UltimateHotels.com's guiding philosophy rests on the knowledge that today's urban explorers desire real and authentic experiences that more fully connect them with the people and places they are visiting. As we look toward the future, our commitment is to:

• Create innovative, world-class guides to help independent travelers explore and better understand the world.

• Establish a measure of success that comes not from profits but rather the positive experience a traveler has by relying on an UltimateHotels.com recommendation.

• Push ourselves to publish the most savvy, up-to-date and credible travel guides on the planet.

• Search out and celebrate unique and extraordinary travel experiences and the people and places that never settle for taking the conventional approach.

As travelers, we have gratefully relied for years upon guidebooks to help us find the best places to stay. We've discovered that in any one guidebook, there are many excellent hotel recommendations and some average ones-and occasionally, even a couple of recommendations that substantially fall short of the mark.

When developing the concept behind UltimateHotels.com, we knew we had to develop a methodology that would ensure each and every property we recommended possessed the unique character and personality that distinguished it as truly "best-of-class".

The hotel selection methodology developed by UltimateHotels.com is now among the most rigorous in the industry. It consists of three stages:

Stage One: Hit the Books

To create the most comprehensive list of hotels on which to base our selection process, UltimateHotels.com statistically sampled hotel recommendations from the world's leading twenty-five travel guides to San Francisco. (See "Sources" below for complete bibliography.) From these highly-respected guides, we narrowed the pool of over 157 top-quality places to stay to only 100.

Stage Two: Do the Research

Once we narrowed the pool of hotels to 100, the real work began. Each property was carefully evaluated to determine if it met the UltimateHotels.com standard.

What were we looking for? We knew that every hotel that made it to this stage was a high quality hotel, but was it extraordinary?

Was it truly one-of-a-kind in style, personality and character? Did it make a bold design statement? If the hotel was part of a larger chain, did it distinguish itself from the rest of its peers? And finally, would the hotel lead the traveler to connect with the city and its people more fully? If the answer was yes, the hotel moved on to the final stage of the selection process.

Stage Three: Personal Inspections

Prior to finalizing our list of San Francisco's Top 50 Luxury and Boutique Hotels, UltimateHotels.com personally inspected the highest-rated properties.

Before a property was named an "Ultimate Hotel," we needed to personally experience the hotel, its lobby, rooms, staff and the neighborhood sounds, smells and sights to get a true sense of what the hotel was all about. How you, the traveler, would experience the hotel and the particular vibe of the area was critically important to us.

The result - in our opinion the best 50 places to stay in San Francisco. Period.

Connect With the Most Influential Audience in San Francisco

With the Urban Market at UltimateHotels.com, you can now reach affluent travelers and sophisticated Bay Area locals through our online advertising program specifically designed to bring profitable customers to your business.

Eliminate Wasted Advertising Dollars

In print, radio and other forms of conventional advertising, your message competes with hundreds of other advertisers, all whose messages are being broadcast to thousands of people who may or may not be qualified for your business.

Eliminate wasted advertising dollars by delivering your company's message to a highly-targeted, affluent and educated audience through UltimateHotels.com.

For more information, please contact us at advertising@UltimateHotels.com. We would enjoy the opportunity to learn more about your company and how we can help you reach your business goals.

UltimateHotels.com is the result of thousands of hours of work by a small, dedicated team of passionate travel professionals. We bring this guide to you in the sincere hope that it serves you well and is a trusted and valued companion on your journey.

The Team

Paul Bozzo - Founder and CEO

Mark Blair - Web Design
Blairworks, Cotati, CA

Jack Fisher & Donna Fisher - Graphic Design
Communication Graphics, Sebastopol, CA