Hi all,

DH and I just got back from a short getaway to SF for our anniversary. We live in the Bay Area so this was not a big "tourist" trip. We stayed at the Hotel Griffon, where we had stayed once before some years ago. Upon arrival we found that they had upgraded us to a bayview suite, which has a spectacular view of the bay, the Bay Bridge and the ferry terminal/building. Nice small hotel right on the Embarcadero, very comfortable bed and all the usual upscale amenities plus lovely people. I have really come to love this area as a place to base ourselves when in the city, as the access, the food, the shopping and the view are all so easy and pleasant. We are somewhat "foodie"-ish so staying across the street from the Ferry Marketplace was a big bonus--it's really filled out nicely since it opened, lots of (expensive) goodies to choose from. Dinner at Boulevard was spectacular as always. We took Muni out to the Palace of the Legion of Honor for the Art Deco exhibit, which was nice but smaller than I expected--there's an extra $7.00 charge for the exhibit, which seemed a bit steep to me for the size of the exhibition. But still fun if you're a fan of the art deco period. Weather was clear and actually warm! both days! and since we rode the ferry back and forth from Jack London Square in Oakland we got a nice bay cruise into the bargain. Ready to go back again ASAP.

Thanks for sharing your report.

Regarding the Legion of Honor, does it really cost $15 per adult? I saw it was free on Tuesday.

Thanks for posting, sounds like you had a nice break!

Beeper, there is another exhibit at the Legion, photos of Adi Ness, have you seen this one?

Chat, yes, it's $15, but if you show them MUNI transfer (bus ticket) or pass there is a discount, maybe -$2. Never been there on Tuesdays, but I'd think the Art Deco will not be free, only the museum, which is worth visiting!

If you don't mind sharing, how did you get the upgrade to the suite? I hear of this all the time, and we have only been upgraded once in our whole travelling life. Any tips I am missing? Thanks for the update.

Reading the above posts, I realized I should clarify the admission info re the Palace of the Legion of Honor. The regular admission to the PotLoH is $15., and there is a Muni discount. The Art Deco exhibit is an additional $7.00. We did go on Tuesday, when admission to the museum is free, so we only had to pay $7.00, which made the overall experience a good deal. (Though be prepared for CROWDS. Lots of others apparently think the same way we did). But to my mind paying $22.00 if your major goal is that particular exhibit, is too much. Also, the regular impressionist collection, which is part of what makes this museum special to me, is not on exhibit during the Art Deco exhibition. Part of me thinks it's silly to quibble about a few extra dollars for an exhibition, but I guess because the extra admission was so high relative to the regular admission, I was expecting a lot more than what there was. Oh well, we still had fun.

As for getting an upgrade at Hotel Griffon--we didn't ask for it, only were told at check-in that we had been upgraded. We were surprised--shocked, actually--as we have never been upgraded before either. We did stay there once previously but it was so long ago I figured they wouldn't have any record of our previous stay, but they did, and we received a nice note from the manager welcoming us back. We really love this hotel.