San Francisco/Yosemite with kids
 

Hey, we are travelling to the Bay area this June and would love ideas on where to stay with our 13 and 9 yr olds. We currently are booked for 4 nights in Yosemite-2 at Camp Curry and 2 at Tenaya Lodge. Anyone that has been to either accomodation, tell me what you think--where did you eat and should I try to get the additional two nights in the park instead of Tenaya Lodge. Thanks for your help in advance.

We've stayed at Tenaya before and it was nice. The rooms are basic hotel rooms - clean, comfortable with a TV, movie rental, and so on - fairly nice. Ours had very small mini-bar fridge, but that was all as far as food storage was concerned. So if you want to have cold food in your room, bring an ice chest. <BR><BR>There was a nice outdoor pool area which we didn't use because it was Nov, but it looked great for summertime. There is a nice indoor pool area, but it was filled to capacity with kids, so we didn't swim. <BR><BR>The only real complaint I had about the lodge were the restaurants. The food was ok, but it was very expensive and there isn't a lot else around so your dining options are really limited. I think the closest town with anything was about 30 minutes down the hill. There are 2 restaurants - one more upscale than the other - and a cafe that is open until about 1pm I think. My husband and I bought 2 boxed lunches from the cafe which consisted of a turkey crossant sandwich, an apple, a bag of chips, a cookie, and a water. The total for 2 lunches was about $30. <BR><BR>

Camp Curry is mostly tent cabins (canvas sided with wood floors and basic beds), though there are a few motel style rooms (also rather basic). The advantage is location, the disadvantage is noise, security, comfort, walk to bath etc. <BR><BR>Tenaya was built by Marriot to fill the hole in top-line accomodations in the area; it's on the other end of the spectrum from Curry, but it is about an hour drive to the main valley points of interest.

The Curry Village is a mix of hotel rooms and tent cabins which are very rustic and may mean that you'll use a community bathroom. Don't know which you have, hope it's the hotel type room. <BR><BR>I think you have a great split here. 2 nights in the valley and 2 nights near the south entrance. This will give you the opportunity to see the giant sequoias, Wawona and Pioneer village near the south entrance.<BR><BR>We've stayed at the Tenaya Lodge several times with our kids (July). As previously mentioned they have indoor and outdoor pools and spas. We had great experiences at their restaurants as we have a picky eater and the chef at the buffet made the perfect pasta dish for him. He wanted to go back every night. Both restaurants have outdoor seating which was great. We never used the small deli/cafe previously mentioned because we indeed found it to be rather expensive. We did travel down the road a bit to Oakhurst for a big breakfast one morning. We didn't think the drive was very long. <BR><BR>There are lots of activities at this hotel including flashlight hikes and bike rentals.

Thanks for all the input. I was hoping the two nights in the park and 2 nights out would make it a well rounded trip. Now just a few hotel/restaurant suggestions for San Fran???? Any suite styles in the city? Thanks again

We just came back from a trip to SF and Yosemite (3 days/2 nights at the Yosemite Lodge in the park) at Christmastime. had a wonderful time. In SF we stayed at the Hotel Juliana, right near Union Square and Chinatown and had a great rate for a suite. I would highly recommend it, a small hotel near lots of tourist attractions.

Camp Curry is a great place to stay. It feels like a big summer camp. Try to get a hard sided cabin, that way you can keep food and drinks in there with you. In the tent cabins you even have to store your toiletries in a locker because of the bears. One of our favorite places to eat is the pizza place at Curry. You sit outside under the trees. Another fun thing is to take a raft ride down the Merced river.<BR><BR>In SF we stayed once at the Handelry Union Square. It was nice and they had a room with a queen bed in one room and 2 twins in another. My favorite place to eat in the city with kids is Max's Opera Cafe in the Opera Plaza. Very good American food and desserts and the waiters and waitresses sing show tunes. It's a lot of fun. Also try Kuleto's around the corner from the Handlery, on Powell St. I think. Very good Italian food and the restaurant is beautiful. Have fun.

Great suggestions! Thanks for all the help.