Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, and as such it is used to having overnight guests. There are a plethora of great hotels from which to choose, including the Embassy Suites, Citizen Hotel, and even the Marriott. Nonetheless, the new Sawyer hotel by Kimpton gives Sacramento the hotel that it not only wants, but needs.
The Sawyer opened in 2017 at the Downtown Commons area, near the renovated Golden 1 Center. Even though it is brand new, it now plays multiple roles in the city of Sacramento. One role is that of brand new shiny thing. Every city likes to have a new well-designed building that catches their eye, and it is always a talking point with neighbors and friends who ask, “Have you been there yet?”
The Sawyer takes this role to another level though by adding unique restaurants like Punch Bowl Social that allows visitors and diners to not only eat a lot of food, but also to play a wide range of interactive games and sports. These options include bowling, darts, skee-ball, shuffleboard, and even virtual reality gaming. Even if you’re not playing something, when you come here we advise you to be hungry. Dish portions tend to be more Las Vegas sized than San Francisco sized, which means you might even want to consider sharing a few with your friends. Two to consider are the lobster french fries, and anything with fried chicken.
In addition to Punch Bowl Social, the Sawyer also has a third level Outdoor pool and pool lounge called Revival , which during the day serves relaxing hotel guests, and during the evening turns into very swank pool-side cocktail club. For both visitors and locals alike, this means that there is now a chic place to go when you’re thinking about what to do that evening.
The Sawyer also plays the role of large new civic showpiece hotel, with 16 stories and 250 rooms. From the front or the back, the Sawyer stands very tall and clear in the downtown skyline. It is meant to say, “Sacramento is still building, join us!”
The final role that the Sawyer plays is that of town center. Being directly across from the Golden 1 sports arena means that when people in the city want to see or be seen, the public space between these two buildings not only provides restaurants, bars, and clothing stores, it also provides a guaranteed public forum.
We really like the entire idea of the Sawyer. The large voluminous lobby, with the master staircase leading to a restaurant and ballrooms, is very modern yet plays with the classic function of a great hall. The choice of lighting, fabrics, and carpeting interplays extremely well with many of the natural elements sprinkled throughout the hotel space, including wood, rocks and textiles. Along those lines, the Sawyer’s rooms are comfortable, and of course very modern. They also tend to be well lit, both from artificial and natural sources.
If you’re in the market for a luxury downtown condo, you can even purchase one on the building’s upper levels, which can be reached by using a private elevator. Some of the management and players on the Sacramento Kings already own a few of them.
As is true with many Kimpton hotel properties, the service at the Sawyer is exceptional. In addition, the hotel is dog friendly!
But let’s face it. Most of us were hooked when we heard “poolside cocktail lounge.”
Interested? Find out more about the Sawyer here.
