As someone born and bred in San Francisco, I am mortified to admit that until last month, I’d never taken the elevator all the way up to the Top of the Mark, the iconic 19th floor bar in the grand dame InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel.

With such a celebrated landmark in your own backyard, it’s easy to get jaded, thinking it’ll always be there, so you keep promising yourself to get to it one day.

Well, one day finally came this month, when I was invited to stay overnight, and enjoy dinner and cocktails at this venerable hotel that will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2026.

Everywhere you turn, there is a sense of history in this gilded property. As the saying goes, “They don’t make places like this anymore,” and they sure don’t.

Mark Hopkins was one of the founders of the Central Pacific Railway, and a bit tightfisted with his wallet, jested Connie Perez-Wong, the hotel’s creative director, as she gave me a tour of the property. It was his wife, Mary, who convinced him to build her dream home here on top of Nob Hill — all 39 rooms of it. Unfortunately, he didn’t live long enough to ever move into it. Instead, in what some might call a cougar-like move, Mary ended up marrying the home’s interior designer, who was considerably younger than her, and moving into the hilltop home with him.

When the catastrophic 1906 earthquake hit, the fires in the aftermath destroyed the palatial home, save for the stone retaining wall that still stands today. Hotel investor George D. Smith later purchased the site to build a luxury hotel. With fanciful French chateau and Spanish Renaissance design elements, it opened on Dec. 4, 1926.

Today, the Mark Hopkins is both a city and state historic landmark. It boasts 383 rooms, 26 suites, and two ballrooms, one of which was once the Peacock supper club complete with live orchestra. Nowadays, both ballrooms are more often the site of lavish weddings.

The grand hotel has hosted many notables, too, including former French President Charles de Gaulle, former U.S. President Herbert Hoover, actor Anthony Hopkins, and singers Stevie Nicks and Mick Jagger.

My husband and I stayed in a corner suite on the 17th floor in a corner suite, just steps from the Presidential Suite. Every time we walked past, we put our ear near the door to see if any VIP might be inside. Alas, we heard not a peep.

Our room afforded us a sweeping view of Huntington Park, the San Francisco Fairmont Hotel across the street, Grace Cathedral, and even the Golden Gate Bridge off in the distance. With a storm approaching, you could really hear the wind howling, too.

The spacious suite had a separate area for TV watching and dining. The tall, pillow-topped bed was made for sinking into sweet dreams. And the bathroom was roomier than a New York City studio apartment.

For dinner, we dined at the Nob Hill Club on the lobby level. Done up with chandeliers and dark wood, and offering a view of the cable cars on California Avenue., the restaurant has an old-world clubby feel.

The food is solid, made with choice ingredients such as the Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes on the Margherita naan flatbread pizza ($23) that was thin, crisp and plenty cheesy with melted mozzarella.

The classic Caesar salad ($18) included white anchovies (hooray!), baguette croutons, and shards of shaved Parmigiano Reggiano for a rich nuttiness.

The delicious chicken alla Milanese ($32) was a pounded chicken breast, crusted and pan-fried until golden and crisp, then served with plenty of capers in a lemony vinaigrette.

The cedar-plank salmon ($38) was a sizeable fillet that was moist with a crispy skin. It was served with plenty of pearl couscous, and roasted romesco and cauliflower.

With the Top of the Mark our next stop, we decided to hold off on dessert until we got there.

Once a 9-bedroom suite, it was transformed in 1939 into the now iconic glass-walled bar and lounge iith a breathtaking, nearly 360-degree view of the city.

During World War II, 30,000 servicemen a month would visit to have one last drink before shipping out or to celebrate returning home.

An area off to one side, where we sat, was actually known as Weeper’s Corner, for it was where wives and sweethearts would watch their husbands or boyfriends ship out under the Golden Gate Bridge. Now, it’s a popular setting for proposals.

During World War II, a unique tradition started that still lives on: the Top of the Mark’s Squadron Bottle. Back then, an officer bought a bottle of bourbon and left it in the care of the bartender with the instructions that anyone from his squadron could enjoy a shot on the house, as long as the last person bought another bottle to continue the practice. After the war, the tradition fell by the wayside. That is until 2009 when Naval Lt. Mike Hall bought a bottle of whisky to revive the custom.

Nowadays, civilians also buy bottles to leave for service men and women. Some of the bottles are displayed in a glass case outside the entrance to the Top of the Mark, along with notes, pins, medals, and journals. With hundreds of bottles, many more are in tucked away in storage until there’s room in the case. Anyone with a military ID can partake of a free “squadron shot” from one of the bottles.

No matter the time of day or night, or the weather, the view from the Top is a sight to savor. It’s also a reminder that despite the challenges that San Francisco has weathered in recent years, it remains a magnificent looking metropolis.

Sit back and bask in all of it with a Royale Rouge ($21), an effervescent sip of Lillet Blanc, Aperol, and Piper-Heidsieck Brut Champagne with the ombre look of a sunset and the taste of a fizzy Negroni; or a Rose Garden ($22) of Juniper Gin, St. Germain, Chambord, lemon, and rose lemonade that’s like floral, citrusy, and a little sweet, like a quenching summer soda.

There’s also a range of appetizers to nosh, including caviar service. For your sweet tooth, there’s a moist, fluffy strawberry and peach shortcake ($15) with plenty of whipped cream in the center.

As the sky turned from from day to night, I imagined all the visitors who had come before, bringing their bravery, honor, hopes, and love through those doors. It gave me chills and filled me with a sense of warmth — all at once. If you’ve never visited — or it’s been ages since you did — do yourself a favor and let the elevator whisk you to the Top for an indelible San Francisco experience.