The Millennium tower in San Francisco offers three different residential living experiences to prospective buyers. These are the Millennium City Residences in the 11 story building adjacent to the main tower, the Millenium Residences on floors 3 – 25 of the tower, and the Millennium Grand Residences, starting on the 26th floor and going up. Each has its own homeowner’s association, concierge, lobby, view of San Francisco and set of default finishes. All have access to the shared building amenities like the owner’s lounge, fitness studios (pilates, yoga, etc. bring your own trainer), salt-water lap pool, fitness center, outdoor decks, kid’s play area, and wine lockers.

The grand residences on the upper floors of this landmark San Francisco building are exceptional. From the 26th to the 48th floor, there are 6 homes per floor. On the 49th floor and above, there are four homes on each floor. The standard finishes in a grand residence include solid plank beech hardwood floors in the foyer, kitchen, living room, and library, teak studio becker cabinets, marble countertops and backsplash in the kitchen,Wolfe and Miele stainless steel appliances (including a five-burner cooktop), a 48″ Sub-Zero refrigerator and a wine cooler.

I viewed both Grand Residence 47B and 55A, the floorplans are below (source: SF Millennium website). Grand Residence 47B was a tricked-out unit on the 47th floor with finishes that clearly demonstrated while you can buy a luxury condo you can’t buy taste. The second theory about my reaction to the finishes on the 47th floor is that I’m just too poor to know pretty when it smacks me upside the head. Residence 47B is on the northeast corner of the Millennium tower, and when I wasn’t running in fear from the overstuffed-floral-print sofa or the mirrored tile backsplash in the kitchen, I really couldn’t help but admire the views!

The second Grand Residence was 55A, which is perched high above San Francisco on the 55th floor. It is currently being used as a sales center, so don’t think you have to put conference tables in the bedrooms like they did. (I’d also like to point out that there is probably no need to keep the large letters with the building name in the foyer, unless you have memory issues…). It is a rather large and impressive floorplan, clocking in at over 2,300 square feet of luxury-view-living on the northwest corner of the building. The northwest corner of the building has been a rather popular seller in the building, so this particular residence can be yours for about $3, 910,000. But there aren’t too many left, so move sooner rather than later.

47th floor, Floor Plan B

Floorplan, 55th floor, "A"

The Millennium Tower San Francisco offers three different San Francisco residential luxury living experiences to prospective buyers. These are the San Francisco Millennium City Residences in the 11 story building adjacent to the main tower, the San Francisco Millenium Residences on floors 3 – 25 of the tower, and the San Francisco Millennium Grand Residences, starting on the 26th floor and going up. Each has its own homeowner’s association, concierge, lobby, and set of default finishes. All have access to the shared building amenities like the owner’s lounge, fitness studios (pilates, yoga, etc. bring your own trainer), salt-water lap pool, fitness center, outdoor decks, kid’s play area, and wine lockers.

The city residences are on the east side of the Millennium Tower, and tend to offer a more “bohemian” or “new york loft” style living experience (although how many bohemians could afford a $1.2 million 1+ bedroom condo is open for debate). Whatever you call them, we like the high ceilings and layouts that are more open or flexible, depending on your favorite adjective. Photos of unit #404 are below, which can be yours for roughly 1.2 million dollars.

City Residences, Millennium tower, "04" Floor-plan

What did I like about the City Residences?
I really liked the bathroom. A lot. I’m a sucker for a free-standing tub, and the combination of light, finishes and fixtures gave the bathroom an incredibly luxurious and inviting feel. I also liked the open layout and floor-plan. Given that everyone migrates to the kitchen anytime you have a party, this layout makes a lot of sense for entertaining.  If you want a home office that is tucked out of sight, the 04 floor-plan also make a lot of sense.

On the downside?
Price is the tough-to-swallow part. Which isn’t to say that they aren’t luxurious, nicely done, and perhaps worth every penny. But you’ll pay top-dollar for the privilege of living in this luxury condo. All of the city residences are on the east side of the main tower, so you will also forgo any hope of direct afternoon sun in these homes. Which may or may not bother you, but is something to be aware of.

Overall Impressions?
Of the three residence options at the Millennium Tower, I find the city residences to be the most playful. They are a truly unique offering in the San Francisco luxury condo marketplace and would make a killer bachelor pad, pied-a-terre, or home for a couple not wanting and/or planning on having small children underfoot on a daily basis.