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.