Oxford Hotels & Resorts is preparing to rebrand and reopen four hotels now under renovation in San Francisco. The four hotels were acquired in 2019 by Oxford’s parent, Chicago-based Oxford Capital Group, for nearly $131 million. They were closed during the pandemic.
The rebranded and repositioned Hotel Julian San Francisco (formerly Hotel Vertigo, and originally Empire Hotel), SoMa House (formerly Americania Hotel), Hotel Garrett (formerly Good Hotel) and Hotel Fiona (formerly Carriage Inn) are now part of Oxford's Bay Area portfolio and will open to guests starting in September and October.
In the Bay Area, Oxford currently owns and operates Hotel Griffon on the Embarcadero, Inn at Union Square and King George Hotel in Union Square, Creekside Inn in Palo Alto as well as Hotel Los Gatos. Oxford Capital Group’s wholly owned affiliate, Oxford Hotels & Resorts, will continue to manage these properties post reopening.
"We are sanguine about the long-term prospects of downtown San Francisco, which has proven resilient over a number of economic cycles and challenges,” Sarang Peruri, COO of Oxford Capital Group and partner of Oxford Hotels & Resorts, said in a statement. “By investing in these four properties as well as coming off recent comprehensive refreshes of Hotel Griffon and Hotel Los Gatos, our local portfolio of nine hotels is poised to differentiate itself and attract new customers.”
The properties are poised to reopen after being used by the city for nearly three years as some of the first hotels in the city to provide quarantine facilities during the worst of the COVID pandemic. Oxford has been working with city officials including District Supervisor Matt Dorsey, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, San Francisco Police Department Captain Luke Martin and Mayor London Breed.
“As we expand our West Coast presence, we are proud to bring Oxford’s commitment to compelling design, quality service, and enjoyable and safe community-driven experiences to these new properties,” said George Jordan, president of Oxford Hotels & Resorts. “SoMa will soon have new, vibrant public spaces and food and beverage experiences for locals and visitors to enjoy; somewhat of a ‘living room’ for the neighborhood.”
In late 2022, Oxford began its efforts in refreshing and repositioning the properties. The initial focus was the guestrooms and lobby areas to allow for a soft reopening. Later this year and early next year, Oxford will debut additional guestrooms (adding nine rooms at SoMa House and four rooms at Hotel Garrett) and multiple new food and beverage facilities described below.
"On behalf of the City of San Francisco, I proudly welcome this bold investment in the South of Market neighborhood, and am eager to see the vibrancy, excitement, and visitation these new hotels will bring to the community and city at large,” said San Francisco Mayor London Breed. “Oxford’s efforts here are an example of the kind of strong commitment that shows people are betting on San Francisco and that our future is bright. We have been, and look forward to continuing work alongside Oxford to make sure these properties are successful and the surrounding neighborhood is welcoming and safe for visitors, workers, and residents."
The Hotels
Hotel Julian San Francisco is located in the Lower Nob Hill submarket of downtown San Francisco. Hotel Julian, the second location of this Chicago hotel brand named after the patron saint of hospitality, is finishing a multimillion-dollar refresh. Set to debut in mid-October, Hotel Julian will have 107 refreshed guestrooms and a new two-story, indoor-outdoor wine bar called Carlotta’s set to open in early 2024. Hotel Julian has hard flooring, new central air conditioning, new furniture and refreshed bathrooms across its guestrooms and a reconfigured two-story arrival lobby.
Debuting in September, SoMa House is finishing a multimillion-dollar refresh across 152 guestrooms, including the proposed addition of nine guestrooms, as well as the build out of a new sports-themed gastropub concept called “SoMA Social” set to open in early 2024. The refreshed amenities include a fitness center, heated outdoor pool and a courtyard space that has a new water feature. The guestroom refresh includes hard flooring, new furniture, refreshed bathrooms and improved air conditioning. The property is also currently designing a new indoor-outdoor rooftop venue that would be operated in conjunction with SoMa Social.
Hotel Garrett’s multimillion-dollar refresh celebrates the building's architectural history. The contemporary refresh of the property has hard flooring, improved air conditioning system, new furniture and refreshed bathrooms across 121 guestrooms, including the proposed addition of four guestrooms, available starting in September, along with an expanded and reconfigured lobby. The hotel has a 4,200-square-foot restaurant space with an open kitchen, two private dining areas and full-service bar, and is currently evaluating prospective tenants to relaunch this venue in 2024.
Set to debut in September, the refreshed, historic 48-key boutique Hotel Fiona has hard flooring, new furniture, central air conditioning and refreshed bathrooms across its guestrooms and an updated arrival lobby.