San Francisco: Allison Hotel
 

Has anyone on this board stayed there? It's near Union Square, which certainly gets mixed reviews on this board. I'd appreciate comments about safety, value, etc. It's not listed in Rants and Raves.<BR><BR>Thanks!

The Allison is not a bad hotel, but the Union Square area is really not the best. It's a rather marginal area. Lots of transients looking for handouts and a generally dirty area. At night I would be especially cautious. Are there any other areas in SF that you are looking into?

Thanks, Ted<BR><BR>It's for a meeting at Moscone Center. I'd want to walk in the daytime, if possible, but would take cabs or shuttles provided for the meeting at night.<BR><BR>Expedia has a $60 rate for the Allison, and the pictures look nice, but I was guessing the neighborhood was questionable, at best.

travellyn,<BR>The Allison is near the part of Stockton Street which turns into a short tunnel going from Union Square to Chinatown. In terms of safety, its location at Sutter and Stockton is better than, say, Ellis and Taylor, which would be in the Tenderloin (not a good part of downtown S.F.). If you are attending events at the Moscone Center, the transit connections would be excellent - you catch the 30-Stockton bus headed southbound and it'll cross Market (where Stockton ends and turns into 4th Street) and you will be within walking distance of the convention center. Certainly, during the day you would be perfectly o.k. walking around the area, but if you are leaving a meeting late at night, I'd spend a few bucks on a cab or take the shuttle.

Thanks, lizbeth. With that kind of rate, I could easily afford cab rides every night.