Best Kept Secrets: Best Event Venues in San Francisco
Oh San Francisco, city by the Bay. Not only is this the Bash Creative home base, but it is home to some of the countries most memorable events. This is a city where venues boast floor to ceiling windows, cocktail parties to be remembered, and event spaces like no other.
As event planners, here are some of our favorite San Francisco event spaces, that allow your guests to get to know more of the city than just Union Square:
Palace of Fine Arts
We loved this gorgeous San Francisco event venue because it is both historical and beautiful. These stunning buildings were originally constructed for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, or World’s Fair, as an exhibition hall for works of art from all over the world.
Today it’s one of our favorite spaces for corporate event planning because the space is not only beautiful, but completely transformable. It offers a blank slate for high-impact executions, unique activations or break out rooms for corporate meetings. The gorgeous Rotunda is also able to be rented so your guests can enjoy being “under the dome”.
We also think this is a venue that the best event planning companies will snag because it offers attendees a beautiful experience of the city that is away from the hustle of downtown. This allows guests, particularly those coming from southern or mid-western areas and are used to a slower pace, access to this beautiful city without all of the city’s edge.
Cavallo Point
While technically not in San Francisco, this event venue is one of our favorites to offer with our event planning services. Originally inhabited by Coastal Miwok people, in 1866, the U.S. Army settled this site, creating a military base just outside of the Golden Gate. Over the next fifty years the base grow into 24 buildings known as Fort Baker. Today the historic hotel serves as a blended space — part national park, park luxury hotel.
As an event planner in San Francisco we love recommending this hotel for intimate groups (under 200) who are looking to have incentive trips, or blended retreat + conferences. The hotel overlooks the San Francisco city skyline, which gives a feeling of being away from it all, but still connected to the city.
Hibernia Bank Building
Hibernia Bank is the newest on the scene for historic venues, and has corporate event planning companies drooling at the prospect of doing impactful events there as its ornate gilding dazzles. The bank was founded in 1859 and was one of the only structures to survive the great fires of 1906, making it one of the city’s gems and a historical landmark.
The building was abandoned by the bank in 1985, and sat vacant for decades before a remodeling project started in 2016. Today the space is one of the newest and oldest venues in the city, offering offers three floors of unique space, bringing life into this historical building. And just in time for booking holiday parties!
Salesforce Tower, Ohana Floors
Top event planning companies will know a secret that few other companies do when it comes to Salesforce tower: if you’re a non-profit you can do an event for free in the Salesforce Ohana Floors. What are these free floors? Salesforce offers free event space to nonprofits aligned with their mission of giving back in several of their buildings in San Francisco, Indianapolis, London and New York.
With Salesforce tower being the newest and largest SF Icon, few corporate event planners have gotten a chance to transform these spaces for non-profits and do some good in the world.
Peerspace
Last but certainly not least, we are huge fans of Peer Spaces. Venue sharing platforms like Peerspace have popped up lots of places, and it’s an option that we certainly take advantage of. Whether we’re finding a private home for an intimate corporate meeting or a modern retreat for up to 100 people, PeerSpace has options that will make your guests be so glad they’ve broken out of the ballroom.
Where are you hosting your next San Francisco event?
Bash Creative is an event planning company specialize on incredible gatherings that go beyond just great design. We’re known for teasing out smart goals for your event and serve up a stylish execution that will keep your guests buzzing. Located in San Francisco, but often found in New York, Austin, Chicago, Seattle, and beyond.