Help on San Francisco hotels, PRETTY PLEASE!
 

Seems like a number of people suggest Cow hollow or Pacific Heights to stay in. I am only in San Francisco for Memorial Day weekend. Ideally I would love a view of that bay if it does not take me too far off public transportation route. Someone has also advised to not lodge near the wharf and union square?

It seems like every time I look up hotels, the listings tell me how close they are to Union Square or the wharf. So I am finding this hotel hunting process frustrating, will probably spend between 100-150. Probably will go towards lighter side of that amount but tell me your options first.

What am I looking to do? Rent bikes over the golden gate bridge, explore china town (can you suggest your favs for Dim Sum or authentic anything), will also head over to Berkley to experience Chez Panisse if I can get reservations. Not a shopper, not into Alqatraz....Will wonder Wharf but not too long. Maybe check out Salsilito or do a double decker tour of the city if they exist.

ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR HOTELS? I found places like Cow Hollow Motor Inn, Columbia motor inn (?), triton, hotel del sol. ANY IDEAS NEW SUGGESTIONS?

ttt for sarah

I am NOT a SF expert & can only offer looking for hotels on Nob Hill-The Renaissance Stanford Court, the Mark Hopkins, the Fairmont. This area is serviced by the trolley yet is away from the Union Square scene. These hotels are usually expensive but may have deals/offers for the weekend. I also think there may be a boutique hotel along there. Try doing a search for romantic San Francisco hotel here in the "search this forum" box. I seem to recall an old thread. Renting a bike to go to Sausalito/Tiburon sounds like fun too. The ferries leave from the wharf. For a weekend visit, I'm wondering why you were steered away from the wharf. It's very touristy but might be quite convenient.

Sarah,

The primary reason that people are suggesting the Cow Hollow area is because the motor lodges on Lombard offer free parking.

Since you mention not wanting to get away from public transportation I see no reason for you to avoid Union Square.

Given your price range, I would try to get a room in Union Square or the Embarcadero via Priceline or Hotwire. You'll get a nice room in a central location, close to public transit. Hotels in the Embarcadero area are best situated to give you a bay view. The motor inns on Lombard are not tall enough to provide a water view.

Additionally, Union square is quite convenient to China town.

Thanks for the feed back

I really don't want to stay in union square, a number of people have told me to stay away from the wharf and Square.

I was in SFO airport two years ago and stayed at either the Marriot or Embassy Suites. Right on the water it was so lovely, was hoping to find something like that in town. My sister on that trip stayed at the Fairmont. She said if she were to return she would head for Cow Hollow. I did not know people on this forum went there to get free parking only. WHO KNEW!!!

Any more ideas????

The free parking is a great bonus at places like Cow Hollow, but I've stayed there when I didn't have a car. And when I do have a car there, I leave it parked and take public transportation (right on the main bus route that takes you to all the "main" stops without a transfer). I like Cow Hollow because it is more "neighborhood" in feel -- nice smaller restaurants, non-touristy, and less "big city" like.

I'm not understanding the "advice" that you are following:

Avoid Union Square and Fisherman's Wharf (the two most popular areas in SF and therefore the two areas with the greatest concentration of hotels), but stay in Pacific Heights?

Are there hotels in Pacific Heights? If so, how much do they cost? I just heard today of someone who sold their house in Pacific Heights for something like 8 million dollars. Great view from the GG Bridge to Treasure Island. They moved to another location in Pacific Heights, but I didn't get the price of the new home. If there is a hotel in Pacific Heights, would $2000 a night be too cheap?

BayArea has given you excellent advice. For that price and wanting a view, try Priceline and getting the Hyatt Embarcadero for less than $100. Good luck!

I can understand wanting to stay away from the Wharf because of the high cheese factor (3 for $10 T-shirts and cable car pencil sharpeners everywhere), but Union Square is the hub of downtown San Francisco. It's one of the great shopping districts in America, has plenty of great restaurants and is the main transportation hub (Cable cars, BART, MUNI and buses). Please don't be frightened off by people who say Union Square is overrun with homeless people. A) It's not true. B) The homeless are just trying to live their lives, in all likelihood they're not going to disturb you.

Dear Sarah, Two of my favorite San Francisco hotels are run by a company called Joie de Vivre Hospitality. http://www.jdvhospitality.com/index.php

I've stayed at the Phoenix Hotel, which is a funky hotel famous for the numerous rock stars--Nirvana, Pearl Jam-who have also stayed there. (This is a great place to stay if you have a car; their parking lot is even large enough for tour buses!) Keep in mind, this is not a luxury option, just a clean, funky fun place to stay.

I have also stayed at the Laurel Inn, which is in Pacific Heights, it's more on the luxury side of things..(they also have parking).

