San Francisco hotels/itinerary

Old Aug 9th, 2010, 06:43 AM
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San Francisco hotels/itinerary

Help! I am planning a trip to California in early September and am a little behind in booking my itinerary....I know we are flying into Oakland and going to a Red Sox game that night. We (my boyfriend and I) are planning to stay one or two more nights in SF....my questions are....should we stay in Oakland the first night since we are going to the Red Sox vs A's game and then move hotels to somewhere in SF? Or is there enough transportation to get from the coliseum back to SF after the game (game starts at 6pm)....we did not plan to rent a car until we leave the SF area and head to wine country so no transportation during our stay....can someone help with hotel choicesas well....we are on a budget ....mid 40's and just the two of us....we like inns/bed and breakfasts or boutique hotels.....thanks so much!
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Old Aug 9th, 2010, 06:47 AM
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What time do you arrive at Oakland airport?

Is it labor day weekend?
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Old Aug 9th, 2010, 07:02 AM
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The place where the As play is in a very high crime area - I worked "next door" to there for about 7 years and I would not stay in a hotel in that immediate area. If you want to stay in Oakland, hail a taxi at the ballpark and it take it to a hotel at the Oakland airport or another area close by. Then you would have to wake up the next morning, take some kind of public transportation or an hotel/airport shuttle to BART, to get you to San Francisco. That seems kinda un-exciting to me.

I would just walk to BART after the game and take it to San Francisco & stay there. BART runs till 12:23am.
www.BART.gov

Stu Dudley
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Old Aug 9th, 2010, 07:31 AM
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OK stay in SF...that sounds great...it is not Labor Day weekend but the weekend of the 10th (my birthday)...do you have any recommendations on places to stay in SF....not high end as we plan to head to Napa after and then down through Monterey and the Big Sur before flying out of LA...read Stu's recommendations and printed it off to read tonight for some ideas on places to see...so need a place to stay in SF...our flight into Oakland arrives at 1pm on Friday and the game is at 6pm...so just enough time to get from airport to hotel and back for the game....I imagine using the BART transportation....as I said before we are in mid 40's ... on a budget but not too low end...somewhere around 100-150 per night if possible and have no clue on neighborhoods to stay...heard the Wharf is overpriced and not worth it to stay in that area...thanks for any help!
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Old Aug 9th, 2010, 07:40 AM
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I don't have any hotel recs - since I live here & don't need a hotel. However, I would not stay at the Wharf under any circumstances - especially in your case where you need to take BART - which does not go to the Wharf. Best bet, IMO, is a hotel close to the SF Embarcadero BART station - which is the first SF station you'll get to on BART from Oakland. Actually, I would stay in that area even if I was not using BART. Use Priceline to get a good rate - there have been lots of post recently about good deals on Embarcadero hotels.

Stu Dudley
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Old Aug 9th, 2010, 07:43 AM
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I've stayed here twice and worked out fine. It's a couple blocks off Union Square and in that price range.
http://www.andrewshotel.com/

So your plan is to go from Oakland airport, into the city/SF to a hotel, then back out to Oakland for the game?

BART doesn't stop at Oakland airport, you have to take a bus to the station BART from there.
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Old Aug 9th, 2010, 08:28 AM
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I am staying at the Hyatt Embarcadero end of August and got a buy one night, get one free deal.
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Old Aug 9th, 2010, 08:29 AM
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Yea...it is actually cheaper to fly into Oakland than SF so that is why we are flying into there....does the BART stop at SF airport?

Thanks for the advice on the hotel...will google now!
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Old Aug 9th, 2010, 08:35 AM
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1pm arrival for 6pm game...flight might be a little late,etc.

I would get a car at Oakland airport if you can find a good rate, throw your stuff in the trunk, have a late lunch and head for the game. 7 day car rental is usually the same as 5 or 6 days and you could stay at Columbus Motor Inn (search the forum for great reviews of this place...parking is included). That's one idea and it's what I would do depending on the difference in the two car rental options.

The other plan to hop Bart in SF and check-in to a hotel, then turn around and head back to Oakland is do-able unless you have a couple hours airline delay which could be hairy.
You'd also want to choose a hotel within a block or two of the Bart Station.

You could always reserve the airport car just as a back-up plan I guess...in case of late arrival you don't want to miss the game.

