jeanned

Thanks ccrosner. I think we will go with the Westin based upon your comments and others.

Anyone out there have any advice on Carmel? I am finding that a lot of the places are "romantic" b & bs-- not the type of place to bring three lively boys to.

Also any restaurant recommendations?

Hearsh

I have toured San Francisco with kids many times. There are lots of fun activities for kids. Don't miss the Zeum, it has wonderful activities for kids. Also go to the Exploratorium. Kids love the tactile dome in the Exploratorium in which you climb through it in the dark. As it usually books up, book online ahead of time.
If the weather is nice go to Golden Gate Park (Japanese Tea Gardens and pedal boats on Stow Lake).

Travel down the coast to Monterey and Carmel. The Monterey Aquarium is not just your average fish pool. The jelly fish tanks are like artwork.

Go to Alcatraz and rent the audio guides. Be sure to dress warmly

TTess

I don't know of a single inn in Carmel that doesn't have suites. The suites are terrific for families. Have you looked at the Green Lantern, Colonial Inn, La Playa & Mission Ranch? Check out each hotel's website and their proximity to town and the beach. Every restaurant in Carmel will gladly accept kids - don't worry about it.

Have you read the previous posts, yet?

Lexma90

When we took our 2 kids with us to Carmel, we stayed at the Dolphin Inn. It's an upscale motel, with an outdoor pool (not sure if it will be warm enough). Continental breakfast was served in a basket outside the door each morning. The food was the usual hotel baked stuff, but the kids loved the basket concept.

In Carmel, we played on the beach, hiked in the state park just to the south (too lazy to look up the name), spent a day in Monterey, mostly at the Acquarium.

Another thing that we liked about Carmel is that it's so close to where a lot of our food is grown. It was interesting driving along the fields, and we stopped at least daily at the farm stands at the side of the road.

In S.F. with them, we've done all that's been mentioned. In addition, check out the "Big Red Fire Engine" tours. Kind of hokey, but the commentary is informative and the views, especially on the trip across the bridge, are amazing. In addition, they liked the trip across the bay to Alcatraz, the cable car museum, and wandering around Chinatown.

The dim sum place in San Francisco that we always go to is Yank Sing. Our kids LOVE it (though they're pretty adventurous, and we go to dim sum here at home, too), as do we. There may be other, better dim sum places, but it works for us!

For Italian food, we prefer northern Italian, and in North Beach, we've gone to Rose Pistola several times; it's northern Italian with a California spin.

TTess

FYI: The breakfast in a basket concept is practiced by most every inn in Carmel.

5alive

I also would go more with an Embassy Suites type when with my kids.

But if you do want a downtown hotel with a pool we stayed at the San Francisco Marriott (55 Fourth Street). Their pool was nice and the hot tub was right next to it. Also there were no hills to climb; very near Union Square.

We went to Monterey years ago, and were thinking of taking our kids there. We also would go back to the Boardwalk at Santa Cruz.

NorCalif

re: dim sum, we like Ton Kiang on Geary, between 22 Ave. and 23 Ave. Excellent dim sum and we always see kids there. It's not too far from Golden Gate Park, so might be good to go to on a day you're exploring the park or on that side of town. They usually serve dim sum every day till 3:00 PM or so (they serve "regular" Chinese food for dinner) and later on weekends - although lately when we've been there even on weekdays (we were there last Thursday about 4:00 PM) they are still serving dim sum. You might call them to check.

re: other restaurants -
Park Chow is an excellent restaurant for kids - also near Golden Gate Park. It has good food - always listed in Top 100 Bay Area restaurants list - at amazingly low prices. The food isn't "fancy", but very high quality and well prepared, which is why it has stayed on the Best list for years.

It has fireplaces (one upstairs and one downstairs) and a very friendly, almost pub-like ambience - not noisy and raucous though. It is on 9th Ave. between Lincoln and Irving. Since it is near UCSF medical school, you see lots and lots of faculty families there with very young children, also 20-something med students and a fair number of older people too - a really nice blend of all ages.

There can be something of a wait, especially on weekend nights, but they have a "call ahead to get on the 'no wait' list" option. It lets you call ahead an hour or so ahead of time and get put on a list so you don't have to wait at the door.

They serve food all day - not closed between lunch and dinner - so is a great option when you're exploring GG Park - it's one block from the botanical garden and you can just walk there from the museums, Japanese tea garden, etc. (the 3-year old might need some help, depending on his tolerance for walking).

spirobulldog

Argonaut Hotel is the best place for kids IMOP. I would check out Ghiradeli Chocolate Cafe. I believe they have two restaurants, can't remember. Muir Woods would be good place to see.
DO CHECK OUT THE ARGONAUT. I think it is where you will wind up going. Nautical themed rooms, great for kids.

jeanned

Thanks for all the feedback. We will spend three nights in Carmel and four nights in SF. We have made our hotel arrangements and will leave in a few weeks. Any other suggestions?