Need SF Hotel Advice
 

My husabnd and I are going to the City for 3 days and have a choice of a few hotels. From the following list which would you recommend and why?

Westin St. Francis
Hilton Square Towers
Grand Hyatt
Hyatt Embarcadero
Downtown Marriott
Stanford Court
Omni
W hotel

We are looking for a nice and spacious room.

Thanks!!

To travrelmom13. Personally I would chose Grand Hyatt. Have a beautiful trip!

Travelmom: The rooms at the W are very small. It is the hip place to stay for 20-somethings and all the action is in the public areas.

The St.Francis is a beautiful hotel and features the Westin Heavenly bed but I have been in both big and tiny rooms there so you would need to make sure you got the room you wanted. If shopping is your thing, you'll be in Heaven because it is located on Union Square.

The Hyatt is nice and the standard rooms I've been in were pretty roomy. It has a beautiful lobby and some wonderful views.

The Stanford Court if considered one of the city's best hotels and has a great location but I've never been in a room there.

Hope this helps a little but I know there are lots of other Fodorites out there who will add to it!

We stayed at the Downtown Marriott and it was very nice. The rooms are very upscale and contemporary and beautiful views.

Travelmom 13:

We stayed at the Hilton Towers in Union Square last year. We got it for $75/night through Priceline. The hotel is HUGE. Walking through the lobby is like walking through a mall or airport. The lobby is very nice with murals of the city and comfortable chairs. There are two different towers and I don't remember which one we were in. Our room was clean and moderate sized. We had a view of the city and could see the TA tower at night in the distance. The bathroom was a little small but very clean. They allowed us to look at three different rooms (per our request) before we choose a king room. They have parking on site but it's expensive (35/night). The gargage was accessible from our floor so that was very convenient. They have nice, reasonable priced breakfast buffet in the am. The staff was very helpful with any questions, requests. It is fairly close to the Market/Powell st. cable car turnaround, Market St streetcar line and the Union Square shopping area. Chinatown is walkable. The area is very accessible to buses, subways, streetcar line and cablecars. Get a pass for public transportation instead of driving in the city. It's plentiful, efficient and safe.

If you are in SF on a Sat-do not miss the Ferry Plaza farmers market-lots of very fresh, organic produce, baked goods, olive oils and other treats, all in a very pretty setting.

Other favorites:
Walk the Golden Gate Bridge
Bay cruise that takes you under the GGB.
Mission Dolores
Point Bonita Lighthouse in Marin Headlands (need a car)
Golden gate park-Japanese tea garden and conservatory.
North beach and Chestnut st neighborhoods.
View and the murals in the Coit tower.
Cable cars-go early in the AM to avoid the crowds.
Enjoy SF! It is our favorite city.

We were in SF last summer and although we didn't stay in any of these hotels, I do remember seeing the Hyatt Embarcadero and noticing that it was in a really nice area-with the new Ferry Building right near it. The area is new and clean , nice palm trees and the ferry builing is a great place for shopping. Strolling along the embaracero was nice too-good views of the bay bridge and really just very nice.
We stayed at the Argonaut-a nice hotel but too close to Fisherman's Wharf for me. Hope this helps some....

I've stayed at the Stanford Court several times and my recollection is that the rooms were a bit on the smaller side - but then this was years ago and I could be remembering some other hotel. Hope someone else can confirm this!

I've stayed at Westin St Francis several times and loved it. I prefer the older rooms as they have SO much character (sleigh bed, high ceilings, chandalier) - the location of this hotel is wonderful (close to great restaurants and shopping). I just talked to a neighbor who just returned and stayed at a hotel in the Embarcadero area - she didn't care for the location as she didn't feel like there was much for her to do w/in specific area of town. The Westin St Francis has a lot of history to it as well, so if you like that kind of thing, it's a good choice. I've seen the Great Hotels episode on it several time and it always brings back fond memories of my stays there.

I would choose the St. Francis, the Grand Hyatt or perhaps the Stanford Court, simply because when you step out the front door you are in the heart of San Francisco, with the cable cars clanging and the hustle and bustle of the City. The Stanford Court is a very quiet, sedate hotel. I thought the room size was fine when we stayed there. I love the St. Francis though. Haven't stayed at the Grand Hyatt.

The Hyatt Emb. and the Omni are both a bit out of the center of things. The Marriott and W are south of Market which isn't the best neighborhood, but is slowly being revitalized.

Have fun in SF.

travelmom13,
Embarcadero Hyatt is very nice, roomy with very good service. A short walk to the Ferry Bldg. and the street car which can take you to Market and Powell. For a good lunch try the grill at Nordstrom or Dim Sum in Chinatown.
Have an Irish coffee at the Buena Vista at the Cable Car turnaround near Ghiradelli Sq.

