The old Empire Hotel in San Francisco was famous for years as the hotel that Alfred Hitchcock used for his film, “Vertigo”. But that famous reputation has now gone from being a fun fact about a classy hotel, to being a full-blown theme for a still very classy hotel. Personality Hotels have decided to revamp the Empire, going as far as chaning the name to Vertigo Hotel, and making a few internal changes as well. Some of them sound like top-class ideas. Others, perhaps, are a bit too cute for my liking, but some Hitchcock fans might get a kick out of them. The biggest updates are the new top of the line “Hitchcock Suites” which will have certain hints, themes, and designs inspired by the classic film. Even more catchy, however, is their luxury “Penthouse no 13″ which will have 13 definitive things based on the movie. Somewhat arrogantly, the hotel claims that only true fans of the film will notice all 13 of them. If that’s not a challenge to check in and search for them, I don’t know what is. Having said that, they do sound like they’ve decided to go for subtlety over overt ideas. Personally, if I had a Hitchcock hotel it’d be complete with carnivorous birds in the lobby to hurry people to their rooms and dead mothers in every corner. They have gone for a more customer friendly approach. In addition to these very obviously large nods to the film and its maker, they are also adopting a number of friendly little fun measures to hint at the film. For a start, guests are offered a freshly baked Madeleine when they check in, the elevator comes with a button that reads “Vertigo Up” and the staff come in and pour food colouring down the drain as you shower. One of those is fictional, you decide which one. And yes, I too thought that the Madeleines sound more like a Transporter nod than anything else, but they might’ve missed that film. Whilst some of this does sound a bit cliche and cheesy to some, the hotel does still have at its core a luxurious and extravagant feeling to it, with outstanding interior designs and a bar and restaurant which once it opens will be one of the best in San Francisco. It certainly makes for a good experience, as it should. For fun I decided to try booking myself in. Rooms for 116 dollars and more per night 8 months in advance tells you something. It still might be worth it if you live in San Francisco, and are a rich luxuriating Hitchcock fan with a weekend to kill, pardon the choice of words. It may sound like a specific type of client, but it’s at least better than my idea. I was going to make “THE Hostel” where youngsters can check in to be tortured for no apparent reason in a pointless and disappointing manner, much like the film. Repeat business would be an issue, but if it works for Der Metzgermeister it might work for me too.