San Francisco’s historic Palace Hotel is getting ready for the holiday season with a calendar of festive dining and afternoon tea experiences that runs Halloween through New Year’s Day. The landmark hotel, part of Marriott’s Luxury Collection, is known for its soaring Garden Court, where afternoon tea and holiday celebrations unfold beneath a glass ceiling, and the Pied Piper, whose celebrated Maxfield Parrish mural has been part of the hotel’s identity for generations.
The Palace has been part of San Francisco’s story since 1875, and following last year’s 150th anniversary, the hotel is continuing its longstanding tradition of holiday hospitality with an especially full seasonal calendar:
The festivities begin with Spooky Tea on October 31, a Halloween-inspired take on the Palace’s afternoon tea tradition. Served in the Garden Court from noon to 2 p.m., it features seasonal sweets, savory bites and premium teas, with pricing starting at $70 per person.
November brings Diwali Tea on November 7, an afternoon celebrating the Festival of Lights with South Asian-inspired finger sandwiches and petit fours, freshly baked scones, chai and Harney & Sons teas, plus a glass of Piper Sonoma Brut. Live music accompanies the experience, which runs from noon to 2 p.m. and is priced at $130 per person.
Thanksgiving takes over the Garden Court and Pied Piper on November 27. The Thanksgiving brunch buffet, priced at $250 for adults and $95 for children, includes seafood, antipasti, salads, carving stations and a Viennese dessert table, along with mimosas, Bloody Marys and apple cider. A traditional jazz duo provides the soundtrack. That evening, the Palace serves a Thanksgiving prix fixe dinner for $295 per adult and $95 per child, adding such indulgences as a Tsar Nicoulai caviar cart, a Peking duck station, and barista coffee service.
December brings the Palace’s most traditional holiday programming. On December 18, Carolers Tea transforms the Garden Court into a Victorian Christmas scene, with costumed carolers, live piano music, holiday finger sandwiches, petit fours, and scones. The experience is $200 per person and includes a glass of Piper Sonoma Brut.
Families can then gather for Santa Afternoon Tea, where holiday décor, traditional tea fare and a visit from Santa create a festive afternoon for children and adults. The experience includes a professional keepsake photograph, with pricing at $230 for adults and $135 for children ages 5 to 12.
Christmas Eve brings a four-course prix fixe dinner, served from 4 to 8 p.m. for $125 per person, with live music throughout the evening. On Christmas Day, the Garden Court hosts both brunch and dinner. The brunch buffet features seafood, carving stations, holiday desserts and traditional accompaniments, while dinner adds a caviar cart, a Peking duck station, and barista coffee service. Adult pricing is $250 for brunch and $295 for dinner.
The season concludes with New Year’s Eve dinner, a four-course prix fixe menu with a Piper Sonoma Brut toast, priced at $145 per person. Live music continues into the evening as guests celebrate through midnight. On New Year’s Day, the hotel follows with a Garden Court brunch buffet priced at $130 for adults and $65 for children ages 5 to 12.
For travelers planning a San Francisco holiday getaway, the Palace also puts guests within walking distance of Union Square, Chinatown, the Financial District and the Moscone Center. Museums, theaters, cable cars and attractions including SFMOMA, Yerba Buena Gardens and the Ferry Building are also nearby.
The result is a holiday season that makes full use of what the Palace does particularly well: grand architecture, a memorable dining room, and traditions designed for gathering. For San Francisco visitors, it also offers the chance to turn an afternoon tea or holiday meal into part of a stay at one of the city’s enduring landmark hotels.
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Photos courtesy of Palace Hotel, A Luxury Collection Hotel, San Francisco
