Has anyone stayed at the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza or Villa Florence? Both are located near Union Square. Any advice appreciated (it's for my 70 year old parents who are looking for something clean and relatively nice, but inexpensive).

Thanks

Hi TJ,
Let me jump in before the famous "SFnative" starts bashing the city and Union Square. I have not stayed at either the hotels you mention, but every time I go to SF I stay in Union Square, close to theaters, shopping, restaurants cable cars etc. Have you looked at the Andrews at 624 Post Street? 4 of us stayed there last year (including parents- they loved it!) it was very clean, friendly staff, nice bath amenities and best of all it included at breakfast - you went out in the hall and helped yourself to coffee, Danish, fruit, juice etc. I have also stayed at the Cartwright, it too was very clean, and they offered a complimentary wine reception each evening. We were out late at night (theater etc.) and always felt safe walking back to either location. Both of these places we booked for under $100/night and included a full in-room bath and double bed. I booked the Andrews on their website: http://www.jdvhospitality.com/hotels/sf_andrews.html and I booked the Cartwright via Quickbook.com Have a great trip!

TJ, something you need to know is that there is someone who bashes Union Square in his/her every SF related post. He/she roams the board looking for a chance to do this. Pay him/her no heed. It's a fine place to stay.

A lot of Fodorites have reported getting great deals in
SF on Priceline. If you go to www.biddingfortravel.com and scroll down to the hotel section, you can choose CA then SF hotels. You can see the possible hotels you'll get if you bid for a specific location with a specific star-level. Study the site a bit and you can figure it out. The moderators at the site will even help you construct your bid. For the record, I'm not associated in any way with PL or BFT.

Good luck.

Hi, TJ - along the same lines as Abbey's suggestions - the Chancellor is another decent choice - it's a small, quiet, European-style boutique hotel, and homey and inexpensive for the area. It's on Powell about half a block north of the square, and it's right next to Borders Books (which I believe is open until 11 or midnight) so the immediate area is well-lit and fairly busy well into the evening, without being raucous or noisy. The staff are very welcoming and helpful, and there's a small, quiet bar/snack bar in the lobby.

Get the hotel on Priceline. I just go the Grand Hyatt for $61 a night and one of my friends got the Westin St. Francis for $69 a night. Check www.biddingfortravel.com

Bid for a 4 star hotel in Union Square.

The Hotel Triton is boutique hotel which is part of the Klimpton Group. It's right by the Chinatown arch/gate, adjacent to Union Square. I've seen Internet raters as low as $119 per night and it's a great property. Unlike some boutique hotels, the room is very efficiently laid out and the bathroom is quite large and very functional. It's a small, quiet place wiht a really friendly and down to earth young staff. I stayed there by chance on a Priceline bid but I will stay there again at the regular price - it's that good.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll pass the info on to my parents.

The Villa is on Powell right off Union Square however if you can get the price quoted above for the Westin St. Francis I think it is a much nicer hotel. The distance between the two hotels is a short city block. It is however a different feel between the two "blocks" which would also lead me to the Westin St. Francis over the Villa. The Westin also has a doorman which I don't think I have ever seen at the Villa. This might also be important for your parents.

Why would a doorman be "important"?I've stayed at the Westin several times and everytime I enetred/left,the doorman was busy helping people in/out of limos or talking to somebody on the street.Do you think "70" is old? It aint! Old is Dead!The difference between Young and Old is that the prunes taste better when you are up in years.I'll bet your parents dont consider themseleves "old".But maybe(hopefully!!) you disagree with the previous poster regarding a "doorman".