Enjoy San Francisco views from your room at the Four Seasons

The holiday season can get out of control, and before you know it, you’re rushing everywhere. Why not slow down and enjoy a retreat in San Francisco this winter at the Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco.

The luxury hotel is right on Market Street, in the heart of San Francisco’s downtown shopping district—Union Square. The hotel’s 277 guest rooms include 46 luxury suites, and all are roomy. My room, a Deluxe King, had a long window seat where I could perch and watch all the Market Street action while I had slippers on.

Sure, those cozy slippers (and robes) are in all the rooms, but so are a flat-screen TV, Wi-Fi, CD player and an iHome alarm clock. The spacious marble bathrooms have a large vanity, deep bathtub (where you can relax after the shopping) and separate glass-enclosed shower. Rates start at $395 for a standard room, and $495 for the room I had.

When you’re not lounging in your room, head to Seasons Bar and Lounge for small-plate selections (or the burger lounge, offered on Sunday and Monday), cocktails (including specialty martinis) and live music. If you’re looking for something a little more leisurely, take your meals in Seasons restaurant. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, the restaurant focuses on California-style cuisine.

Treat your taste buds at Seasons restaurant

And even if you’ve spent all day shopping, you can still people watch from the bar, restaurant, or your room—if you’ve gotten one on the Market Street side.

Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco, 415-633-3000
757 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103

Photos courtesy of the Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco

More San Francisco-related information:
Nopalito—San Francisco, CA
Hog Island Oysters in San Francisco: Best Lunches With a View

On #WineWednesday, Nov 17, 2010, Four Seasons twitter followers will gather at select hotels for a happy hour of oenophilia aka a virtual wine tasting tweetup, led by Four Seasons’ top three sommeliers in the United States.

Four Seasons Wine tasting

The event will offer participants a guided tasting of three distinct wines (Loosen Bros. Dr. L Riesling; Paraiso Syrah; and Chappellet Mountain Cuvee) in the tweetup.

Leading the discussion will be:

1. James Tidwell, co-founder and current head of the Texas Sommelier Association who is also the Beverage Manager for Cafe on the Green at the Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas.

2. Mark Sayre, Sommelier at TRIO at the Four Seasons Hotel Austin and one of Wine & Spirits magazine’s ’7 Best New Sommeliers of 2010.’

3. Dana Farner, Director of Beverage and Sommelier, CUT and Sidebar, Beverly Wilshire. Dana Farner has been recognized as ‘one of the best around’ by Bon Appétit magazine.

Participants will be discussing the unique flavour profiles of the featured wines and how to pair them with seasonal dishes, along with tips for weaving the wines into a Thanksgiving holiday menu.

Here’s how it works: Log on to twitter at 7:00pm ET on Nov 17 and follow the discussion via the hashtag #FSWine. If you wish to participate, make sure your comment/question includes the aforementioned hashtag.

If you want to join the tweetups, head for one of the fifteen participating hotels – Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta; Four Seasons Hotel Austin; Four Seasons Hotel Boston; Four Seasons Hotel Chicago; The Ritz-Carlton Chicago; Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas; Four Seasons Hotel Houston; Four Seasons Hotel Miami; Four Seasons Hotel New York; Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach; Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia; Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis, Four Seasons Hotel Toronto and Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC.

Note that the wine tasting events at all these hotels are free. But if it’s not possible to make it to any of these locations and you still want to be part of the tweetup, then you have the option of putting together your own event at home – call your friends and family and Four Seasons twitter followers who might be interested.

Pre-purchase the three featured wines, follow along with the other tweetups and share your own thoughts and pictures. Here’s a few tips from Four Seasons if you want to host your own virtual #FSWine wine tasting event.

Photo credit – Brian Solis (via flickr)

More info: http://fourseasonswine.eventbrite.com/; Follow on Twitter @FourSeasons (#FSWine)

Related posts:-
Eat, Pray, Love with Four Seasons & Como
Wine Tasting in Sonoma, CA

Bloggers Hit Las Vegas

Another day, another blog conference.

For a bunch of people who spend most of their time talking to friends in the computer, bloggers sure like to get together for massive in-person parties as often as possible!  (No, not party.  Conduct very, very serious business.  Especially if you do this for a living and these conferences are business tax-deductible expenses.  Ahem.)

About 4,000 bloggers are expected to attend BlogWorld in Las Vegas from October 14th through the 16th.  The conference is being held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on the South end of the Strip (or Las Vegas Blvd, if you’re looking at an actual map.)  While many attendees have had their travel plans booked for months, some people *coughmecough* are still finalizing their trip details.  Are you still looking for a Las Vegas hotel for the weekend of BlogWorld?  We have suggestions to meet every budget.

Read More »

You don’t have to be Kevin Spacey to Pay it Forward. Thanks to the Four Seasons Austin, you can now volunteer your way into getting 46% off on your hotel room.

Four Seasons Austin

All you have to do is spend a minimum of 3 hours as a volunteer helping out in one of two local projects in Austin. Once you book the package, the hotel’s volunteer coordinator will contact you to make the arrangements.

You can either serve meals at Caritas of Austin’s food bank or help out with the ’Keep Austin Beautiful’ downtown beautification project. Both are non-profits.

The Pay it Forward package is valid May 1 – Sept 6, 2010. You need to reserve at least 48 hours in advance, so that the hotel can make the arrangements for your voluntourism gig.

If you choose the food bank, you’ll be helping them prepare and serve 400 lunch meals. Caritas operates six days a week, so you can choose any weekday. You’re expected to pitch in from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm.

If you prefer to Keep Austin Beautiful, you can choose any day of the week, and you’ll be helping out with downtown litter removal and beautification projects near Lady Bird Lake from 9 am to noon. 

As for the Four Seasons Austin, the 291-room hotel hugs the shores along Lady Bird Lake, and offers everything you would want in a luxury resort – from flat screen television to wi-fi internet, the TRIO Grill & Bar, and a round and heated saltwater pool with poolside dining overlooking Lady Bird Lake.

Photo courtesy Four Seasons

Info: 98 San Jacinto Boulevard, Austin, TX 78701;  (512) 478-4500; www.fourseasons.com/austin/

Related posts:-
It’s TIME for Some Serious Voluntourism
Disney Give a Day Get a Day