citizenM – the pioneer of affordable luxury hotels – opens its doors in San Francisco. citizenM San Francisco Union Square follows citizenM Los Angeles Downtown as the company’s second hotel in California this year, signaling the ambitious commitment to U.S. expansion, which will continue with five new U.S. locations opening in 2022.
In celebration of citizenM’s introduction to the city, citizenM San Francisco Union Square will open with a photography campaign on the exterior of its façade. Facing the neighborhood, citizenM will install a series of artwork on the ground floor retail space that captures the spirit of San Francisco through brightly colored, back-lit portraits. San Francisco is an ever-changing, ever-evolving city of dreamers, and these portraits will highlight the citizens who make San Francisco a home. The use of graphics, light, and color to create movement in the images will represent the significance of movements and progress in the fabric of citizenM as a brand, and San Francisco as a city. The installation will be live until December 8. www.citizenm.com/san-francisco-opening
As with all of its hotels, citizenM will bring art to the forefront of their San Francisco Union Square location with a series of commissioned works and existing pieces. A wide variety of in-room art, wallcoverings, and one of a kind pieces comprise the collection including works by Neo Matloga, Rainer Fetting, Jonas Ohlsson, Lu Pingyuan, Lakwena Maciver, Samuel Albert Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III, Mark Ulriksen, t.w. five, and Sharon Virtue.
The hotel will boast a standout, commissioned artwork by Los Angeles-based FriendsWithYou, the art collaboration between Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III, known for their work with the likes of Pharrell Williams and Diplo. Their artwork for citizenM San Francisco Union Square, titled Digital Sunflower, captures the citizenM dreamer’s essence throughout the hotel. Digital Sunflower is composed of simplified geometric abstractions with whimsical touches that will inspire a playful experience that will engage guests through the simple happiness found in a friendly smile, drawing on the connectivity and accessibility. Art found in communal spaces and rooms are similarly inspired and additionally will include pieces that speak to San Francisco’s celebration of diversity culture.
About citizenM San Francisco Union Square
citizenM San Francisco Union Square is the first of the brand’s properties to open in the city and the second in the state. Additional properties planned for the next year include citizenM Miami World Center (projected opening Q1 2022), citizenM Miami Brickell (projected opening Q1 2022), citizenM Seattle Pioneer Square (projected opening Q1 2022), citizenM Washington DC NoMA (projected opening Q2 2022), and citizenM Chicago Downtown (projected opening Q4 2022).
Building upon the brand’s commitment to the United States, these openings will complement the existing citizenM US portfolio in Boston, New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC, bringing the total offering to 11 hotels across the country and 28 worldwide.
citizenM collaborated with its long-time design partner, concrete Amsterdam, on citizenM San Francisco Union Square’s design, with Gensler as the local architect. The third floor entrance welcomes guests not into a traditional lobby with a reception desk, but into a living room that feels like home – furnished with plenty of books, art and furniture. Styling items reflect the liberal, young, revolutionary spirit of San Francisco. Shifting the focus away from the tech side of the city, citizenM San Francisco Union Square’s styling and design narrative focuses on equality and inclusivity, and features items with references to neighborhoods like Castro and Mission. In the heart of the living room guests can find a canteenM, serving food and drinks 24/7.
The 195-room, 12-story hotel offers a gym, retail mezzanine, rooftop terrace and more. The gym is located on the fourth floor with top-of-the-line equipment – including Peloton – and continuing up, guests can find the terrace on the 13th floor outfitted with picnic tables and greenspace, and accessible to the public.
The bedrooms are all one style – cosy in size, but perfectly optimised for relaxation with a wall-to-wall window, an enormous XL king-size bed topped with the finest European linens, a jetlag-busting power shower, and an HD TV with streaming capabilities. Superfast free Wi-Fi is unlimited and perfect for streaming one’s own films or music straight to the TV. A MoodPad tablet controls the ambience – from temperature to blinds to entertainment.
