There are hotels that accommodate you, and there are hotels that belong to a city. The InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco has always been that second kind. Perched at the very crest of Nob Hill since December 4, 1926, it has watched San Francisco transform through nearly a century of boom and reinvention, standing as one of the few fixed points in a city that constantly changes. Now, in 2026, it turns 100 — and it is celebrating its centennial in a golden way that feels entirely in character. In other words, with elegance, with history, and with a very good drink in hand.
However, the centennial is not a single evening or a weekend event. Indeed, it is nearly a full year of highlights, woven through every corner of the hotel, designed to honor what the Mark Hopkins has been and what it will become. Therefore, if you have ever considered making this landmark a part of your San Francisco itinerary, then there has never been a better moment to walk through its commanding doors.
The InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco Turns 100 in Grand Style
December 4, 1926: Where the Story Begins
The ribbon-cutting on December 4, 1926, drew crowds up the steep blocks of California Street to witness something extraordinary. What rose at the peak of Nob Hill was a 19-story Art Deco tower of cream-colored brick, designed to be the grandest hotel the West Coast had ever seen. Its namesake, Mark Hopkins, was one of the Big Four railroad magnates of the Central Pacific Railway who had built their Gilded Age mansions on this very hilltop. The hotel carried that spirit of ambition forward into the modern era.
The Early Days
From its earliest days, the Mark Hopkins attracted a guest list that read like a dispatch from the world’s most interesting dinner party. Indeed, Hollywood actors, world leaders and jazz musicians all passed through its doors. The grand ballroom — the Peacock Court, with its elegant gold and ivory walls and floor-to-ceiling windows — became one of San Francisco’s most coveted event spaces. As a matter of fact, it was hosting figures from across every sphere of public life. The seven-foot murals in the adjacent Mark Hopkins Ballroom, painted by celebrated California artists Maynard Dixon and Frank Van Sloun, gave those gatherings an artistic backdrop that still stops guests in their tracks today.
The Hotel’s Connection with the U.S. Military
The hotel’s wartime chapter is among its most moving. In fact, during World War II, an estimated 30,000 servicemen per month passed through the Top of the Mark, the 19th floor bar that had opened in 1939. Some came for a final drink before shipping out beneath the Golden Gate Bridge. Others came to celebrate making it home. A corner of the bar became known as Weeper’s Corner — the place where wives and sweethearts stood watching their partners sail away. That same spot is now one of San Francisco’s most popular settings for marriage proposals, which says something profound about the way a room can hold both grief and joy across time.
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The Centennial Package: How to Stay in the Middle of It All
The hotel has made it easy to immerse yourself in the centennial with a dedicated package that bundles the experience thoughtfully. Book the Centennial Package and your stay includes two complimentary cocktails per night at the Top of the Mark, based on double occupancy. In other words, that means two drinks apiece against a panoramic backdrop of the Bay, the Golden Gate, and the San Francisco skyline. No view in the city quite matches it. By the way, it’s also pet friendly, so if you have a furry friend, you are welcome to bring one along.
Complimentary Tickets to the Legion of Honor
The package also includes two complimentary tickets to the Legion of Honor, San Francisco’s beloved fine arts museum in Lincoln Park. In addition, you can receive a $5 discount on Special Exhibit tickets. For guests who want a deeper experience, a VIP museum tour is available, subject to blackouts. All you would need to do is give one week’s advance notice of your arrival.
Additional offers are available for those who qualify. For instance, there are Senior Savings rates that apply seven days a week, including suites and view rooms. IHG One Rewards members who book directly through IHG.com unlock the best available rates. Of course, there are also member benefits that make an already exceptional stay go a little further.
The Top of the Mark and the 100 Martini Menu
No visit to the InterContinental Mark Hopkins is complete without time at the Top of the Mark. After all, the penthouse bar, perched 19 floors above Nob Hill, has been called one of San Francisco’s great institutions since it opened in 1939. What’s more, on a clear evening, the Golden Gate Bridge anchors the western horizon while Alcatraz sits in the distance. In all, it is a historic space that earns its reputation every single night.
The 100 Martini Menu
For the centennial, the bar has revived a beloved program with renewed ambition: the 100 Martini Menu. In other words, it’s one hundred cocktails, one for each year since the hotel opened its doors. It’s organized into categories that range from classic martinis and vodka variations to rum punches, tequila riffs, bartender specialties, and coffee-laced dessert drinks. Prices run from approxmiately $22 to $26 per cocktail.
The 100 Martini Passport
The program works through a passport system. That is, you order your first martini, and your server presents you with an official 100-Martini Passport. Each cocktail earns a stamp and there is no time limit and no required order. Hotel manager Jennifer Dunn described the spirit of it precisely, when she said the passport encouragses guests to slow down and savor the experience. Ultimately, those who collect all 100 stamps earn prizes determined by IHG and hotel management.
