2 1/2 days in San Francisco in April
 

It seems like a lot of people celebrate anniversaries in San Francisco. My husband and I will be celebrating our 10th anniversay in April. We fly into SFO at noon on Thursday and leave early Sunday.

We need advice on places to stay...a boutique hotel or B&B would be great... what to not miss (I have reviewed some of the comments from February's and Stu's forums)...and suggested restaurants with great seafood. I love to cook and would like interesting food choices and wines to sample. We love to walk and explore. We weren't planning on renting a car.

Since our stay is so short, I hoped to get ideas ahead of time.
Thank you for any advice you can give.

Congrats, rookies! ;)

The Harbor Court Hotel (Rated Boutique by most people) with a Bay View may be interesting for you.

Across the street from the Ferry Building Market Place and it's fine fare.....street cars and cable cars right there too. A cable car ride up/down California St. is quite thrilling.

A nice stroll up the Embarcadero at sunrise may be nice too.

The old Holiday Inn on Kearny is now a newly remodeled Hilton. We stayed there a few times when it was a HI and got rooms way up on the umpteenth floor and the views of Coit Tower, Alcatraz and most of No SF were awesome.

A cocktail or dinner up at the Carnelian Room at the B of A Tower or Cityscapes at the top of the Un Square Hilton? Nice views.

London Wine Bar is a funky old place with an eclectic crowd.

A nice walk up and down Columbus on a Friday night is always interesing.

Just stay away from a person who calls herself "Faina". She's scarier than The Bush Man! :-"

Two wine bars:

The Hidden Vine
Cosmo Place (small alley near Taylor & Post) Very cozy place with great atmosphere and interesting choices. The flights are a true bargain. It is actually in the rear lobby of the Andrews Hotel; the but the entrance is from Cosmo Place

Eos Wine Bar
Corner of Carl and Cole. The wine bar is right next door to the actual Eos Restaurant (you can order most food items off the restaurant menu while seated in the wine bar). Cole Valley is a terrific neighborhood and Eos is one of its gems. They often have unusual wines like the Swiss Dezaley and reds (rather than the usual whites) from the Mosel and Austria. Instead of a full meal, I often stop by for an appetizer with a couple of half-portions of wine and then a taste of madeira or port with a serving of their molten chocolate cake. Hmmm, must do that again soon....

Congrats, rookies! ;)

The Harbor Court Hotel (Rated Boutique by most people) with a Bay View may be interesting for you.

Across the street from the Ferry Building Market Place and it's fine fare.....street cars and cable cars right there too. A cable car ride up/down California St. is quite thrilling.

A nice stroll up the Embarcadero at sunrise may be nice too.

The old Holiday Inn on Kearny is now a newly remodeled Hilton. We stayed there a few times when it was a HI and got rooms way up on the umpteenth floor and the views of Coit Tower, Alcatraz and most of No SF were awesome.

A cocktail or dinner up at the Carnelian Room at the B of A Tower or Cityscapes at the top of the Un Square Hilton? Nice views.

London Wine Bar is a funky old place with an eclectic crowd.

A nice walk up and down Columbus on a Friday night is always interesing.

Just stay away from a person who calls herself "Faina". She's scarier than The Bush Man!

Oopsss... forgot I've posted this already as "Kal".

:-/ :-/ :-/

You practicing for "The Poison" thread already?

Yes the Harbor Court is good. If you are really celebrating they have a a penthouse on top, with great views of the Bay Bridge. The building is interesting. It originally was a YMCA, built in the Spanish Colonial style in, probably, the 20's. Pretty. Some of the rooms are small, but nicely decorated. The original YMCA pool is still there and available for guests.

Look it up.

Sounds like you might enjoy a wokwiz tour http://wokwiz.com; we took one last April and had a great time.

The suggestions for staying near the Embarcadero can be fun - you might also consider the Vitale - it's pricey but walking distance to a lot of good places: the Ferry Bldg, the Yerba Buena gardens, Museum of Mod Art, etc.

For a quieter, more romantic stay, I love the Drisco hotel in Pacific Heights http://www.jdvhospitality.com/hotels/hotel/6
but it's kind of out of the action areas.

Have a terrific anniversary -
Dorothy

Hotel Vitale may be another nice special occassion place for you, too.

Still a pretty new place and located near Harbor Court.

Thank you to everyone who replied with ideas. What do you think about staying at the Harbor Court on the Embarcadero vs. staying somewhere closer to Union Square?

Are there any opinions concerning any of the Joie de Vivre hotels?
Thank you so much!

Either location would be fine, but if you are guaranteed a view room at the Harbor View, that would be tons more romantic. Remember that Union Square is just a short bus or trolley ride away for shopping or dining purposes.

Ditto dovi's comment on Harbor Court.

As for J de V, I've only stayed at the Galleria Park....at least 5 times and enjoyed every stay.

We like the Stanford Court Hotel....kind of unassuming but nice. On the corner of California and ?. Butterfly and Fino for dinner and Sears Fine Dining for breakfast. Try to make it to Napa.
Have fun.