The Lodge at the Presidio/David and Kay Scott

This past June marked the opening of Lodge at the Presidio, a companion facility to Inn at the Presidio that opened in 2012.  Both lodge buildings once housed soldiers stationed in the former military post. 

The new lodge is in Building 105, a 3-story brick structure built in 1897 as one of several large barracks on the Presidio’s Main Post.  A portion of the building was formerly used by the National Park Service as a visitor center that subsequently moved to a temporary location before finding a permanent home near the Presidio Transit Center.  Both the Transit Center and NPS visitor center are a short walk from the new lodge.

The Presidio transitioned from military post to becoming part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area when the U.S. Army departed in the 1990s.  Management of the 1,500-acre property was subsequently split between the NPS that cares for 300 acres of coastal area, and the Presidio Trust that was established to oversee the interior area that includes most of the extensive infrastructure including the two lodges.

The Presidio Trust owns both lodges and paid for their renovations.  It hired Waterford Hotels & Inns of San Mateo to manage the properties.  Building 105 in which the new lodging facility is located was the more expensive of the two to renovate, being completely gutted prior to adding new walls to make the historic building suitable as a lodging facility.  The project required three years and cost $25 million, including $1 million for air conditioning.

Rates for guests rooms at the Lodge at the Presidio can run to $450 per night/David and Kay Scott

The lodge has 42 guest rooms, some offering window views of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Other rooms across the front of the building provide a view of the parade ground.  The lobby and hallways are decorated with historic photographs of the Presidio.  The back patio includes a fire pit surrounded by chairs.  Evenings during our December stay were unfortunately a little cool for the two of us to enjoy the patio.

Room rates range from $275 for a relatively small room with a queen bed to $450 for a Junior King Suite with a king bed plus a queen sofa sleeper.  Guest rooms come with a complimentary breakfast and an evening wine and cheese reception.  Guests also have free use of bicycles and complimentary passes to the Presidio YMCA.

Although guest rooms at the lodge are relatively expensive, consider that the Presidio Trust is required to be financially self-supporting.  Thus, a variety of programs including free scheduled shuttle service throughout the Presidio, free bus transportation to and from downtown San Francisco, trail maintenance (the Presidio has 24 miles of trails), environmental work, and more must be covered by trust revenues that include property rentals that include the two lodging facilities.  The Presidio is basically a huge urban park that pays for itself while offering locals and visitors a place to enjoy themselves.

One bargain is a parking fee of $9 per day, compared with downtown parking that can run five times as much.  One other thing to consider when judging the cost of staying at the lodge is Yosemite’s unheated tent cabins with cots and one light bulb in Half Dome Village are now going for $143 per night.  And there’s no free wine and cheese reception.

David and Kay Scott are authors of “Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges” (Globe Pequot).  Visit them at mypages.valdosta.edu/dlscott/Scott.html.

The lodge's patio faces the Golden Gate Bridge/David and Kay Scott