The glass elevators at the Westin St. Francis are key-card protected and not open to public anymore. You need a hotel key card to access one of the glass elevators, and I think it's used to be one of free things for locals and tourists years ago. read more

The Glass Elevators - Local Flavor Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Wheee! What a fun way to see the city! This elevator is in the St Regis overlooking Union Square. If you act like you know where you're going, and just jump in with some random guest, you'll get to see a great view of the city for free! The glass elevators are constantly zipping up and down. You need a guest's key to get the elevator to work, so be sure to hop on with someone going to their room, and just start mashing the highest numbers on the keypad. It's kinda thrilling to know that they put in a card reader to keep out the public, but this is totally worth the trip if you don't stay here. Unfortunately, this Glass Elevator is not like the one written about in the sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Unlike the one in Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory, this one doesn't go sideways, through the roof, or upside down at all. read more

It's no longer open to the public and it's for guests only so very difficult to experience unless you find an employee willing to help. This can be a great experience and or very disappointing as most of the new employees no longer are willing or even appreciate the history of the hotel! read more

HOTEL GUESTS ONLY NOW. Unless you have a room at St. Francis or unless you're sneaky and lucky, you won't be able to go up the elevators anymore. The hotel changed the rules for security purposes. To use the elevators now, you have to swipe in your room's key card which then takes you only to the floor your room is on. Sometimes there is also someone watching the elevators and telling people that the elevators are now only for hotel guests. He tells people to go to the Grand Hyatt, Cheesecake Factory, and some other tall hotels nearby if they want to see the view of Union Square. My friend and I didn't know that the rules changed so we hopped on a random elevator with a couple staying at the hotel. There were no buttons for the floors inside the elevator, so I realized the change and acted dumb after the elevator started moving up, "Oh no, we forgot to swipe in our cards... It's okay we'll just go back down again." The couple just happened to be going on the 28th floor hahah so we got lucky and got a nice view from the 28th floor for a few seconds before someone else on a lower floor called the elevator down. Sucks that this elevator isn't public anymore, but I'll still give it 5 stars! read more

The Glass Elevators - Local Flavor Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Was in the bay area past weekend, and had a friend with me from the valley that hasn't been to the city since she was 5, so I remembered how last year I went to the glass elevator to get a great view of the city, and it cost me nothing by time to do it. So we headed off to the elevators, and 1st thing I noticed, you have to put your room key in 1st then punch in what floor you are wanting. Well I don't give up that easily, we waited until someone came down, sneaked into the elevator, and road it up to the 21st floor!! UUUGGGHHH!!! The view is at the 31st floor!! Plan was foiled!!! People got into the elevator; we rode it back down to the ground and left the place as fast as we could. haha I guess now you have to find someone with a room key to get a good view of the city! read more

So apparently this used to be easy and no room key required. A friend brought me here and assured me years prior it wasn't like that and you could go right up. Well that wasn't going to stop me she made me walk all this way I was going up! LOL so we found a mother daughter that were heading up to their room and asked if we could get a ride to look around and they were fine with it so we did just that and asked them if they knew what the top floor was....since obviously we didn't do any research. We picked up another passenger on the way up and he seemed to think there was a bar at the top but that proved not to be the case it was just conference rooms. Great views and photo ops in here though from the elevator as well as the windows from the upper floors. read more

So, I went here not too long ago, couple months actually. (depends on what your definition of long is) Yes, it's only for hotel guest only with room keys. BUT! My friend & I lucked out & got on with a father & son seeking the same adventure we were & a hotel guest with keys! muahahhaha. The view we had was BEAUTIFUL at night. I am glad I got to see the view at least once because unless you run into some hotel guests that don't mind, it's quite the task :) A check off of my SF bucket list :))) read more

In the back, right corner of the main lobby, past the Concierge desk are the elevator banks and a chance to see the city in a different perspective. I brought an out-of-town visitor up for the view and we both enjoyed it. The elevator lights reflect on the glass a bit much, but it was nice that they automatically dim once you rise above the surrounding buildings, making it a bit easier to see out without a reflection. For a quick, free, fun attraction near Union Square, it's a good option. read more

