Hotel Julian San Francisco

Oxford Hotels & Resorts reopened the former Hotel Vertigo at 940 Sutter Street in San Francisco's Lower Nob Hill as Hotel Julian in October 2024, the second property of its namesake boutique brand after Chicago. The 107-room hotel, once known as the Empire Hotel and later tied to Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, emerges from a multi-million-dollar renovation under an entirely new name and operator.

The place

Hotel Julian sits at 940 Sutter Street in Lower Nob Hill, a few blocks west of Union Square and away from the tourist congestion of the city's postcard corners. The stretch of Sutter is a working mid-rise corridor of apartment buildings and small hotels, putting guests within walking distance of Union Square shopping, the cable car lines, and the SoMa arts corridor.

The concept

Chicago-based Oxford Capital Group bought the shuttered property in 2019 and gave it a full identity change rather than a repaint: the building had operated as the Empire Hotel and, more recently, as Hotel Vertigo, a boutique property that traded on its cameo in Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 film shot partly on site. Oxford stripped that branding and reopened it as Hotel Julian, the second location of its own namesake lifestyle brand after the flagship in Chicago. The multi-million-dollar renovation replaced flooring, installed new central air conditioning, refreshed bathrooms and furniture, and reconfigured a two-story arrival lobby.

Dining & wellness

The hotel's food and beverage program centers on Carlotta's, a two-story indoor-outdoor cocktail and wine bar whose name nods to the Hitchcock connection; it serves breakfast daily, weekend brunch, and a weekday happy hour, alongside a short plates menu. There is no spa or pool on site.