The Mark Hopkins Turns 100 This December. Here's How the Rest of Nob Hill Is Spending the Season

The InterContinental Mark Hopkins turns 100 on Friday, December 4. The date falls in the middle of Nob Hill's holiday season, and it divides that season neatly. Before it come the lightings: a gingerbread house in the Fairmont lobby, a rooftop market, and the Nob Hill Association's evening in Huntington Park. After it, the calendar fills with ticketed concerts at Grace Cathedral and reserved seatings at the hotel tea rooms, up through New Year's Eve. Four institutions on a few blocks of California Street each keep their own holiday schedule.

A Hundred Years at 1 Nob Hill

The hotel opened in 1926, and IHG has set December 4, 2026 as its centennial. The celebration started months ago. In June, The Voice of San Francisco reported that Top of the Mark had brought back its 100 Martini Passport for the anniversary, set to run at least until the hotel's "true 100th birthday" on December 4.

The hotel's centennial page also promotes a monthly Art Deco dance series featuring Alex Mendham and his 11-piece orchestra, along with a centennial stay package. The anniversary also sets the theme for the year's last night at Top of the Mark, covered further down. For neighbors, the centennial is mostly a reason to go upstairs again for a drink at a bar they have walked past for years.

The Lighting Weeks, in Order

From the Saturday before Thanksgiving through the first days of December, most of the season happens in lobbies, gardens and the park. Nearly all of it is open to anyone who walks in.

1. Saturday, November 21, 11 a.m., Fairmont San Francisco lobby. The Gingerbread House Lighting Ceremony switches on the hotel's life-sized Gingerbread House. The San Francisco Boys Chorus performs, and guests from Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area take part. The Fairmont bills it as family-friendly and open to all ages. The Fairmont also lists the ceremony as the opening of its Rooftop Winter Faire season and the seasonal Carousel Bar.
2. November 21 through December 31, Fairmont lobby and Loggia Hallway. The Gingerbread House stays up all season as a photo stop. Down the Loggia Hallway on the lobby level, the Balsam Hill Holiday Lane lines the corridor with decorated trees, wreaths and garlands.
3. November 27 to 29, noon to 5 p.m., Fairmont Rooftop Garden. The Winter Rooftop Faire is new this year. It is an open-air holiday market of local artisans, set up in the hotel's gardens with music, lights and views across the city.
4. Monday, November 30, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Huntington Park. The Nob Hill Association's annual Holiday Lighting Celebration at California and Taylor is free and open to everyone. The program includes live holiday music, cookies and warm drinks, children's activities, and the lighting of the park.
5. December 2, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco. The hotel's holiday page lists its annual Tree Lighting Ceremony for this date. It is free and public, with carolers, trumpeters and Santa. It is worth confirming with the hotel before heading down Stockton Street.

The Huntington Park evening is the neighborhood's own event. The association runs it, and it takes place in the park at the center of the hill, on a Monday night when most visitors have gone home after the holiday weekend.

December 4 Is When the Hours Change

The centennial also marks the change in the Fairmont's schedule. Until December 4, the Carousel Bar opens 3 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends. From December 4 on, it keeps the 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. hours every day. For neighbors who want an afternoon drink by the tree and the Gingerbread House, a weekday in late November means a shorter window. By the second week of December, the bar is open from late morning onward.

Downstairs, the Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar adds select open dates from December 20 through January 2, and the Fairmont recommends reserving ahead. The Rooftop Winter Faire comes back December 18 to 20, again from noon to 5 p.m., during the last weekend before Christmas.

Grace Cathedral Fills the Back Half

Grace Cathedral's program starts a few days after the centennial and runs through the 23rd. Every concert is ticketed. Tickets for A Cathedral Christmas went on sale October 13.

The Sunday, December 13 performance of A Cathedral Christmas runs 3 to 4:30 p.m. Prices and seating are on each event's page through the cathedral's Christmas schedule.

Christmas Eve at Grace is a full day of services. The 2026 service schedule lists the Cathedral Christmas Pageant at 11 a.m., Christmas Eve Lessons & Carols at 4 p.m., and a Christmas Eve Choral Eucharist at 7:30 p.m. The "Midnight Mass" Choral Eucharist with Choir and Orchestra begins at 11 p.m., with a choral prelude at 10:30. On Christmas morning, the Christmas Day Choral Eucharist is at 11 a.m.

Teas, Buffets and Reserved Seatings

The hotel tables follow the same split. The Fairmont's Holiday Tea runs the whole season, but the other teas and buffets fall mostly in December, with one weekend in late November, and most book through the hotels' own pages.

Magical Tea at Top of the Mark has three seatings, at 10:30, 11 and 11:30 a.m., and the room closes at 2 p.m. The program includes cookie decorating, face painting and a balloon artist. The Ritz-Carlton's Teddy Bear Tea includes a holiday show, a visit from Santa and a teddy bear for each child. Guests under 2 attend free but do not get a bear. Both Christmas buffets at Top of the Mark have seatings at 10:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m., with unlimited sparkling wine for guests 21 and over and live piano.

Parallel 37 at the Ritz-Carlton serves Thanksgiving and Christmas Day menus at $195 per adult and $100 per child, before tax and a 21% gratuity.

New Year's Eve, Under the Centennial Banner

Top of the Mark's New Year's Eve party on Thursday, December 31 begins at 8:30 p.m. and is billed as a celebration of 100 years of the Mark Hopkins, with Champagne, dinner, music and dancing. Premium seating is listed at $499 and classic seating at $429, with tickets sold through the Top of the Mark holiday page. Across the street, the Fairmont's Carousel Bar keeps its seasonal hours into early January.

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