Please help me decide in which area of San Francisco to stay
 

Really having trouble trying to decide which area of San Francisco in which to stay for our trip. We will be there four days, a Thursday through Sunday and plan to rent a car on the last day there. Hubby, me and two teenage daughters.

Keep going round and round about whether to stay at Fisherman's Wharf (love the water and easy access to everything) or Union Square (afraid the rooms may be too small for family of four, but like that you can get any kind of transit there) or Japantown (due to an excellent rate I found at Hotel Kabuki.)

Is any one of these areas better than the others for any of the following:
1) Easy to get to on BART from airport
2) Easy transit to all parts of city
3) Multitude of choices for walking to reasonably priced restaurants
4) Reasonably priced accomodations (trying to stay at $200 or less per night but finding that to be quite challenging and still be comfortable with the quality level)
5) Safe at night to walk around
6) Close to location at which to rent a car on the last day.

Any thoughts or suggestions anyone can give would be appreciated. Considering: Hilton at Fisherman's Wharf, Holiday Inn at Fisherman's Wharf, Columbus Motor Inn, Parc 55, Hotel Diva, Hotel Kabuki .
Many thanks
Mary

Just responding to one of your questions - neither Fisherman's Wharf nor Japantown is near BART, but Union Square is.

Personally, I would stay in this order: Union Square (lots of activity, shops, restaurants, hotels), Fisherman's Wharf (different kind of activity, of the more "touristy" variety), but I would not choose Japantown -- there's nothing there except Japantown itself.

Do a search for the Argonaut, I don't personally know anything about it, but lots of people on this forum recommend it for families wanting to stay in Fisherman's Wharf area.

Thanks for the thoughts dmlove. I would love to stay at the Argonaut, but at 369.00 per night that would break the bank.

I guess I know now why there was such a good rate in japantown, eh?

I'm surprised no one else has chimed in yet, but there are also many posts on this forum touting the Columbus Motor Inn, so if you can get a decent rate there....

Sorry, I don't know how to edit my posts -- just remember that the Columbus Motor Inn is not near BART. Many people like it if they have a car, because parking is free.

With teenagers I would stay near Fisherman's Wharf. We stayed at the Marriott at FW and had a great stay. Hilton will probably be about the same.

I have recommended Beresford Arms Hotel which is 2 blocks from Union Square and they love it. They go with their son and daughter and they have mini suites as well as suites.

here's the website for Beresford Arms: http://www.beresford.com/arms/default.htm

Of the areas you have mentioned, Union Square fits your list the best, particularly in terms of transportation and dining. Whether this is the best choice for you, I don't know. The Wharf seems to be popular with tourists with children. Since I'm neither--that is I live in SF and I don't have teenagers--I have no experience with that aspect of the Wharf's attraction for tourists. There is nothing inherently wrong with Japantown, but it fits none of the criteria of you list.

StuDudley posted a lovely resident's view of the areas in which most tourists stay--so if you post his name in the search box, you should be able to find it.

Do look at the Beresford Arms. I think they have units with kitchenettes, and they are very convenient to Union Square, which fits all of your criteria.

http://beresford.com/arms/default.htm

Check the Park Fifty Five hotel. Not sure when you're going, but they have rates in around $120 in July. The hotel itself looks nice on the internet. It is right near a BART station, and near the cable car turn around. The pro's on this board told me it is a decent place and a family would be happy there. I personally like the price!!