10 New San Francisco Venues for Spring 2019 Meetings and Events

The Moscone Center in San Francisco celebrated the completion of a $551 million expansion to its North and South buildings in January. The convention center now boasts 504,914 square feet of contiguous space, which almost doubled the venue’s square footage. The facility now includes a 49,776-square-foot new, column-free ballroom with terraces overlooking the city, 82 meeting rooms in Moscone North and South, and 107,000 square feet of light-filled pre-function lobbies with views of the surrounding Yerba Buena Gardens. Moscone also now has a robust Wi-Fi system, with the ability to support as many as 60,000 devices at once. The expansion's architects, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, anticipate the project will achieve LEED Platinum certification.

The InterContinental San Francisco unveiled a top-to-bottom renovation in January, giving a fresh new look to its 43,000 square feet of meeting and event space, 556 guest rooms, 14 suites, and the lobby-level concierge and living room spaces. The renovation is the result of design work by BraytonHughes and EDG. The hotel's two elegant ballrooms and 21 meeting rooms on the third, fourth, and fifth floors are all renovated, with new features like white board walls and a state-of-the-art Ketra lighting system that mimics natural light, as well as alcove and wall lighting that can be adjusted to nearly any shade for branding purposes. The 6,800-square-foot Grand Ballroom can accommodate 1,000 for receptions or 540 for banquets, while the 5,600-square-foot Intercontinental Ballroom holds 800 for receptions or seats 480 for banquets.

The long-anticipated Virgin Hotel San Francisco opened in SoMa in February. Decked out with touches of Virgin's signature red, the hotel marries the city's Victorian-era past, a 19th-century British sensibility, and San Francisco's 1960s rock roots. With 192 rooms and two penthouse suites, the hotel includes more than 7,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event space. The Manor seats 126 for theater-style events or 120 for standing receptions; the 2,124-square-foot space is divisible. The nearly 1,900-square-foot Terrace Lounge can accommodate 132 for standing receptions or 63 for theater-style events. There's the property’s restaurant and bar called Commons Club, and a 4,000-square-foot rooftop called Everdene is slated to open this month. The rooftop will be divided into three spaces: the Salon with a 25-foot wraparound bar, the Patio with a large communal table and garden trellis, and a V.I.P. lounge called the Secret Garden Lounge.

Prairie opened in October in the Mission District with a new spin on Italian classics: Chef Anthony Strong uses charcoal grills to make dishes like coal-roasted white sweet potato with burnt scallion creme fraiche, agrodolce, and bonito flakes. The 2,300-square-foot-restaurant incorporates ash wood tables and decor touches like a metallic rose gold statue of the Virgin Mary. Prairie seats 70 diners.

In February, oversize Oakland entertainment and event venue Plank in Jack London Square remodeled one of its private event spaces called the Loft, which is located within the 10,000-square-foot boardroom. The second-story Loft can accommodate 125 guests with different room configurations such as theater style, reception style, or at round tables. The space includes wraparound windows facing the Bay, two 82-inch flat-screen TVs, and access to a private deck with a fire pit. The Boardroom boasts six private bowling lanes, two billiards tables, a ping-pong table, and a full bar with more than 20 craft beers on tap.

The bright and airy Ayala opened in December in Union Square's boutique Hotel G. With executive chef Melissa Perfit at the helm, the 1,400-square-foot restaurant showcases West Coast seafood. The restaurant's Oysterette lounge includes velvet banquettes and marble topped tables, while the dining room is separated by glass partitions and decked out with chandeliers, navy banquettes, and wood tables. In the Raw Bar, two semi-enclosed areas are available for intimate gatherings or semiprivate events with seating for 16 guests. The cozy spaces include arched ceilings, deep tufted banquettes, and brass sconces. For buyouts, Ayala seats 80 guests or holds 150 guests for a reception. Specialty offerings for private events include options like a raw bar shucking station and custom lighting.

Yotel opened in February in San Francisco, the affordable and tech-forward brand's eighth hotel under operation or development in the U.S and Yotel's first property on the West Coast. Yotel San Francisco is located in the historic Grant Building, one of three buildings in the city that survived both the 1906 and 1989 earthquakes. The 203-room micro hotel in Mid-Market brings tech-forward amenities like self check-in kiosks while retaining the hotel's original features like a marble staircase and exposed brick walls. Komyuniti, the hotel's public area, includes co-working and informal meeting spaces. A rooftop bar will open later this year.

AC Hotel by Marriott Sunnyvale Cupertino opened in December as the brand’s first Bay Area location, with more planned in the future. The 182-room, LEED Silver-certified hotel includes a sophisticated patio with a fireplace and a bar within its AC Lounge. The Innovation Lab—an 815-square-foot meeting room with Microsoft Hub technology and a patio—seats 31 guests or holds 66 guests standing. The Media Salon seats four, with room for 10 standing guests, and opens onto a patio. The AC Lounge Area seats 30 or holds 110 for receptions. The outdoor patio area seats 20 guests or accommodates 40 standing guests.

Hotel Triton unveiled a renovation in February, with a charming lobby filled with art. Designer Liubasha Rose and Rose Ink Workshop's refresh centered around art and found objects, like large-scale photographs, a collection of Nigerian Yoruba Crowns, and a display case filled with minerals like sulfur and pink opal. The renovation also revealed a mural by impressionist artist Jon Oshanna, discovered behind the wall during demolition. The historic hotel's 140 rooms are now designed to feel like a private home, with bathrooms complete with Carrera marble finishes and Waterworks plumbing features. The hotel can hold small cocktail receptions in its lobby living room, which is part of the public spaces of the hotel lobby and is not private. A 475-square-foot conference room is available, with room for 18 in boardroom-style seating or 25 in theater-style seats.

The Brew Coop, San Francisco’s first dedicated self-pour taproom, opened in January in the Mission. The 800-square-foot space features finished concrete floors, custom wooden picnic tables and benches, high-top tables with bar stools, pendant lights with exposed bulbs, and seven TVs. But the big attraction is a self-pour tap wall with a digital menu board and 26 beers, ciders, and wines. There's room for 60 seated guests or standing receptions for 80.