It's terriby hard to find prime space to build a spa in an historic hotel.  A maze of square footage for the spa was allocated on the ground level and down into a lower level which was once home to the famed L'Etoile restaurant from 1976-1989. We really didn't know quite what we had until a delicate excavation process took place. New spaces were discovered behind walls, floors were exposed, and places touched that had not been since the hotel opening in 1924. Once cleared out, we were left with a unique and expansive space. The only problem was that it was completely enclosed.

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Designer Phyllis Martin-Vegue had the brilliance to "see" the potential of breaking through the exterior wall to provide breathtaking views to the city. Owners, John Cope and the family, took the chance and approved the design. Looking at the success of the spa and the iconic pool image, it couldn't have been otherwise.

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SPAd layered the history of the hotel with the immense impact the Chinese, Italian, and Victorian cultures had on San Francisco.The urbane Nob Hill Spa is a fresh, modern, yet timeless, experience.

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Martin-Vegue Design Studio