The Marriott

My first thought when I read this task was the Marriott on 4th in downtown San Francisco. I've been all up and down it, as have many people. In previous spelunking exhibitions, I'd been to the bar on the top floor, across multiple floors in between, and once down the stairs and out through the employee exit. For SF0, however, I wanted to plumb the depths and find the long-foretold secret passage. I'd heard about it in the past from an ambassador in the city, but I'd never found it. Today, I decided to find it.

Into the depths

Inside the lobby, off to the right is the escalator down. There's an awful lot below the surface at this hotel.

Down the first Escalator

Down into the bowels of this unknown conference, we delve below street level.

The dark recesses

underground now, we find a deep hall which leads to yet another escalator down. Further into the depths we go.

Bottom

The bottom-most floor of the Marriott is tucked deep beneath the earth. You can almost hear BART, and feel the pressure build in your skull. Ahead, I saw the green signs that lit my destination.

Exit? Or really?

These are the doors. The secret exit doors, said to be wired with emergency power and sirens.

Behind the doors!

We find stairs. And the ranks scent of aging dinner ware and long musty table clothes.

Hagen Das

How they get this Hagen Das cart out of the basement, I do not know.

The flatware storage

In this room, we find glasses and plates and flatware. All stinking of the bowels of the Marriott.

Fondue Stash

And here, in these depths, we find the treasures of the Marriott: Fondue fountains under lock and key, and black leather rolly chairs.

Toward the exit

On the way to the exit, we see laundry bins and folded platforms.

Final exit. But to where?

The secret exit doors, found. But where do they lead?

To here

Those doors are one-way only. And they say "TASTE."

And they lead out...

Of the Metreon! From walking clear through the Marriott basement, and through some passage-ways, we end up exiting through doors in the side of the Metreon.

See the door?

From here, you can spot the secret exit door.