Yes, for a couple, Union Square is a good choice - it's the prime shopping area, with restaurants, hotels, boutiques, department stores, the square itself (which is really nice on a sunny day), even shopping centers. Look at the Monaco.

The other choices are:

Nob Hill - very upscale residential area with some excellent hotels. I would never choose to stay there because it's a) at the top of a hill (and the hills in San Francisco, as I always say, put Texas "hill country" hills to shame ) and b) there's nothing "there" -- you have to go somewhere to get a cup of coffee. I like hotels where I can walk out the door and be somewhere.

Fisherman's Wharf - maybe an okay choice for families, but very touristy and not the best choice for a couple.

Financial District - very nice business hotels (Mandarin, Omni) dead at night and on weekends.

Embarcadero - actually my favorite. Some very nice hotels in a lovely real working area, right on Bay, near the Ferry Building and some excellent restaurants in walking distance. Look at the Vitale or the Hyatt Regency.

I wouldn't call the Hyatt Regency a great hotel and definitely not 25th anniversary material.

Check out Hotel Vitale. It's at the Embarcadero, across from the Ferry Building and the Bay. We spent two nights there this past June after visiting Yosemite. Very lovely, intimate boutique hotel.
We were celebrating an anniversary, as well. Came back from dinner one evening to find rose petals strewn across our bed. We had stayed in a hotel on Union Square for the first couple of nights, and much preferred the Embarcadero area. There is a streetcar stop behind the hotel,lots of great restaurants within minutes. Staff was great; room was very nice, with a view of the Bay Bridge.

With a panoramic view of the City and the Bay from high atop Nob Hill, The Fairmont San Francisco hotel presents an unmatched blend of luxurious accommodations, elegant ...

www.fairmont.com/sanfrancisco

my fav for a 25th

Union Square best deals betterbidding.com if budget challenged

I agree the Fairmont is very nice, but walking up that hill a time or two each day is a feat.

The Fairmont is at the peak of Nob Hill - see my comments re that. Loads of people love to stay up there (Fairmont, Mark Hopkins, Stanford Court), but I wouldn't like it for the reasons I stated.

The California Cable Car line runs right by the Fairmont, and another (Mason?) runs close.

But also down on Union Square is the fabled St. Francis - which still have a lot of style, even if an aged dowager.

I can still remember the amazing coin sorter (amazing to me way back in the 50's when I was young) and think it's still on display. Also, the very traditional doorman was impressive.

see:

Here is the webpage: http://www.westinstfrancis.com/?ES=Thayer_WI_STFRANCIS_1010_ppc_google_brand_officialsite&s_kwcid=TC|18990|st%20francis%20hotel||S||6829987996

I like the Ritz Carlton as it is an easy walk up from Union Square and might just be in your price range. Do not care to be up Nob hill.

we stayed in the Westin a few years back. Great location and excellent service from the staff.

Thanks for the replies! I will look into these hotels. I've been doing some other research in this forum and have found the excellent suggestions by stu dudley and others.

The Fairmont is one of San Francisco's Grand Dame Hotels. It is lovely.

However,if you stay at the Fairmont, be sure to stay in the newer tower. In the original building, the rooms vary a lot, we were once put overlooking a roof. That will not happen in the tower, and ask for a north facing room to have a view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The same is true of the Westin (I assume you mean the Westin ST. FRANCIS. SFers do not call this Grand Dame "the Westin".

It, also has a newer tower and the rooms in the original building are spotty.

In both cases, when these hotels were built, it was common to have smaller rooms and modern conveniences and attitudes about location of the rooms were not very prevalent.

If you want a more modern hotel, look at the JW Marriott. This is a block from Union Square....designed by Portman, and it is lovely....glass elevators, a fountain in the lobby with more than life-size sculptures of ladies dancing around it, mimicking the Monet painting. The marble bathrooms are to die for....large marble soaking tub, chrome and glass vanity with a tiny TV.

After Portman it was bought by Pan Pacific before Marriott took over.

Good update JTRandolph.

Thanks...the JW Marriott looks great. Am considering that and the Monaco right now.

Just returned from a two night stay at the St. Francis in a newer tower room. While the downstairs lobby & public area is nice, I was not impressed with the hotel. Room was not as clean as one would expect, and maintenance was spotty. Personally, I would not stay there again. There are other hotels in the Union Square area that I like better.

I am surprised no one has mentioned The Palace! Talk about location and beauty and romance.

http://www.sfpalace.com/

Plus their is a SF city guide tour of the Palace Hotel

http://www.sfcityguides.org/

I did that tour - it is lovely.

I got the Hotel Vitale on Hotwire.com over a year ago and it was a wonderful hotel in a great location.

iceeu2: do you recall what you had to pay. I just made reservations at the Hilton Financial District for $117 through Last Minute Travel which I thought was good. They had no offers for Vitale.

We stayed at the Stanford at the top of Nob Hill. We had two teens and they loved being at the intersection of two cable car lines. The bad thing was we had not reasonably priced restaurants near us. We stayed there because of the price $140 during the summer. I could kick myself because we also had reservations for the Omni for just $10 more. I finally cancelled the Omni because they could not guarantee us connecting rooms.

I liked the Omni's location. It is on the cable car line almost at the Ferry building. It is not on the steep part of California Avenue.

You have more options since it is just you. You will find out that hotel rooms in/near the financial district are lower during the weekend. The Omni and Hilton in the Financial District are especially cheaper.

Excellent! Sounds like a couple more options to throw into the mix! And yes, palmettoprincess, it is much easier to find hotels WITHOUT the kids, and the need for a large suite or connecting rooms, etc.

My friends from New York stay at Hotel Vitale every year, and their rooms are always lovely with great views and comfort. It's fun to be across from the Ferry Building and there are a lot of good restaurants in the area.

Now several people have mentioned the Vitale. Guess I should look at it also! This is great!

We are staying in an apartment on Nob Hill in March 2012. I have stayed at this apartment 2 years ago and it was very nice. It is very reasonably priced when compared with hotels in the area and is much more spacious. It has a large kitchen, dining room, living room and large bedroom. The shower in the bathroom has a "rain shower". There is also a washer and dryer available.

Here is the link: http://www.vrbo.com/200742

It is $150 per night for our stay in March 2012.

Have fun!

Laurie

I've been going to San Francisco most of my life. As for hotels, it's the Four Seasons for me. I'm a big Four Seasons fan in general. I had a great stay at the one in San Francisco. Happy Travels!

We live across the street from the Ferry Building in downtown SF. This area always has something going on. The Vitale is very well located to take advantage of all the new restaurants in the area. The SLANTED DOOR is one of the hottest spots in town and is in the Ferry Building. Get reservations prior to your arrival if interested.

This is also a great walking area. The SF Giants ballpark is about 1 mile walk and Pier 39 is about 1 mile the other way. Along the way to Pier 39 is the Alcatraz boats. You can also catch an easy ferry from the Ferry Building to Sausilito. The cable cars are an easy catch at the bottom of California...a few blocks from the Vitale.

Bottom line: Great location to enjoy the City and be close to the Bay.