Looking at the Palomar and the Orchard Hotel-can anyone tell me about the accomadations and if one location is better than another for a first time visit to SF??

what are the addresses for each? I live in SF and can certainly give you my opinion as to neighborhood.

Palomar is defintely a 5 star hotel in the Union Sq/Moscone Ctr area-- has an FABULOUS restaurant called the 5th FLoor that is UNBELIVEABLY terrific!!!

It is contemporary and very ultra chic--

I have no knowledge of Orchard Hotel- sorry.....

The Orchard Hotel is 665 Bush st. The Palomar is 12 Fourth St. Thanks for any info you can give about location, etc.

The Orchard in the Union Square area which is not a very safe or clean area of SF. Same goes for the Palomar in the South of Market (SOMA). Are there any other areas of SF that you are looking into?

Not familiar with the Bush St environs tho it looks like it's reasonably close to downtown.

The Palomar is on 4th & market which puts it within
- one block of sony's Metreon which is kind of like an entertainment mall, food court, sony store, discover channel store, IMAX theater and regular theaters + a few other places.
- one block of San Francisco Center (another huge shopping mall with really interesting escalators)
- two blocks of SFMoMA and Yerba Buena gardens
- two blocks to Powell St Cable car turnaround
-4/5 blocks to Union Square & theater district
-7 blocks to the Embarcadero
- directly on main line of F line antique tram & convenient to many bus lines that will take you elsewhere.

In short, I think it's a mighty convenient space to be.

ugh... NO, 4th & Market is NOT SOMA and even if it were it would not be unsafe. They don't put 5 star hotels in unsafe areas, it's not good for business.

also, I don't really know if the Palomar is 5 star. Maybe 4 star...

Bay Area,

The last time I was in SF 4th and Market is at the edge of SOMA. While it is an impriving neighborhood, there are a number of bad elements not far away.

I stayed at The Orchard for 2 nights this past Sept. and found it to be quite nice.

About 2 blocks up Powell from UnSq. so a few of the "UnSq. residents" make it up the steep hill.
Not "bad" as being right on UnSq...even then, still not that bad IMHO.

But, if it's your first trip to SF, I'd suggest maybe the Harbor Court Inn on Steuert. Especially if you can get a Bay Bridge view. The Harbor Court has usually been the boutique ("B") hotel on Hotwire for around $60-80/night, depending on time of year.

Kal