The Jay, Autograph Collection

The Jay, Autograph Collection reopened in mid-November 2023 at 433 Clay Street, in the tower that housed Le Méridien San Francisco. It has 360 rooms and 16 function spaces, a restaurant on the third floor and a rooftop terrace bar, and it was the only hotel to open in the city that year. The owner is KHP Capital Partners, and HEI Hotels & Resorts operates it.

The place

433 Clay Street, at the corner with Battery Street, in the Jackson Square part of the Financial District. A pedestrian bridge links the building to the Embarcadero Center, which puts the shops and offices of the complex, and the Ferry Building beyond it, within a short walk.

The area is quiet in the evenings compared with Union Square, and it suits business travellers and visitors who want to be near the waterfront.

The concept

The building was designed by John C. Portman Jr., the architect better known for atrium hotels, and it is a concrete tower in the brutalist idiom. Rather than hide that, the renovation kept it. AxisGFA of San Francisco was the architecture firm and the San Francisco studio of AvroKO designed the interiors, under a concept the studio calls warm brutalism.

The hotel's own account is that it draws on San Francisco's artists, innovators and notable residents, and does not follow one design theme. The most demanding element, according to the AvroKO team, was a three-storey staircase that winds around a bronze by the sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro and leads from the ground floor to the lobby, the third-floor restaurant and the rooftop terrace.

The room list runs from Executive and Signature doubles and kings to corner studios, one-bedroom suites and The Jay Residence Suite, several with floor-to-ceiling windows and soaking tubs. Bay-view and skyline-view rooms are sold separately.

Dining & wellness

The Third Floor is the main restaurant and bar, run by The Omakase Restaurant Group, with a California-influenced menu and a daily happy hour. The Terrace, on the roof, is the outdoor bar. A third concept named Shinka is listed on the hotel's site as coming soon.

Private dining is available, and the 16 function spaces handle meetings, weddings and photo or film shoots.