Priceline and San Francisco
 

Hi, I just booked a trip to SF for April 28 - May 3. Now the hard part - a hotel.

I've used priceline quite a bit and love it. However, I am afraid of getting a very small room with 1 bed since it is a friend and I who will be traveling. We would like to stay in the Union Square East - Embarcadaro (sp?) or Fisherman's Wharf areas.

Do these two areas have a lot of these older hotels?

Has anyone recently gotten a room like this?

Just trying to figure my odds! :)

Any recommendations, advice, comments would be greatly appreciated.

Hello Celiaanne:
Not sure how much help it will be but, last year end of May I used priceline for a hotel in San Francisco I checked Union Square at $74.00 per night and got the Hilton in Union Square it was three of us and we did not have any problems, the rooms were a good size, I did not have a problem getting two queen beds. Not sure if you are renting a car or not (I did have one) at the hotel they charged $40.00 per night but, I had done my homework and right across the street I got a public garage for $20.00 per day. Have a great time and hope this helps you.
GIna

forgot to mention I did request a 4 star hotel.

Gina, Thank you. That is exactlyh the kind of feedback I am looking for.

I usually bid a 4* if available, but I am wondering if I should bid a 3* or even a 2.5* based on the hotels I'm seeing on biddingfortravel in those categories...

I haven't rented a car and am a little undecided if I should o not.

Celiaanne:
I live in Miami, Florida so not having a car for me was not an option I read and read reports and comments here and also TP and everyone said a car was not necessary, honestly the only bad thing about having a car is the parking fees but, again we were friends traveling together so all was split. Besides I had rented my car through priceline (a minivan) for 12 days and got it at $402.00 all included. I am not sure if you will be moving around alot of if you are staying close by, I can tell you there are great stores within walking distance from their, the best thing about it for every budget, I did a trip report for my vacation if you want to take a look, just click my name. I would not go to a 3 star I would keep it at 4 remember you have a little play time if you don't get it today try again in 72 hours. Any questions please let me know will be glad to help.

Celiaanne:
forgot to mention someting else not sure what your plans are or if you have visited before but, if you are going to Alcatraz do the night tour, it is amazing!

I have done Priceline 3 times in SF - gotten Sheraton FW, Marriot FW, and Hyatt Grand Union Square. The Sheraton room had 2 beds, the others were quite small with 1 bed. We didn't request any specific configuration though, so I don't know if 2 beds in a room were availible in the other hotels or not.

On the car issue - I would only rent a car if you are leaving SF for day trips. While you are in SF, get a MUNI pass and just take buses, lightrail, and street cars. There is a MUNI pass that is also valid on cable cars, which are definitely fun.

Thank you for the replies. I think we will have to bid on 2 rooms as so many of the hotels that I checked on through expedia, etc., have just one bed. I'm amazed. I thought it would be just a few old ones. I just don't think it's worth the risk.

I just bid $60 and $70 (low, I know) for a 4* in the USE area with no luck. Might wait until tomorrow (PS you are only locked out for 24 hous now) instead of using all the free rebids... I am thinking 2 rooms for 5 nights isn't going to be easy anywhere.

I don't want to go too much over $80 as I think I would be able to get a room through the "traditional" methods that I could be sure would have 2 beds for $175 or so (not a 4*!).

Thanks for the car info too. We are probably not going to get on.

I've been to Alcatraz (in the day), but my traveling companion has not, so maybe the nighttime one would suit us both.

I bid $90 and picked up a great room at the Omni...which is on California, between Union Sq and the Embarcadero... Easy walk to either.

Wherenow, did you room have 1 bed or 2?

Thanks,

Stay with a brand you know (like Marriott or Best Western, but go with any major brand) and you can't go wrong. also, try to book your hotel with something like Hotels.com, because they can get you a good rate.

Celianne, just fyi, Travelzoo has a deal going for the Harbor Court (3*, I think) in the Embarcadero area for $79, and the Maxwell for $84. www.travelzoo.com

lvk,

Thanks for the info. I tried the Harbor Court, but I am getting a rate of $199/room plus, and it looks like it is for a room with only one bed...

