PrincessPhoto

Will be visiting SF next month, was looking at some Holiday Inns - one in Pacifica (beachfront), Sauslito, and one in SF near the airport. We are traveling with another family and would like to keep the budget below $115 w/free parking. We don't mind staying away from downtown, my friend cannot walk far, we will be driving everywhere, so we don't need to be close to cable cars, resturants, etc.
I have checked into a few homes to rent through vrbo, I am waiting on some replies. While waiting on those I thought I would get some feedback from the hotels listed above. Any other hotel on the outskirts of SF that are recommended?
Thank you

razzledazzle

When I lived in Mill Valley my parents
always enjoyed the Holiday Inn Express Sausalito
(It's really in Mill Valley)
It is well located on Richardson Bay and has easy access to a system of paved walking paths
along the bay and bird sanctuary
(for those in your party that want to stretch their legs). It is close to
freeway access, but off the highway
enough not to be too close. The rooms were always clean and well kept.
They also enjoyed the complimentary breakfast. Some great restuarants nearby are The Dipsea Cafe, Buckeye
Roadhouse and Frantoio. A quick drive will take you to "downtown" for
some nice choices around a quaint
square and The Depot Cafe for coffee
and people watching.
R5

ronkala

why not just google holiday inn, san francisco?

LoveItaly

Hi PrincessPhoto, your question leaves me confused. Do you want to visit the city of SF or just be in the general vicinity?

I read raccledazzle's post, which as usual is very informative.

But I am still consfused as you say you will be visiting SF and your friend cannot walk far, you will be driving everywhere, so you do not need to be close to cable cars, restaurants. etc.

Are you talking about restaurants in SF? If so and you don't want to be close to restaurants and your friend cannot walk far there is obviously something I do not understand. Sorry for my confusion.

JBC411

Another reason to favor the Sausalito/Mill Valley Holiday Inn is that I think you will find it closer to the tourist sites you will want to visit, and the route to them (over the Golden Gate Bridge) more scenic, than the other two choices you mentioned.

However, I would also consider the Holiday Inn Bay Bridge in Emeryville. This hotel is right next to the Bay, near the east end of the San Francisco Bay Bridge. It has great views of San Francisco across the bay (which the Mill Valley hotel does not) and may offer even quicker access to the heart of tourist San Francisco, as well as a different very scenic bridge crossing to them. And a large group like yours will be able to use the Bay Bridge's express lanes.

Don't let people scare you with stories of how Emeryville and its surrounding cities of Oakland and Berkeley are high crime areas. Not that there isn't truth in that (although there are also many points of beauty and interest in Oakland and Berkeley), but you will be in an area of newer development across a huge Interstate from them and not really in them at all.

razzledazzle

I have to respectfully disagree with JBC's rec at the staying at the HI- East Bay. I do EVERYTHING I can to avoid driving
on I-80 through Emeryville and across
the Bay Bridge-express lanes or not
it's a traffic nightmare all around there AND on the SF! With the new Bay Bridge construction there is no
nice view of anything except of
cranes and rebar in concrete piering
at the moment. Well, I guess it might be pretty at night
The Mill Valley location is located
on a fairly scenic parcel on a bay and wetland with stunning views of Mt.
Tamalpais. The East Bay location is a high rise in a parking lot-OK, the original Trader Vic's is nearby-yet..

Now, LoveItaly has me thinking about
the "driving, not walking thing"
SF is not the most car friendly city-
you might want to consider a Greyline tour for the highlights.
Hmmmm.....
R5

janis

I'm w/ JCB411 - the Emeryville HI would be great for this trip. The views are unbelievable - especially from the bayside rooms, it is on the approach road to the Bay bridge, there is a Trader Vics just around the corner, it is close to the Berkeley marina and Skates which has some of the best views of any restaurant in the Bay Area.

easytraveler

As usual, I respectfully disagree with everyone!

Forget the car and stay in San Francisco. Go everywhere by taxi within the city. Take the car for one/two days to visit Mill Valley or other places outside of SF.

I have just returned from a day of driving/caught in awful traffic in the Bay Area. I met with an awful mess on the East Bay side and this was around 11am, non-peak traffic time. At 1pm I left Berkeley via University Ave and got caught up in another traffic jam. When I finally got to the Bay Bridge toll plaza and saw an open lane, I zipped forward - only to find that it was the Fastrak Lane. Oh, nuts! Once in San Francisco, the only really good driving conditions were along the Embarcadero. Trying to leave the city around 3:30pm, we moved at a snail's pace across town. Sometimes the light would change to green two or three times and the traffic would NOT move. Once we moved all of two feet after a wait of almost ten minutes - woohoo, we're moving! The traffic would not let up until we got almost to Daly City and the Serramonte area.

