The Battery

The Battery

Phones stay in pockets at The Battery: cameras are banned in every public room, which is unusual enough in San Francisco's most photographed city to become the whole point. This is a members' club housed in a 14-room boutique hotel on the old Barbary Coast waterfront, its walls hung with real art rather than framed prints, its four drinking rooms, Woolsery's long bar, the Musto Bar, the Library and the Living Room, built for people who'd rather talk than post. Built in 2013 but run like something older, it sits about three kilometres from downtown, close enough to walk to the Embarcadero, Coit Tower and the hairpin bends of Lombard Street, far enough to feel like a private address rather than a hotel row. Rooms run from a Courtyard Suite through to a 624-square-foot Lounge Suite, each with a full double bed, safe, and proper toiletries rather than gestures at them. The Wine Cellar, the Parlor and the Penthouse can be booked out for private events, which suits a small dinner or a launch more than a wedding. A woman travelling for work who wants one good restaurant and a door that shuts on the noise of the city will find it here; someone chasing skyline views, a pool, or a lobby built for Instagram should look elsewhere, since there isn't one. The lift and accessible public spaces matter for guests who need them; the $300 nightly damage deposit at check-in is worth knowing before you arrive. What The Battery has that its neighbors don't is exclusivity that isn't performed: you can't visit without being a member or a guest, and once inside, no one is filming you. The Battery is a 14-room members' club on San Francisco's old waterfront where cameras are banned in public rooms and real art hangs on the walls. Four bars and rooms up to 624 square feet suit a quiet, work-focused stay near the Embarcadero, not a photogenic getaway.