Hotel recommendation for San Francisco
 

Although we live near Sacramento, we are hoping to go to the City for a 2- or 3-day brief vacation in the next few months. We plan to take the train and get around by foot, bus, or taxi, the latter to the De Young, science museum, and Legion of Honor.

So: I would appreciate recommendations for hotels, as it's years since we stayed overnight in San Francisco. I'm looking for a boutique or smallish hotel that hasn't succumbed to the ultra-contemporary look, ideally rooms with some color to them. Our price range is around $350/$400 per night, and something near good restaurants would be a plus. Larger hotels that fit the bill would also be okay.

Any ideas? Thanks.

Two smallish hotels to consider are Hotel Vitale (part of the Joie de Vivre chain), on Mission St by the waterfront near the ferry building. And Hotel Griffon on Steuart St. Both of these hotels would be very convenient (a short walk) to where the Amtrak bus drops you off after arriving in Emeryville. There are several good restaurants in that area (e.g. Chaya, Boulevard (make reservations way in advance, One Market, Waterbar and Kokkari, a favorite of mine that takes 15 minutes to walk to (or use light rail along the Embarcadero) From these hotels you can also walk up market street to the union square area and and take a fairly short cab ride to Columbus Ave/North Beach neighborhood. (And from there you can take the 30 bus to the Marina, Presidio and Crissy Field by the GG bridge.) The museums that you mentioned are on the other side of the city and require a cab ride, but well worth it. If you want to see the planetarium show at the Academy of Sciences, be sure to go there first, when they open and secure your tickets. During weekends and summer, the days viewings can get all booked by 11a or noon. The Legion of Honor is also a treat.

Also check out the Kimpton Hotels.

The Kimpton hotel chain is top notch. Free coffee/tea service every morning. Free Wine hour every evening. Join their free "In Touch"loyalty program for free wi-fi and other great perks. Their on site restaurants have proven to be quite good ( we have stayed at close to a dozen of them in different locations.) they even have some great last minute get away prices that you can book a week out.

There are several locations in San Francisco and are consider "boutique" style, smaller hotels.

https://www.kimptonhotels.com/hotels...francisco.aspx

You can easily get to the GG Park museum area on tbe Muni N-Judah train. Pick it up at any of the underground metro stops between Embarcadero and Van Ness along Market, and take it to 9th Avenue and Irving. It's a short walk into the park from there to the museums.

The Kimpton properties are outstanding. Service is impeccable. They add the little touches that create a wonderful stay.

We were recently at the Monaco in SF and loved it. As Deb said, join their loyalty program and you'll get an immediate discount on your room, and other benefits.

I didn't realize the Sir Francis Drake is now a Kimpton. Nice.

The Joie de Vivre group is also good. We liked their Hotel Rex, many years ago. Cute little hotel with wonderful service.

IMO any of the Kimpton or Joie de Vivre properties would be terrific -- I'd just search for any special offers.

(Joie de Vivre is the group that did such a good job creating the Citizen Hotel / Grange restaurant in Sacramento)

Has the Monaco been remodeled recently? I ask because our rooms were very, very tired the last time we stayed there, but it's been 3 years.

We stayed at a Joie de Vivre hotel out in the avenues and weren't impressed; our room had a bed so hard that I ended up on the floor on top of pillows in order to sleep. The halls smelled musty, too.

The Sir Francis Drake seems a good possibility, and we've stayed there back before it was renovated.

NewbE, I think our room was new-ish at the Monaco.

My favorite is the Washington Street Inn in the North Beach/ Telegraph Hill area. www.wsisf.com The rooms are small, yet very comfortable and the service was wonderful. Great location for walking all over and many, many nice restaurants nearby.

I second lynni's recommendation for The Washington Square Inn. I love being in North Beach.

We were at the Monaco for 4 nights, and I'd rather not stay in union Square again. It got old real quick. Lots of people 24/7 and noise. Of course, we were there on Halloween might, so you can imagine there was revelry!

We stayed at The Serrano in early October and it is around the corner from The Monaco. It isn't my favorite area and the hotel is no longer part of Kimpton group.

The Palomar, Sir Francis Drake, even Harbour Court would work for me.

The Four Seasons, hands down as far as I'm concerned. I love staying there. I fly up from L.A., just to stay there.

Happy Travels!

The Washington Square Inn looks just like what I'm after--European flavor, nice area, and all those good restaurants. But I'll also look at The Four Seasons. Many thanks for all the recommendations.

Harbour Court, Park 55, are my favorites. Park 55 often has very good specials.....Park 55 is across the street from a fun little Italian place Pinetti & Puccini or Puccini and Penetti. Nice rooms and just off market and powell....

Underwood: Plus, with the Four Seasons, the BART stops about a 5-minute walk from the hotel, right there on Market Street. Very convenient. Since I flew, I took the BART from San Francisco Airport area to the Market Street stop.

Also, since the Four Seasons is on Market Street, I was able to walk to the Pier building and then take a boat over to Sausalito for lunch and it was also the day of the annual art festival as it was the last weekend in August. On the way back, to the Four Seasons, I took the bus from the Pier building area, as it goes along Market Street.

I was in S.F. for 3 days to rest and it was perfect. I've stayed at that Four Seasons before as well as Four Seasons hotels overseas. I'm a big fan.

Happy Travels!

"I took the bus from the Pier building area, as it goes along Market Street. "

Oh, take the F Streetcat instead of the bus; so much more fun! I love riding it all the away to The Castro. Sometimes just get off and just head back but usually we spend time in The Castro - such a vibrant, fun part of the city.