Hi,

The W is sort of south of market, isn't it? Now, I know this is a weird thing, but both the W, and the Argent hotel (on the same street, just up further, almost on the corner of Market) are right above a fire station. All night long, you will be hearing sirens unless you specifically request a room away from the street.

From your list, I'd choose either Stanford Court (good food, exceptionally clean and good location) or Westin St. Francis (Heavenly bed is great, and if you are a Starwood member, you can rack up those points!)

I'd also consider the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental. It is definitely a little pricier, but if you're going for a romantic trip, it is just perfect. The service there is consistently impeccable and the rooms are lovely, spacious and very, very clean.

The new-ish (3/4 years old?) Four Seasons is nice, but a little business oriented, and located on Market, literally around the corner from the Argent. However, since they seem to be more business oriented, they have some good deals for the weekends from time to time on their website (I've seen them as low as $209 per night!)

I'd avoid the Hyatt Embarcadero and the Grand Hyatt. They seem to be a little outdated and the service can be hit and miss at both of those hotels.

Have a good trip.

Definitely avoid the Hyatt Embarcadero. It's got a very COLD huge lobby and the self parking garage is very creepy. Our room (which was very expensive during the week) had a very strange triangle shape and there were only 2 bath towels instead of 4 in the bathroom for 2 adults. Then to top it off, the drain in the bath tub was clogged and almost overflowed while taking showers!!! We checked out the next morning, FAST!!!.... The Embarcadero section of SF is not a bad section to stay in though, but more geared towards business travelers. There is a great restaurant called BOULEVARD in this section that you MUST try. Book ahead, fills up quickly. We then checked into the Renaissance Mark Hopkins which had great rates and loved it!!! Right on top of Nob Hill, close walk to everthing. Very good sized nice rooms. If you can get a good rate, it will help offset the $45 valet parking fee, yikes! I'm not a big fan of Union Square hotels or Fisherman Wharf area hotels and thought the Westin ST. Francis was like Grand Central Station. Too much traffic going in and out of the lobby. Stanford Court looked nice, but didn't stay here. The Grand Hyatt and the Hilton have gotten some good reviews. Have fun!

I've stayed at both the Hyatt and just last weekend the Omni. I'd pick the Omni hands down.

The Hyatt is huge and very impersonal. Although the location is good for Union Square and the Ferry Market (which I LOVE) it just doesn't have much character.

The Omni is right on the CA cable car line, 4 blocks from the Embarcadero but right next to China Town and a cable car ride up to Nob Hill. Also it is smaller, very personable (door men and front desk remembered and greeted us by name), much more plush with wayyyyy better service. Nicer amenities (robes, feather comfortors, turn down service, etc.) It is more of the league of a W without the 20 somethings! It is also just a block from Belden Lane which is a fantastic alley of restaurants European style.Check their web site, they have a great rendezvous for 2 package includes breakfast each morning.

I just posted a trip report called "Back from anniversary trip to San Fran! "

If you stay at the Omni, which is a beautiful hotel, make sure you buy a Muni Passport to cover your cable car, bus or streetcar fares. Otherwise it's $3 for each ride on the cable car.

If you decide to walk up California to Powell it's about four blocks and uphill all the way!

Enjoy!

The Orchard Hotel - I haven't stayed here but it is my intention to the next time I'm in S.F.

I've read mostly very good reviews.

Thanks to all who posted advice and information!

We had trouble getting reservations last minute. However, my husband got a fabulous corp rate at the Ritz Carlton.

Talk about a spacious room and unbelievebly friends and helpful staff. This place was awesome! I have stayed at opther Ritz Carlton's before but this was really nice.

Thanks again!!

So funny. I realize that travel plans change and this isn't meant as a criticism, but I'm curious if the Ritz Carlton had been in the original list, how many of us would have said that as our first choice? I would.

Funny you should say that Patrick...b/c I said the same thing when my husband added that to the list at the last minute. I was thinking..."hello...and you even need to ask me if I want to stay there??"

Needless to say, it was a wonderful experience. They upgraded us on arrival without even asking. They even baby proofed the room and left our daughter a gift package in her crib. Not too shabby huh?!

My bad! It was the Park hyatt on Battery Street that I stayed at! When I read what Travdog said it didn't jive. This hotel was roomy, very chic and while I wasn't sure I'd like being in the Financial district it was sure different since they put in the Ferry Building shops and cleaned up the waterfront. I used to live on Nob Hill and the only time I went down to this area was to the Tadish Grill.