Rod

We are looking to spend 3 nights of or holiday in San Francisco but would prefer to stay near the airport as our flight out on the last day is early morning. So we are looking for a hotel that is near the airport(preferably with a courtesy bus) but also has good public transport links into San Francisco,

Jim Lloyd

I would personally take a look at the following properties, and in this order:

1. Westin SFO
2. Marriott SFO
3. Embassy Suites Burlingame (Airport)
4. Hyatt Regency SFO
5. Embassy Suites South San Francisco

kam

I personally would stay 2 of the 3 nights in the city and then throw a dart at any of the above for the last night. I think you'll miss the charm of being in San Francisco if you stay down at SFO--it's quite a way and traffic can be awful. For your last night you can take SuperShuttle to SFO and I think all the hotels have courtesy buses to take you to the terminal the next morning. BTW some nice restaurants near SFO are the Hong Kong Flower Garden, Kuleto's, and the new Pisces in Burlingame.

SFSally

I definitely agree with Kam. The area around the airport is not a very nice place to spend 3 days. In fact I would stay all 3 nights in the city. It doesn't take very long to get to SFO in the early morning as you are going against the commute traffic.

vosaki

There is no good public transport to SF. The only alternatives are a cab, or the airport bus service. The first is very expensive and the later is inconvenient and slow. As Kam says, you should stay downtown.
You should be careful where you stay. There are areas of downtown which are dangerous.
Nob Hill, Union Square, Embarcadero Center, Fisherman's Wharf are all great tourist areas.
A car in SF is a liability. It is very expensive to park. There are varied and convenient transportation within the city.

Rod

Thanks for your responses although I am now uncertain what to do.

Paul

Try the El Rancho Inn at 1100 El Camino Real, Millbrae. They (Best Western I think) also operate the Executive Suites right next door -both nice places across freeway from airport on a main street. Has frequent shuttle vans to SFO and a decent restaurant and bar. 650-588-8500.

kam

Rod, I don't know why you are now uncertain what to do. Please consider staying the first two day (at least) in San Francisco rather than down at SFO. As Sally says, you could decide to stay 3 nights in the city, depending on when your flight leaves--if it's earlier than 9:00 am, I would be tempted to stay in the vicinity of SFO. You will not need a car to do any of this. On the evening of your next to the last night, take a Super Shuttle to your hotel near SFO. The next morning they will shuttle you over to the airport and you can take off for home. Maybe it would make sense to you if we said SFO is halfway between San Francisco and Palo Alto (on the Peninsula) and is not a good place to stay if you want to do things in the city.

Kelli

I have stayed at the Comfort Inn Suites near the airport (Grand Ave to be exact). I chose that hotel because my intention wasn't to spend a lot of time in the hotel or a lot of money staying there. The rooms are fine (their suites actually) and breakfast is free. I found the location to be excellent and didn't have much trouble with traffic into the city (I'm from DC so I'm used to traffic headaches). Parking in the city is not easy but possible. I can usually get a room for $99 (AAA rate). I would call about shuttle buses into the city. However, I hear the San Remo, right in the city, is a wonderful choice as well.
Good Luck!

SF Ghost

Listen to Kam. If your flight is early in the AM it will be easier to get to the airport. Though the hotels around the airport are ok you really miss the special feeling of being a few steps from everthing. You travel thousands of miles to your destination to stay on the outskirts to save a few minutes.

Take a limo to/from the airport, live it up. There about as expensive as a cab and if you have more than 2 people it's actually cheaper. Listen to Kam.