I wouldn't stay in Oakland one night and then move to San Fran, that's the worst of the options. Stay in Oakland both nights if you're gonna do that, just Bart into SF on the 2nd day.
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Old Aug 9th, 2010, 08:41 AM
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Thanks for the idea for the hotel in Oakland....Stu...just wondering what IMO stands for and also is Embarcadero in the financial district when I go on priceline or hotwire?? Thanks.
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Old Aug 9th, 2010, 08:53 AM
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I agree with every single thing Stu said. (and I work next door to the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco). You have plenty of time even if your plane is late to get to the hotel, even have a shower and a walk, or a rest, and get back to the game by 6:00. If your plane is on time, you'll be at your hotel by 2:30. It's only a 20-minute BART ride to the Coliseum.
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Old Aug 9th, 2010, 09:01 AM
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IMO = In My Opinion

Yes, the priceline "area" you will look for is the "Embarcadero/Financial District". The 4* hotels that are typically "won" are the Hyatt Regency, the Omni, Meridien and Hilton Financial District.

Nothing is too far in the downtown San Francisco area. You can easily walk to AT&T Park, Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, North Beach, Telegraph Hill and Union Square from any hotel in the "Embarcadero/Financial District" area.
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Old Aug 9th, 2010, 09:11 AM
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IMO = in my opinion

I agree with clark that its too tight to get to a hotel in SF with luggage to then go back to Oakland. I always try to get to a stadium 1.5 hours early to see Batting practice. It also drives me insane when people get there late and inconvenience everybody in the row.

Hopefully you see as good of a Sox game as I did when I went there. Saw Curt Schillings 1 hitter in 2007.
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Old Aug 9th, 2010, 09:13 AM
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Well, sure, it's "tighter" to get to the game if you want to get there at 4:30!! But the game is at 6:00, and that's PLENTY of time.
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Old Aug 9th, 2010, 09:24 AM
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Suzy, the game on Friday the 10th starts at 7:05, not 6:00 (the game on Saturday the 11th starts at 6:05). So if this is for the 10th, you have an hour and five minutes MORE than you thought to do all this.
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Old Aug 9th, 2010, 09:28 AM
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SF, I missed the 1st inning of a game while sitting in my seat at Petco due to the amount of people showing up late which didn't make me too happy. But that being said, I was thinking it was longer to the Coliseum (I was thinking around 45-50 minutes)...given that its only 20, there is probably enough time - assuming flight is on-time. Should also account that it will be a larger crowd given that its Red Sox. There are just a lot of variables for the OP to be aware of. Given that I have done the same thing, I still feel it may be too tight for my comfort level. What happens if the flight is 2 hours late into Oakland then you have to get to SF to drop off luggage then get back to Oakland? Sounds like a lot of scrambling.
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Old Aug 9th, 2010, 09:48 AM
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To be clear, the BART ride is 20 minutes. It is longer than that with the walk from BART to the stadium itself (probably 30 minutes). tc, the OP has her options, I still personally would NEVER choose to stay in Oakland over San Francisco, and unless the plane is 2 hours late (I don't assume it will be, if it is, yes, they'll have to scramble a little), there is PLENTY OF TIME.
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Old Aug 9th, 2010, 09:54 AM
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BTW, where is it in Oakland that everyone is suggesting the OP stay? The only place that's decent for tourists would be Jack London Square, which is impossible to get to from the airport by public transportation. And they'd have to drop off luggage anyway, since I doubt there's any way to take it into the stadium. The round-trip to the SF hotel might take an hour more than a Jack London Square hotel. Absolutely worth it to go to San Francisco IMO.
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Old Aug 9th, 2010, 10:01 AM
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Last weekend we stayed at the Orchard on Bush and Powell. Straight shot up Powell from BART. We got it for $139 per night - upgraded to a huge suite - I never get lucky so we thought that was great. Staff was great.

If you make the 1:46 BART from Oakland you get to Powell just after 2:00. If you don’t catch it till 2:00 then you’ll get to Powell around 2:25.

Even if you leave Powell for The Coliseum after 5:00 you’ll still get there before the game begins.

That gives you a couple of hours of a cushion or just to check into a hotel. Not exactly rushed IMHO.
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Old Aug 9th, 2010, 10:03 AM
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Ditto (and actually you can leave for the Coliseum after 6:00 and still make the game since, as I said above, the game doesn't start until 7:05).
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