hotel help in San Francisco
 

need to find a hotel not too far from San Francisco State...need to find a place in a safe location thats not expensive....looking for cleanliness and comfort...just there one night...going on campus tour...help please....thanks

Lynn

Sorry I don't know of any hotels that are near SFState, even the campus hotel locator web sites list downtown hotels. SFState however is easily reached by public transportation, particularly the M metro/streetcar which runs from downtown to SFState, so you could stay a a reasonably priced hotel downtown.

Please specify which CSU campus. Apparently they have 23 campuses. SAB's hotels are listed downtown because there is a campus in the South Market area, whereas the main campus is out on 19th Avenue.

Easy, I know SF State is on 19th and Holloway, I just don't know of any hotels out there. BTW thought poster was asking about SF State not the CSU campuses.

Hi, SAB!

You're absolutely correct! I'm the one confused! :)

But then the links were confusing, because the SFSU site led me to the CSU site!

I remember driving by some campus on Lower Market (big old grey building) - was that SFSU or CSU? Or are they the same? Weren't the different campuses called Chico State, Fullerton State, etc. until they changed everything to read "California State at Fullerton", etc.?

Those hotel websites are the most confusing!

lynnarro: I've found something better. Try:

www.sfsu.edu/~housing/noindex/shortterm2.htm

This is the SFSU official site which lists short term housing for its students. It lists the closest hotels as well as hostels.

Unfortunately, as SAB has indicated, there is nothing very close that is a hotel. The closest is about 2 miles away.

I would suggest that, if you are going to be staying far away, that you try staying in the Hostel International hostel on Ellis. With the money you save, you can afford to take a cab to SFSU. The Ellis Street location is downtown and is in a pretty safe location. Just remember that SF is a big city and take the normal precautions while in a big city. Also, being downtown, you should be able to get a cab relatively easily.

If you can afford both a hotel and a cab ride, then I would suggest bidding on Priceline for a minimum 3 star hotel for about $50 and then cab it to SFSU.

Although the Daly City (south of SFSU) hotels look closer, I don't know how safe they are. Maybe someone else can help.

Lynn, I will pop up here on your S.F. State visit thread as I did on the thread where you asked about a motel for your Sonoma State visit. I'm glad you're considering both these fine schools. (I've done graduate work at each.)

Although I usually agree with easytraveller's excellent posts, this time I have to disagree about the cab. There is no need for one, as S.F. State is served excellently by public transportation (the Muni Metro.) By far, this is how most students get to campus, since few can afford to live in the immediate neighborhood. Parking is a real hassle, and the large parking garages are a long walk from the center of campus, but the Muni Metro stops very close to it.

Of course, a hostel would be by far the most inexpensive option, but if you don't want to go that route, I still wouldn't stay either downtown or in the Fisherman's Wharf area. If you stay in the areas where the tourists stay, you are likely to pay high prices or end up with something unpleasant. Ellis Street, where the hostel is that Easytraveller recommends, is not a very pleasant or safe area. Instead, I'd try someplace out in the residential areas, near the campus and the ocean, where for the most part you are not competing with the tourist dollar. The Roberts at the Beach motel and a Days Inn are a block or so from each other on Sloat Boulevard, very near campus. A little further away but in a picturesque location overlooking the ocean is the Seal Rock Inn on Geary Boulevard, a little more expensive but probably under $100. These motels will be very good if you're driving, but they are all on bus routes and you will also be able to make easy connections to campus from them. Call the San Francisco Muni (the city bus line), they'll tell you what buses or subways/trolleys (the Muni Metro) will take you where you want to go.

A motel in the suburbs of Daly City or Pacifica will be convenient to campus by car and will probably be good, as long as it is near Highway One and the ocean. Avoid the main part of Daly City, though (the part closer to Highway 101 and the Bay.)

You might also get a good deal on the Lombard Street motel row in S.F., where there are many motels that are getting a little too old to appeal much to tourists, and so offer relatively low prices, but are still decent. If you are driving down to the city from Sonoma State, Highway 101 will become Lombard Street soon after you cross the Golden Gate Bridge. This is a safe area (as they go in a big city like S.F.) This is especially a good neighborhood to choose if you didn't get one of the places at the beach (Lombard St. is farther away from campus) but will still be using public transportation to get to campus, as there are many bus lines running on the streets on either side parallel to Lombard (Chestnut and Greenwich) from which you can easily connect to the Muni Metro to campus. You might try the San Francisco Presidio Travelodge at 2755 Lombard St.
I never stayed there, but I lived next door for 10 years, and it always looked good from the outside. I can certainly testify that the block is pleasant.

By the way, do you happen to be visiting UC Berkeley too? It may not have occurred to you, but it's very cheap and easy to get to the SFSU campus from Berkeley, and you might want to stay at the same place while visiting both. I know this very well, as I lived in Berkeley some of the time that I was enrolled at SFSU and went there this way. You just take BART from Berkeley to S.F., where you can transfer to Muni Metro at most of the downtown stations without having to go above ground, and Muni Metro will take you straight to the heart of SFSU.

I'd love to hear your impressions after your campus visits!

Check out SF Muni..public transportation to SF State is easy! To my memory you will take the M line from downtown.(it's a street car so it will be even more enjoyable!) I would second the suggestion to try to stay downtown with finding a hotel through priceline.

I would cast my vote for staying downtown and taking the M Oceanview metro line out to S.F. State. As tempting as the "closer" options of the Days Inn and the Roberts Motel on Sloat appear, I would not choose them for your purposes. The location is safe enough, BUT you'd have to depend on the Number 18 Sloat or the Number 23 Monterey buses to get you to the campus (with a possible transfer at 19th Ave.). As a former resident of the way out west portions of the Sunset district, I can tell you that those two lines were the bane of my existence for years - they were so unreliable! Take the M from downtown - illogical as it seems, it's further but easier. Too bad there's not a nice B&B or something near West Portal Station, which would be a lot closer.

Wow! lynnarro! You've got four of the very BEST and MOST KNOWLEDGEABLE Fodorites answering your post! Can't do any better than SAB, johncharles, PamSF, and dovima.

The reason I suggested a cab is because I thought lynnarro might have some sort of interview at SFSU and won't want to struggle with an unfamiliar public transportation system (and thereby miss her interview!). San Francisco is not that big and, should you have an urgent need, cab fares should not cost you an arm and a leg. Otherwise, go with the suggestions on this thread, familiarize yourself with the Muni Metro line - and good luck on your college applications!

Thanks easy, don't you just love johncharles' thoughtful posts' Lynnarro--following up on Pam's musings, there is a website of SF B&B's
www.bbsf.com/san_francisco_n.asp and on it there is a B& B near SFState listed: Linda's Little House. That's about as much as I can do other than original suggestion about staying downtown and taking the M.

I'll come up with the most random way to get to State. Take BART from downtown to the Daly City BART station and catch the 28 to SFSU. (It sounds weird because you are going past the college to come back but you'll save sooo much time).