Hello All,

First and foremost i'd like to thank everyone for all the help.. We are planning on going on a trip to California in May. Our itinary looks like this

Sat - Arrive at SFO, take bart to SF from airport. (attend baseball game)
Sun - San Fran (alcatraz)
Mon - San Fran
Tue - Take Bart back to Airport, rent car. Drive to Yosemite, stay night.
Wed - Leave Yosemite, drive to Carmel. Stay in Carmel
Thur - Leave Yosemite, drive to Carmel. Stay in Carmel. Big Sur, Monterey etc.
Fri- Drive back to San Fran, see Muir WOods
Sat - Fly Back to Atlanta

We are staying at the Argonaut Hotel.. How big of a pain will it be to bring my golf clubs and get from the airport to the hotel and back a few times without a car?

That's a LOT of driving/packing/checking in/checking out/etc for a 1-week trip. Personally I'd choose either Yosemite, or both SF and Carmel. It's not possible to appreciate destinations as large as those (especially Yosemite and SF) by spending just a few days in each.

But if you're intent on doing everything, the way to do it would be SF first (including Muir Woods), then Carmel, then Yosemite last, and fly back to Atlanta out of Fresno, which is 90 minutes by car from Yosemite.

Agree with fdecarlo basically. Yosemite is clear across the state. If you do SF and Monterey/Carmel and then still have the energy to drive to Yosemite, then by all means.

That said, I've driven all over creation in a week's time and greater distances - Bay Area, LA, Arizona, Death Valley, Tioga Pass to Yosemite, and back to Bay Area, so what you're proposing isn't that great a loop. However, be aware that you ARE going to be doing a lot of driving and therefore less sightseeing and relaxing.

You can pick up a car in SF without having to go to the airport to get a car. Almost all the rental agencies have offices in town. Generally there should be no drop-off fee even if you fly out of SFO. Make sure to ask.

Finally, you've repeated pretty much the same things for both Wednesday and Thursday, could you please revise and let us know how your revised plan looks? Thanks!

Enjoy California!

Can't you rent your car from a city branch and save yourself the travels back and forth from the airport. You may also save on rates as there are sometimes additional charges to collect cars from airports.

We stayed at the Argonaut last week and really enjoyed it. I should warn you that the room decor is a bit over the top with the nautical motif. Striped wallpaper and stars on the carpet. We found it fun. One wall is brick (it's in an old cannery). The lobby was very tasteful and comfy. And the restaurant was decent (nothing fancy). The Argonaut was a very convenient location.

As far as car rentals, we picked up a car at the airport when we landed, drove to Monterey and stayed there a few days. Then we dropped the car off just two blocks from the Argonaut for no extra charge when we checked in there. We chose Avis since they had a location so close to Argonaut and the price was comparable to Alamo who I had originally booked with.

To get back to SFO at the end of our trip, we took a cab. It was about 30 minutes on Saturday morning.

Monterey to SFO is a 2.5 hour drive, assuming no traffic.

What about lugging the golf clubs around using Bart and the Muni to get to the Argonaut at Fisherman's Wharf, A pain or not that bad?

I think you could do it on BART without too much trouble as there is a lot of area near the doors intended for wheel chair users, but most often occupied by cyclists or people with suitcases. THey have escalators and elevators in all the BART stations.

Once in SF, I would use a taxi to get between hotel and BART station. MUNI is not large item friendly.

Also, given your itinerary, one thing you might investigate is picking the car up in Oakland and dropping off in SF. There might be a fee, there might not. It would save you a few hours of your time though.

Gap,
You're talking to a guy who ships his sticks to Kauai every year vs taking them with me on the plane so you'll know my answer.
If you do take them on BART, as B'Area suggested, grab a cab from the Embarcadero Station and cruise down the Embarc to the hotel. Beats Muni any day.

We were just in the Argonaut a few weekends ago as we wanted to just check it out since we're members of the Kimpton Group and we keep getting offers.
We had a few Irish Coffees in the Blue Mermaid Bar. Very good service, munchies and the decor, as mentioned by buckster is very "aquatic-funky".
We may bite the bullet and stay there next trip.
Enjoy!

Kal, "aquatic funky" is a great description! I was trying to think of how to describe it. We had one dinner and a breakfast at the Blue Mermaid and enjoyed it. It's not fancy, but was perfect for a family with teens.

--The Buckster (Did you know the U of Wisconsin mascot is Bucky the Badger? One of our daughters goes there and my husband always calls him "The Buckster", or sometimes "Evil Bucky" when he has his snarl on!).

How were the beds at the Argonaut? We have stayed at Hotel Monaco's before in Denver and it was awesome.

Beds were very comfy at the Argonaut.

The beds at Monterey Plaza were pretty comfy too, but not as good as the Argonaut's. Part of the problem at the Plaza was the rooms were too warm at night. We adjusted our thermostat down to 65 but still woke up during the night feeling too warm so I know the thermostat wasn't accurate. Tried sleeping with the balcony door open and the cool breeze and sound of waves was lovely, but the piercing cries of the seagulls kept waking us up all night...didn't know they flew around at night!

Our kids found their room too warm also. The beds had a feather bed on top of the mattress and I was wondering if that's what made the bed seem so warm?

Buckster-Just a blind badger guess!

I felt like saying "Well shiver me timbers" when we first walked in.

Since Mrs Kal just finished a 12k run that morning, we forego the trip up to see a room as the friendly bartender suggested, saving it for a later trip.

We're staying at another Kimpton member in a few weeks, the Galleria Park on Sutter. Stayed there before and loved it.
We bought it thru Hotwire for $90/night It was designated "B" for boutique so we thought it would be The Harbor Court, another Kal fave.

Wrong but it was a good wrong.

We like Kimpton's other property in FWharf, Tuscan Inn.

Nice boutique hotel, good restaurant..all with free wine tasting.
Don't get mo' bettah!
Mahalo ya'll.
Kal

I stayed at Galleria Park in July and it was awful. The bed was old and the room smelled funny. Nice lobby, though.

Z19, How did I miss your response?

If you're still out there, can you let me know what part of the hotel your room was located? I'd like to avoid it if possible. You reserve it thru Pline or Hotwire?

While ours was smallish, it had the old fashioned high ceiling, good bed and pillows, tiled bathroom and the only thing that smelled in the room was us after a garlic laden dinner.

Agree about the lobby. Reminded me of the hotel we stayed at in Rome.

Thx!
Kal

I'd rent a car near your hotel vs. at the airport.

Does anyone have an opinion as to what are the best rooms at the Argonaut? Bridge view vs. alcatraz view?? and/or any particular rooms to request?