ddpatrick7

My family is going to be in San Francisco for 3 days at the end of November. I have 2 kids, 4 and 7 years old. What hotel would you recommend that is in the middle of all of the activities and excitment? I was looking at Parc 55 Hotel - looks nice and it is a good price. Does anyone know anything about this hotel? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

easytraveler

The Parc 55 is OK. It's in a downtown location and is more for business or adult leisure travellers. It is in a not very exciting location. To be in the DT area and be near "activities and excitement", a hotel closer to Union Square would be a better choice.

However, I think for your purposes, Fisherman's Wharf would be the best location. Look into the Argonaut Hotel. FW is "touristy", but that's what you want. It's located near the piers where the boats leave for Alcatraz, Sausalito, Bay cruises, etc. It is near the Maritime Museum, Ghirardelli Square and the Cannery on one side and Pier 39 - a total family destination - at the other end. In the middle is Fisherman's Wharf itself; your family will enjoy watching how the crabs are cracked. All of the above are destinations that people have to travel to Fisherman's Wharf area to enjoy anyhow. The hotels and restaurants are more family oriented. E.g., Ghirardelli Square has the Chocolate FActory where the kids love to watch how chocolate is made.

FW is the number one hotel location in SF, and Union Square is number two. Of the two, FW is better for families.

happytrailstoyou

We stayed at the Parc 55 a year ago. We liked the location and our room was decorated in a pleasing way; however, the room was not as large as we like. If your room is the same size as ours, it will be a squeeze for two adults and two children.

The hotel is located near Powell and Market (near the cable car terminal).

Everything at Fisherman's Wharf can be enjoyed in an afternoon's visit and I see no reason to stay way out there.

When I stay in a great city, I always prefer to stay IN THE CITY. If you don't like city life, Fisherman's Wharf may be right for you.

easytraveler

I wasn't aware that Fisherman's Wharf is located outside the City of San Francisco.

don512

I would strongly agree with the Argonaut. It is a great "tourist" location, especially if you have kids. A hotel that I often recommend is the Hyatt at the Embarcadero. Although not super fancy (which it probably was in it's heyday), it is very nice. And although the location isn't necessarily great, the hotel is extremely convenient to all types of public transportation. Right outside the door, you have a bus stop, a subway station and the end/beginning of a cablecar line where it it is much easier to get on than the ones on Market or at the Wharf. And actually with the completion of the Ferry Building, the area has much impproved since we stayed there.

happytrailstoyou

If you want a carnival atmosphere and a tourist ghetto, Fisherman's Wharf is for you; if you want to experience San Francisco, stay elsewhere.

girlonthego

If you were looking at the parc 55 for the fact that it is a marriott brand, the Rennassaince is in a nice location. We stayed at the Stanford Court Rennassaince in the Nob Hill area. The trolley is right on the corner to take you around the city. Chinatown is just down the hill. We had 4 in our room and had plenty of room. We liked the location and the fact that it was quiet at night. It was also a very safe area.

happytrailstoyou

If you want a really interesting city experience, check out this place on Nob Hill: http://www.grosvenorsuites.com

We stayed there a couple months ago in a one-bedroom apartment on the 18th floor. The city views were spectacular.

jtrandolph

<SIGH>

The Parc 55 is a perfectly nice hotel in a good location. You are near all kinds of transportation...just around the corner from the cable car turnaround and also a BART Station.

The Fisherman's Wharf vs. Union Square debate goes on and on.

I, frankly do not like the carnival atmosphere if the Fisherman's Wharf area with its blocks of cheap souvenir stands. I don't find it in the middle of activities, either.

I have lived in the Bay Area for years and years and they have completely ruined this part of the city so that it looks like a cartoon.

Your kids can enjoy the activities and excitement without your having to sleep there. Just go there.

The Embarcadero area is another place you should check out. The Ferry Building has been turned into shops and restaurants. One of the piers has sea lions on it, as I remember. Ask. The kids would love that.

Your kids are pretty young, otherwise, to have much of interest for them. the 7-year old might like the Exploratorium which is in the Marina District in the Palace of fine Arts which was built for the, ummmm....1907?"...Exposition. Hands on stuff.

If you want to read reams of information on where to stay, go over to tripadvisor.com, scroll down the right hand side of the home page until you find "go to forums now". Find the California forum and ask away. Lots of info and opinions, etc.

They also might have advice on what the kids would like.

Here is an important tip. Try to get a high floor corner room in the Parc 55. It is incredible, with views to die for.

Enjoy your trip.

DCar

I can understand why easytraveler suggests the Fisherman's Wharf area since you have kids that young, but it is more of a carnival atmosphere than a hotel closer to downtown. I personally love the Westin St. Francis that is right smack in the middle of Union Square. The cable car drops off right in front of the hotel. There's plenty of department store shopping in the area, it's very close to Chinatown and not far from Little Italy. Up the street from this Westin is the Sir Francis Drake hotel, which I believe is a bit cheaper than the Westin. The Westin faces the square, which I believe the city turns into an ice skating rink around the holidays. You might want to look into that since you'll be there in late November. Have fun - it's such a great city!

cohru01

You must stay near Fisherman's Warf!