So glad that friend recommended me Yelp app. Thanks to that I read about this place. BEST VIEW EVER! I don't think you can score better view around here. Just walk in and ask for tower elevators or follow sings and you will be there in a second. What you will probably need is somebody with a card though :/ I guess it became too popular and they now have elevators working only with a hotel card. What I did is basically waited for first free elevator to open and hopped in. It turned out that is going only to second floor, lol. Fortunately enough this couple, when I asked about pictures and place, just used their card and pushed "30" so I went up and oh boy! Speed of this elevator a bit scary at the beginning, but today worth it! It's just a attraction for about 5 minutes, but nothing beats this view, and yes - I've seen SF from bridge or bay! read more

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Absolutely movie cliche breathe-taking. The trip to the elevator itself is a mission: You have to find the elevator, which is all the way in the back on the lobby. The lobby itself is exquisite. The day I went, there was a gigantic gingerbread castle display that was halfway up the the ceiling. You need to have access of a higher level room key or attending an event in order to pass a guy that's standing in the hallway that leads to the elevator. When you enter, you first see brick walls and buildings. Nothing special. Then... BOOM! -------C I T Y-------- -------L I G H T S------- -------T W I R L I N G . I C E . S K A T E R S------- Completely magnificent and a picture perfect city view. read more

Wheeeeeee! This is fun! After enjoying the Christmas lights at Union Square it occurred to me that we could see it even better from these elevators... so, off we went! After asking two different hotel staff, and taking the wrong set of elevators, we finally found the correct set of elevators. Let me tell you, A) the staff were not surprised at all by our question. So, they get asked this all the time B) we were not the only non-hotel-guests riding this cheap thrill. Yes, as others have mentioned, it is a million times more fun when you can ride it to the top, and then back down again without stopping. read more

One of my favorite places to bring friends and family from out of town, I've been coming here since I was a kid. Just past the Concierge desk, elevators A through E zoom up to the 27th floor and offer stunning views of Union Square below, The City, and on a clear day, the Bay. After you've had your fill, drop all the way back to the ground floor at speeds just fast enough to make your heart skip a beat. Last Friday night we enjoyed watching the ice skaters spin little circles and the glow of the huge christmas tree on a brisk night in SF. We brought my 4 year old niece, and she rode up and down with us 4 times before she'd had enough. Wifey was done after the first trip up and down, so she waited patiently on the comfy couch on the main floor. Or maybe she stopped by the bar for a minute and came back before we'd noticed. We were having a pretty good time. Thanks Weston St. Francis!! read more

This was fun for about a minute. Then it got awkward with people coming in and out with luggage and us just "oohing" at the view. Bill B.'s directions are accurate. Just walk past the concierge desk and into an elevator. read more

I've been taking rides on this elevator since I'm about 11. When I have people visiting from out of town I instinctively bring them here during their shopping to see one of the best views in SF, and kind of creep them out at the same time. Not being a fan of heights myself this is just enough to give me the chills but also that giddy feeling of sheer joy. Tip: You have to start from the top floor and to go floor 1 without stopping! If someone gets in and stops the ride you have to do it over again. Its different and you get this cool sensation from something neat that you'll just have to find out. read more

The Perfect Date Stop #2: The elevators at the Westin St. Francis are at the rear of the hotel to the right. On your way through the lobby you will pass the first grandfather clock on the West Coast (not sure how they knew that), this is a small bonus as to what you are about to experience. When boarding the elevator plan on throwing a fake or two so as to be able to ride alone. You will want a swift, uninterrupted ride to the top floor for maximun thrill. Stand with your chest to the glass and ride away. For the ride down do the same and trust that you are not going to crash into the roof of the building below. I am afraid of heights, but love this elevator. Next up on the date is the ride on the Cable Car... read more

ATMOSPHERE: This is pretty cool. Goes up to the 30th floor and overlooks the Union Square. No security to go through, no need for a room key, no other people like me waiting only to ride the elevator .. haha... So from the top, I've seen better views from day or night time. Get to look down on Union Square though. Might be more interesting if Union Square had an event, and all the lil humans can look like ants. But still, this is pretty neat. Plus the inside of Westin St Francis is soo nice. I would love to come back for it's lounge or restaurant ^___^ read more

