San Fran Trip
 

Traveling to San Francisco in mid April. Will be staying for 5 nights. Looking for hotels to stay at. Umion Square or Fisherman's Wharf ?

Hello garysir, my choice is always Union Sq. versus Fisherman's Wharf.
BTW, public transportation from Union Sq. is quite varied as you have the Cable Cars ($5.00p/p unfortunately), the F Line that runs on Market St., and around to Fisherman's Wharf, BART Union Sq. station right at Powell and Market, taxies, bus service and best of all IMO is that walking to so many places from Union Sq. is enjoyable assuming you like to walk. The best way to enjoy the city.

There is a $15.- one week pass, then you pay $1.- for each cable car ride. There is a 3 day passport for $18.- which includes Cable Cars.
http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mfares/fareinfo.htm#passes

Oh, and what is your budget for hotels? agree with LoveItaly and staying in Union Square.

Budget for hotels is around $150 / night

I'm not sure current rates, but you can check the Hotel Bijou, Hotel Diva, King George Hotel, Beresford Arms and Hotel Beresford to start. Either relatives, friends or myself have stayed at all of these and have been very satisfied.

I just booked the King George Hotel off Union Square in mid-April for $100/night on kayak.com.

Don't overlook the Embarcadero area. Unless your trip is all about shopping, Union Square isn't exactly the epicenter of what you might want to see and do. The Embarcadero is a great area for access to all kinds of transportation; cable cars, ferries, BART, Muni, the F Line, which runs from ATT Park to Fisherman's Wharf. The Ferry Building has lots of shops and restaurants and Bay View dining. You can walk to Chinatown, NorthBeach and even Union Square.

There are several hotel options, some of which you can get for great rates on Priceline; Hyatt Embarcadero, Omni, Vitale. Check out www.biddingfortravel.com to see what others have gotten as recent rates.

I agree, the Emcarcadaro area is another fine area. And walks along the Emcarcadaro is so lovely while enjoying the SF Bay. I didn't mention it as garysir only mentioned Union Sq. or Fisherman's Wharf. I don't agree with your thoughts exactly Grasshopper as walking to all the places you mentioned is quite easy from Union Sq. I never use Priceline..but many people do. Let us know what works out for you garysir.

I usually use www.priceline.com and ask for a 4 star hotel in the Embarcadero area. I always get the Hyatt Regency which is a very nice hotel with a great atrium lobby and a rooftop restaurant that turns 360degrees in 45 mns. Don't eat there, it's too expensive but it's worth getting a drink just for the view.
Last time I went, I payed $84 including tax. I bid $70 on Priceline and it was accepted.
Of course, you cannot cancel on priceline, so you need to make sure your travel plans do not change.
Good luck!
Karina

Well if you are going for a drink with a view, I'd go to the Top of the Mark Hopkins hotel...esp. on Wed. night when LaVay Smith and her Red Hot Skillet lickers jazz/swing band is playing. Swing dancers in period dress and a great atmosphere...

This may sound like a dumb question but advice appreciated. We have the Columbus Motor Inn booked for 4 nights beginning of April, but just read Karina1's post where she was able to get the Hyatt Regency in Embarcadero on Priceline for $ 70.00 which is cheaper than Columbus by $ 10.00 or so a night. Makes sense to me to have a go for it but DH says to be satisfied with what we have got. What do other Fodorites think?

Personally I'd rather stay at the Hyatt. Why not try to see what rate you can get? You can always cancel the one you don't want.

Nelsonian,
Forgot to mention that parking at the Hyatt is $48 per night, so if you have a car, you need to take that into consideration.
Without a car and if you are sure that you won't cancel, try the HYatt. I got the $84 last July, in full season. The Hyatt is located right across from the Ferry building. It's a great location and a very nice hotel for this price :-)
Karina

If you stay at the Hyatt there is a bit cheaper self parking at the Embarcdero Center.

Short walk to the Hyatt.
Got the Hyatt for an end of April visit for $75/night.

Union Sq East/Embarc is my P'line Zone of choice.

Stayed at the FishWharf Sheraton last weekend.
Nice place good location. Right near cable car and street car lines. Pier 39, FishWharf etc.

No luck on priceline. Started at
$ 70.00 added 4 rebid zones got to
$ 85.00, have to go back to work now, will try again in 24 hours.

Nelsonian
Sorry to hear that.
Make sure you check www.biddingfortravel.com before you try again. It has lots of tips on what to do and what prices people have obtained on various hotel bids. Keep in mind that just about any hotel in San Francisco that you can get for less than $100 per night is a bargain :-)
Karina
Good luck!

Kal,
The $48 was what I paid for the self parking at the Embarcadero Center!
San Francisco is more and more like NYC when it comes to transportation. People take cabs everywhere :-)
Karina

"San Francisco is more and more like NYC when it comes to transportation. People take cabs everywhere"

I wish there were as many cabs in SF as there are in NYC. It may seem like it is easy to get a cab to those of you staying in downtown hotels, but away from downtown it is murder. I also wish they were as cheap as NYC!!!

"San Francisco is more and more like NYC when it comes to transportation. People take cabs everywhere" - thank you for letting me know! I live in the city for 17 years, 15 of them without a car, and my fingers would be enough to count how many times I've taken a cab.

...and I've seen one of those fingers many-a-time. O:)

We're just back from three days in San Francisco, certainly not our first or last visit. Three impressions based on this short stay: First, we chose the Embarcadero area on Priceline and received the boutique Harbor Court Hotel at $80 plus taxes on our first bid. Wonderful, quiet, well-mannered place just steps from the Ferry Building and every form of transportation (including the F Line to the Wharf and Muni subway). We bought the 3-day transit Passport in the Ferry Building, a sales location we hadn't found in guidebooks. Second, we were not taken with what the Wharf has become. Third, we spent time in the bustling Union Square area and Chinatown but, thank you, loved being able to leave. From the Embarcadero, it was really nothing to travel anywhere by public transportation. Oh, and BTW, we arrived from Denver by Amtrak (what a nightmare). Speaking of the Ferry Building, it has a sophisticated array of shops and the Slanted Door restaurant, which we enjoyed very much.

Jaybee- What star rating did you put in Priceline to get the Harbor Court? Thanks!

Trippinkpj: That Priceline 4-star answer didn't feel right. I don't think "Boutique" hotels have stars.

Stay away from Fisherman's Wharf..unless you like to get ripped off..
I live in SF and think you should look for a place to say south of market in the "hip" part of town. There are small boutique places all over and you really don't get the flavor of SF if you don't get to the neighborhoods
Check out the Mission and Noe Valley while you're here - and definitely go to Chinatown for dinner.
The Potrero area is fun too

...and when you're in Europe stay away from the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, Leaning Tower, Coliseum because you'll get ripped off there too. :))

The last time we stayed in San Francisco we stayed at the Inn at Union Square. It's a small, European like hotel - the opposite of something like the Hyatt. The room was comfortable and clean, although a bit shabby. The staff however, was terrific. Breakfast was included. The location was great - 1/2 block off Union Square and so was the price - about $160/night last fall.