Frank

Two couples spending Fri.& Sat.in San Fran next month in the Wharf area need your recommendation. Please tell me where you would stay and why. Thanks

stoodent

Will we be graded on this question?

Jom

I would never stay at the Wharf. It's White Trash Hell!

Anne

Hi Frank

The wharf are is terribly, terribly, touristy. I would avoid it like the plague and just go there to catch the boat to Alcatraz. Then have a quick walk around to see what I mean (and other posters). Is there some special reason you want to stay in this area? If not, do a search on San Francisco hotels and see what other people have recommended. I did stay at the Cartwright a couple of years ago. It is near Union Square which is where the majority of hotels are. Fortunately I have friends in Sunnyvale and I usually stay with them and commute in. I hope someone "nice" can help you out.

Enjoy your stay.

Anne in Australia

joe

The Radisson is the only hotel that is directly on the Wharf. It is a typical tourist hotel in a fantastic location (if you wish to be at the Wharf).

The Tuscan Inn is nearby and quite charming, The Columbus Motor Inn is not far away and is one of the few with parking included. It also has a two-bedroom unit if you are interested.

At boulevards.com you can click on "cities" and find lots of information on San Francisco. We have also seen excellent hotel rates for San Francisco at this site.

don

I have read in most travel material that the Tuscan Inn is the class of the Fishermans Wharf area, though I have never stayed there. I have stayed at the Columbus Inn though. I think for the price and location it can't be beat. It is located on the border of the Wharf area and North Beach. We were able to walk from there to Chinatown and Union Square(which is just on the other side of Chinatown). The motel is also convenient to the bus and cablecar lines. Though the motel is nothing special, it has no lobby(just a check-in desk area) the rooms are large, clean and pretty well equipped. The rooms themselves are just kind of a basic Holiday Inn type of room. And free parking, which can be very expensive in the area. Overall, nothing glamourous but a great value.

renee

Why knocking Fisherman's Warf? - I love it there. A little clam chowder in a sourdough bowl, walks along the water, a short way to Ghiridelli Square, cable cars nearby - I agree I'd rather stay at the St Francis, but I always make a poitn to take a stroll there when visiting. have fun.

Cheryl Z.

Frank, this summer we stayed at the Hilton, just a few blocks up from the wharf. Convenient to lots of things, including North Beach etc. We enjoyed walking around the waterfront and surrounding area, and never felt like it was trashy etc. Lots of restaurants to choose from. Of course it's touristy - most city waterfronts are.

Linda

I stayed at the Tuscan Inn last month and highly recommend it to anybody. Tho not on the wharf itself, it is only about a 3-minute walk away. Also, its restaurant, Cafe Pescatore, is great.

Jim Rosenberg

I think you'll have a wonderful time staying near the wharf and you don't need to apologize to anyone for the "touristy" nature of the area -- it's a lot of fun. The Radisson (www.radisson.com) is an excellent choice in terms of proximity, but here are a couple of alternatives.

Right next to the Radisson is the more economical Wharf Inn, which will give you essentially the same location for a bit less money. Check it out at:

http://www.hotelswest.com/sfo/index.html

The other money-saving alternative (for the moment), is the Holiday Inn Fisherman's Wharf, which is featuring a 21-day advance purchase beginning at $119.40/night. The hotel is a few blocks away from Fisherman's Wharf, but it's an easy walk and it's also extremely convenient to the cable cars, as a bonus. You will need to book this online and pay via credit card at the time of booking, so make very sure your dates, etc. are exact, since you will not be able to alter them once you reserve under this rate. That would be my pick right now, based on the attractive rate. Book through the website at:

http://www.sixcontinentshotels.com/holiday-inn

Happy Trails!