I didn't realize you can just go check out the top floor for free. It's a short fun elevator ride up and there is a great 360 view at the top. It was just an empty event space when I was there so I could just hang out and enjoy the view. read more

The views here are amazing. It's harder to get to ride then it used to but really not that hard, Just hop on and ride along. No one has ever seemed to mind. The views across Union Square and beyond are great. I do miss when you could just ride it without a key though. read more

This hotel is absolutely stunning and beautiful. When I'm downtown at night Like to run up the red carpet stairs and go through the revolving doors, I see everyone in the bar and sometimes there are really pretty events where it's decorated. They do have little shops such as a jewelry store by the The woman's bathroom & these bathrooms are ridiculously nice looks nicer then the Kardashians bathroom. All the mirrors have there own personal lights on them, each stall is very clean and very large that's a plus since some hotel bathrooms don't even look like this let alone clean like this. Reason why I'm giving this place 3 stars is you used to be able to ride up inside the glass elevators and see the entire city. But now you need your room card to use the elevators :( and I'm not cheap but $780.00 per night and they weren't able to show me any rooms lady said they were all hooked up. I got super lucky and peaked over in the corner and some man was going up to the 31st floor ;-)))) that's the highest floor so that was awesome but now you can't without having a room and I'm assuming the higher floors are the penthouse suits. Very pricey rooms already and I'm sure the penthouse suits are at least $1,500 per night. read more

Can't ride the elevators anymore unless you have a key card. I went 5 years ago, we didn't need a room key, and there was guy that worked at the hotel letting people on and giving a little bit of history. Unless he didn't work there and just really loved the elevator. Either way you can't just ride the elevators anymore. Lobby bars are still quite beautiful so it was nice to at least walk through. read more

The best Free Ride in Town! I come here at least once a year by myself, with kids, or out of towners. It is an amazing view of all the bay and down town. The ride up is scary and exhilarating as the walls are glass and you go above the rooftops, way above. The ride down can be even worse. Look out for the metal bars that appear to be ready to poke. On rare occasions it has rained and we have moved faster than the raindrops and they appear to hover in mid air. magical. to get to the elevator enter on Powell. Walk straight through the hotel past the stair until you get to reception on your left and the cafe on your right. go to the far right corner of the room and make a left to the elevators. You don't need a room key or anything. Just look like you know where you are going and use a fake English accent if questioned. Ride up and down until nauseous. read more

Definitely worth a ride if you can find it. We may have gotten a little lost but it is a big place. First off, it is free and that is just wonderful. Second, you get one of the best views of San Francisco that you don't have to buy. My daughter loved it and if she hadn't insisted on pushing every button we may have done it again. read more

For a city with a nice skyline, there are surprisingly few public options to get a view from the top. I only ride these elevators to get to my room at the St. Francis, but it's easy to see why tourists do it. Great view. read more

I definitely played elevator tag in these elevators for nearly 3 hours one afternoon. As an adult. When we were done with the elevators we had a little pow wow on the 27th floor. Lots of fun. read more

Oh wow it makes your guts drop, just a bit, like a roller coaster.

A must do if your in the Union Square area. The view is fantastic, even in the "romantic" rain.

This was a bust. You apparently need a key for 27th floor now. Be prepared to beg a guest.

I first came here for some kind of web conference on one of the top floors in the summer of 2007. Over the past 4 years, I've taken countless visitors here on the mandatory tour of Union Square. It's always a breath of fresh air to get their pure, unfiltered look at San Francisco in the middle of all the falsity and consumerism of Union Square. read more

As others said, you can't use the elevators unless you have a room key. Sad but true. I thought about trying to find stairs or something, but I was wary of someone working there noticing me so I invited myself out on my own. read more

Unfortunately as of October 21st, access to the glass elevators are now restricted to hotel guests only. It was bound to happen.. the fact that the concierge lady was nice about it brought this sad fact up to two stars. read more

Very nice views!!! Almost reminded me of the glass elevator in Willy Wonka, I thought it was going to fly out the ceiling lol. You need to have a key card access; make sure not to ask the pretty, young, tall girl with straight hair at the concierge desk about the elevator, she was rather snobby! Only saw this at night but hopefully next time I can go see the daytime views! read more