anne marie

When booking hotels, are
there any specific areas in San Francisco
north side, south side, downtown
,etc that I should avoid for safety
reasons?

I found a property in south SF in oyster.
How is this place for safety?

any websites with this info appreciated

Caitlin

Do you mean that you found a place in South San Francisco? You really should be sure about this, because South San Francisco is a different city than SF and not where you want to stay.

Vince

Booking hotels will depend on your purpose of going to SF. If you are a touring, you obviously want to stay close to popular torurist destinations like the Wharf. Accomodation there would be like 15 -20 dollars more expensive than in adjacent areas like San Mateo. These palces are relatively safe, but I must warn you from being complacent- The are pick pockets ( in the Wharf)there like any place and do not for a moment think you won't be prey. My wife got her purse picked and away our vacation money and her personal documents go. Police won't be helpful, They will take your report and dismiss you in 15 minutes. But you will be surprised at the "professionalism" of these pickpockets-my wife received her purse with her personal documents through the mail 3 weeks later, minus the cash and credit cards.
Just keep alert and keep your valuables secured.

BB

Avoid the Wharf area if only because it's so touristy it doesn't even feel like SF. Stay closer to Union Square.
Avoid the Tenderloin area and the area near the civic buildings. Avoid the area south of the convention center.

anne marie

yes, there is a hotel in South
San Francisco I found that claims
to be 3 miles from SF airport.
Is this area relatively safe?
And do the public transit stop
in this area, ie. south SF?

Also, if anyone has any recommendations
on family suite hotels in SF that are
not extremely expensive, I'd appreciate
the info...

joe

SF is very expensive. Therefore if you like getting deals and found one then it is probably the biggest flea bag in the worst location ever. The area you are describing is in the middle of nowhere and nothing fun is remotly close except for possibly going to a giants baseball game. Suck it up and stay at a smaller hotel in the city that is recommended by this site or anyone you know. One thing I would be sure and do while you are in town is go hiking on Mt. Tamalpias in Marin and eat lunch on the outside deck (incredible views) of a little hotel that is perched about 3/4's of the way up (the name is slipping my mind right now). I would also consider going to Sams in Tiburon (you can ride the ferry over from the wharf) on a sunny Saturday afternoon and throwing back a few cold ones. Other things to do are; ride the cablecars, go to the wharf, go up to wine country, drive thru Tenderloin district and check out the transvestites, eat at great restaurants, shop in Chinatown and generally be cold (bring sweatshirts and sweaters even in summer)

Rebecca

Do not stay by the airport. You will be too far out. Stay in the city. You can go with Holiday Inn (8th I think?) We stayed there-its cheap and nice. Even has a pool. Or check out any Travellodges-they seem to be ok. I heard not to stay on anything on Market or Mission street...as they are bad parts to be in at night.

ann w

Avoid any place that claims to be near Civic center..Check carefully the places that say "Union Square".. Right on Union Square is great..but a few blocks over (Tenderloin) is bad news..and some places exagerate. Check your map. The downtown Hilton is actually not in a good place.