Menu Highlights
The menu’s highlights are genuinely compelling. For instance, there is the Golden Martini — Ketel One Orange or Tanqueray Orange, Aperol, Amaro Montenegro, and bitters. Then there is the Manhattanization nods to the city’s architectural history through Buffalo Trace Bourbon and brandied cherry. In addition, the rum offerings, such as the #63, the Railroad Rum Punch is particularly tasty. This drink is made with Bacardi and Myer’s Dark Rum, along with grenadine and citrus juices. Incidentally, it takes its name from the railroad legacy of the Big Four magnates who built this hill. Ordering it at the top of Nob Hill is, in a small way, drinking a toast to the people who made this address possible
More Drink Recommendations and Gourmet Appetizers
The Bartender Specialties section showcases the team’s technical range through equal-parts classics like the Aviation, the Paper Plane, and the Corpse Reviver No. 2. And the most delightfully cryptic entry — #75, the Industry Sour, described only as “IYKYK” — rewards you for simply asking your bartender what it is. Not only do you have a wide selection of drinks to order, but you also have plenty of gourmet appetizers and bar bites to enjoy.
Lastly, the Martini #100 belongs to you. After completing 99, the final cocktail is yours to choose: a favorite from the list, something entirely your own, or the bartender’s call. It is a gracious closing gesture from a hotel that has spent a century perfecting the art of hospitality.
The Squadron Bottle at the Top of the Mark Penthouse Bar
Whether you’re active military, veteran or interested in military history, make sure to ask about the Squadron Bottle. With a history that dates back to World War II, the Squadron Bottle was a tradition of a final toast from a liquor bottle – before servicemembers deployed for military duty. Once a bottle was finished, a servicemember would purchase a new bottle for others to enjoy. Over the years, several bottles have been purchased and left with the bartender with a handwritten note. Today, there is a large collection of bottles, along with military memorabilia in a case just past the elevator. If you are a veteran or active military member, you can request a complimentary shot from the Squadron Bottle.
About the InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco
The InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco sits at 999 California Street, at the crest of Nob Hill near the crossing of three cable car lines. That positioning is not incidental. From the hotel’s front steps, you are minutes from Union Square, the Financial District, Chinatown, and North Beach. Fisherman’s Wharf is an easy ride away. The hotel does not have a pool, but it offers something that compensates handsomely: a terrace, a fitness center, concierge services, and views from nearly every vantage point that remind you exactly where you are.
Among the Best Hotels in San Francisco
The property has been consistently voted among the Best Hotels in San Francisco. Indeed, that’s recognition that reflects not only the physical grandeur of the building but the quality of what happens inside. The guest rooms and suites are well-appointed and comfortable, and many offer the sweeping city views. Valet parking is available on-site for guests arriving by car. As for public transportation, there’s a cable car stop at the top of Nob Hill, just a few steps away from the hotel entrance.
The Nob Hill Club
The Nob Hill Club, the hotel’s ground-floor restaurant, provides an intimate counterpoint to the drama of the Top of the Mark. In brief, it draws on Bay Area culinary sensibility for an experience that is refined without being formal. In essence, it makes it an ideal setting for dinner before an evening upstairs. Together, the two dining venues give the hotel a full range — from a quiet table for two at street level to one of America’s most scenic bars on the 19th floor.
December 4, 2026: The Day the Centennial Peaks
Mark your calendar for December 4, 2026. That is the actual 100th birthday of the InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco — one hundred years to the day since those crowds climbed California Street for the ribbon-cutting. The hotel has spent all of 2026 building toward this moment, and the celebration on that date will be the capstone of everything the centennial year has set in motion.
Whether you plan your visit around December 4 or come earlier for the 100 Martini passport program, or simply a quiet dinner at the Nob Hill Club with the city lights below, the window for this once-in-a-century experience is open right now.
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Plan Your Visit
InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco | 999 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94108 | (415) 392-3434
Top of the Mark is open nightly with varying hours. Live entertainment Saturdays; cover fee applies. A 19% gratuity is added to parties of six or more. Please note that minors are not permitted after 10:00 p.m.
Centennial Package and current offers: ihg.com | Share your Mark Hopkins memories: TheCentennialMark@ihg.com
About The Author
Randy Yagi is an award-winning writer who served as the National Travel Writer for CBS from 2012 to 2019. More than 900 of his stories still appear in syndication across 23 CBS websites, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco. During his peak years with CBS, Randy had a reported digital audience reach of 489 million and 5.5 million monthly visitors. Additionally, his stories have appeared in the Daily Meal, CBS News, CBS Radio, Engadget, NBC.com, NJ.com, MSN.com and Radio.com. He earned a Media Fellowship from Stanford University and is a Bay Area Travel Writers (BATW) member.
