Help! Desperately Seeking San Francisco Hotel
 

Hello Everyone,

Your assistance would be most appreciated. I have to travel to San Francisco from 9/21 to 9/29 for business. Evidently something must be going on in the city as I can't find availability hardly anywhere. This is compounded by our company's hotel budget which is roughly $200/night.

They have tentatively booked me at the Hotel Whitcomb but when I checked Trip Advisor 2 of the most recent 3 reviews mentioned bed bugs. This totally grosses me out and now I am afraid to stay there.

I am willing to consider B&B or something else if that might help but I haven't had much luck.

Thanks in advance.

Try the Union Square Hotel; very central and convenient to the cable car turnaround and BART. They have a nice wine hour at 5 PM too.

Try themosser.com great location, clean, safe and reasonably price. We really liked it.

Deb

The hotel I suggested is correctly called Hotel Union Square; that will help with an online search.

Try the Cow Hollow Motor Inn,Coventry Motor Inn, Chelsea Motor Inn or sister properties.
http://www.cowhollowmotorinn.com/
http://www.coventrymotorinn.com/
http://www.chelseamotorinn.com

They seem to have availability, are reasonably priced, and are rated well on Tripadvisor.

Will you have a car? It does look like a huge convention... Or maybe just high season?

I'm trying to find something, on Expedia I see Laurel Inn, Lombard Motor Inn, Nob Hill Motor Inn - those have good reviews, and not so bad for sightseeing, but far from Moscone if this is where your business is.

DebitNM's suggestion of The Mosser is excellent.

You might also look into hotels in the theater district like the Clift or the Rex.

Going further afield, also try the Hotel Del Sol or any number of those Lombard Street hotels like the Columbus Motor Inn.

If push comes to shove and you really can't find anything in San Francisco, try the hotels outside of SF like the numerous hotels at San Francisco International Airport. I would recommend you do this ONLY if you can't find anything suitable in SF itself.

Good luck!

Wow, I wonder what is going on -- it does seem like there is absolutely nothing in the city -- I checked Hotwire and hotels.com (and I'm talking about any price). Well, if you can stand it, you can always stay outside the city and commute like the rest of us!!

easytraveler on Sep 10, 09 at 11:44 PM
DebitNM's suggestion of The Mosser is excellent.

It would be if it was not sold out.

Thanks for such quick responses. Just wondering if I am right in worrying about the Hotel Whitcomb or if you locals know something different.

I did find the Hotel Kabuki - does anyone have first hand knowledge of this one?

If you can't find anything in SF, the Marriott in Oakland is right next to a BART station which will take you into the city (by going under the Bay) in a few minutes and a it's short walk to Moscone Center.

lindsyb,

There are likely conferences, etc. going on. I just checked some of the hotel consolidators and some of the high end properties have availability - like the Ritz, but are prohibitively expensive. However, one place, called "The Steinhart" is available. I cannot vouch for them now as they were bought out by "Personality Hotels" group, but when I first moved to San Francisco, I lived there for about three months in a little studio - about 400-500sq.ft. Now, the area is not that great - northish is Nob Hill and Russian Hill; but south is the Tenderloin; and due west is the lower "Polk Gulch" area. So, don't know if this would be a choice. Also, while they may now, they did not have parking (one had to rent a garage about a block and a half away and at that time they had an agreement with Steinhart for a less expensive rate). But, I just checked and they had a studio for $95 a day. Having said this, they are not really an hotel, but more of a "residence club." Don't think they have room service, a desk, or other hotel conveniences...

I would check on the various websites - Expedia, Hotels.com, TripAdvisor and see what prices you come up with (sorry, you have likely already done this)... Also, some hotels may have availability if you call them that they don't show online (you probably already know this too!). Sorry, don't mean to give you silly advice.

Wish I could help more.

PS: I second the Cow Hollow Motor Inn and Suites - I lived down the street from them and the suites are very nice - I just checked and they seem to have availability from 21-29 September in a Suite, for, I think, around $200 a night as well as regular rooms (which are just your run of the mill hotel rooms, the suites are much nicer and I recall they had hardwood floors and fireplaces). Double PS: When I stayed at the Steinhart it was in 1997! so, quite a while ago...

Thanks everyone - I'll keep looking - still not having much luck. My meetings are actually in the Financial District if that changes anyone's suggestions.

We're staying in San Francisco from Sept. 20th through 25th. I've been trying daily for two months to get something on Priceline to no avail. I recently found out that Intel is having a big convention in San Francisco during that time. I've booked Hotel Kabuki in case Priceline doesn't come through. I've never stayed at Hotel Kabuki, so can't give a recommendation.

CHeck the Adante Hotel, it's 3 blocks off Union Square and easy to get around the city from there. It's more of a boutique hotel and yoru budget will get you a suite there. The rooms have been updated recently, and the rooms though small, are comfortable and the bathroom I had was biger than my bathroom at home.

If you need a phone number let me know and I will find it up for you.

Try Oakland or Emeryville. In addition to the Marriott someone mentioned earlier, there is also Courtyard by Marriott (on border of Oakland's Chinatown - very colorful), Washington Inn in "Old Oakland" and a Best Western in Jack London Square - all are a short distance from 12/th St/City Center BART station. In Emeryville, there are several chain hotels at moderate prices. City of Emeryville operates several shuttle buses (free, I think - not not certain) that cover several routes between MacArthur BART and Emeryville. Some of the hotels are within walking distance of an open-air mall (BayStreet). Good luck with your search.

