Hotel Nikko San Francisco: The Summer of Sake…and Jazz…and Art…and a 20th Anniversary

Hotel Nikko has a lot happening this summer. Hotel Nikko has been a staple on the San Francisco luxury hotel scene for 20 years and this fall, the hotel is going all out to celebrate that 20th anniversary. Most details are under wraps for now, but the date is September 28 and if you are one of the lucky ones to get an invitation to this exclusive event, you might just get to witness some “only in San Francisco” shenanigans in the Nikko ballroom, including a pachinko lounge, sumo wrestling, origami lessons, and top visiting sushi chefs. We’ll get you more details as we find out.

Until then, the summer calendar is full too. Not only is Hotel Nikko’s restaurant Anzu a draw in itself, it is welcoming a few events:

June 28: Sake Brewers Dinner: Executive chef Barney Brown will be pairing six courses with six sakes. There will actually be two different brewers in town from Japan for this event: from Chikurin in the Okayama Prefecture, Master Brewer Niichiro Marumoto and from Wataribune in the Ibaraki Prefecture, Master Brewer Takaaki Yamauchi from the Huchu Homare Brewery. For only $75, quite a bargain. Reserve soon as there are only a few seats available. Anzu’s phone number: 415-394-1108.

The menu includes:

AMUSE
Tempura of Morel Mushrooms
stuffed with fava bean purée and chèvre
Chikurin Karoyaka Junmai Ginjo

FIRST
Toro Tartare
yuzu-soy gelée, yamaimo, caviar, and wasabi
Wataribune Junmai Daiginjo

SECOND
Ankimo-Bamboo Steamed Monkfish Liver Pate
momiji oroshi and ruby grapefruit ponzu
Wataribune Junmai Ginjo 55

THIRD
Smoked Misoyaki Black Cod
braised furofuki daikon and roasted chili miso
Chikurin Fukamari Junmai 55

FOURTH
Pearl Rice Cracker Crusted Sweet Prawns
Matcha green tea risotto and uni butter sauce
Taiheikai Tokubetsu Junmai

SWEET
Coconut Tapioca Pudding Tart
caramelized bananas
Chikurin Hou Hou Shu Sparkling

Jazz on Sundays – Anzu is expanding and bringing in the Brian Seltzer Quartet for live jazz every Sunday in July. Sushi and jazz – add a glass of top-shelf whiskey and you might forget that you’re in San Francisco and not in Osaka.

Karen Wood Exhibition – Hotel Nikko’s Artist Series continues with a new exhibit by metal and Escher-influenced California artist, Karen Wood . Here is her bio:

“My art is influenced by M.C. Escher & Salvador Dali, and the way they bend, break up and reasssemble the world around them. My art is about using patterns from nature and manmade to break up space and combine images in such a way that they exist in the same space simultaneously and harmoniously.”

If you are visiting San Francisco, you can find three great deals from Perfect Escapes in conjunction with Hotel Nikko:

Summer Escape includes breakfast and valet parking from $270/night
4th Night free from $180/night
Stay 2 nights, save 15%

21c Museum Hotel: Our Favorite Louisville Hotel is Expanding to Austin

If they combine a nice rate with tickets to South by Southwest or Austin City Limits, and I’ll tell you that I’ve already bought my plane tickets.

21c to locate in Lone Star state

The developers of 21c Museum Hotel and Proof on Main are spending $200 million to bring the concepts to downtown Austin, Texas.

The development team, which includes spouses Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown, real estate developer Steve Poe and attorney Craig Greenberg, announced in April plans to expand the restaurant and boutique hotel concepts to other cities across the nation. The team formed a new venture, Art Commerce Entertainment (ACE) Unlimited, to carry out the expansion.

The Austin location will feature a residential element that the 91-room Louisville flagship does not. In addition to 209 hotel rooms, there will be 202 luxury condominiums and 12 rental artist lofts, according to a news release.

