PHOENIX HOTEL-JOIE DE VIVRE

Catering to people who are into Springsteen rather than Shubert, the landmark Phoenix Hotel is known around these parts as San Francisco's renowned rock 'n roll hotel. Funky, irreverent, young at heart and located at the edge of the hardscrabble Tenderloin neighborhood, the Phoenix is within walking distance of the city's hottest nightclubs and the Civic Center's opera house, symphony hall, civic auditorium, main library and Asian Art Museum. Meanwhile, Conde Naste Traveler magazine described the Phoenix as a Fifties caravan lodge that has risen into a colorful urban oasis. In fact, the hotel rose from being a 1950s era motor lodge to a funky place with its own hip nightspot, Bambuddha, which also features Southeast Asian cuisine. In addition, the hotel's central courtyard, which is popular with celebrities, is a good, albeit boisterous, place for guests to check out visiting artists and entertainers. The courtyard also features a heated outdoor pool an oddity in San Francisco. Guests also can enjoy complimentary continental breakfasts in the hotel or at poolside. Retro guestrooms are spacious and feature tropical bungalow stylings, tropical print bedspreads, original local art, handmade bamboo furniture, windows that open, cable TVs, pay movies and maid service. At the Phoenix, the steady stream of rock and film stars, screaming tropical 1950s motor court architecture, Bambuddha and thatched roof bungalows make the hip label unavoidable. Where else but the Phoenix, a Joie de Vivre boutique hotel, can guests get complimentary, temporary tattoos upon check in.