I see the Mosser is only sold out for Saturday night. You might be very lucky once booked all the other nights that the first cancellation goes to you. i played around with their calendar, and that is what i see.

If what lincasanova says is true, then I'd suggest booking the Mosser for whatever nights it will be available and then keeping looking.

The Financial District is close to Chinatown. you might try looking into Chinatown hotels like the Hilton which is right across from portsmouth Square or the Hotel Triton (believe that is the one very close to the Chinatown gates). Just google "Hotels San Francisco Chinatown" and see what you can come up with.

Maybe you could get your company to modify your hotel budget. Try approaching whomever is responsible for the budget with a summary of your unsuccessful attempt to book within the customary $200 range.

Kabuki is on Post, on 2-3-4 bus lines, good connection with Financial district, those buses run often especially at peak times, some walking involved.

We stayed at the Washington Square Inn in North Beach which we loved! Recently they've opened a separate vacation rental,Telegraph Hill Vacation Rental, which while pricey, is available on your dates & it is a 2 BR, fully equipped with parking space, so if you had an associate who was in the same boat & split the rental, it would be within your budget.

Also, the Hotel Palomar (Kimpton) came up as having your dates available; rates are not inexpensive, but does offer breakfast for only $1 over room rate.

Thanks everyone for your help. A colleague of mine found us rooms at the Hotel Vintage which I believe is in the same vicinity as the Orchard Garden where we usually stay. Reviews I have found so far seem positive.

Good for you!

Good location. Older hotel. Generally would not be one to recommend as there are better choices, but, under the circumstances, a good choice within the price range that you wanted.

Have a great trip and enjoy San Francisco!

Does anyone know anything about the Seal Rock Inn??

I know the area - deserted in the evening, in winter months dead after 5 pm. If you have a car, it will be a longish drive everywhere, and expensive parking at the sightseeing locations. If without a car, long ride on bus 38 to get anywhere except the west part of Golden Gate park.

Unless for some reason you want a secluded location, I would not recommend this area.

I've stayed at the Seal Rock, although it was a long time ago. It's way out in the Avenues and far from Union Square. It's out by the Cliff House and the old Sutro Baths. If you want quiet it will work for you.

Way, WAY out in the Avenues - you really could not be further from anything of interest and still be in San Francisco.

It's right across from the old Sutro estate and as the others have said, it's way out there at the end of Geary Street. You'll need a car.

One of the few reasons for staying there would be if you had someone at the Veterans Hospital nearby.

The Seal Rock does have ocean views from some of it's rooms and it's kind of close to the Legion of Honor, so if it's all you can find it's not awful or anything. I'd rather stay there then some of the nasty places downtown.

The saga continues.... the reservation agent from the Hotel Vintage called back and said that they were sorry but did not actually have a room available even though they already confirmed.

In the meantime, I have found a room at the Laurel Inn. I have seen it mentioned here and also on TA with good reviews. I know it is in Pacific Heights but I am assuming that I can use the MUNI to get into work.

I am also still checking for cancellations. Wish me luck!

From the SF Convention and Visitor's Bureau List of conventions:

09.21.09 - 09.26.09 Cardiovascular Research Foundation
TCT Annual Conference
Monday, 9/21/2009 through Saturday, 9/26/2009
Attendance: 11000
Peak Rooms: 4500

Isn't it the case that convention organizers block book the rooms and then release unbooked rooms the week before?

Have you tried Bed & Breakfasts on sites such as www.bbsf.com?

Good Luck!

I had the same problem last fall. It turned out to be an orthopedic conference with 60K attendees expected. I stayed at a place that was awful for the first night and called "my" regular hotel the next morning. Rates had dropped from $400+ to less than $200. The previous poster is right. The rates should drop after the blocked rooms are released. So, if you have to book something now (that can be cancelled), check back closer to the event for better rates at the hotels of real interest to you.

Laurel Inn is not bad, there are restaurants around, it's on bus line 1 for good connection with Fin. District (going back, make sure the sign on the front of the bus, above the driver, says either Presidio or 33 Avenue - if it says Fillmore wait for the next one, they run often)

Also there are stops for lines 2,3,4 if you need other areas of the city.

Laurel Inn is fine so don't worry if you don't find something else.

Okay, I hate to give this one up:

Stayed at Nob Hill Motor Inn. Not a bad motel for SF. Very small parking for free, or you can pay $18/day, no in/out, directly across the street. http://www.nobhillmotorinn.com/

We got half off at www.hotels.com in June.

We had a moderately spacious room compared to Union Sq area and for SF, on the 2nd floor facing the street. Noise was very modest compared to downtown. People were much quiter then most motor inns.

Thanks everyone for all of your help. We ended up at the Laurel Inn for the week. It was a bit further away from the office than I usually stay but it was a convenient trip on the Express MUNI. It is not a huge hotel and a bit on the older side (definitely could use some new mattresses) but it was clean and worked for what I needed. We also went to Monterey for the weekend and had a great time. (I will do a separate report when I can.) Then back to the city for Sunday/Monday at the usual hotel, the Orchard Garden and home on Tuesday. Since it was a work trip not much else to report on but I wanted to report back and thank everyone so much for all your help and feedback.

lindsyb: Thanks so much for coming back and telling us what happened! So many times posters just ask a question and never come back and we sit out in limbo wondering whatever-the-heck happened in the end! LOL!

Glad the Laurel Inn worked for you and hope your business trip was a success! :)

You're welcome! Glad it worked out for you.