Gawker: valleywag, four seasons

Google's complaint-prone perfectionist

Owen Thomas — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:20:00 EST

A tipster tells us that Google VP Marissa Mayer, who owns a penthouse apartment in San Francisco's Four Seasons, recently berated the staff there about how long it's taken to paint the lobby of the residents' entrance at the hotel-condominium complex, and stormed off before they could apologize. Oh, how nouveau riche, arriviste, tacky — is that what you're thinking? Think again! As bad as one might feel for the Four Seasons workers, one has to think Mayer's imperiousness has its plusses — at least for Google's shareholders.

As vice president for search products and user experience, she's guarded against clutter on Google's homepage. And Google continues to seize market share from rivals who can't grasp the obvious lessons of Mayer's perfectionism. Memo to Marissa: We actually like you better when you're being bossy, not ostentatiously girlish. More tirades, fewer cupcakes, please.

Ejected but not dejected, Valleywag to keep blogging

Owen Thomas — Wed, 28 May 2008 23:20:00 EDT

CARLSBAD, CA, BUT NOT AT THE FOUR SEASONS AVIARA RESORT — Was it something I wrote? I can't claim to have been minding my own business at D6, the Wall Street Journal's hoi-polloi-need-not-apply tech conference. After all, my business is to mind everyone else's. But I can't think what exactly I did was that outrageous enough to prompt Ryan Carter, head of security for the Four Seasons Aviara Resort, to ask me to leave the property altogether. (One of Carter's underlings had previously asked me not to venture into the conference itself, a request I respected.) No matter. Eight-D6-ed, unseasonably ushered out, I shall blog on. A bonus of the trip back to my hotel: I had the cabbie detour past the Palomar Airport, where rows of private jets were lined up. Photos of mogul transportation, after the jump:

Marissa Mayer gets a stoplight, and a room without Street View

Owen Thomas — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:00:37 EST

A reminder: Marissa Mayer lives on the 38th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco, and you don't. With that address comes an unusual perk: Her own personal stoplight at Third and Stevenson. Mayer and the other residents of the concierge conclave have arranged to pay the city $165,000 for a traffic light at the dead-end street which leads to the hotel garage. (Remember that as you sit on a 9X Muni bus, waiting for the light to change.) Perhaps the light will make it easier for Google Maps, which Mayer oversees, to send a driver down Stevenson. Mayer has defended Google's Street View feature against charges of invading people's privacy — but Google's camera-cars have yet to venture onto her street. After the jump, minutes from the city meeting (PDF) accepting Mayer's gift: