After Donald Trump bought the Plaza Hotel in 1988, Wolfe heard Ivana Trump—who was in charge of managing the new acquisition—talking on television about her vision for Manhattan’s most famous hotel. 

She wanted the best of everything, including the “best concierge in the country.” Wolfe took note, and he eventually wrote a letter to Ivana Trump in the language the family understood: highly self-confident. 

He referred to The Plaza in flowery terms, calling it the “jewel of Fifth Avenue,” and then he staked his claim: “You said you wanted the best concierge in the country,” Wolfe wrote. “Mrs. Trump, I am that man.” 

Wolfe sent off the letter almost as a joke, assuming it would never reach her and that it was more likely to end up in a dumpster, unopened. 

Four days later, he received a call from the Plaza. Ivana wanted to know how quickly he could get there. Two weeks later he flew to New York City for what he thought was a job interview, but upon arrival, he was told where his desk would be—he already had the job.

Wolfe worked at the Plaza for five years, where he fielded some off-the-wall requests. Once a business magnate from Switzerland demanded a Ferrari GTO, one of the rarest cars in the world. 

The concierge didn’t miss a beat. He asked: “Do you have a color preference, sir?” Wolfe’s love of cars (the concierge drives a black MGB sports car) came in handy—he procured it for the hotel guest by the end of the day. 

Concierge Thomas Wolfe poses for a portrait in front of his 1980 MG MGB Limited Edition car at The Fairmont. | Source: Jeremy Chen/The Standard

Wolfe has also been on the receiving end of some good fortune, thanks to his position. Of all the celebrities Wolfe has met, Tony Bennett remains one of his favorites. When the beloved baritone came to San Francisco for the 50th anniversary of his legendary song “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” Wolfe received a surprise call after he had left work. 

The announcer for Bennett’s show had laryngitis, and the Fairmont’s manager had a request: could Wolfe, with his radio announcer voice, step in to introduce Bennett in the Venetian Room, where the singer had first crooned his famous San Francisco-themed ballad? Of course, Wolfe said yes. 

“That’s it,” he later told his wife. “I’ve done everything now.” 

It’s not all glitz and glamor—Wolfe is also part security person at the Fairmont, attending to some of the more quotidian duties of the job. Walking through the hotel’s elegant lobby, he tells a guest to get their feet off a coffee table and chides children for playing with the revolving door. He takes care of the grande dame just as he does his guests—all of this wouldn’t exist without her. 

Concierge Thomas Wolfe poses for a portrait at The Fairmont, in San Francisco on Wednesday, August 9, 2023. | Source: Jeremy Chen/The Standard

While Wolfe has handled the fabulously wealthy for five decades—from London and Tokyo to New York and San Francisco, once rolling out a (literal) red carpet for the diva Marlene Dietrich all the way from her room to the service elevator to the stage and then rolling it up again—he demurs when asked what it’s like to have intimate access to such elite characters. 

“No matter who it is, we’re just a couple of people here,” he said. 

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