• Neighborhoods
• Sights
• Restaurants
• Hotels
• Entertainment
• Shopping
• Activities
• Travel Tips
• Features

Hotels Overview

Few U.S. cities can rival San Francisco's variety in lodging. Its plush hotels rank among the world's finest; its renovated buildings house small hostelries with European flair; its grand Victorian-era homes serve as bed-and-breakfasts; and its private residences rent rooms, apartments, and cottages. You can even find accommodations in boats bobbing on the bay, but the popular chain hotels and motels found in most American cities are here, too. The city's hilly topography and diversity of neighborhoods contribute to each property's unique sense of place, and you may feel like a kid in a candy store as you go about choosing which of the approximately 32,000 rooms here will be your home-away-from-home.

Some inns and hotels, such as Jackson Court and Nob Hill Lambourne, emphasize serenity and seclusion, and many properties offer massage and other spa treatments. Establishments such as the York Hotel, W San Francisco, and Sir Francis Drake Hotel give you access to a lively cosmopolitan scene via their dining and/or entertainment venues. Hotel Monaco, Clift, and Hotel Triton are among the deluxe hotels that have embraced a dynamic and playfully artsy style that says, "Look at me!" The Mandarin Oriental and other ultraluxurious hotels bring the world to your room through sweeping views and lavish room-service menus, whereas humbler lodgings may inspire you to explore the outside world. Many small hotels and inns commonly offer complimentary evening wine and hors d'oeuvres, giving you the chance to mingle with fellow travelers even if you don't want to "make the scene" in a big way.

San Francisco is one of the top U.S. destinations for vacationers, business travelers, and convention goers alike, and the greatest concentration of hotels is in the downtown hub of Union Square. Here you find excellent shopping, the theater district, and convenient transportation to every spot in town. The Union Square area west of Mason Street and south of O'Farrell Street blurs with the edgy Tenderloin district; use your street smarts here, and find out from your hotel which routes are best to avoid after dark. Up-and-coming SoMa, across Market Street from the Union Square area, is also a convenient spot to bed down, as it's near the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Yerba Buena Gardens complex, and other attractions.

High-rise growth has turned the Financial District, also near Union Square, into a mini-Manhattan and a spectacular sight by night. Most hotels here have great city and bay views, and there's easy access to the Embarcadero, Pier 39 at Fisherman's Wharf, Market Street shops, and SoMa's many restaurants and nightclubs. Don't expect much nightlife in the Financial District itself; most restaurants and bars close soon after the last commuters catch the BART train home.

Nob Hill, synonymous with San Francisco's high society, contains some of the city's best-known luxury hotels, all with gorgeous views and notable restaurants. Cable-car lines that cross Nob Hill should help you avoid the short but steep trek from Union Square.

In Fisherman's Wharf, city ordinances limit hotels to four stories, so this isn't the area for fantastic views. However, all accommodations are within a few blocks of restaurants, shops, and cable-car lines. Nearby North Beach has surprisingly few lodgings, although some small B&Bs are tucked into unassuming Victorians on the neighborhood's side streets.

Lombard Street, a major traffic corridor leading to the Golden Gate Bridge, stretches past San Francisco's poshest neighborhoods: Pacific Heights, Cow Hollow, and the Marina. The least expensive accommodations are along Lombard Street. If you prefer to be out of the hustle and bustle, opt for lodging on smaller side streets. Many motels in this area have free parking and local calls, providing significant savings over the $40-a-day parking tab at most downtown hotels and the $1-per-call charge in most city lodgings.

Although scaffolding covered many of the grand buildings in the Civic Center/Van Ness area during the late 1990s, the neighborhood has been experiencing a renaissance of sorts. To the west, the Western Addition neighborhood has everything from funky auto-repair shops and soul-food and pizza joints on bustling Divisadero Street to gingerbread-trimmed Victorian mini-mansions on verdant Alamo Square. North of the Western Addition is Japantown, dominated by Japantown Center, a large shopping, dining, and entertainment complex. Lodgings in these areas cover all price categories.

Construction booms near San Francisco International Airport during the mid-1980s and late 1990s brought several luxury hotels to this rather prosaic area. Rates are about 20% lower than at in-town hotels, and weekend prices are often slashed because clients tend to be midweek business travelers. However, the drive from the airport area to downtown San Francisco takes 20 to 30 minutes, so what you gain in value you may lose in convenience.