You can get a queen/queen junior suite at the Beresford Arms for around $150: http://www.beresford.com/arms/default.htm

Have you checked Kimpton.com, St. Andrews, Donatello, Orchard?

Regarding Priceline, go to www.biddingfortravel.com to research the going rates.

Just a follow-up: I got the 4* Marriott Downtown (Union Square East) for $90.

Thanks for all you help.

TTess, I am a fan of biddingfortravel too. Great resource!

Yahoo! Good shopping - congrats!

Hi, I'm considering using Priceline for San Francisco. I've never done this before. Could I get some help on this?

I think I'll try 4*.

I checked BFT and I'm thinking the USQ-East and USQ-West are probably ok, but USQ-West has a couple of hotels, and I haven't checked each one yet. But it looks like Parc55 is a possibility if I bid in USQ-West based on recent winning bids.

What are good zones to bid and are there zones I should avoid?

I'm aware of the free rebids.

Thanks!

111op: start another thread and you'll get much better response.

Don't bid until you've gotten the entire scoop from Fodorites! :)

Well I try not to start too many threads. Maybe people will respond to this one if we start topping it more often. :) Or feel free to respond to my SF planning thread.

I'm nice. I try not to monopolize. :)

The SOMA/Moscone center is good too. The 4*s in that zone are excellent. Embarcadero is fine as well.

Fisherman's wharf is fine as well. I think I did 4 star or even 3.5 stars and got the sheraton FW for 65/night! it was awesome.

USQ-East has two hotels, but people seem to complain about the Westin at TA. It's interseting -- I checked Better Bidding and most people seem to stay away from this zone, but I think BFT has some winning bids.

Do people know about internet access at these hotels? I think that it'd be nice to get it without paying extra. Isn't SF a city that's pretty much wired up?

Also what's the Moscone Center area like at night? I get the impression that south of Market was pretty desolate late at night, but that was many years ago. Thanks!

I checked biddingfortravel.com and see that you can probably get a 4* at either USE or Embarcadero for about $80 plus fees and taxes, it'll still run you under $100.

Fisherman's Wharf doesn't have 4*. The highest is 3.5* and you can probably get something there for about $65-$75 a night plus fees and taxes. If you do get FW, Stu Dudley and a few other Bay Area people will have a fit! Never mind. It's quieter at night at FW and you can get a decent hotel for 2/3 the price elsewhere.

Do not bid USW if you don't have to.

Will you have a car in order to get to wherever you need to go for the interview?

Moscone Center itself is pretty dead at night. However across from it is the Metreon which has a bunch of theaters and there's also a Marriott, so it's pretty lively until midnight or so.

Hi easy, did you mean to say to avoid USQ-East? Most of the bids in Better Bidding are for USW, as far as I can see.

Yes I see some winning bids for Sheraton on BB that ncounty mentioned.

I don't want to rush them, but the idea is to work out some mode of transportation with them so that I don't have to drive initially. I can then plan to rent a car myself afterwards when I'm all relaxed. So easy parking would be good (as I mentioned in another thread, I don't know how to parallel park -- I need a big space that I can just drive the car in :) ).

Can someone remind me about transportation in SF as well? I think it's 24 hours?

take a look at the list of the 4*s for SOMA - I think majority of them are in very good area, right off Market and near SFMOMA.

You're right, yk. All but one of the hotels listed on BB in the SOMA zone are near Market, except for the Intercontinental on Howard, which gets great reviews on TA. The reviews on the Westin in this area seem to mention some discrimination against Priceline.

As I asked earlier, does someone know if hotels include internet access? How about parking?

None include parking, expect close to $50/night if you park at hotel. the BFT SF page has a hotel parking sticky, you need to study that to see what's your best bet.

None of the 4* hotels include internet either. but you may be able to pick up free wi-fi somewhere outdoors.

Hi easy, did you mean to say to avoid USQ-East? Most of the bids in Better Bidding are for USW, as far as I can see.