The Austin 21c, which will total 779,000 square feet and 44 stories, also will have exhibition space, a spa, pool, museum and underground parking garage.

“Our goal is to feature contemporary art, front and center, as well as highlight local comforts and 21st century technology,” Poe said in the release. “Our properties will be unique to the cities where they are located.”

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The Rise of the Modern Art Hotel

21C Museum Hotel, Louisville, Kentucky

I’ve been saying it for years that one thing that drives me crazy about hotels is that they can spend millions of dollars on upgraded bathrooms, renovated pools, and a revamped restaurant, and all the while you may still see the same print of the Manhattan Skyline or the 80s pastel of the Golden Gate Bridge lining the hallways and your room.

So thank the good hotel gods that with the rise of the boutique and high-design hotel in recent years, art is finally coming into its own as an integrated part of the decor. And I’m not just talking about a nice painting in the lobby and yet your room still looks leftover from 20 years ago.

The Washington Post had an article out called Thinking Outside the Frame and mentions a few hotels, one that is particularly dear to my heart in San Francisco – Hotel des Arts. I had my second art show there, right after Hotel Triton around the corner.

Here are a few of the Washington Post’s favorite art hotels:

“21C Museum Hotel – Louisville, Kentucky. Steve Wilson and his wife, Laura Brown, both Kentucky business investors and committed promoters of avant-garde art, were looking for a space to display their private art collection. Included are works by sculptor Judy Fox, video artist Bill Viola and photographer Andres Serrano. The hotel, which opened a year ago, has 91 rooms, a restaurant and bar.

Gladstone Hotel – Toronto, Ontario. After a year’s renovation, this historic Georgian Romanesque property was reopened in late 2005 and quickly became a hot spot on Toronto’s art scene. The 37 guest rooms, all designed with aplomb by Toronto artists, range from zany to elegant. Some are small and come with a shared bath. Think downtown funky rather than five-star luxury. The Teen Queen room is one of the most popular. Created by artist Cecilia Berkovic, it features a pink crocheted bedspread and hot pink walls covered with teen idol posters.

Lancaster Arts Hotel – Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Originally a 19th-century tobacco warehouse, this property, with 47 rooms and 16 suites, combines ultra-modern decor with original fixtures. Public spaces and guest rooms feature wood-beamed ceilings, and many of the walls are exposed brick. The guest rooms, all larger than average, have plush beds, plasma televisions, iPod docking stations, glassed-in showers and spacious granite bathrooms. Armoires, handmade by local craftsmen, are included in the rooms.

Hotel Max – Seattle, Washington. An oversize painting of a nude woman with a man’s head in her lap hangs near the front desk. The doors of all 163 guest rooms are covered with full-length black-and-white photographs. Step inside any one of the rooms and you’ll find more art — paintings, collages, mixed-media canvases — all created for the hotel by artists from the region.

Hotel des Arts – San Francisco, California. This 51-room property in the French Quarter has all the creative dynamism you would expect in a place decorated mostly by street and graffiti artists. The artists, chosen by the Start Soma gallery, created a spirited range of styles. The show starts in the lobby, lined with colorful canvases. But the real draw is in the guest rooms.”

And I’ll add a few of my own favorites:

Dream Hotel – New York City, New York. One of my favorite hotels of all time in mid-town. This hotel of epic David Lynchian proportions will scare you with its illuminated bird posters in the hallways just as much as the “dream art lobby,” which really can only exist in two places: a dreamer’s mind and New York.

Hotel 71 – Chicago, Illinois. In the heart of the Second City, Hotel 71 offers a rotating display of local video artists behind the check-in counter, including Matthew Barney.

Hotel Marques de Riscal – Elciego, Spain. More architecture than art, but you will be hard-pressed to find another hotel on the planet that can rival this Frank Gehry creation.

Have a favorite art hotel in your city or somewhere you’ve stayed? Let us know about it.