While San Francisco may not be my stomping grounds anymore, I always get this beautiful feeling of familiarity when I return to visit. Driving north on the 101 from SFO, winding through traffic toward the city, the bay to your right and patchy fog ahead. The feeling that you get when you turn that last bend past Candlestick Park and you see her peek through, her hills rolling, with all these little homes precariously stacked neatly on top of them. Admittedly, I sometimes go into autopilot once I see that view. I'll start changing lanes to get ready for my upcoming exit for Octavia, think about where I want to grab dinner that evening on Hayes Street (perhaps Absinthe?) and start to curse parking because there's nothing worse than parking in San Francisco. And I'll start to think of my Friday evening at home in Hayes Valley at my little studio apartment with double bay windows at 600 Fell Street.

And then I stop. Listen to my GPS directions and remember, oh, I'm heading somewhere else this time.

Luckily for me, just this past week, I was headed to the Loews Regency, located in downtown San Francisco. You may recall, I've spent more than my fair share hopping around downtown SF, snapping photos near Union Square, Maiden Lane, the cable cars on California Street and my ultimate favorite, Grace Cathedral. So when the folks at Loews asked me if I was planning on returning to San Francisco anytime soon, I took my friends' Juanjo and Nicole's wedding in Carmel as an excuse to extend my stay in the city for a long weekend.

If you're familiar with San Francisco and her downtown scape, you may remember the Loews Regency as the previously managed and owned Mandarin Oriental. I never had the pleasure of staying here while I lived in the city, but I was always curious about the views it must boast (it's situated right next to the Transamerica Pyramid) and is among one of the taller high rises in the area (48 stories to be exact!). You can imagine when I walked into my junior suite that Friday evening, I was blown away by my view (seen in the photo above). On a clear day, you can spot the Transamerica Pyramid, Coit Tower, the Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge and all of the Russian Hill area. On a not so clear day, you can see the fog literally roll in and consume the city. It's breathtaking.

The hotel itself is stunning -- refined elegance at its best. The in-hotel restaurant and bar, Brasserie S&P is among the city's favorites each year -- but don't overlook the many top-rated restaurants and bars that are literally a stone's throw away from their front doors (The Battery, Wayfare Tavern, Barbacco, Rickhouse to name a few).

A personal highlight for me though? I love retracing my steps whenever I get back into town. I spent a better portion of Sunday walking around the downtown area, hopping over to the Ferry Building, going for a run on the Embarcadero and finally catching the California cable car line up to Grace Cathedral to sit on the steps and listen to a good playlist on repeat. The only thing missing was Elvis by my side.

Huge thanks to the folks at Loews Regency for hosting me! I had a beautiful time!

OUTFIT DETAILS: Philosophy dress via Elizabeth Charles // Marigot pajamas // Self-Portrait dress via Elizabeth Charles // For Love and Lemons bra via Elizabeth Charles

Photos by Angie Silvy