The Argonaut rooms appear to command nice views of the Bay and GG Bridge but seem on the website to have small windows and no balconies. Are there other hotels with this view that do offer balconies?

I found one - some time ago - with a balcony (though I think very small - and there were only a couple of these rooms in the entire hotel) That was the Hyatt (I think!) It was too expensive for us - and, not fancying anything in SF all that much, we opted to stay in Oakland at the Executive Inn and Suites - with a waterfront room, complete with balcony. An easy, quick drive from San Francisco and much, much more value for money (imho). We haven't actually done the trip yet - so it might be a dump! Might not be for you either, if you really want to stay on the Wharf.

Thank you. Something to consider...

I don't know about driving into SF everyday from Oakland - parking charges and bridge tolls, plus dealing with traffic may very well outweigh any value to staying in Oakland. I think I would forego the balcony and stay in SF.

Wild, make sure you're not stuck on the bridge during pick time, which is most of the day, sorry. Look into taking BART or AC transit buses.

Hi
We're not staying outside of SF because of the balcony (!), but because we just don't want to stay in SF! I went through (must've been) each and every hotel there, and just didn't fancy any of them! We'll only be in SF once. Wanted somewhere peaceful for our last couple of nights in the US (after nearly 3 weeks on the road) before flying back to the UK. Before spotting the Oakland hotel, we were booked into the Summerfield Suites at Belmont - and I even looked at places at Half Moon Bay! Are you saying that it would be quicker to drive into SF from there, because of the bridge congestion?? Plan is to drive from Yosemite and turn off before SF (or Oakland) - over the San Rafael Bridge (busy too?) around to Sausalito and then make our first approach to SF via the Golden Gate. Have a mooch around Fisherman's Wharf and then over the Bay Bridge to our hotel. Next day, we planned to drive back and spend all day in SF (doing the 49-mile drive mainly). Not a good idea?

I think it would be quicker to drive into SF from Belmont than Oakland because of the Bay bridge, esspecially if you plan to drive into SF on a weekday morning.

If it were me and I wanted to stay outside SF, I would stay in Oakland, leave the car there, and take the BART into SF. Once in SF, I would walk and take public transportation.

Your route from Yosemite will be a round about drive, but it's not bad. If you make sure to get a reasonably early start that morning, you will have time.

The San Rafael bridge should be fine, commute hours are what you have to worry about and it sounds like you will be going through sometime around mid day.

Golden Gate bridge should be fine, it has a southbond morning commute and a northbound evenning commute.

Heading from SF to Oakland, just make sure you aren't going between 3:30 and 6:30 on a weekday evenning or you are likely to get stuck in the commute. Outside those times you shouldn't really hit any traffic.

I think that the best way to visit SF is on foot and with public transportation rather than with a car. Parking is expensive and can be hard to come by, and the transit system is pretty good.

You didn't fancy a hotel in San Francisco? That's like not fancying a hotel in London. There are so many to choose from - and everything on the scale from super posh to economy.

Well, to each his own.

I don't think you'll be finding a more restful hotel in Oakland- as it too is a fairly built up and busy city. If you're going to be car-centric you may want to reconsider Oakland anyway.

I live in SF and just attended a birthday party near Berkley last night (which is right next to Oakland). On this Saturday it took us about 45 minutes to get to our destination in the East Bay - leaving SF at 4:30.

On our return to the city we left at about 9:30pm and didn't get home until well after 11pm.

Traffic on the Bay Bridge can be awful sometimes.

No, I definitely want to spend my time in San Francisco and not commuting. After all, I've only got three days to spend there. The view of the Bay and the bridge must be so beautiful. I'm surprised there aren't more hotels that take advantage of it with balconies.

Thanks J_ - you answered my questions beaut! I'll give this some more thought (I'd LOVE to stay by the ocean at Half Moon Bay!)- but think we'll most probably stay where we are! Yes, we will be using the bridges on weekdays - but our flight home is late on the Saturday afternoon. Will the Bay Bridge be busy still then, or would it be quicker to drive to the airport via the San Matteo Hayward Bridge? Don't want to be rushed for the flight!
Thanks again!

Hi SF Importer - don't really have anything against SF hotels or certainly not SF (though never been there!) - it's just the way things panned out! I've had far too much time to sort this out. We originally booked for June, but I was ill, so we had to shift it all to September. During all this time I have had (briefly) booked (and changed my mind again!) Holiday Inn, F Wharf, Hyatt F Wharf, a hotel up at Japan Town (?), which I've forgotten the name of, but it had wonderful Japanese sunken baths - and hotel in Belmont. The hotel in Oakland looks to be perfect for us - Executive Inn and Suites (http://www.executiveinnoakland.com/) It's been difficult finding the right kind of room for 3 adults in SF. The hotel also has a shuttle which will take you into SF if you want (although I don't believe, after reading the reviews, that it's totally reliable!). The clincher, for us, was the Chabot Space and Science Center, which we'll hope to visit on the Friday evening (being near Lowell for a couple of nights when it doesn't open to the public!). Don't like big cities all that much - including London (which, by the way, has a very wide range of hotels too!) - and am well used to traffic holdups, as we live in the SW of England and, right now, the place is teeming with tourists!
I wish I'd found this forum earlier, when I first started to plan the itinerary - but I really appreciate all the advice I'm getting now. Ta!