Wendy

Check out www.sfvisitor.org/visitorinfo/html/wescapes.html

They are offering holiday and romance pkgs Nov 1-March 31,2002. Holiday Inn Fishermans Wharf is only $99/night.
Have never been there but booked for early March. Figure it is worth a try at that rate. Anyone disagree???

carelle

Part of the Wharfs reputation as tacky comes from all the T-shirt and souvenir stores lining certain streets. There are some pluses, not as many pan handlers as in other parts of the city,
proximity to the water, a feeling of safety when walking the streets etc.
The Tuscan Inn is nice. I believe they still have evening wine tasting as well as complimentary coffee and biscotti in the morning. It does not have any views but the lower floor rooms have nice garden views (inner facing rooms)

kam

Poster specifically said he wanted to stay at the wharf! Why try to convince him he doesn't? He most likely knows it's touristy and wants to stay anyway! So, I would recommend the Tuscan Inn as the nicest property and also recommend the Cafe Pescatore there, but the Marriott Fisherman's Wharf is also quite a nice place, though much larger. There's lots of nice walking nearby--over to North Beach, down to Ghirardelli etc. On Saturday there's a wonderful Farmer's Market where local restaurants also serve takeouts. Try Ana Mandara on Beach Street for Vietnamese food. You can also try to make a reservation for Beach Blanket Babylon at Club Fugazi and have dinner in North Beach.

kal

Agree w/ Linda and Kam on Tuscan Inn. Stayed there 2x. European-ish. Ditto the Cafe.
Nearby Ceasar's restaurant wasn't too bad either.

The Marriott F'Wharf is also first rate.
Good location.

Kam: Is "Ana Mandara" Don Johnson's old restaurant?
Also, have you tried "Lapis" (sp?) near Pier 33?
I heard 2 restaurant reviewers on KGO's Ronn Owens show the other day. I asked about FWharf area restaurants where you can take out of towners and they recommended those 2.
Thx,
Kal

kal

Search and ye shall find.
From the website Celebrity Owned Restaurants:

Ana Madara
(Don Johnson, Cheech Marin)
891 Beach Street
San Francisco, Ca. 94109-1102

kam

Hi Kal, I'm trying to work through whether the fact that it's owned by Don Johnson affects the way I think about Ana Mandara. I kinda wish you hadn't told me!

Jeke

Oh come on Kam. The purpose of this sight is to provide information. Many tourists have heard of Fisherman's Wharf and "think" they want to stay there, not realizing that it lacks the charm of other SF areas. Do you or your relatives happen to own one of those tacky t-shirt stores by any chance?

kal

Kam,
I think I'd even eat at a Baldwin Brother restaurant if it had good food!

Now, if Madonna open one...yuck!


Mrs Kal reminded me that we also have stayed at the Hol-Inn FWharf and for a HInn, really not bad. Some confusion as to which building you stay in since they bought one of the old hotels next door. Had to "Roll the Eagles" across the street once we got there.

I note Frank's orig post said "next month"...meaning Nov., so Frank, have you been here already?
Kal

ps to Jeke. Isn't part of the fun of going to a new area is checking out the cheesy parts? You ought to check out what they did to The Haight!

And based on most of Kam's postings, we reallllllly doubt she or any relative have any interest is Tacky Ts. ;^D

John

JUst returned to Australia from SF. Prior to leabing I was looking at doing it on the cheap and staying in a hostel with shared shower and toilet - at a cost of $70 per night - in very basic accommodation. I was told about www.priceline.com and used it to book accommodation. I ended up bidding $60 a night for a four star hotel, and got accommodation in the very very plush Westin St. Francis right on Union Square. It was great, and would have cost $300 a night had I booked it direct. I'd highly recommend princeline.com as a marvellous way to get quality accommodation at the lowest possible price!

Annie

Frank--It's not ON the wharf, but I stayed in a great little hotel called the Marina Inn (NOT the Marina Motel) that's about a 5-10 minute walk away. Smallish, very clean, sort of European, and under $100 when I was there a year ago. It's on Lombard, so it's a bit noisy, but only with windows open. In November you shouldn't have to worry about that. Enjoy your trip.