This is kind of last minute. I'm trying to help my brother find lodging in SF from Oct. 22 - 28. It seems that every place that he's called does not have availability for part of his stay. I checked Hotwire and saw some places that are still available. Unfortunately, it looks like all the places listed are a little far from downtown. He's flying in from overseas and will be attending an ophthalmology convention, that I assume is in the downtown area.

Are there any SF experts who are familiar with the lay of the land who can help me check out the Hotwire hotels?

Is it a better option for him to stay in two hotels? Or three?

Thank you!

Does the convention have a special rate at certain hotels? I'd contact them for help. Maybe they have some ideas. Good luck.

Peace: it seems to be a very well-attended convention and most hotels in the city where the event is held do get fully booked because of this. I guess he decided to go at the very last minute.

Is the convention at Moscone Center? Assuming so, I'll check Hotwire for you.

Well, sorry to say none of the Hotwire listings is convenient to Moscone.

Approximate times by bus (plus walking to and from the bus)

Fisherman's Wharf 25 minutes
Hayes Valley - 20 minutes
Japantown - 20 minutes
Nob Hill - 20 minutes
Cow Hollow - 30 minutes

sf: Thank you! Hotwire listed Pacifica, San Mateo, and airport locations and I wasn't sure how convenient that would be for him. He doesn't mind taking a cab to the convention center and back to the hotel.

If you think that it's better to stay closer and just move to a second hotel, I'll let him know to go ahead. He mentioned that he found two hotels that will work: Fusion and Adagio (not sure if I got the names right). Are these places ok?

Cow Hollow Motel has availability and we love the location: http://www.cowhollowmotorinn.com

Please don't book him in to two or three hotes.

The Cow Hollow area is good. The http://www.cowhollowmotorinn.com has several sister properties as well. We stayed at the Travelodge next door. Also a good motel.

gelatolover, I specifically "un-did" the hotels that were not in the city. Pacifica is particularly inconvenient to downtown (I didn't know there were any hotels there!). Airport locations are not terrible, but the BART ride is 35-40 minutes each way. San Mateo, you'd either have to get to the BART station or take the bus, which takes about an hour. That's why I stuck to the city!

Sorry I don't know anything about the hotels. Have you checked trip advisor?

Oh, I should say, both of those hotels are very well located - walking distance to Moscone.

>>

Cow Hollow is a very nice location for a tourist, not so great for someone attending a convention at Moscone.

sf, laurie, and happy trails:

Thanks so much for your help! I will forward the Cow Hollow info to my brother. I must admit that the name didn't strike me as particularly appealing ;-). Reviews are favorable though!

I will be forwarding to him some restaurant recommendations posted by Fodorites. I noticed some recent SF trip reports too. Am sure he will appreciate those - he's quite a foodie!

Thanks again!

>>San Mateo, you'd either have to get to the BART station or take the bus

Geez, I completely forgot about Cal-Train! (you'd have to find a way to get to the train station, though, from the hotel)

Stu,

I read in one of the threads here that your wife gives excellent tours. Is there a website where I can find more info? Are personalized tours available?

San Francisco City Guides

www.sfcityguides.org

Stu Dudley

Try www.andrewshotel.com

it's convenient to Mascone, I put a coworker up there recently. And have stayed there myself twice. It's simple but cute and well located.

Oops never mind. I checked, nothing available there either.

It looks like the Oakland Marriott City Center (11th & Broadway, downtown) has availability. There's a BART station across the street which would put him in downtown SF in 12 minutes.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...t-city-center/

Try this site - http://www.hotelsoutlook.com