Leaving in a couple of days-San Fran Last Minute ?

There are several parking lots/garages near the Ferry Building. Some of them offer discounted parking if you purchase something from the Ferry Building:
http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/parking.php

You didn't say which day you're flying in, but if it's a Saturday, you'll find the Farmers Market going on at the Fery Building which gives you even more options for lunch.

BTW, regarding 3pm check-in, it's not a hard and fast rule. I have definitely shown up at hotels much earlier in the day and gotten a room. My most recent experience was the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero in San Francisco. We arrived just after 9am and were given a room right away.

The hotel(s) reserves the right not to check you in until 3pm but that does not mean they won't check you in earlier. So, unless you have a specific suite reserved and they know that it will be occupied the night before, there is a good chance they will be able to check you in at the time of your arrival.

Parking at the hotel should be available as soon as you pull up, regardless if they check you in or not.

San Francisco information, I will leave to others.

Definitely TRY to check in early and park your car at the hotel (do you KNOW you can't, or are you just assuming?).

Eat breakfast at Dottie's True Blue, a short walk from your hotel. You stand in line on the sidewalk, but usually not for very long.

My favorite breakfast in all of San Francisco is Mama's on Washington Square Park -- but that's not close to you. If you drive though there should be plenty of street parking in the morning in that area.

We will definetly try the hotel first and check-in.
Thanks for the suggestion for breakfast, will check it out...

Even if your room isn't ready - you can park the car and leave your bags w/ the concierge/bell captain.

So basically I shouldn't try and just park down by the ferry bldg

"So basically I shouldn't try and just park down by the ferry bldg"

I personally wouldn't - you get parking for free at the hotel. You'd have to pay a fair amount to park near the Embarcadero. But if you plan on buying something bulky/heavy, it might be worth it.

You'd have to pay a fair amount to park near the Embarcadero

Just so you know how much a "fair amount" is, I work directly across the street from the Ferry Bldg. Parking in my bldg. is $30 or $31 a day (and its gets to the maximum fairly quickly -- about three hours, I think).

Donna-

If you check the link I provided above, you can see that you can park for $2/hr for first 2 hours near the Ferry Building if your ticket is validated.

See that.. Thanks

If you go to the Ferry Building on Saturday, the farmer's market that another poster mentioned is really something else. It is HUGE. Lots of produce, but also lots of other foods, great coffee, etc. Don't skip Cowgirl Creamery cheese. And, for breakfast, I love Primavera (on the south end, straight back toward the water). Notwithstanding the name, it is phenomenal Mexican food. I loved the Chilaques.

Will you be arriving on Friday or Saturday--it will make a difference re availability of parking. On Friday the availability of parking around the Ferry Building will be tougher because of commuter parking and the rates will be quite different. The rate that yk refers to is for Saturdays only. During the week it costs $3 for 15 mins. unless you eat at a selected restaurant.

Hi,
Will be arriving this Saturday!

Well then, you'll have to rush because the farmer's market packs up and goes home around 2:00 on Saturdays. (Still a nice place to visit with all the restaurants and permanent markets inside the building, but getting there while the Saturday fresh market is in operation will be harder).

Do you know how to get there (so you CAN rush)? From the rental car place at the airport, take 101 north to 280 north. 280 North splits in two -- take it towards downtown, NOT towards Daly City. Get off at the very last exit, which is Fourth Street. Continue straight off the ramp (actually, you have no choice but to go straight). Keep going -- you are on King Street, which becomes the Embarcadero. It's a little more than a mile on King/Embarcadero to the Ferry Bldg. The parking people are talking about is on the far side of the building. It's about 15-20 minutes from the airport, depending on traffic.

Thanks so much!