I'll be driving up to San Francisco to meet a friend who is flying down over the weekend of August 24-25. Is it possible for me to find a reasonably priced hotel in San Francisco without a parking charge? Or could we rent a hotel room in an outlying area and take the BART into the city?

I would love to meet her for the weekend, but since I'm still out of work after 4 months of searching, I need to be able to do this on a budget.

Thank you!

Maybe you could find a decent hotel in Oakland with free parking and take the BART in from there. Wish I could help you with Oakland hotels.

LA Gal, I know the Hotel del Sol in Cow Hollow doesn't charge for parking. I think a few hotels in that part of town have free parking. It's a fun part of town and very safe. You might find good rates on quikbook. And if hotwire gives you a hotel option in the Cow Hollow area I'd bet it's the del Sol. Have fun!

The Columbus Inn on Columbus is decent (Holiday Inn quality) and offers free parking. And it's location right between Fisherman's Wharf and North Beach can't be beat.

Thanks for the Cow Hollow suggestion - I like that area. Unfortunately it's booked up for that weekend.

Could I stay outside of the city and take BART in? Any suggestions on nice Oakland hotels?

Keep looking at hotels along Lombard Street---there are a bunch of them that don't charge for parking. They're basically motels, but in the budget price range.Cow Hollow Motel Inn, Coventry Motor Inn, Columbus Motor Inn, Chelsea Motor in, BuenaVista Motor Inn. Somebody recently suggested parking free in VAllejo and taking the ferry into the city. Good luck.

There's no free lunch, baby. Just because a hotel isn't charging for parking separately doesn't mean that they haven't rolled the fee into their room rate. Sounds like a good way to market the property, now that I think about it.

You could stay in Oakland or Berkeley and take BART in. Or you can stay on the Peninsula and take SamTrans in. Lots o' options.

I've stayed at the Cow Hollow Motor Inn-- clean, good sized rooms and I liked the area. I don't believe they charge for parking and their room rates are pretty reasonable.

We all need to economize every now and then....and fodorites can usually help you do so.

Stay at the new MAINSTAY SUITES in Hayward, and take the Bart into San Fran.

You won't believe the great "summer fun rate" that's available, and not only do they include parking but they'll throw in breakfast as well.

www.choicehotels.com

Thanks everyone! Joesource: Just booked two nights at Mainstay. Great rate - exactly what I need for this trip. I normally stay at the Monaco, but not this time on my limited budget.