Now, why would you want to waste your time sitting in traffic/driving in and out of the City? Taxis are cheap because distances in SF are not great. You could get from one place to another for $5 or $10. Parking in SF costs an arm and a leg, especially in hotels.

I second the great suggestion of taking a city tour, like the Greyline one.

Just my HO. Otherwise, welcome to California and have a terrific trip!

LoveItaly

Good grief EasyTraveler, LOL, and I know it was not funny, but your very good description of driving in the Bay Area and to SF was fantastic and so descriptive but at the same time think about your nick here "EasyTraveler". It sure wasn't for you and it isn't for anyone else in the Bay Area either is it? Are freeways are a total mess!

I still do not understand what Princess Photo is trying to accomplish.
Visiting SF, but staying out of SF, friend cannot walk far, no need to be close to cable cars and restaurants etc. This is one SF visit question that leaves me totally confused.

Anyway, maybe PrincessPhoto will post back and explain further.

PrincessPhoto

For the confused loveitaly........ let's go over the original message: Visiting SF, that means I will be visiting SF (touring alcatraz, etc.), we have a budget and since most (I said most, not all) hotels in SF charge parking and are more pricey than the outskirts of SF, we were considering staying just outside of SF. My friend cannot walk far, which means that she cannot walk more than one block at a time, so rather than staying close and trying to grab a cable car, or taxi - we will be driving to our destinations. So once we decide to tour alcatraz, we will drive to the pier, park and tour. When we are finished we will drive to our next destination.
I also mentioned that we would be traveling with another family, that means my family and my friends family. A taxi will not fit all of us, however our suburban will. All I asked for was some feedback on the listed hotels, not a confused reply on why you don't understand my messsage.
Thank you to razzledazzle, jbc411, janis and easytraveler. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. I am still waiting on a response from a couple of vrbo homes/condos. Our families really enjoy renting homes, it is relaxing and convenient. If the rental through vrbo does not go through we are considering trying our luck with princeline.

easytraveler

Princess: Have you tried Priceline?

You can get a very good 4* hotel for about $70-$75. Your best bet right now is the Union Square East zone. Tack on another $20-$30 for parking your car and the price is within your price range. Or try 3* at Fisherman's Wharf.

If you use Priceline, do NOT bid Cathedral Hill zone - not worth it.

If you MUST stay outside of San Francisco. Check out the San Francisco Airport zone and bid only 3* hotels (the highest rating for that zone). You can get the Hyatt there for about $35-$40, plus parking of around $15.

Check out biddingfortravel.com first before bidding!

As for loveitaly's question/confusion, it's really very understandable. In the two years of posting to Fodors, yours is the first post I've seen where a person wants to visit SF but stay OUTSIDE of SF. Mostly hotel questions on SF ask about which hotel or which area INSIDE SF to stay in. The pain/time wasted of getting in and out of the City usually discourages people from doing what you want to do.

You might also consider the consequences of letting one person set the pace for the group. How about splitting up on some days? Let the others enjoy riding the cable car, etc. while you drive your friend around. Just a few additional thoughts.

loveitaly: up early/late again? You do keep the strangest hours!

Princess: Have a great trip! You're doing the right with all this planning!

LoveItaly

Hi easytraveler, I don't understand your question abuout my hours. My last post was 2:07am which is Eastern Time. Since I live in CA that was 11:07pm. Not unusual for me or anyone that I know. Take care.

rjscott

We stayed in the HI Express in Mill Valley this past Feb. We very much liked this hotel and would gladly stay there again. It was conveniently located and the continental breakfast buffet was extensive, with donuts, bagels & cream cheese, bread to toast, cereal, yogurt and pastries. The Dipsea Cafe just up the road was very good for lunch. We were there fairly early, so many people were still having b/fast, which also looked good. We had one dinner at the Spinnaker restaurant in Sausalito and it was great food with a wonderful view.
We took the ferry over from Larkspur, which you may want to consider. Larkspur has a huge free parking lot and the ferry has plenty of comfortable seating. You can get a free transfer at the ferry station so that when you get off in SF, you can transfer to the streetcar and ride it to Pier 39 for your Alcatraz tour. If you buy a daily pass for the public transit system, you can transfer from cable car to streetcar to bus as many times as you wish, which would save your friend all that walking and would not require you to drive in the city. Just a thought.
As for other hotels, we also stayed one night at the Embassy Suites in San Rafael. A bit north of Mill Valley, but not a bad drive at all to the Larkspur ferry or to SF. You can get an internet rate w/in your budget, and their very extensive breakfast buffet is included. This includes omelettes to order. The rooms are all suites, so very comfy and lots of space.
Have a great time!