Is it foolish to think this is possible? I know that for that amount of money, we're not going to get elegance or luxury, but I wonder if there are really comfortable and handsome places in the $250-275 range. We don't care about "hip," and the hotel definitely doesn't need to have a bar. We like very comfortable beds and linens, good size bathrooms-- and we crave quiet.
Looking forward to suggestions. Thanks so much.

My friend recently stayed at the Orchard Hotel and liked it. The bathrooms are big and it's in a good location.

We have used priceline.com a few times and bid on 4 stars in our desired location and ended up with great hotels that normally go for $200-300 for less than $150!

No, that's not foolish, IMO. Depending on the time of year, you should be able to get the Villa Florence or the Orchard or the Rex or any one of several other good, well-located hotels for that range. We liked the Villa Florence--large, comfy rooms (we booked 3, so saw more than one) with sofas, great restaurant, and cozy lobby with free wine tasting in the evenings.

Check the prices for Hotel Vitale. An attractive location and you could conceivably get a water view room in your range. I haven't stayed there (I live in the city), but some family members did while visiting me and liked it quite a bit.

http://www.hotelvitale.com/

What ARE your dates?

Dates are key in aswering your question.

Hotwire...choose the area you are interested in staying and choose the 4 star hotels. We just stayed at the Hyatt in the Embarcadero for $129.00 a night.

Many thanks for the replies. Our trip is some time mid-June (not finalized yet). As for those bidding sites-- I'm afraid these old dogs aren't comfortable learning those new tricks. We're in our 70's, and though I know that lots of folks find the priceline/hotwire (I don't even know the difference) kind of things very useful and user-friendly, it's off-putting to me. Will have to go the usual route of booking directly, trying to use AAA discounts, booking through Virtuoso, etc.
I will for sure check out each of the hotels mentioned. I wonder which of those places is likely to be the most quiet? Since I don't know the city at all, it's difficult for me to know just from its location.
Thanks very much again.

A great website for reading reviews for hotels is tripadvisor.com. You should be able to find a very decent hotel in your price range in June.

I would recommend staying in East Embarcadero. From there you will be able to walk to most things or take the street car. San Francisco is a very walkable city but there are a lot of hills.

Although the warf is fun for a day of site seeing, it is not my favorite place in the city. I love the North Beach area because it has many great restaurants.

You might want to consider the Washington Square Inn right in North Beach. They have a wonderful wine service for guests in the afternoon and a great breakfast that will be brought to your room. The rooms are beautiful and the location can't be beat! You can check it out at http://www.wsisf.com/

Enjoy your trip!

Check www.travelzoo.com for specials as your trip approaches. Travelzoo is not a bidding site, it just finds the promotions running and directs you to the hotel website with a booking code for the discount. For June, you would check in March-May. We found a harbor view room at the Harbor Court hotel(www.harborcourthotel.com) -- which usually runs around $300-- for $135 per night last spring.

I would recommend staying in East Embarcadero.

What do you mean by "East Embarcadero"? (FWIW, I work ON the Embarcadero, but have never heard it referred to by directions).

Oops! I meant Union Square East/Embarcadero.

So I'm not crazy after all!

Nah, I am the nutbar!

We found Stanford Court to be comfortable and quiet. Our 4th floor room had a pleasant view and was suprisingly quiet,despite being at the intersection of 2 cable car lines. We have stayed at other hotels that were not this quiet, so this was a real plus.

It is on top of a hill and we were fine walking everywhere, but a taxi was also very easy to get. It is a block or 2 from Union Square and also from Chinatown, a block from Grace Cathedral, 3 blocks from the theater district.

Another fan of priceline.com, but be sure to check out biddingfortravel.com first to get an idea of what things are going for. Also, it's helpful to make a backup reservation you can cancel incase priceline doesn't come through, but I've had very good luck with them (need to be persistant.)

poss, you would probably like staying at Union Square. So look for hotels in that area. go to www.tripadvisor.com and read through the reviews. you can view them by top-rated hotels, so that should be good for you to figure out which ones are the best quality and in your price range.

The Parc55 is located between Market Street and Union Square on 5th Street. I think it's a great "tourist" location; stayed there in September and plan to return the week before Christmas when rooms are just $115 per night. I'm flying next time, but if you're driving, the hotel charges $40 per day parking, while a block away you can park for $25 per day (no ins/outs). The Thai restaurant in the hotel is good; better than some of the others in the neighborhood.

I recently went to San Francisco, and stayed in a nice twin room on Club Level for $299 per night at the Prescott, which is two blocks from Union Square. We were very happy with the hotel, for location, amenities, and service. I posted a detailed review at travelerstogo.com and at tripadvisor.com