Areas and Hotels in San Fransisco and LA
 

My 22 yr old daughter will be in San Fransisco and LA for 2 nights in each city. Looking for recommendations on areas/hotels to stay in. Union Sq or Fisherman's Wharf in SF? Hollywood or Beverly Hills in LA? We'd like a safe area where we can walk to restaurants, sights, shops, take tours, etc. Budget ~$250 per night. Thank you

Will you have a car in L.A.? What do you want to see/do? You can sign up for tours in many parts of the city. Personally, I don't find Hollywood pleasant for more than a quick visit, and I certainly wouldn't want to stay there. I work in Beverly Hills. Finding a hotel rate in your budget within BH (or just outside) will depend on your dates. Look at the Hilton, the Kimpton Palomar near Westwood, the Crescent, Marriott, possibly the Intercontinental in Century City. There is good public transportation along Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards, which intersect in Beverly Hills.

Stay in one of the Lombard St motels in San Francisco - between Gough & Fillmore. She will be 2 blocks away from Union St (different from Union Sq), and Chestnut St. Ground zero for the 22 year old folks. Maybe 50-70 restaurants, bars, and evening places in this region. Fisherman's Wharf is where the "uninformed" tourists stay - and locals don't consider it to be a part of San Francisco. I am a SF native, and the farther away from Union Square I get, the more I enjoy San Francisco.

Here are some ideas of things to do in San Francisco. I posted this about 15 years ago.
https://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/san-francisco-stu-dudley-s-recommendations-356478/

Stu Dudley

SF is a pretty safe city for the most part, but stay away from any hotels in the tenderloin area. Fishermans Warf is fine. It's near North Beach that has lots of great Italian restaurants and bars. Union SQ is right next to the tenderloin, but if you are directly around the square or east of it, you will be fine...not as fun as north beach though at night. The Lombard St hotels are a good rec. Safe Area, walking distance to the marina with amazing views of the GG Bridge.

What is the plan for getting from one city to the other? You can fly or you can get on one of several Amtrak buses about 7:30AM for a ride to Oakland Jack London Square to get on the southbound Coast Starlight (#11).
The trip is scheduled for nearly 12 hours arriving at 9PM. Tonight's train arrived 56 minutes early into Los Angeles Union station. The scenery is nice on the ocean side of the train south of Santa Barbara.
On the other side of the train you see some of the devastation caused by the Thomas fire.

We haven't stayed here yet, but many people have recommended The Farmer's Daughter Hotel: https://farmersdaughterhotel.com

Our last visit, we stayed at The Elan Hotel, which is very near the Beverly Center. It's a stylish little place. Management was helpful, and it's probably within budget. Includes "complimentary expanded continental breakfast and Wolfgang Puck coffee from 6:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Monday through Friday and 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday as well as our Evening Wine and Cheese Reception, held daily at 5:00 p.m. in our welcoming lobby." I noticed they had a fridge stocked with yoghurts 24/7, and fruit-infused water always available.
https://www.elanhotel.com

Thank you all for the suggestions, will look at all the options.

The old Hyatt property has changed brands several times. It's an Intercontinental now. Its rates may be up a bit because the renovation of the nearby Century Plaza Hotel (and rebranding to Fairmont) is on-going.

Los Angeles is huge, it all depends on what you plan to see and do in your short two days there.

Hi

What about the area around Post Street, more particularly USA Hostels San Francisco, 711 Post St, San Francisco, CA 94109, USA? I have read mixed reviews regarding the area around this hostel. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

PatrickC -- are you asking if that is a good place to stay, or are you recommending it for the OP's daughter?

If the former - maybe start a new thread of your own. If the latter - the daughter's trip was back in mid-March.

@ PatrickC. Agree you should start your own thread for questions about SF....

but, in answer to your question about Post St., I would have not concern about that location. The USA Hostels is flanked on either side by major hotels, one of them being a Courtyard by Marriott.

What I expect you're reading in mixed reviews pertains to an abundance of "street people", those who are down on their luck and essentially live on the streets of the city. For someone who's not from a big city with a large street population the sheer number of people who fit this description can be overwhelming / offputting, and it's not limited to any particular area. You will encounter people, alone or in groups all over the city.

Drugs & human waste issues frequently make the headlines with each new mayor promising to do more to both help the population, and to keep the city clean and safe. It's a societal problem that has affected SF quite hard (as well as other major cities on the west coast (SD, LA, Portland) There are many public and private agencies that seek to provide support but the #'s in SF are very large & overwhelm the systems.

I stayed at that Courtyard once on business and stay in that general area from time to time, and never once have I felt uncomfortable, threatened, or otherwise unsafe.

Apparently, according to the political headlines in the news today, it's an issue that started just 2 years ago.... and if you believe that story I have day-glow orange bridge to a high rise condo I'll sell you.