No - USE is ok, USW less so (only because the area borders on a somewhat dicier neighborhood --so I'm not referring to particular hotels, but since with Priceline you don't know what hotel you will get, people suggest NOT bidding on USW)

Thanks. I was confused because I hardly saw any USE bids on BB. I think there were some on BFT. I think the hotels in USW seem ok though.

Parking sounds really expensive.

I checked some hypothetical dates and I can get the Serrano for about $95 for two nights (taxes included). But then I'd have to move hotels, and that'd be annoying. Serrano's website says that internet access is included. Parking is $40 + taxes there, but I probably should forgo a car those two nights.

As usual, it gets more and more complicated trying to strategize how to save money. :)

No question, hotel parking in downtown SF is very expensive.

Why do you have to move hotels?

I think internet access charges is really just gravy. if you can get a good deal at any hotel, what's another $10/day for internet? I wouldn't choose a hotel just because it offers free internet, the same thing for free breakfast.

definitely don't keep a car in the city unless you absolutely need it. parking garages in the area are about $30/24 hours but of course you don't have in/out privileges.

I guess my thinking goes something like this. It takes time to research Priceline hotels and successfully bid hotels.

So I tend to be the lazy sort, and I just like something simple and easy. Priceline becomes less attractive if I can book a decent hotel at around $95 a night with free internet. But then Serrano is not available for all the nights I want at that rate.

So I can, for example move to Good Hotel for a few nights and get cheaper parking too.

But then with all this work maybe it's easier to bid on Priceline. :)

Haven't used Priceline for SF, but biddingfortravel.com is a great resource, even if you just read the bids and don't ask any questions. As for free internet, I don't think it would be a deciding factor for me as there are so many places that offer it for free...Starbucks, restaurants, etc. Avoid having a car in San Francisco proper as you just don't need it...you'll be paying to park it at the hotel AND paying to park it practically everywhere you drive, too!

I do like hotels that offer free breakfast as that makes a BIG difference when traveling as a family--it's worth about $40-$50/day!

Wow. I read through some 20 or more posts here before realizing they were totally meaningless as the thread is two years old. That's why starting a new thread is a good idea when things like current prices are the MAIN point of the thread!

I can't think anyone would object to starting a new thread on a similar topic two years after the other one went out of date. It saves everyone clicking on from reading dozens of old posts that really are no longer accurate (even the idea that many of those hotels might not even come up on Priceline any more -- and certainly not at the price mentioned).

You've a point, NP.

But I think that the web is full of a lot of (useless?) information so I usually learn to just pick and choose what's relevant and useful.

So though it's a good idea to start new threads, I think it's also a very good idea to read threads selectively -- perhaps the start, the end (and the middle, if necessary). It saves everyone time that way. :)

Too funny. What's the point of looking at a 40 post thread and just reading the first two or three, the middle two or three, and the last two or three? Nothing would make sense out of context of reading ALL the responses. What WOULD save everyone time is if someone is looking for current Priceline information about SF they could start a new post that saves everyone from reading the first 20 or more posts that are two years out of date!

Please explain how you "read threads selectively" -- how do you know what to select if you don't read ALL the responses? Close your eyes and randomly stab at one tenth of the responses and assume the others are insignificant?

Actually NP, isn't it better for you to take your own advice and start a new thread in Fodorite Lounge?

I'm kind of afraid that all your thoughts and complaints will get buried in a thread on Priceline in San Francisco. Especially when it's so useful!

No, you read it. That was my ONLY intention. You were the only person I was trying to reach and it worked. Thanks for your interest.

Well, what can I say? I'm "honored" to be the object of such "exclusive" attention.

I'm not like NYCTS, so I'll not say something in a public forum that I won't say to you in your face. :)

So let's leave it at thanks for nothing, and do find a better way to spend your time.

Oh by the way, let me bring this up again: I gave you my e-mail before.

If I'm the only one you intend to address, then please address me via e-mail. There's no need to clutter Fodor's with this b/s.