I'll be spending a friday and saturday night at the Club Quarters at 424 Clay St. The hotel recommends parking at Embarcadero, which is says is across the street or a block away or something, at the cost of $30, or $35 with in/out privileges. Can anyone out there suggest any cheaper alternative?

That is pretty much what parking costs in SF. There are a few lots that cost maybe a bit less. But not w/ in/out privileges.

Is it your own car or are you renting?

Do you need in/out privileges? If not (if you're just looking for a place to leave the car while you're here), there are several outdoor lots not too far for much less money, but they wouldn't be convenient if you're going in and out.

Hellooooo jj....

Agree with jj.

We've stayed at the CQ many times and always parked at the Embarc and walked over.

If you do find anything cheaper and close be sure to let us know.

Hi smetz-

I did quite an extensive research on this issue last month, when we stayed at the Hyatt Embarcadero.

There are a few (slightly) cheaper places, but many of them are not open late in evenings and on weekends (b/c they cater to the M-F workforce).

There are so open lots south of Market, but it will be a couple of blocks away, and I personally feel a bit nervous leaving our rental car in an open lot overnight.

Anyway, we parked at the Embarcadero garage. I know, $30/24 hrs is still a lot, but much cheaper than the Hyatt parking rate which is $57/day.

If during the day you only need to park at Embarcadero for a few hours, you can try to buy something from the shopping center and get a validated rate.

OK, thanks everyone for the info, it sounds like embarcadero is my best bet. Of course the other option is to wait to rent a car until we leave SF, but there is a chance we'll need to drive up to St Helena when we get there to pick up my son, and we also wanted to go to a few places that are outside of downtown. We're taking the tour of the Anchor Steam brewery on friday, and we were thinking of going to Noe Valley for dinner one night.

That's why I asked if it was a rental. You can get anywhere in SF by public transport very easily. St Helena is a different matter of course - but unless you must go up there, you will be better off waiting to pick up your rental until leaving the city.

The brewery is easy to get to on the Muni.

jj, i figured that was your angle. Thanks for the advice. Is Noe Valley easy to get to as well?

The J streetcar goes to the heart of Noe Valley, Church and 24th Street. The J is underground downtown and can to taken from any Metro station such as Embarcadero (or Montgomery, or Powell).

The Embarcadero parking allows you to pay for parking through your hotel, so you get the in & out privilige. That's the only hotel that that has a parking contract there.

We took the bus from Union Square to Anchor Brewery. It was ok; we ended up taking the wrong bus and had to walk quite a distance from/to bus stop [which was last on the line] and brewery.

When we got off the bus, we did have to walk along Market for a bit through Tenderloin, but it was ok.

The brewery is not near anything, it is in a residential like area, not near any other "visitor sites".

That said, we loved the tour = lots of sampling.

Deb

Where in the Noe Valley are you dining??

Stu Dudley

Stu, just got back from SF and Napa/Sonoma. We never made it to Noe Valley, so I guess we'll have to try next time. But I was inspired by your review.

We drove to the brewery & had no trouble parking. Great tour, and wonderful tasting. Earlier we parked on Mission & had lunch at La Taqueria (2889 Mission, I think), which was really good.