While looking for a place to stay on a trip to San Francisco next year, I ran accross the San Remo Hotel in the North Beach neighborhood. While I do not want a room with a shared bath, I see that they have a penthouse with it's own bathroom and also a TV which I understand that the other rooms don't have also. At $155 a night it is sill cheaper than most places in the Northbeach/Fisherman's Wharf area I have been looking at. Does anybody know anything about this penthouse and how its amenities compare with some of the chains in the Wharf area? I have heard also that you have a great view from the penthouse, is that of the city or the bay? Also what kind of an area is the San Remo in?

I can't say about the Penthouse but I stayed at The San Remo 3 years ago and it was very good. I don't like shared bathrooms either but our's was extremely clean. The rooms can be on the small side but do you really want to spend your time inside when you can be enjoying SF. The San Remo is close to the cable car, bars, restaurants of Fisherman's Wharf and I would stay there again. The staff were very capable and friendly.

It is a lovely room, and books up very, very quickly. So I'd call and see if it's even available before you add it to the lot to consider. The San Remo is a lovely, clean hotel---and the prices are excellent. Most of the guests are European, rooms are small, bathrooms are impeccably clean, and management is friendly. It is, in my opinion, a much better location than Fisherman's Wharf because it's in a real neighborhood, not a tourist set-up. But if you do want the amenities, you might not be happy there.

The hotel penthouse is available for the time that I am there, thats why I am kind of in a hurry to figure out where to book a room. How does the penthouse amenities compare with the other hotels?

It's not a fancy room, as it's not a fancy hotel. But it is charming, clean, and quiet. I have no memory of the tv, but how much tv-watching will you be doing anyway? I'd take it, but if you're concerned about amenities, you may want to go for a more traditional hotel.

I don't know anything about the San Remo, but we stayed at the Hyatt at Fisherman's Wharf, and it was great. I know that a lot of people don't seem to like the Wharf, but it's where I prefer to stay. To each his own, I guess.