Hi crazy4hawaii - I agree with you about the balconies and am also suprised that there aren't more 'marina-type' hotels which overlook the Bay. I have looked, over the water, at Sausalito, but the best hotels are very expensive - and even then, you don't get to see the GG. Having said that, don't forget that San Francisco is pretty nippy a lot of the time - so would we use those balconies?? (Very disappointed that they seem to have stopped doing the "Bed and Boat" bookings at both SF and Oakland. Hope you enjoy your trip!

Stayed at the Radisson Fisherman's Wharf, the rooms facing the courtyard and pool area overlook the bay.

My room in the center part of the U shaped hotel had a balcony that faced Alcatraz. The hotel takes up an entire block, so rooms on either side of the U should have some bay view.

This was a great location to catch the ferry, shop & dine at Pier 39. Don't know how good they would be at honoring a request for a balcony when booking.

I booked a less expensive room, had a late arrival, the one bed rooms were full, they upgraded me to two bed room that had the balcony.

enjoy your stay. I think you're wise to stay in Oakland. Waterfront Plaza at Jack London Square is very nice - balconies - not sure about Executive Inn - it is a couple of blocks from Jack London Square, not as nice a neighborhood, but should be ok. You don't need a car - the Ferry departs Jack London Square (4 blks from Exec. Inn) several times a day and takes you to the foot of Market Street (new Farmers Market at Ferry Bldg, walk to cable cars and SF Museum of Modern Art, etc. or next Ferry stop is next to Fishermans Wharf and Pier 39 attractions. And several good restaurants on the Oakland side, too.

Hi Sandra
Yes, you're right - it's the Radisson with the bayview balconies - don't know where I got Hyatt from!
I've just looked it up again, and I can get a king room (presume with sofa bed or rollout - as there are 3 of us)with bay view and balcony, for (eek) $239 per night (we need 2). Added to that, there is the parking charge (which is $25+)
I must admit that, despite the cost, I'm tempted. Some location - and some view! But the rooms look rather shabby. Not that that makes an awful lot of difference, I suppose (as long as I get decent pillows!).
Hmm.
Pondering.

Hi California Lindy!
I thought it was sensible to stay in Oakland too - but then I got led astray by Sandra reminding me of the Radisson!!
The rooms at the Oakland hotel look pretty nice. And only $140 a night (including a buffet breakfast).

"Our spacious Executive King rooms offer unparalleled comfort and views. Added amenities have been added to enhance your stay::

Over 500 square feet of living space, 1/3 larger than a typical guestroom

Private balcony or patio overlooking the waterfront
Built in wet-bar, some with microwave
Sofa seating conversational area
25"TV
Make up mirror
Third telephone in bathroom
King sized bed, some with sofa-bed option"

I think we'll stick with that one and take the ferry - and hope that the area isn't *too* bad!

Thanks!

Hello, me again!
I've spent the day looking around at hotels AGAIN! And I thought I'd found the perfect spot (until I checked out some old messages on here!).

First I had another look around SF itself. I figured the balconied room in the Radisson was just TOO dear. I looked at the Embacardo (sp?) district and could've got a very nice room in the Hyatt Regency for lots of bucks. But, apart from that one, the only hotel in SF I *really* like is the Adagio (style!) and it is reasonably priced. Alas, some bad reviews because it's close to some area I've never heard of (some of us Brits can be pretty ignorant, you know!)

Then I started thinking about the Ocean again. I mean, we'll have spent over 2 weeks driving from Phoenix, through canyons and to LA and up to Yosemite - and we will need a REST!! (Forget the 11 hours flight home - that doesn't count) - and I LOVE the ocean. So I looked at Pacifica. And I found the Pacifica Beach Resort, which has rooms which are nothing special - but it's right on Linda Mar beach and I was droooooooooooling. But then I came on here and looked up Pacifica and everybody was very scathing (*too far* *too much traffic* *WHY do you want to stay there* *Stay in SF* etc). But it's only 12 miles away! And much as we want and will see some of SF, there's not SO much we want to see. Just the Wharf area really (not interested in shopping)- and maybe the baseball stadium - and Lombard Street - and the trolleys. And the Golden Gate. And a Bay cruise would be nice (if time). But that's really just about all - and we will have a whole day and a half to do that. Does anybody have anything nice to say about Pacifica? (Like, is it at least better than Oakland?)
Thanks!

We just got back from San Francisco, and stayed at the Raddison. They will not accomodate a request for a view room w/balcony! Rooms are just so-so. They were comfortable and clean, but not nearly as good as the Argonaut. The one thing going for this hotel, is its location. It's right in the middle of everything on the wharf. We did have trouble with getting our room cleaned on time each day. Check out the tripadivsor.com for people's reviews of hotels. That's how we chose our hotel down in Monterey/Carmel and were very pleased with the advice. We traveled between Oakland and San Francisco a couple of times, and it was such a waste of precious time to commute! Stay someplace you can walk or take public transportation. Good Luck!

No I don't suppose the Radisson will accommodate a request for a room with a view/balcony unless that's what you booked, then they would be obliged to!! (Truly, you can book those rooms on their site - check it out!)
Have booked a room in Pacifica and more than happy with that. Love the ocean - don't care if it's cold - a great way to finish off our trip; at the ocean! (OK, I live by the ocean, but it's the Atlantic, that's different! LOL!)
Glad you had a good trip Deblynn!