Campton Place Hotel
San Francisco
$575 per night

 

 

What a waste of time. And money. I must have experienced a brain lapse. I forgot how wonderful the transit system is in San Francisco, particularly those 'cute little cable cars climbing halfway to the stars' and mistakenly rented a car instead of cabbing it to the hotel. Not only did my rental never leave the expensive hotel garage, but also, just driving on San Francisco’s countless one-way streets and treacherously slanted hills is a nightmare.
On the bright side: the Campton Place Hotel. A stately hotel just steps from Union Square. Two shiny brass posts hold a bright canopy that extends across the double-wide sidewalk to the curb. Two equally polished brass plaques mounted on the wall say it all: One is embossed with the Campton Place’s large swan logo and the other is engraved with the Leading Hotels of the World insignia, pronouncing the hotel’s affiliation with one of the finer luxury hotel groups.  
Suddenly the large double-door entry flies open, courtesy of two crack doormen revealling a beautiful lobby. The Campton Place is a small luxury hotel – precisely as we prefer them – a tad over 100 rooms and nearly a dozen luxury suites. The style is very residential with marble-tiles reflecting opulent floral arrangements. The tall, coved ceilings are nicely treated with deep crown moldings. Very handsome.

Just off the hotel’s lobby, The Campton Place Restaurant is one of the finest restaurants in the city and there is considerable “buzz” about it. The question is: How did Daniel Humm, this 20-something chef, capture so much acclaim in such a particularly short period of time? More on that later.

 
The Campton Place Suite – B+
We take the elevator up to the fifth floor to our Campton Place suite. The space, by luxury hotel standards, is small. In only 466 square feet, designer Sylvia Chang has crafted an intimate and comfortable environment. She’s employed sleek, appropriately scaled, modern furniture plus some handsome built-in cabinets to a sophisticated color palette of muted earth tones. I appreciate the nice attention in the decorative details: light fixtures, switches, frosted glass doors and artwork. All very contemporary.I sit at the writing desk in the corner of the suite, pop open my laptop case and pull out the necessary gear to get this review started. Camera: Check. Cables: Check. Apple 15” Powerbook G4: Check. I find the Ethernet cable hookup on the desk and plug in. Oh no, not again! Another luxury hotel that charges for their high-speed Internet access. Think about it. With new technologies so readily available, all hotels should offer complimentary Internet access - even Starbucks at 3 bucks for a cup of brew can pop for this minor amenity.

A tug on the Roman shades reveals that just down Sutter is San Francisco’s shopping mecca—the Union Square. In the center of the square is the Dewey monument topped by the statue of Alma de Bretteville Spreckles. Alma has quite a story. The one time maid who, to make ends-meet, posed nude at the local art school and later for the famous bronze. She went on to marry the sugar baron Adolph Spreckels and became one of San Francisco’s most important art collectors. She is fittingly encircled by the storefronts of consumerisms major luxury players: Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom's, Coach, Macy's, Bvlgari, Burberrry, Saks, Tiffany, and Cartier.

Wait. What time is it? 6:15? I pick up the phone, “Hello Concierge. Any chance of getting tix to tonight’s San Francisco Ballet performance.” I agree to pay ticket agency prices (whatever they may be—I really want to go). 15 minutes later and the concierge rings back with the unfortunate news that tickets are not available. I’m so agitated with myself for not preparing for this in advance. Lesson: Plan activities BEFORE your trip, not during. Citysearch.com

The bedroom is comfy, largely dominated by a California king bed with wonderful, high thread count linens. Sylvia has cleverly designed one cabinet that spans the entire width of the room to act as both side tables and headboard. I like the low, modern design but don’t care for the sharp, right angle edge of the boxy headboard where, were it not for some strategically placed pillows, my precious noggin could encounter some unpleasantness. Note to Campton Place: Simply bolt some permanent fabric padding to the headboard’s leading edge for protection, please.

The bedroom has an armoire with television tied into a variety of movie choices. This evening came down to Napoleon Dynamite vs. the Stepford Wives. I opted for The Stepford Wives—not a wise decision.

