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CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO MANDARIN ORIENTAL HOTEL
And, if you love your pre-dinner bathe (and who, being of sound mind, does not delight in the evening’s first glass of champagne amidst the cleansing bubbles of a hot tub an hour before the culinary delights are due to begin?), you must seek out this wonderful hotel without delay. For its bathrooms are magnificent. Wherein lies their magnificence? In the views, dear friends – in the views. Book the category of room known as a ‘Mandarin King – Golden Gate Bridge View’ ($798 to $826 a night for two, according to season) and you will be able – as I have just been able – to lie back in the soapy warmth and gaze out through the plate glass at a panorama which sweeps from the Bridge, across the island of Alcatraz and the Coit Tower and on to Fisherman’s Wharf. No cityscape in the world fills me with so much pleasure – and there can be no better way of enjoying it than in a spacious bathroom, surrounded by marble of cream and brown. Over my shoulder was a miniature tree in a little pot; on the wall behind me hung a painting of two apples; and lying in an open red box, ready to do their soothing work, were toiletries from Escada. For bathroom as theatre, the Mandarin Oriental in San Francisco is the place.
My bedroom, number 4604 (on the 46th floor, but – fear not – the lifts are astonishingly swift) had just been redecorated in a style which the hotel is considering for all its rooms. This is much sparer than before, with clean lines and a colour scheme of pale gold and lilac. The splendid General Manager, Salvador Abaunza – a fine fellow I last met when he was running the Ventana Inn on Big Sur [see article] – agreed with me that perhaps the style needed some softening, to bring it in line with the sumptuous, residental feel of the other apartments. But, certainly, there was no doubting the quality and abundance of its fittings. From the hallway (with its wooden floor and its fitted wardrobes, containing the private safe and the iron and ironing board) one turned right for the bathroom and left for the bedroom. Being on a corner, the latter rejoiced in an even more extensive view, taking in Union Square and much of the downtown area. And, typically, binoculars were provided for a closer look (Bushnell, 7 x 35, for those of you with a technical bent). All four table lamps could be dimmed. Had they been close, I could have entertained no fewer than 8 friends on the seating provided – while I, ever the child, played my new game of spinning round in the office chair next to the substantial writing table. Naturally, the television, cd, dvd and radio were of the state-of-the art variety – so, equally naturally, I was quite unable to fathom how they worked. This brings us to another distinctive feature of the Mandarin Oriental – the level of service. Within a couple of minutes of calling the Reception desk, a gentleman was on the telephone, explaining the controls to me. More patience could not have been displayed by Job. Soon the strains of the local classical music radio station (102.1 fm) were soothing my brow. As had the complimentary pot of Earl Grey tea (with good porcelain and a silver tea strainer) brought to my room shortly after my arrival. And as had the prompt return of the shoe shine basket, with my newly sparkling Oxfords. Then there were the sheets of writing paper with my name printed on them – a delightful touch. And, as important as the services themselves, were the friendliness and enthusiasm of those who performed them.
At night I found that Silks attracted diners who were well dressed. Good. Less to my taste was the canned jazz, but it was kept mercifully low. Tablecloths are lemon and the waiters and waitresses sport multi-coloured waistcoats. Glasses are good – Riedel or Spiegelau – and the large tables are widely spaced. I sat in an alcove on a banquette of blue velour. Wines are arranged on the list by grape variety. 15 wines are available by the glass – like Gregory Graham Viognier, Napa, 2000, at $11 – and about 60 half bottles are offered (like 1996 Opus One at $115). The cheapest bottle is a 1999 Alsatian pinot blanc by Trimach at $26. Red Americans show strongest (Clos du Val Reserve, 1998, is $245 magnum, Joseph Phelps, Insignia, 2000, is $165 and Shafer, Hillside Select, 1999, is $300), although there is a handful of great clarets – like Mouton Rothschild, 1989 ($600). It was good to see care being taken over the coffee, with 8 varieties listed. Jamaican Blue Mountain is $12 a cup. My own drinking brought together the Old and New Worlds. A half bottle of the Krug Grande Cuvée champagne ($103) yielded its typical, yeasty nose. Then I devoured a full-bodied, powerful Napa Valley chardonnay, with hints of vanilla (Grgich Hills, 2001 - $34, half) and, finally, a rather tannic, unyielding red burgundy, which gave off aromas of new-mown grass (Nuits-St-Georges, Dom. de L’Arlot, Clos des Forêts St-Georges, 1999 - $95).
Still, perhaps I can have it next time. For the city of my Patron and its top hotel will surely summon me again. Meanwhile I can sit back, close my eyes and smile as I recall the Mandarin Oriental San Francisco – its views, its service and, of course, its baths. |
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ADDRESSES MANDARIN ORIENTAL SAN FRANCISCO
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© Francis Bown 2003
I love San Francisco. And I love its top hotel. Indeed, the Mandarin Oriental inhabits the skies not only in terms of its levels of service and accommodation but also in a physical sense – for its 158 rooms inhabit the top 11 floors of the city’s 3rd tallest skyscraper. 
Nor are the practicalities neglected. In the walk-in shower was an extendable drying line for clothes, and, waiting nearby, was a pair of scales. (No, let me I confess: I could not pluck up the courage to use them.). And also supplied was something I do not recollect encountering in the bathroom of any other hotel: a basket for soiled towels. This modest item was wonderfully useful. I commend its provision to all hoteliers, everywhere. 
This pride in a job well done I found also in the hotel dining room, where the Restaurant Manager Edward Vicedo fulfils his duties with genial efficiency. Silks is a spacious chamber of soft gold and even softer lighting. I found its quiet, relaxed and thoroughly civilized atmosphere very much to my liking. At breakfast it was the setting for a satisfying repast of grapefruit juice, bacon, sausage and poached eggs and a dish of raspberries and melon. No buffet, I am pleased to report, so all this was brought to my table by smiling waitresses, presided over by the Assistant Restaurant Manager, Bernhard Duerrmeier (a charming young man with the looks of a tall Tom Cruise). 
Chef de Cuisine Denis Lemercier is a fine young fellow from Bordeaux, who is combining his considerable French talent and technique to some high quality produce from his adopted land. He puts, quite rightly, a high priority on attractive presentation, and his dishes are clearly the result of hard, skilled work in the kitchen. A duo of foie gras came prettily set out on a square white plate and provided some interesting combinations: the seared liver came with a chocolate sauce and vanilla oil, and the terrine was stuffed with apricots. A ‘tasting’ of heirloom tomatoes appealed to both the eye and the palate: chilled yellow tomato soup came in a cup, red tomato ‘tartare’ with rosemary was in crispy thimbles and the trio was completed by a green tomato and mozzarella tian. Rack of lamb was even better, its lovely, tender meat well partnered with garlic, artichoke, tomato and red onion. (3 courses are $57, 4 courses are $67, with the foie gras having a $5 supplement.) Then, sadly, I was called away – and missed a Riesling poached Belle Hélène, to which I had been looking forward.