dmlove

Try the Ritz Inn in San Bruno. I don't know the policies or price, but it's a standard motel on El Camino (which runs parallel to the freeway). It would be fine for them. There are also a few Days Inn hotels in the area that you might try.

http://www.ritzinnsfo.com/reservations.htm

PeaceOut

Thanks for your tips. I'm researching them.

I'll also ask if anyone who's 21 is going, but I'm pretty sure my son is the oldest at 20 of the three buddies. Maybe there's a fake ID. . .

StuDudley

Jeeze - when I was in my teens & early 20s & living in LA (this is in the early/mid 60s), SF was the most fabulous destination in the world. Kingston Trio, Glen Yarbrough, Haight/Ashbury, Wharf, away from the parents.

While in high school, three of us guys drove up to SF from LA at night after a high school basketball game & planned to sleep in GG park - really that's no lie. My parents "sprung" & booked a room for us near the airport - and we really wished that we could have stayed up all night in SF instead & just roamed around The City and crashed anywhere.

During college (in the midwest), my girlfiend (now my wife of 37 years) came out to visit during the summer (I was still in LA). We ventured up from LA to SF and had a fabulous time. We pounded the pavement and walked everywhere. The City is really an exciting place. It's a Disneyland for adults.

SF is a remarkable place - don't let $$$ influence your plans. I would rathar sleep in a shack in SF, than a luxury place outside the City. When I was 20, it really didn't matter where I slepted - just as long as I was near the "action" (SF).

Stu Dudley

PeaceOut

Hi, Stu. Times are different now. They don't let kids crash in parks anymore. Those days may be why the hotels insist on 21 IDs now.

janisj

Yep, Stu -- things have changed. It was a simpler time back then. Almost all chain and most non-chain places (even the "shacks") will not rent to under 21's. I think even the holes in the Tenderloin have limitations.

But read again what PeaceOut says - they are not really coming up for sightseeing or pounding the pavement. They are coming up to (I think) an X Games-type event at McCovey cove. So all the romantic things you did 40 years ago - not too relevant for those working/visiting a snow boarding/skiing/music festival .

TTess

http://www.chelseamotorinn.com/

Free parking. Great rates.

travelbuff

CAll the Adante Hotel just off Union Square. There's no free parking in the area, but reasonable parking is close by. The rates will be a bit higher but not much.

When you call (and you will need to call and make the reservation, probably with your credit card) ask for the owner of the hotel, who is a retired SF baseball player (sorry can't remember his name), and a great guy. Explain the situation and I'm sure they would be able to accomodate the guys.

StuDudley

So - you need to be 21 to rent a room?? Wow - if we had gotten married while a little younger, & went to SF for our honeymoon (which we did) I guess we would have been out of luck.....

Is there any maximum age limit??? Maybe I need to worry about that!!!!

How about camping??? We camped in Marin at a campground when we were in our 20s.

I can't imagine traveling to SF, and not doing some sightseeing & partying when I was 20...

Stu Dudley

joesorce

You can stay overnight for 4 years in Iraq if you're 18, but you can't stay overnight to see a ball game.

StuDudley

Good point, joesorce.

Stu Dudley

joesorce

I guess you can get married at age 20, but not have a honeymoon?

PeaceOut

Well, I'm still looking for a room for them. The Travelodge website will book the room, and there's NO mention anywhere in the contract that the minimum age is 21.

I wonder if it's booked, and they show up, if they'd be able to get in. They are all three really nice guys, and they look very non-threatening, so maybe they could talk their way in. My son is 20 1/2, for pete's sake.

Maybe we'll reserve the room, and if they get there before 6 p.m., we wouldn't lose any money if it doesn't work.

I'll keep looking for a sure thing, though. Thanks for the names of places to check.

StuDudley

>>and there's NO mention anywhere in the contract that the minimum age is 21.<<

So - what's vague about that? If you want to be 150% sure - call them ASAP.

Stu Dudley

PeaceOut

Stu, the reservation is made now. It asks for number of adults, ages 19+. But it doesn't say anywhere that the check-in age is 21. So I've booked it for them, and can cancel by 6 p.m. on Friday. The guys will need to get there before 6 and plead their case.

I did call, and they said 21 on the phone.

But how many people know that? You didn't, right? And you're our resident expert on S.F.!

So, I'm hoping they can talk their way in. Otherwise, they're in trouble!

PeaceOut

I'll report back to let you all know what happens.

I'm feeling pretty good about it, since the reservation just asks for number of adults and doesn't specify anywhere that there's a minimum age to check in. How are their guests supposed to know about their rule?

Any other ideas, please?

dmlove

I bet when they get there, the 20-1/2 year old will "pass" if he's even asked for I.D.

Stu, not only was the time you described a "simpler time" as janisj put it, but our parents just didn't know as much about our minute-by-minute lives. I'm about your age, have been married (to the same man) for 35 years, and have children 21 and 24. When I was 19, I drove across country with my then-boyfriend (now husband). We slept in cheap motels and roadside rests. We had all our worldly possessions in a Volkswagen beetle. We were "hippies". Still, we didn't really worry about safety, because all in all, it was pretty safe. We came to San Francisco and wandered around until three other kids told us about a flea-bag in the Tenderloin --- we went and slept, probably on dirty sheets and with bedbugs, for practically no money, which was handed to the clerk who was behind a cage and what looked like bullet-proof glass. My parents had no idea, probably would have been mortified, but that's just the way it was back then. Now, I know who my kids are with, where they're going, where they're staying, and if I don't like it, I offer to pay more for them to stay somewhere else (for ex., the time they planned to drive to Tahoe, sleep in their car in the Squaw Valley parking lot, ski, and then drive home. Not being a good idea to me, I paid for a motel). Anyway, I agree with you completely - it was probably better "our way", but it's changed and that's life!

PeaceOut

dmlove, you describe our college years perfectly. We also had a VW, and explored California and Colorado without any problems (and with practically no money). It was easier then. Places were more accepting, I think.

StuDudley

Many times in the early 70s, we drove up from LA to visit the Bay Area & north and we slept in sleeping bags in ditches just off Hwy 1, or behind a closed gas station, or anyplace we could find some area where we would not be noticed.

I went to college in the midwest (Purdue) and drove between LA & Indiana about 12 times. I don't remember sleeping in any hotel - usually I pulled off the side of the road to get some sleep. I turned 21 sleeping behind a gas station somewhere in Kansas - which I think is a dry state anyway.

What my parents didn't know !!!!!

Stu Dudley

clarkgriswold

I think I would have booked the Red Roof, near the travelodge, for $30 less per night, and printed out the page on the Red Roof site saying 18, in case they have any trouble.

I can't believe that Expedia, Red roof etc would print out information saying 18 is okay, then continually turn people away at the door. They probably just turn them away if they have 12-packs under each arm and painted faces.

dmlove

Red Roof's website says 21, not 18.