don512

Well let me think, what would a 4 year old and a 7 year old like better? Something with a "carnival" atmosphere or shopping downtown at Macy's? People can say what they want about Fisherman's Wharf, but I find it as appealing part of the city as Union Square. Mind you, I find Union Square a very nice downtown area, but I would hardly call it unique. I can find shopping districts that are better in several cities across the country. But me. I love walking down along the bay where all the wharfs and boats are. I have been going to San Francisco since the 70's and have been about 10 times, and i must say that I remember the boatrides in the bay (including to Alcatraz), the seafood vendors along the Wharf and the view from the Wharf, a lot better than I remember the men's department at Macy's. But maybe I should ask you what it is that you actually want to do while you are there?

happytrailstoyou

Who offered Macy's as an attraction in San Francisco?

laurenzo

Just another 2 cents here...I have taken my kids to SF quite a few times and we usually stayed in Union Square and Nob Hill and liked both locations very much. Fisherman's Wharf seems kinda crazy, crowded, and tacky to me. We walked around down there but preferred to not to sleep there. You can easily take the cable car down there.

happytrailstoyou

It boils down to a matter of preference.

On a quick visit to NYC some people opt for taking a boat around Manhattan while others hop a Subway to Chelsea and spend the same time exploring from there the Meatpacking Neighborhood, Greenwich Village, SoHo, and perhaps Chinatown.

I prefer the latter; however, if others are more comfortable looking at Manhattan from a distance, it's o.k. with me.

easytraveler

"Who offered Macy's as an attraction in San Francisco?" The same person who characterized Fisherman's Wharf as a "carnival" and a "tourist ghetto"?

Again, personally I would suggest foregoing the Parc 55. It's a bit too close to the many homeless who wander Market Street. Furthermore, the street Cyril Magnum, is a madhouse because it's very short and Ts into a one-way street. There's a confusion of cars and taxis there every time I travel that short street. It is not one of my favorite streets in SF.

As for Union Square, there's a lot to do in Union Square, but I believe that teens like Union Square better than younger children. You can't get the teenage girls out of those shops that sell cosmetics and fragrant soaps. But, when they closed FAO Schwarz, I gave up on Union Square as a destination for very young kids.

Union Square is definitely more upscale and more expensive.

I like Fisherman's Wharf because it's more relaxed when with young children. It's hardly a "carnival". There are some very serious educational but fun things for young children to do - Hyde Street Pier has a number of ships and boats tied down and ready to visitors, including the tall ship Balcutha which you can see from many locations in San Francisco. I've seen young school kids absolutely love roaming around this tall ship and even the adults seem like they are on their second childhood.

The Argonaut is a very fine hotel and has the sea as its theme - light shades shaped like scallops shells, etc. Kids love to stay in this hotel. Part of the Maritime Museum is housed to one side of the Argonaut Hotel. I don't consider the Maritime Museum as being anywhere close to a "carnival".

Fisherman's Wharf is no slouch when it comes to fine dining. Gary Danko, frequently rated as one of the top if not THE top restaurant in San Francisco, is located there. As is Ana Mandara, a Vietnamese restaurant, a gorgeous restaurant with mixed food reviews, depending on how deep one's understanding of Vietnamese food goes. For ice cream: there's no other ice cream shop like the Chocolate Factory for me. Friends of mine who visited from England years ago still talk about the impromptu trip we made there. When they return in the next couple years, their first request is to go back to the Chocolate Factory. And these are adults!

At the other end of Fisherman's Wharf is Pier 39. Again, the kids love to watch the California sea lions - not in a zoo setting but in their "natural habitat", coming and going as they please, all the while honking aloud.

Although the hotels at Fisherman's Wharf are rated 3*, they're not exactly Motel 6s. There's a Hyatt, a Sheraton, a Marriott (Courtyard now).

People who characterize Fisherman's Wharf as a "tourist ghetto" either haven't spent much time there or hadn't bothered to visit the more interesting family attractions.

happytrailstoyou

Whatever

bellaloca

I live in Berkeley (across the bay from SF) and have two young boys. We frequently take the kiddos over to the city for a day or a weekend. We never go to Fisherman's Wharf (too touristy - too many t-shirts embroidered with the golden gate bridge and plastic tchotchkes), but opt for more interesting and real places where San Franciscans actually go. When we go for a weekend, we love staying at the Hotel del Sol in the Marina http://jdvhotels.com/del_sol/ The kids love it because it's cheerful, kiddo friendly and has a pool. We love it because it's reasonably priced and within walking distance of both Chestnut and Union streets (great restaurants, great shopping, interesting people watching). It's also close to Lombard street (touristy, yes, but my boys love it), Crissy field beaches and parks, Fort Mason, and the Palace of Fine Arts.
It's a fun, friendly, happy little hotel.

halfapair

We stayed at the Marriott at Fisherman's Wharf in December 2006. It was very close to all the sites that kids will love: Ghiradelli Sq, a main trolley stop, Fisherman's Wharf, etc. The Marriott was clean, very quiet & comfortable (we were there for NY's Eve).

It was also near an In & Out Burger place! Bonus!

jssmith1978

I would stay away from Fishermans Wharf. Its a bit crazy and loud. SF is rather small, and to get from the finacial district to Fishermans Wharf is only a 20 minute cable car ride. It can even be walked in 30 mins at a nice steady pace. I'd stay somewhere in the financial district (by all the buildings). Theres much to do there and much better restaurants!