Every hotel on this list has a pool on site and a sustainability credential you can check yourself, either a third-party certification or a published brand program. We started from San Francisco's top-rated hotels and kept the ones with LEED, Green Key, San Francisco Green Business certification or a major brand sustainability program. Generic brand mission statements did not qualify.
How we selected these eco hotels with pool in San Francisco
Every hotel on this page passed two checks: a pool on site and a sustainability credential. For sustainability, we required either a recognized third-party certification (LEED, Green Key, or San Francisco's Green Business certification) or a brand program with published numeric targets. A brand's general environmental philosophy did not qualify.
Certifications were cross-checked against the certifying body's announcement or the hotel's own sustainability disclosures. Pools were checked against the hotel's own pages and recent guest reports, and hotels without a pool on site were dropped regardless of their overall rating.
If you want a broader look at San Francisco hotels with pools regardless of eco credentials, we have a separate page for hotels with pools in San Francisco.
Eco hotels with pool in San Francisco: side-by-side comparison
| Hotel | Stars | Eco Tier | Certification / Program | Pool Type | Nearest Transit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The St. Regis San Francisco | 5 | Tier 1 | SF Green Business certified | Indoor infinity lap pool | Powell St BART/Muni, 6 min walk |
| W San Francisco | 4 | Tier 1 | LEED Platinum (existing building) | Glass-covered indoor pool | Montgomery St BART/Muni, 5 min walk |
| InterContinental San Francisco by IHG | 4 | Tier 1 | LEED Gold (existing building) | Indoor pool | Powell St BART/Muni, 8 min walk |
| Handlery Union Square Hotel | 3 | Tier 1 | Green Key, 4 Keys | Heated outdoor pool | Powell St BART/Muni, 4 min walk |
| Palace Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, San Francisco | 5 | Tier 2 | Marriott Serve 360 | Indoor pool under a glass skylight | Montgomery St BART/Muni, short walk |
What LEED certification means for a hotel stay
LEED, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system from the US Green Building Council, grades buildings on energy efficiency, water use, materials and indoor air quality. There are four levels: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum, decided by how many points a building earns.
Two hotels on this list hold LEED for existing buildings, which grades how a building actually runs rather than how it was designed. W San Francisco holds Platinum, the top level, and says it was the first existing building in North America to reach it. The InterContinental San Francisco earned Gold under the same system in 2011.
For travelers, that means an outside auditor checked the hotel's day-to-day energy and water use against a published standard.
Tips for booking an eco hotel with pool in San Francisco
- Ask the hotel directly for its LEED certificate or Green Key award. Both are public records you can cross-check with the USGBC project database or Green Key Global.
- San Francisco's Existing Commercial Buildings Energy Performance Ordinance requires large hotels to benchmark and disclose annual energy use. You can look up a property's Energy Use Intensity score through the city's public disclosure portal.
- The Handlery's pool is outdoors, so on a foggy San Francisco morning it can feel cold even though the water is heated. The pools at the St. Regis, W, InterContinental and Palace Hotel are all indoors.
- The USGBC's project database at usgbc.org shows a hotel's LEED level and the date it was certified. Search by street address.
- The W's indoor pool is on the WET deck, which also serves drinks and snacks. For lap swimming, the St. Regis has a 50-foot heated lap pool.
The hotels
The St. Regis San Francisco
125 Third Street, San Francisco
9.1228 reviews
SF Green Business certifiedCalifornia Green Lodging Program participant
View hotel →
W San Francisco
181 Third Street, San Francisco
8.6611 reviews
LEED Platinum (existing building)5 min walk to Montgomery Street (BART/Muni Metro)
View hotel →
InterContinental San Francisco by IHG
888 Howard Street, San Francisco
8.71,383 reviews
LEED Gold (existing building)8 min walk to Powell Street (BART/Muni Metro)
View hotel →
Handlery Union Square Hotel
351 Geary Street, San Francisco
8.07,255 reviews
Green Key Global, 4 Keys4 min walk to Powell Street (BART/Muni Metro)
View hotel →
Palace Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, San Francisco
2 New Montgomery Street, San Francisco
8.91,063 reviews
Marriott Serve 360 programShort walk to Montgomery Street (BART/Muni Metro)
View hotel →
Things to do in San Francisco, by neighborhood
Where to start in each neighborhood, and what’s on there this weekend.
All 68 San Francisco hotel guides →
Frequently asked questions
Which San Francisco eco hotels with a pool hold a LEED certification?＋
Two hotels on this list hold LEED for existing buildings: W San Francisco (Platinum) and InterContinental San Francisco by IHG (Gold). You can check both in the US Green Building Council's public project database at usgbc.org by searching the property address.
Do all these hotels have year-round pool access?＋
The St. Regis, W San Francisco, InterContinental and Palace Hotel all have indoor pools, so the weather doesn't matter. The Handlery Union Square Hotel's pool is outdoors and heated. Pool hours vary, so check with the hotel before you go.
What is the difference between a Tier 1 and Tier 2 eco hotel on this list?＋
Tier 1 hotels hold a certification from an outside body, such as LEED, Green Key or San Francisco's Green Business program. Tier 2 hotels belong to a brand sustainability program with published numeric targets but have no third-party certification of their own. Hotels with only a general commitment statement did not qualify for either tier.
Is the IHG Green Engage program a real certification or just a brand program?＋
IHG Green Engage is a brand program: participating hotels log energy, water and waste data through IHG's own platform. It is not an independent audit like LEED. The InterContinental San Francisco is Tier 1 on this list because of its LEED Gold certification, not because of Green Engage.
How can I verify a San Francisco hotel's sustainability claims before booking?＋
For LEED certifications, search the property address in the USGBC's public project database at usgbc.org. For Green Key, check Green Key Global's list of certified properties. For Marriott Serve 360, Marriott publishes an annual sustainability report with portfolio-level data. San Francisco also requires large commercial buildings to disclose annual energy use under the city's Existing Commercial Buildings Energy Performance Ordinance, and those scores are publicly available through the city's data portal.
Are there budget-friendly eco hotels with pools in San Francisco?＋
The Handlery Union Square Hotel is the most affordable option on this list. It is a three-star hotel with a heated outdoor pool and a Green Key 4-Key certification. The other four are four- and five-star properties in the premium segment of the San Francisco market.