Anyway, I recommend checking out this website. (They even have a quiz you can take to find a hotel match! The website also has a things to do section) Take a look at the Phoenix. It's definitely a fun option, but I would recommend calling to find out how close they are to public transporation--I always had a car.

Thanks Eliz. I was considering Hotel Del Sol. Thanks everyone else.

Well someone from a parent office to my work backed up all of your Union Square comments. I still have to go with sis's suggestions though. What does everyone think of the Mandarin Oriental. I know way over budget but the views the views!!! They look incredible. What do yah think. Will everything shut down over the weekend and I will I feel stuck in the financial district?

Looking for the best views of the water and still located close enough to swift public transport.

PS I am from Manhattan so I won't be looking to do shopping in San Francisco. There are some gardens I want to explore, Golden Gate Park, maybe Japan town.

There is also a hula performance that I want to find out about it is not always on so I need to look into it.

Thanks for looking at my post.

Sarah, if I were to stay in a hotel in S.F. and could possibly afford it, the Mandarin Oriental would absolutely be my first choice. Like you, it sounds like, view would be my first priority, and no one can touch the Mandarin Oriental in that department. Any thing else a hotel can offer, you can get elsewhere. Nowhere else will you get a view like that.

You are probably aware that the Mandarin Oriental occupies the upper floors of San Francisco's third highest office building. The hotel rooms start at about the 45th floor, so every window will have a great view. I have not stayed at the hotel, but I used to work in the office building underneath it, and have had the opportunity to see the views from some of the hotel floors. They are sensational.

Yes, the block where the hotel is, and a couple of blocks in each direction, will pretty much empty out over the weekend. But walk beyond those couple of blocks and you will be in Chinatown in one direction, the hot Emarcadero/South of Market restaurant/club area in another, Union Square in the third, and North Beach in the fourth, and all will be teeming over the weekend. That's one of the great things about San Francisco, everything is so close together and walkable. Also, you will be on the California Street cable car line (the less crowded one), several bus lines, and a couble of blocks from BART and the Muni Metro subway/trolley.

thanks for that long response Charles. I feel like we just had a real conversation. So their the best for views? I did not get a corner view just a bay view and I requested the 44th Fl. The top floors are through to 47? I thought the reservationist said. Let me know if that is different, perhaps this just the floor for my rate.

Thanks for backing me up now if I can just hold my breath on the price. I do deserve this, like I desered Italy in November, Hawaii last July, Vermont Ski trip January. Funny how that deserving thinking always stretches just a little bit further.:):) Enough is never enough and tax day looks like it will help me along here.

Sarah: I am having a hard time understanding why people have told you to avoid the Fisherman's Wharf area. Our family stayed there last year, and it was fine, although you can't see the bay from most of the hotels. We even walked around at night and never felt uncomfortable. We had no trouble catching streetcars and cable cars, but since you don't care to spend much time at the Wharf and aren't interested in Alcatraz, perhaps another area of town would be better for you (maybe something on the BART line for cheap, fast public transportation).

We also spent a couple of nights at the Phoenix and greatly enjoyed it; however, I would not recommend walking around at night in that area. The Phoenix is what you would call a "motel", as opposed to a "hotel", and was still $100 a night in early June. They had a cool-looking pool, but it was too cold to swim the days we were there.

I'm sure you've done your research, but I remember hearing that the Hotel del Sol was geared to families with kids. The Triton, I believe, was very close to the China Town gate, so that might be a good choice for you (although I've heard the rooms are pretty small). There are usually a lot of good hotel reviews on TripAdvisor. They have a feature called "QuickCheck" (click on the blue button) that will list hotels ranked in order of popularity by other travelers. Check them out, if you haven't already done so.

Also, if you go to Yahoo Maps and enter the location or address of places you want to go, you can find hotels listed by distance from your planned destinations.

By the way, the hotel we stayed at in the Wharf area was the Holiday Inn, but I wouldn't recommend it. There wasn't anything really wrong with it; it just wasn't anything special. Also, we had been told our room would be in the main building, and it actually ended up being a couple of blocks away.

The most important thing I can recommend is to make your reservation NOW. If you can't decide, make more than one, and then cancel if you have to. I made reservations in early March for a June trip, and many places were already booked.

Have a great time in SF!

Hi DWoodliff,

Seem to remember you from years gone by on this forum. I guess I might very well feel different about the Wharf once I see it. It is just that I live in a very congested city as it is, NYC. Someone in my office from San Francisco told me it was similar in congestion to time square. I know the financial district is not exactly a residential neighborhood but the views could send.

I think I will seek out something cheaper but will dream for the moment. Thanks for your suggestion to book now. I think I will find a cheap alternate this weekend.

Any more ideas?