Visitor Information

Where to Stay, Eat, and Visit

Where to Stay

If you're visiting from out of town to take one of my workshops I highly recommend you stay at the official Jeremy Sutton Workshop hotel, the Hotel Rex. Hotel Rex is a wonderful, atmospheric and super-friendly boutique historic hotel that opened its doors in 1907 and is filled with beautiful original artwork. It is just one block from Union Square (where you can enjoy sipping a cappucino at Il Caffe Rulli or eating a hearty breakfast at Sears) and ten minutes cab ride from Sutton Studios & Gallery (see map). The lobby and Café Andreé are great places to meet up and socialize with other students staying there. There is free wine for guests every day between 5 and 7pm in its cosy lobby bar, shown above. I've toured the hotel, met the staff and checked out the rooms and facilities, and was impressed. If I didn't already live in the city I'd stay there myself! The reviews from students who stay there are all good and many return to stay there every time they visit the city thereafter.

I have negotiated special Jeremy Sutton Group Preferred Room Rates at Hotel Rex:

$129 (Queen) / $139 (King) / $149 (Double/Double or King Executive Suite) plus tax. Parking is $35 per night plus tax. To reserve a room contact:

Xavier Bon,Director of Sales / Lee-ann Platt, Reservations Coordinator
Hotel Rex, a Joie de Vivre Hotel
562 Sutter Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
415.217.4024 (M - F, 9am - 5pm, Pacific Coast Time)

and request the Jeremy Sutton Group Preferred Rate, or book at the Hotel Rex web site using promo code WBJSS. You may be able to get even better rates via online travel sites. I recomend joining the hotel's "Joy of LIfe" loyalty club when you check in - it's free. The hotel does sell out so book as soon as you can to ensure you get a room at that rate. The special room rate they are offering is often better than you'll get by going through discount travel web sites like Expedia.com. If you have any problems getting the special rate please call or email me. The Hotel Rex is a ten minute ($10 - $12) taxi cab ride from Sutton Studios & Gallery (click here for map and directions) or a 20 minute bus ride (the 27 bus goes from the corner of Mason and O'Farrell all the way to the studio door!). The Hotel offers wireless internet, complimentary wine for all guests each evening between 5 and 6pm in the atmospheric bar, complimentary New York Times, and a reduced daily membership at the Club One fitness center which is around the corner from the hotel. The hotel is in the heart of the theater and art gallery district of the city, within minutes of many excellent cafes and restaurants, one block from Union Square, the Powell Street Cable Car line and the downtown shopping district, and around the corner from my favorite Wednesday and Thursday night swing dance venue, Le Colonial. The Rex is not only a very nice hotel, you'll also have a fun social experience mingling with other students who may be staying there.

Late night painting in the Hotel Rex lobby...

Where to Eat

San Francisco is a "foodie" city. You'll be spoilt for choice at all ends of the spectrum. A useful guide to restaurants is found at SFGate.com. Here are some of my personal favorites (though I cannot guarantee your experience):

• Boulevard - One Mission St (at Embarcadero), San Francisco, CA 94105, Telephone: 415 543 6084 - Pricey but delicious and very atmospheric.
• Chez Spencer - 82 14th St. (at Folsom), San Francisco, CA 94103 - (415) 864-2191 - great French restaurant tucked away, on pricey side but worth it.
• Cafe Claude - 425 Bush St # 444 (near Grant and Kearney), San Francisco, 94108 - (415) 392-3505 - French cafe style. New restaurant next door, Gitane, also meant to be very good.
• The Plant Cafe - Suite 108, Pier 3, The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94111 (two piers north of the Ferry Building), 415 984 1973, great food and atmosphere.
• Steps of Rome Caffe, 348 Columbus - very noisy but good for a delicious late night tiramasu!
• Francisco Crab Restaurant - Pier 43 1/2, Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, 94133 - (415) 362-7733 - for a yummy seafood experience.
• Cesarios Brasserie- 601 Sutter St (cross street Mason), San Francisco, 94102 - (415) 441-9898 - comfortable, decent, mid-priced Italian. Across road from Hotel Rex.
• Max's, 398 Geary Street (cross street Mason), San Francisco, CA 94102 - (415) 646-8600 - Matzah ball soup that's a meal in itself

Where to Visit

If you're visiting San Francisco from out of town I highly recommend you arrive in San Francisco at least the Saturday before class and give yourself the weekend to enjoy this beautiful city and its surrounds, and capture imagery that you can use in class. Here are some places to visit (and photograph):

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Downtown (closed Weds, late opening Thurs)

Farmers Maket, Ferry Building (Saturday mornings)

Legion of Honor Museum, Presidio (beautiful view of Golden Gate Bridge)

Baker Beach (near Legion of Honor, another beautiful view of Golden Gate Bridge)

Cliff House, Ocean Beach (enjoy seeing the sunset over the ocean)

Lindy in the Park, Golden Gate Park (Sunday mornings—you'll often find me there! Join the free lesson at 12:30pm)

de Young Museum, Golden Gate Park (next to the Japanese Tea Garden and opposite the Academy of Sciences, both well worth visiting too)

Conservatory of Flowers, Golden Gate Park (not far from the de Young Museum. If you like nature also visit the Arboretum on the otherside of the de Young)

Palace of Fine Arts, Marina (atmospheric night time lighting - beautiful structures left over from the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition)

There is much to do in San Francisco in the evenings, and many great places to eat. Some of the regular jazz / swing dance events with live music (great for photo shoots) that you may enjoy planning into your itinerary are:

Sundays - Lindy in the Park

Mondays - Lavay Smith and the Red Hot Skillet Lickers at Enrico's in North Beach,

Tuesdays - Stompy Jones at the Verdi Club  (Tuesday Night Jump),

Wednesdays - Le Colonial (two blocks from Hotel Rex).

Thursdays - Top of the Mark (5 minute walk up steep hill from Hotel Rex).

Naturally there is much else besides these few suggestions. If you have more time you'll find incredible beautiful within an hour or two from the city, ranging from great wine country (such as Napa - good place to stay is Indian Springs Resort - and Sonoma), magnificent coast line (Point Reyes National Park, where a good place to stay is Motel Inverness, to the north and Monterey, Carmel and Big Sur to the south) and majestic old growth giant redwoods (Armstrong Redwoods, Guerneville).

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