I am thinking about staying at the Seal Rock Inn in San Francisco in early May. Has anyone stayed there. Or does anyone have a suggestion for a hotel in San Francisco under $150. I think I would like to stay somewhere besides downtown or Fisherman's Wharf.
Thanks for all your help in the past.
I'm cancelling my reservations in Pacifica.

Glad to hear you decided against Pacifica. Only problem with Seal Rock Inn is that it is quite distant from the things you will want to see as a tourist. There's a lot of hotels on Lombard Street (not the windy part) that are reasonable and closer in but not actually in the Wharf area. Chelsea Motor Inn, Coventry Motor Inn, Cow Hollow Inn, Lombard Motor Inn, Hotel Del Sol, Marina Inn. Safe part of town, reasonable rates.

Bonnie

Good grief don't stay at seal rock inn. It is miles from everything. Unless you strictly want to be somewhat near the beach. Which is usually cold anyway. Drive to the beach - even pacifica. Actually. If you want an "on the beach" location. The BW Lighthouse Inn on Rockaway beach in pacifica is THE place. Crashing waves, sun sets et al.

I don't really know what you are looking for in accommodations. Do you want atmosphere? location? free parking? etc...

Bonnie - The Seal Rock Inn is too far from everything that you will want to see and do. I was raised not far from there so I now the neighborhood well. After the Cliff House and the the Legion of Honor, there is really nothing else nearby.

Stay on Lombard St. You won't be sorry. It's a wonderful neighborhood, about 10 minutes from the Golden Gate Bridge, the Palace of Fine Arts, Union Street and Chestnut Street for restaurants and shopping, lovely homes facing the Bay, good bus transportation, close to Fisherman's Wharf, The Cannary, Ghirdelli Square and lots more.

OK, you have all convinced me! I am just a mess, all over the boards with this hotel thing and my boyfriend just says whatever you want dear. I've been looking into priceline.com. I've spent a few hours reading information on biddingfortravel.com so I think I am ready to try that this weekend. I'm going for a 4*, I've seen post with winning bids of $46 for the Park Hyatt! If that doesn't work out I will try the hotels near Lombard Street. Thanks so much!!

You're on your way, Bonnie

Oh my gosh, Bonnie, forget the Seal Rock Inn! My sister and I made reservations to stay there in Sept 2000 based on beautiful pictures on their website. We reserved the top floor corner room with fireplace and ocean view. WHAT A SHOCK when we got there! The place is a dump. Flies everywhere, shabby furniture,it was dirty and so run down. We got to our room, turned around and left. Please don't be deceived by the website pictures!

Bonnie, check out the Cow Hollow Motor Inn & Suites on Lombard. We stayed there and it is a very nice, reasonably priced hotel. There is even a free parking garage located in the lower level. You will be in walking distance to Exploratorium, Palace of Fine Arts and lots of great shops and eateries.
The suites are expensive but the regular hotel rooms run around $100. Ask for a top floor away from the street. You will not be disappointed in this hotel.

just a follow up to that last message about cow hollow. check out citysearch.com here is a link you can follow:
http://bayarea.citysearch.com/profile/911508/

Bonnie, We just did a long weekend in SF. We did the Hyatt F'Wharf for $92/nite thru Hotwire. But since you want to stay away from FW.....
You mentioned the Park Hyatt. One couple we went with also got a room thru Hotwire and it was the Park Hyatt for $52/night and liked it.
Kal

Bonnie,

Give yourself and your boyfriend a break, listen to the locals and people who have stayed on Lombard Street. The whole area is wonderful, close to many of the things you will want to see, good public transportation or cab, FREE parking and on and on. If you notice, Lombard Street has been the first, not second choice of many of your responses. There is a good reason for this.

Pacifica and the Seal Rock Inn certainly aren't 4 star places, so I don't know why you chose them to begin with. The Hyatt is nice, but downtown is crowded during the day, noisy etc.. and parking is very very expensive.

On Lombard Street and the surrounding area, especially Union Street, you can walk around at night, eat, drink, and enjoy people watching.

If your boyfriend is anything like my husband, he is saying "I don't care if we stay in a #$%%$# cardboard box, just pick something PLEASE."

The Cow Hollow Inn is very nice, and most of us wish that we could afford to live in the Marina District.

Do you have AAA or access to one of their books. Start calling the 800 numbers of the various motels on Lombard Street. You really won't be sorry.

Let us know what you decide on.

P.S. Bonnie ... The motels mentioned are all ON Lombard Street, not nearby. I'm sure that most have 800 phone numbers which you can get from information if you don't have access of AAA.

The Marina is a very very wealthy, upscale area.

Thanks for everyone's help! I know I said I didn't want to stay downtown, but I got the Park Hyatt for $46.00 per night through priceline. Even with parking I don't think we could beat the price. Thanks again!!