S.F. hotel innovator Paul Handlery dies - San Francisco Chronicle

Paul Handlery, owner and chairman of Handlery Hotels, died last week in a Palo Alto rest home from complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was 92.

Considered a visionary in the hospitality industry - many say the Handlery Motor Inn was the first boutique hotel in San Francisco - Mr. Handlery pioneered some of the luxury accoutrements now standard in most lodgings.

His father, Harry Handlery, got started in the hotel business in 1928 in Vallejo. Twenty years later, Harry Handlery bought the Hotel Stewart in Union Square and subsequently turned it over to his son to run. In 1964, Mr. Handlery built the Handlery Motor Inn next to the Stewart.

"He wanted to create something no one else had created," said his son, Jon Handlery, who is now president of the company, which also has a hotel in San Diego.

So Mr. Handlery went all-out on the amenities, including a pool with underwater music, a heated courtyard, bedside remote controls for the television and radio and in-room coffeemakers. He also installed short-circuit TV, so parents could monitor their children in the pool from their hotel rooms.

"The rooms even had balconies," Jon Handlery said. "Now this is pretty standard, but in 1964 it was ahead of its time."

Back then, Mr. Handlery's wife, Ardyce, who died in 2003, complained that men ran hotels and didn't have a clue about the needs of female travelers. She insisted that every room have a lighted vanity area and skirt hangers.

"When Mom had an idea, Dad didn't have a choice," Jon Handlery said. "Every room got a vanity area and skirt hangers."

Even the Handlerys' five children were part of the business. Each one came up through the ranks. Jon Handlery started when he was 13 working in housekeeping; his sisters and brothers worked the phones and made beds.

In 1988 the Stewart and the Motor Inn were combined to make the 377-room Handlery Union Square Hotel.

Until he died, Mr. Handlery, who completed two years of undergraduate study at UC Berkeley and went on to earn a bachelor of science degree with honors from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, remained chairman of the company. He met his wife while stationed at Fort Ord Army Base in Monterey when he served as a commissioned officer in the Quartermasters Corps of the Army during World War II.

After being transferred to the Hawaiian Islands in 1945, the couple married in Honolulu. They later moved to Orinda, where they raised their children.

During his career, Mr. Handlery was active in a number of charitable organizations and was known for his gift for raising money and his support in the hospitality community. Organizations include: the Downtown Association of San Francisco, the Hotel Council of San Francisco, San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Union Square Association. Nearly 50 years ago he helped found the Northern California Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. He also served on the advisory boards of several universities' hotel and restaurant management programs and held leadership positions with numerous trade organizations.

Mr. Handlery's leadership role in the industry garnered him many awards and distinctions, including Innkeeping Magazine's Man of Distinction, induction into Hospitality Magazine's Hall of Fame and the Hotel Council of San Francisco's Peter Goldman Award of Excellence.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Handlery was predeceased by his youngest daughter, Lane Handlery. Besides Jon Handlery, of San Mateo, he is survived by three children: Kim Metcalf and Michael Handlery, both of Lafayette, and Nancy Handlery of San Diego; 13 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

Private services were held, but a memorial celebration of his life will be announced in March. Donations may be made to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 221 Main St., Suite 1650, San Francisco, CA 94105, or the Alzheimer's Association.

Stacy Finz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: sfinz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfinz