elaine123

We stayed at the Harbor Court Hotel. I booked for $65 on Priceline in March. The rooms are small, really small. I booked 2 rooms, one for mom & dad; and one for kids. When we arrived, they wanted to give us standard rooms. I complained, and was offered either a queen or for $20 upgrade, a king. I was going to opt for the upgrade, only to be informed that it really wasn't avaiable...We lived just fine w/ the queen rooms. Luckily, our kids are older as we were placed on the same floor, but in 2 sepapate halls. We weren't in the rooms much, and the hotel is nice enough - historic and quaint. The hotel is next to the YMCA & the workout facilities although under construction were great. Since the room was priceline, I was supposed to be charged $10 a day to workout....Charges haven't shown up yet.
We rented a car and had no trouble parking or driving. We only paid the hotel rate of $38 the first night. The rest of the time we found parking on the street or in lots which were much cheaper than the hotel. For overnight parking, I was always up by 7, so it was no problem to go down and feed the meter right before 7 and be able to pay for 2 hours of street parking before we left for the day. I reserved the car w/ Thrifty in March, and I was only charged 19.99 per day. This was cheaper than shuttles and public transportation even w/ parking rates.
I wish we'd been closer to Union Square, although our hotel was right next to the bay, and it was beautiful. I like to shop, so the proximity to Union Square would have been nice.
Be advised that it's cold! I had read on this board that it was indeed cold, and luckily we took warm clothes...But I still was not mentally prepared for the temperature. The wind and moisture really make it seem colder.
The kids loved the Meteron. We saw the new Harry Potter movie on IMAX. It was worth the $60 for 4 tickets.
We went on a free walking tour sponsored by the library of Chinatown. It was wonderful! Very informative. I would like to have taken more of these free tours. There are many offered. It's worth the research.
We loved Chinatown. We had Dim Sum at the New
Asia restaurant in Chinatown. It's on Pacific. It was quite an experience. We all mastered chop sticks. The price for 4 was about $33, and we ate quite a lot.
North Beach was another favorite. We ate at Mona Lisa. The food was supreme and not too pricey. The kids loved it. We also ate at Calazone's. The pizza was good.
We ate at Plouf. It was an experience, reminded me of Lisbon Portugal! The people were very nice, and the wine list excellent!
We only went to Fisherman's Wharf one time. It was ok, but except to buy souvenir t shirts, worth only one visit. Although, dining at Nonna Rosa restaurant watching the sun set over the Golden Gate Bridge was priceless.
Overall, we had a marvelous trip. I hope to go back soon. The kids, ages 12 & 14 had fun too. Thanks for all the tips from this board. They helped!

sludick

Thanks for the trip report, elaine123! Glad you had a great time. I grew up there, and have missed it ever since I moved away (to East Coast). There's no place like it.

emummert

Elaine...

nice itinerary...it's good to see you took advantage of all the LOCAL places to eat rather than some of the reviews I've seen here where people are flocking to chains like Bubba Gump's and the like. I'm glad you had a great trip!

J_Correa

The Bubba Gump comment made me chuckle. There is one in Monterey, which is about an hour from where we live. My husband absolutely loves that place. We go EVERY year for his birthday - it's his birthday so he gets to pick. Last year my cousin was visiting from Florida and he actually suggested we go there for dinner. I told him no way in he!! was I taking my cousin there one her 1 day in Monterey

traveldawg

I live in Pacific Grove and have never been to Bubba Gump's. Do I get a gold star for that?

Glad you had a great time in SF. I had to leave N California for a job transfer back to the midwest in the middle 80s. It took me 9 long years to get back to this area and we are never leaving again. Expensive area, but you cannot beat the year round living. After all our trips overseas it is always great to see that Golden Gate as we fly in.

Deblynn

Elaine,
Sounds like a great time! We will be going in a week. Can't wait. What is the METERON? My boys are ages 10 & 15 and want to do alot of the things you guys experienced. Where did you park when you went to ChinaTown? And what is there to do in North Beach with the exception of some good restaurants?

elaine123

Deblyn, the Meteron is the Sony entertainment Center. It has 3 floors (I think). There's an interactive play area based on WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (M. Sendak's book). There's an arcade room, several retail shops specializing in electronics, and there are several restaurants which offer a "Taste of San Francisco". On the top floor is the movie complex. If Harry Potter's still showing and you haven't seen it, it is worth the $! We ate at Long Life Noodle while we were there. It was ok...There were several other offerings. Check out www.meteron.com
In China Town, we parked at Portsmouth Square (Kearny & Clay). It was near the pedestrian bridge over by Kearny St. Public Transportation. There's an underground garage. We were there fairly early so we had no trouble parking. I can't remember how much we paid, but it wasn't an outrageous amount. I highly recommend going on the walking tours sponsored by the SF Library. I'll look for the web link and post it later. The tours are very informative and free!!
As for North Beach...well, we love to eat, so enjoying the best Italian food I'd ever had outside of Italy was quite a treat! There are also lots of places to get gelato and pastries. We enjoyed getting our deserts and people watching. Even in the cold weather, people were sitting out at the side walk cafes.
Just be sure to take warm clothes. Maybe you won't need them. but better safe than sorry. Let me know if you have any more questions. Have fun!

elaine123

Deblyn, here's the link to the walking tours.

http://www.sfcityguides.org/index.html

mlm59

Elaine,

Thanks for the great report.
How did you book the free walking tour in Chinatown? The ones I have seen advertised cost about $25 each. Did you drive to Chinatown or take public transportation? We will have a car, but I've read that parking in SF isn't easy to find and is quite expensive. We're staying at the Columbus Motor Inn, which has free parking so I won't have to worry about moving the car.

elaine123

The walking tours are sponsored by the SF Library, and they are all free. At the end of the tour, an envelope is passed around for donations so you can give if you feel the need. Here's the link to the list of available tours. http://www.sfcityguides.org/index.html Our tour wasn't full, but we arrived early just in case their wasn't room. The tour started at 10, and people began to arrive about 9:35ish.
We drove to Chinatown. We parked at Portsmouth Square (Kearny & Clay). It was near the pedestrian bridge over by Kearny St. Public Transportation. There's an underground garage. The garage was right by where the tour instructed us to meet. My husband had hurt his back, so the car was really handy. Parking wasn't really too bad. We were always able to find a spot on the street. The only problem we had was in Haight Ashbury. We were there on Sat. afternoon and we drove around twice. We'd just come from the GG bridge, so we were tired and just decided to move on.
Meters, if you find them are about .25 for 15 minutes. The garages vary...We probably would have taken more public transportation if my husband had been well. However, given the great rate I got on the car, and w/ 4 of us, parking and the car probably ran about the same as public transportation would.... Good luck, and have fun!