Since when do rooms at the Four Seasons go for $350 - $400 a night, the OP's stated budget? The last time I checked even with the stay three discounts, the room was $500 a night.

I was thinking the same thing -- the Four Seasons is an entirely different class of property w/ much higher rates.

wekeewoody: I stayed there in the summer of 2013, high season, and went on Expedia and paid $1,032.55 total for 2 nights at the Four Seasons and that total price included airfare, from L.A. (Burbank Airport) and taxes. I have the Expedia print-out in front of me.

Happy Travels!

"DebitNM on Apr 17, 14 at 5:44am
"I took the bus from the Pier building area, as it goes along Market Street. "

Oh, take the F Streetcat instead of the bus; so much more fun!"

Thanks, Debit: I've probably taken it before as I've been going up there since I was a child. Maybe next time I'll take it. But, the bus was convenient and had only about 4 people in it at it's starting point which was great as I wanted to avoid crowds of people. Smiles.

Happy Travels!

Park 55 looks promising too; I like the mention of air-conditioning, having stayed at a Joie de Vivre hotel that lacked it. Usually July is chilly, but this time we had our usual heat nemesis following us.

Sounds like I need to do a lot of checking on specials.

Underhill: Yes, check for different specials, at various hotels, and during different times of the day and night. The prices change every other second it seems.

As for the Four Seasons, I have never paid $500. for a room at any Four Seasons. Back when I first started staying at the S.F. one in summer of 2007, I think it was, my room was around $275. and I got a free upgrade and a meal from the bar lounge, included for each day that I was there.

My most recent deal that I got in summer 2013 was a really good one. And according to my print-out, in front of me, I booked it 2 days before I actually flew up there although I started looking about 2-3 weeks prior. You never know what might pop up so don't give up on any hotel that you might be interested in. Keep checking. Perseverance can pay off. Good luck to you.

Happy Travels!

Hmmmm...has anyone stayed at the Inn at the Presidio? I actually stayed there way back when it was the BOQ but wonder how it is now that it's become a hotel.

We saw the inn while doing a City guides free walking tour. It looked lovely, but it is really out of the way for most things a visitor would want to do. A bus ride will get you back and forth, but it was long, with all the stops.

We stayed at the Inn at the Presidio back in September.

We loved it and loved staying in this part of the city for a change.

We walked all over the Presidio. There are lots of interesting nooks and crannies and then of course there are the viewpoints and the beaches on the coast side. It was a nice walk to the Marina and Fort Mason. Another nice walk took us to the Golden Gate Bridge. We walked across it.

We found plenty to do, but as stated above, some consider its location out of the way. If you've been to the city before and have done most of the things a visitor would want to do, it might be a nice change of pace. It was for us.

We walked to places 15 to 20 minutes away for dinner. There are some places on Baker Street. I did a google map and there were several good places to eat within a 20 minute walk.

We stayed in a suite on the third floor that had a view of the GG bridge.

Based on photos, the Monaco's rooms have been redone.

It's my favorite hotel in San Francisco. Love the vibe and the staff is outstanding.

Can't wait to return - hopefully this summer. :-)

I agree weke that if you aren't going to be wanting to do the usual visitor sites and rather a stay to enjoy the locale of the area, The Inn at the Presidio would be a great choice.

Deb, perhaps a stay there is in your future? :)

The Presidio is an odd area in that so much of it is under construction, being dug up or being revamped, yet it remains a very peaceful location.

Right across the street from the Inn is an archeological dig that is exposing the foundation of the original Spanish settlement.

Heading to SF in October, most likely! Maybe we will stay there...

It sounds very appealing, as our trip is primarily to see the art exhibit at the Legion--so staying in the Presidio would put us fairly close.

My DH was born in SF, and we've visited the city many times--but there's always something new to see.

I think the location is good for return visits, but not ideal for first time visitors. A friend's wedding reception was at the Presidio and it was a gorgeous venue.

After reading the rave reviews of the Inn on the tripadvisor site I made a reservation for the end of July. I'll report back after our stay; we decided to drive down, since parking at the Inn is only a big $7.

Have a great time Underhill.

We had dinner one night at the Baker Street Bistro. Good French food. It is a low key, neighborhood place. Another night we ate at Sociale. A little more upscale. Italian, but it too had a very comfortable neighborhood feel to it. We walked to both.

Do think about taking this great walking tour:
http://www.sfcityguides.org/desc.html?tour=1

And also going to the Disney Museum; right in the Presidio. It is NOT for kids, it is about Walt Disney
"<i>From Mickey Mouse to Snow White, from Mary Poppins to Disneyland, Walt Disney’s artistry and imagination helped define 20th-century America. The Walt Disney Family Museum brings his legacy to life and invites viewers to find their own creative inspiration in his story.
The museum illuminates Walt’s fascinating life: his tremendous successes as well as his disappointments, and his unyielding optimism as he worked tirelessly to advance the art of animation. Walt was a risk-taker who influenced popular culture through pioneering animated and live-action films, television programs, theme parks, and other new technologies. His story is told through innovative, interactive galleries. Visitors get to know Walt through early drawings and animation, movies, music, and listening stations featuring his own voice, among others. A 13-foot model of Disneyland as Walt originally envisioned it is a perennial favorite with museum goers.</i>


http://www.waltdisney.org/

Thanks for the restaurant (very welcome) and walking tour recommendations. We'll add the military cemetery to the list as well.

For what it's worth, our favorite "San Francisco" hotel so far is Inn Above the Tide in Sausalito. It is on the water overlooking the bay and just a short ferry ride to San Francisco. Beautiful views.

That goes on my list for another trip.