For decades the Starlight Room crowned the old Sir Francis Drake Hotel, a 21st-floor sky lounge above Union Square. It went dark when the hotel reinvented itself, then came back in 2024 as the Starlite, the same skyline view under a new name.
Published Mar 7, 2026 · By Marcus Webb
The Starlite occupies the 21st floor of the Beacon Grand at 450 Powell Street, the Union Square hotel that spent decades as the Sir Francis Drake. After the hotel relaunched as the Beacon Grand in 2022, the historic Starlight Room was redesigned and reopened in 2024 as the Starlite, a revival covered by Haute Living San Francisco and 7x7. It keeps the original draw, a sky lounge with sweeping views of the city skyline.
The pull is height and heritage. Few San Francisco bars sit this high above downtown, and fewer carry this much of the city's nightlife history in the room.
The room
The lounge wraps the top floor in windows, with banquette seating, a central bar, and a small floor that has long hosted live music and dancing. The redesign kept the supper-club bones while updating the look, so the room reads as a polished sky lounge rather than a hotel afterthought. The views over Union Square and toward the bay are the reason the room has survived every renovation. Floor-to-ceiling glass on three sides keeps the skyline in view from almost every seat, and the bar sits back so the windows stay the focus.
What to order
The Starlite runs a classic-leaning cocktail program built for the setting, so the move is a martini or a spirit-forward classic at the bar by the windows. Bottle service and a short bites menu support longer evenings and events. Expect downtown hotel-bar pricing, the premium that buys a 21st-floor view from one of the city's named rooms. The list favours the classics that suit the setting, so a Negroni or an old fashioned reads truer here than anything fussy.
The crowd and best time to go
The crowd mixes hotel guests, date-night couples, and locals marking an occasion, with a livelier scene on music nights. The room is an evening venue, busiest after dark when the skyline does the work, and quieter early. Come at dusk for a window seat as the lights come up, or later on a music night for the supper-club energy.
What regulars say
Across local press and review sites the steady praise is the view, the history, and the relief that the room is back at all. Reviewers note the prices match the address and that a window seat is worth arriving early for. The consensus frames the Starlite as a special-occasion room first, riding the legacy of the Starlight Room.
Who it is for
This is for the view-seeker, the anniversary date, and anyone touring San Francisco rooftop bars who wants altitude with a story attached. Skip it if you want a casual, low-key drink. For the wider city, see our San Francisco bar guide and the national rooftop bars guide.
The verdict
The Starlite wins because it brought a piece of San Francisco back. The 21st-floor view that made the Starlight Room famous now anchors a refreshed sky lounge in the Beacon Grand, ideal for a martini at dusk or a music night after dark. For more elevated rooms, compare the design at Everdene, the panorama at The View Lounge, and the classic perch at Top of the Mark.