  The Bathroom - A
Bathrooms are my favorite part of the hotel. They symbolize the lavishness of the getaway: The luxurious soak in a jetted tub; The quality of the bathing products (the Four Seasons Beverly Hills uses Bvlgari; the L’ermitage, Aveda products—which I use to this day because I discovered them first at the hotel); The comfort of a fine Frette robe and slippers; The soothing pressure from multi-headed shower fixtures; The relaxing time spent in the confines of a hot steam. Ah yes, these are the elements of luxury hotel style.

One of my favorite bathrooms is in the penthouse suite of New York’s Royalton Hotel with a slate shower that stands undivided by walls or even curtains. Here, at the Campton, the architect has chosen a similar non-bordered shower treatment and succeeded at creating an open visual flow. The Campton bathroom also has a large tub for soaking and nice limestone tiles. Another touch here, and one that I always appreciate, is dimmer-switch controlled lighting. On the tub’s edge is a candle for enjoying a long soak and a wonderful bar of green tea soap. The fine proprietary collection of shampoos, conditioners et al., is wonderful.

  The Campton Place Restaurant – A+
“The restaurant is the best in the city.” I was told. Not one to give in to critics acclaim, I went there with a fresh mind and clear palate. The Campton Place Restaurant has been the darling of the critics for the past year with accolades pouring out of their sumptuous booths and they aren’t being overzealous in their gospelization of the place. I was resoundingly impressed by the food, production, ambiance, sommelier and service– it is, without exaggeration, a top-of-the-list restaurant.

The Campton Place restaurant begins and ends with one word: Passion. It is their mantra—especially evident in the dishes that stream from the kitchen and out of the heart of Daniel Humm. This culinary fine artist who, by the way, is only 26 or something preposterous like that, has mastered the subtle intricacies of preparing gastronomic works that take our senses to another level. Humm treats us to small portions that release quiet explosions of refined ingredients with each mouthful. His taste sensibility is restrained and subtle. He relies on brilliant visual effects, color, proportion and something extraordinary—the use of foam. The foam is the hint—the billowy, infused essence of his mastery to follow. The Campton Place epitomizes the San Francisco dining experience—understated to match the cultivated taste buds of those that dine here.

In the center of the dining room an elegantly dressed gentleman dines with his beautiful young daughter of not more than 10 years of age. He is swirling and sipping and speaking winese with sommelier, John Ragan, as the young girl, sitting up straight and tall with her hair neatly tied with a bow, admires her Dad’s acumen. What a blessing when children – well at least the well-behaved ones can experience life’s luxuries at such a young age.

Daniel’s out-of-this-world creations include the Fantasy of Artisan Foie Gras with Aged Balsamico (unbelievable tray of bite-sized creations); Feuillete of Crustaceans with Champagne Beurre Blanc and Iranian Oestra Caviar (delicious); Snake River Farms “Kurobuta” Pork with Carmelized Endive and Black Truffles (fantastic!). Listen, any meal that includes Artisan Foie Gras, Oestra Caviar and Black Truffles is worth the trip to San Francisco. Daniel also prepares splendid holiday fare worthy of an exploration to this url from time to time. Plan your trips accordingly.

Holiday Menu

Then there are the added attractions. John Ragan, the sommelier that floats between tables, like a bee tending to his flowers. He gently nods approval when a good wine selection has been made; advises when you haven’t. Then there is the cheese cart. Oh, the cheese cart. I can still remember the magnificent, pungent taste of the Acapella, soft-ripened goat’s milk cheese. Created at a local Santa Rosa dairy by cheese expert Soyoung Scanlan under her Andante Dairy label. Absolutely stunning cheese. Believe me folks, cheese can now be stunning.

The Campton Place offers four dining options: Three courses; Four courses, Daniel’s Ten Course Tasting menu; and the Vegetarian Ten Course Tasting menu. Prices vary from $65 to $98. From each of these menus is a mix-and-match selection of Daniel’s divine dishes.

Dinner

Dessert

Wine List

Cheese

And lastly.
The Campton Place is a wonderful San Francisco luxury city hotel with the distinct advantage of having one of the best restaurants in the city attached to it. It is worth staying here if not for that reason alone. I do recommend a suite since the rooms are very small. But at only $575 per night, this place is a steal. The service is excellent, gracious and very accommodating. The location, right next to Union Square and accessibility to all other parts of the city, is superb.

Stephen Kamifuji
Style Director