Cozy Queen
A modest room with a queen bed, comfortable for one or two.
Nob Hill · San Francisco
European romance
comes to Nob Hill
A 1910 French Colonial hotel two blocks above Union Square, restored room by room by a family from Orléans. 50 rooms, breakfast included, and Modigliani in the hallways.
Since 1910
A little slice of France, in the middle of San Francisco
Cornell Hotel de France was built in 1910 by the architect A. W. Pattiani, a few years after the earthquake and fire that levelled much of the neighbourhood. In the 1970s it was bought by Claude and Micheline Lambert, who had come from Orléans with their five-year-old daughter, and who spent years renovating it one room at a time.
They collected and framed the French art prints that still hang throughout the building — a different artist on each floor. The result aims squarely at the feeling of a hotel on the Rive Gauche, and mostly gets there.
Read the history
Included
A rare San Francisco perk: breakfast
Bacon and scrambled eggs, freshly baked croissants and baguettes, cereals, and waffles made to order with juice and good coffee. Served here every morning from 7:30 to 10:30 — to our guests, and to those of Golden Gate Hotel down the road.
What's on the buffet
Where we are
Nob Hill, right by Union Square
Nob Hill is the part of the city that still looks like old San Francisco: historic architecture, Michelin-starred restaurants, galleries and boutiques. Union Square is two blocks downhill, and the cable car stops at the corner.
- Union Square0.2 mi
- Chinatown0.3 mi
- Nob Hill0.2 mi
- Powell Street cable car0.1 mi
- Moscone Convention Center0.9 mi
- San Francisco Museum of Modern Art0.8 mi
Events
The Jeanne d'Arc Event Space
The hotel's once-beloved Jeanne d'Arc restaurant is now an event space for up to 80 guests, with a fully equipped kitchen and room for live music. Historic, intimate, and two blocks from Union Square.
See the space
Our team
Bonjour
The hotel is led by Chloe, our French-speaking general manager, and a team who have between them a great deal of opinion about where you should eat tonight. The concierge desk is staffed around the clock.
Get in touch