Can someone explain the different areas of San Francisco to me? I'll be there for a long weekend to sight-see, and having never been to SF, and even after reading scads of info, I don't know which area of town to look for a hotel in, and which to avoid. I am looking for something nice, maybe a cool boutique hotel, but need a little help. Thanks much.

PS I'm a woman travelling alone if that makes a difference.

http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/

Use Priceline and stay in Union Square. You can get great deals on nice hotels. Check www.biddingfortravel.com for successful bids folks have made on Priceline.

I would stay either at Union Square, Nob Hill, the Embarcadero, or Fisherman's Wharf. I often use this reservation service for SF as they have good rates, reliable service and useful ratings of the hotels.

If you want a place with alot of character, check out the Hotel del Sol, sort of a one-of-a-kind California place, very atypical of SF. I haven't stayed there but know people who rave about it.

Sorry, forgot to give you the reservation service:

www.hotelres.com

The Marina District is also in a very nice neighborhood, good for strolling.

I would tend to shy away from Union Square. Although it is the center of town, it is becoming a more of a less desirable place. The city has tried to clean up the trash the nasty odors left behind by the street people in the area, but it still has a ways to go. The Marina would be the best choice. To my dismay, much of SF is starting to look more and more like Union Square.

Marina is so residental. It's nice and quiet if that's what you want. As a first time visitor you may want to stay near the actions. Then Union Square or Fisherman's Wharf is it. You can walk to shops and restaurants. It's near China town. Cable car runs between Union Square and the Wharf. Driving and parking is a pain in SF so get a car only if you need it to go beyond down town area. Avoid hotels on Van Ness Avenue and area around Civic Center, Tenderloin, and south of Market Street.

The City is wonderful! Don't be discouraged by the negative posts here. Try the area called "Cow Hollow" near Union Street. (not Union Square!) There are lots of shops and restaurants in a safe walking area. Union Street itself has a few bed and breakfasts that might be good for you. Another neat area is Chinatown, you can ride the cable cars and see much of the city. If you can go "between school and dinner" it is neat to see the little ones on their way to Chinese school after their American School. Try the Superior Dairy for custard cups... its been there forever and always yummy! North Beach is another nice area with shops and restaurants that seem relatively safe. I would stay away from Pier 39 and Ghiradelli square if you can possibly help it!
Lynette

Cow Hollow is marginal?!? What's not marginal - Pacific Heights?

North Beach is my favorite neighborhood, and is located right between Fishermans Wharf and Chinatown. I find it to be a great walking area and very convenient to the trolleys and public transportation. Although I have never stayed there, I hear the the Hotel Boheme is a great funky little hotel right in the cener of North Beach, although the area is not known for a ;ot of lodging options.

I lived there for a few years- so here is my humble re-cap of the city
1.Embarcadero/Fish warf are tourist traps- dont waste your time there. There is so many better places to see.
2.Upper/Lower Haight= funky with fun shopping- Im sure you know all about the lore. If you are on a budget- stay at the Red Victorian B&B- its right on Haight St and it has fun people watching right from your window.
3. SOMA (South-Of-Market)= clubbing and dinig
4. Union square- corporate type-shopping (Macy's/bordersbooks/Nike..etc) but great hotels there (I recommend the St Francis-if you arent on a budget)
5. Also-there is a wonderful little boutique hotel called "Inn at The Opera"- pricey but SOO nice. Its near Franklin and Oak st(?)
6. Hayes St= great independent clothing and antique stores on a beautiful tree lined street- and an amazing german restaurant
7. Great views from Nob Hill and Potrero Hill.
8. The Marina= pretty residential with a few good restaurants. Kinda white bread.
9. The Mission- GREAT mexican food and more funky stores (on Valencia)I heard this area has become more upscale (in restaurants)
10. Check out the beach/cliffs at the end of Geary St- there is good hiking around there with breathtaking views of the GG bridge.
11.Fillmore St=more interesting clothing/home shopping. More restautants.
12. Thr Richmond/Sunset- almost exclusively residential and foggy.
There is much more- but I need to go to bed. GoodLuck

Link to above article in today's newspaper.

http://www.examiner.com/opinion/defa...editorial0814w

Mayor Willie Brown balks at calling The City "dirty." But there are many areas that, for lack of a better word, are definitely "dirty."
Picking up trash, however, will do little to stave off the real problems facing city leaders.

PLUG (Public Lassitude and Ugly Goings-on) crimes continue from the
Embarcadero to the San Francisco Shopping Centre all the way up to our symbol of bureaucratic indifference, Civic Center. And the decrepit downtown is not alone. Many other city streets are
in need of attention.

Brown says "tough love" doesn't go over well here. Well, perhaps we need something more than shopping cart seizures and uprooted benches. Perhaps justice, not harassment.

PLUG crime policy in San Francisco has always been troublesome. Politicians have lived or died on how they handled The City's influx of homeless. But what we are facing now is much more
than the typical issue of panhandling. Some of the most attractive spaces in our downtown are rampant with drug dealers, addicts and general scofflaws.

Our streets are public toilets, and vandals scrawl on our buildings like restroom walls. To act as if this were acceptable behavior is an outrage.

Currently, it takes about a dozen citations for public drunkenness and urination before an offender is brought before a judge. The defendant might spend a couple nights in jail waiting for
arraignment, then it is back to the streets. This stinks.

A standard of decency must be regained. Putting offenders back on the streets to contribute to cleaning up the graffiti and the feces will help.


http://www.examiner.com/sfx/template...editorial0814w

Would avoid priceline as each area can be highly variable in quality and safety.

Try quikbook.com

Barb,
When are you going? I'm meeting a friend (also a woman) there in a week and staying at a place that looked really nice in Nob Hill. If you want, I'll report back to you how it was.

I lived in S.F. and go back periodically--it's a terrific city. Ignore the negative posts. Like anyplace, you need to be careful in certain neighborhoods and at night (especially alone), but overall, it's a great city.

To Paula: Thanks, I'd love that.