San Francisco hotels
 

Arriving SF in October for a two week trip. We have 2 nts in SF on arrival, and 1 nt before heading home.
We plan to pick up a rental car on the morning after our 2nd night and head out. Coming back, we will have to return the rental car prior to spending our last night in SF.
I have looked at the Palace as a potential for the first 2 nts, and the Scarlet for our last night. It's difficult for me to know if these hotels are in a good location for exploring the city, mostly on foot? We are not shoppers. We like to wander around, see a few major sights, and enjoy a great meal or two.
Also, any ideas on car rental locations in the area that make for easy getting into/out of the city.
Thanks for your help!
Lucy

The Palace is in a perfectly good location for exploring the city. I've never heard of the Scarlet.

I don't know anyone who explores all of San Francisco on foot, to be honest. You'd have to be limiting what you want to see very much. I am presuming you are not including using the cable cars, trolley, or bus in your description of seeing most everything by foot.

The Palace isn't a bad location, it's near a Bart stop and the lines that run along Market St, but where did you plan to rent this car? Last time I stayed there and rented a car to leave SF, I stayed fairly near the Powell St BART station and there are several places within a few blocks to rent a car (such as the St Francis hotel, or the Marriott Marquis or Hertz has an office at 355 Powell). So I could easily just get the car and leave town. I don't think there is a car rental company right near the Palace. The Marriott Marquis is fairly close if you don't mind going several blocks (it's at 55 4th St and has a Hertz office).

For return, I don't find Nob Hill convenient at all, but it is a nice area, of course. I like having more transportation options which you get when down towards Market St.

I don't remember having any particular problem getting out of the city from my location near Market St and 4th, but I have driven in the city several times and also have lived in big cities a lot. You just go down a bit to get on route 101 and then go north over the bridge, if that's where you plan to go. That's the direction I was going. Going south is easy, also, maybe even more, from that location, you just go down to I80.

I'm not clear on your plans for returning the car and then staying on Nob Hill, how do you plan to do that. Just call a taxi from the car rental company?

The Palace Hotel is an easy walk to the O'Farrell St car rental locations. There are several rental agencies there and it is very easy to get out of town and back.

Since there are 2 of you ("we") it isn't hard to do pick up and return. 1 person stays at hotel, other person walks over to pick up car and then goes back to get the 2nd person at hotel. The reverse for return - drop off 1 person with luggage at hotel, go to the return location and walk back to hotel.

Of course, if you only have a carry on with wheels, it isn't hard to both go to and from hotel to rental location.

I don't see this part as a big issue.

By foot, I mean that we (couple) enjoy walking as much as possible, but realize that cabs, trolleys, etc. will be needed.

It may be necessary to take a cab to/from hotel to car rental location depending on distance, but I was hoping for a short ride if possible.

We will be heading out to Carmel from SF. I was thinking that it might be nice to stay in 2 different hotels in SF, only because it would allow us to experience 2 different parts of the city.

Also looking at Hotel Drisco. For some reason it seems difficult to figure out where we should stay based on what we like to do.

Hope this helps clarify things a bit!
Thank you!

The Scarlet Huntington??

"set atop Nob Hill, this landmark boutique hotel with a plush, chandelier-lit lobby is a 2 minutes' walk from Grace Cathedral, a 6 minutes' walk from Chinatown and half a mile from Union Square"

Scarlet is at the Huntington on Nob Hill. For one night it could be fun. Ride the cable car down the hill to the Ferry Building.

The Huntington was a grande dame once upon a time. I don't know whether that's still true. I do know that I wouldn't stay on Nob Hill if you like to walk to and from your hotel (it's all downhill and uphill, and these are HILLS with all capital letters).

The Huntington (if that is what the Scarlet is) would be great for one night for the 'old money' experience, but you wouldn't be walking <u>anywhere</u> from there.

Ok. Guess I need to rethink my choices. Would the Palace and the Hotel Drisco put us in 2 different areas?

I wouldn't stay at the Drisco unless my main objective was to explore the Presidio.

If the Palace is our choice for the first leg of 2 nights, and suggestions for the 1 night end leg of our trip?

I'd look at the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero -- amazing views of the Bay and Bay Bridge. Not all that far from the Palace but still a good choice IMO. On both BART and the California St cable car line and all of the Embarcadero is walking distance (all the way from AT&T to Pier 39/Fisherman's Wharf)

Great! Thanks janisj. I will take a look.