San Francisco Accomodation - Help Please!
 

Hi Everyone,

We booked a trip to San Francisco on the 18th of October and planning to stay there for 2 nights. This is our first visit to the USA and didn't know that booking an accomodation in San Francisco during October is That Expensive ! The Cheepest I can find (close to union Square ) for 3 stars is 300$ USD for one night without taxes.
Is it always that expensive in October or is there a special event during that time ?
I would really appreciate it if you can advice me of a good, clean, and nice hotel to stay in for two nights in october (with affordable prices) that is close to union square.

Thanks for your help in advance ...

zoooza84

We have booked three nights at the end of October at Coventry Motor Inn, $ 140 excluding taxes. It gets good reviews on Trip Advisor.

Try: The Mosser Hotel. It has clean but small rooms. It is a perfect location. Some rooms have full bath; others have sink only IN the room, with shower etc in hall. Very clean, well kept hall baths. You can choose to your liking.

themosser.com

October is high season.

Would you consider priceline or hotwire? Understand fully how it works and that once your bid is accepted on Priceline or you prepay on Hotwire - there are NO REFUNDS.

I just did a quick look at The Mosser, picking 2 nights and price is much less than $300. A queen with shared bath, is $129 a night, a deluxe queen [or 2 twins] with in room bath is $239; and a deluxe full is $209.

We have stayed there and really like it.

You should be getting cheaper rates for Friday night. A lot of hotels have weekend packages.

Here is a small French Hotel near Union Square. Rates include a full American breakfast.

I have friends that like to stay at this hotel for convenience and price. They also have a prix fixe dinner available at a reasonable price.

http://www.cornellhotel.com/

The Cornell seems like a perfect location for you and especially convenient to downtown and it is in a safe area
Be sure to book lodging SOON as the good places rally fill up as October is a popular time of year and usually the best weather.

When is low and shoulder season? Are weekends more or less expensive?

dont stay at the mosser unless you want to share a bathroom down the hall with someone else. in order to score a great deal on a room in sf you have to be very flexible with either your travel dates, and/or area you wish to stay in. ive been to sf twice, and have stayed at the corner of o'farrell and taylor. i recommend this area because 1) its adjacent to market street where many Bart and Muni lines converge 2) its adjacent to the powell station where you can pick cable cars 3) its adjacent to union square 4)although its technically in the tenderloin area, it still breathes of the adjacent union square district.5) its just a block south of geary, which is a major artery in sf that cuts east/west thru the city. youll find the muni 38 to be very convenient to take you out to ocean beach, japantown, golden gate park, and haight/ashbury. some of these points of interest require slight transfers, namely the haight. youll see some people here and there asking for spare change out of your pocket as you trek back to your hotel, but thats about it. this particular intersection is right next to the sf hilton and recently renovated serrano hotel, a kimpton hotel. (the latter i stayed at on my first visit and was able to score rooms at a little over $100 a nite). be advised, unless youre planning to spend around $300 a nite or more on hotels, youre not going to have very much room in your hotel room. sf hotel rooms are "boutique" and the rooms are pratically built around a queen sized bed with a tv and a small bathroom...and thats about it....but then again, if youre going to sf just to lounge in your hotel room all day long...whats the point of even visiting at all?? last time i stayed at the super 8 hotel on the corner of o'farrell and taylor. the rooms were reasonable, clean, quiet. theres a free breakfast...but it doesnt scream of luxury,..just basic cereal, fruits, and waffles to get your day going. if you demand nicer breakfast cuisine, its everywhere in sf, as the city is reknown for culinary tastes. i also recommend buying a muni citypass when you get to sfo airport which will entitle you to unlimited muni and cable car rides. you can also take the bart train from the airport into downtown. its about $7.00, i think. not much, but its the cheapest and also fastest way into downtown. do not get off at any of the mission stops...16th or 24th street, very dicey areas. youll want to take a tour of the city as well. i recommend www.sfshuttletours.com

The Mosser has rooms wirh private bathrooms as well as rooms with shared. I checked out the hall baths and they were Very clean and they were kept that way all day. It is a very good choice in prime location.

My husband got a great deal on the Inn at Union Square through booking.com. It was a quality hotel room and nice size.

http://www.unionsquare.com

16th and Mission is not such a great area, but 24th and Mission is a wonderful neighborhood to explore.

Thank you all for your comments/replies.. really appreciate it.

Which one would you recommend more (Petit Auberge) or (Chancellor hotel at union square) from previous experience if any ?

I just got back from San Francisco and stayed at the Parc 55 hotel right down by Union Square. They had a Facebook Friend rate of $179 per night. I've previously stayed at the King George too, which is a smaller hotel and in the same neighborhood.

You could check out hipmunk.com too. It'll include hotels as well as apartments for rent. The site visually maps all the hotels and color codes according to cost. Another suggestion – airbnb.com with apartment rental.

As far as what might be happening in October – World Series?

I checked both hotels, and the Chancellor says they're full those days. Petit Auberge is priced around $300.

I thought you wanted to get a lower price than $300.

For a first time visitor, staying at 24th and Mission is IMHO, too far from the action, especially for such a short stay.

Do yourself a favor, check out The Mosser. October is prime season because it has perhaps the best weather of the year in SF. Prices and rooms aren't going to get cheaper, in fact, just the opposite.

IF you want to stay removed from Union Square, I can personally recommend a lovely condo in the Castro district[ a block from Market] for $150 a night. But per the OP, Union Square is desired location, not a bad idea for this visito.

Sorry, I misread sf7307's comment about exploring 24th and Mission - thought she was suggesting staying there.

Nope, just visiting!

OT Deb, sorry I missed your email about Carmel(we're away), but I see you got good advice and a good place to stay.

SMac, "from your mouth...."

Actually, October is very high season in San Francisco - prime convention season. It's possible there's a large convention going on the weekend the OP is coming to SF.

There are so many big conferences in San Francisco, it could be anything. At least you are not coming Oct. 14, which is the Nike Women's Marathon. It draws about 20,000 runners.

we have often stayed at the Donatello for $179.00 which included parking. It is just a few blocks off Union square in the theatre district and a very nice hotel. You can def. find a hotel for under $300.00 even the Hyatt regency at the Embarcader is under that.

I usually pick Priceline, union square area with 3+ stars and only put in $225 or something like that. We only live 3 hours away and have always had good results, the key is to check in early.
Tha Handlery, Sir Frances Drake, Donetello, Hyatt Union Square, you could probably stay cheaper by Fisherman's Wharf? I like Union square though.