It was concert promoter Bill Graham who persuaded me to create San Francisco’s rock ‘n roll hotel when I was in my mid-20s and didn’t have a clue about the hospitality industry and it wasn’t even clear that I was buying a pay-by-the-hour motel when I bought the Caravan Lodge. But, I did know how to throw a great party as a “social alchemist” and this little corner in the Tenderloin has seen its share of parties.
Whether it’s the Festive Vibes reggae concerts by the legislature-saved, art-laden swimming pool during the Miss Pearl’s Jam House era, the “Wet Parties” during the Backflip days, the Burning Man fundraisers thrown by Bambuddha, or the Art Pad weekends during the Chambers era, this hotel and its four restaurants have defined San Francisco’s music, art and party scene for four decades. Along the way, The Phoenix has hosted Pearl Jam, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Nirvana at the same time on New Year’s Eve multiple times, Rock ‘n Roll Fantasy Camp, 32 annual Celebrity Pool Tosses non-profit fundraisers, multiple weddings including one in which JFK Jr. was the best man, musician Michael Franti’s wedding in which Woody Harrelson was the best man, and my sister Cathy’s wedding.
Since COVID, The Phoenix and its neighborhood have struggled mightily, so as we near the end of our long-term land lease, it seems fitting that this gateway to the Tenderloin should go out with a flurry of parties during the balance of 2025. Both the hotel and I have outlived some of the icons I’ve gotten to know as guests over the years from David Bowie to River Phoenix to Sinead O’Connor to Kurt Cobain (after his suicide, an angry note on a Phoenix-logoed notepad to Courtney Love was found in his pocket).
I feel deeply grateful that this no-tell motel is where I started my hotel career that led to Joie de Vivre creating and managing 52 boutique hotels over my 24 years running the company (I sold the management company and JdV brand in 2010). This experience led me to writing four books during a dozen years about my experience of being a “karmic capitalist.”
At MEA, we suggest that transitions have three phases: the ending, the messy middle, and the beginning. It’s always important to ritualize an ending so I plan to throw a rockin’ 65th birthday party at 601 Eddy Street on Halloween later this year! Here’s what the UK’s Daily Mail says about the end of The Phoenix.
-Chip