Hyatt Regency San Francisco

The Hyatt Regency San Francisco near the Embarcadero center functions great as a business hotel with its many meeting rooms and large halls. Boasting the world's largest lobby, it also has great views of the pier (although mine was a partial one off my balcony). Pictures below are from the View Balcony Room which features a private balcony. If you're looking for a more leisurely stay though with friendlier you're-not-just-another-suit service, I'd tend more towards Starwood's San Francisco offerings (the W is one of my favorites).

I appreciated the water cooler in the hallway for easy water bottle refills.

A great thing about this Hyatt Regency's gym is that their dumbells go up to 75 lbs (somewhat a rarity for hotel gyms).