San Francisco

January 25, 2005 3:51 AM

SAN FRANCISCO - We are flying into San Francisco (April). Can anyone suggest a good hotel for a couple of days that is easy to get to from the airport without car?
posted by Frasermoo to travel & transportation (14 comments total)

My husband and I went there for the first time at the beginning of December. Our hotel wasn't the greatest, but it was pretty easy to locate a shuttle from the airport. They also picked us up to go back. You could probably get a shuttle anywhere, so I wouldn't nessarily make "ease of transport" the main criteria for choosing. (Nor "bargain price", which is how we wound up with our funky yet TINY room at the Metropolis, not far from Union Square but definitely in one of the dodgier side streets.)
posted by web-goddess at 4:25 AM on January 25, 2005

Also for $5 each way, BART whisks you between downtown and SFO, so any hotel around Market St north of 9th should only be a few blocks away from a station. Market between 9th and 5th gets kinda sketchy but it gets dramatically less so as you head towards northeast .
posted by sammich at 5:29 AM on January 25, 2005

I'm with web-goddess and sammich. All downtown hotels are easy to get to without a car: take BART or a SuperShuttle or a taxi. Don't bother with hotels physically near the airport; the airport isn't even in San Francisco at all, it's out in the suburbs, and there's nothing interesting near it.

Use your favorite hotel locator, hotels.com is OK, and pick something downtown if you're doing downtown things, or by the Wharf if you're doing touristy things.
posted by majick at 7:22 AM on January 25, 2005

Thanks

Actually I got a deal so we are staying at the Hilton in O'Farrell Street.

I also buckled and hired a convertible for pick up straight away.

well, you only go on honeymoon once....

thanks for your answers.
posted by Frasermoo at 7:22 AM on January 25, 2005

Oh, and if you're into boutique and unique, the suites at The Diva are great. I haven't seen the regular rooms but I'd imagine they are similarly cool. Skip the continental breakfast, and just go down to Sears Fine Foods instead.
posted by majick at 7:28 AM on January 25, 2005

I also honeymooned in SF and once you're in the heart of SF there's no need for a car. We did the unglamorous cab to and from the airport - but now my wife's going to ask "why didn't WE get a convertible?". From where you're staying there are tons of great things to do and see that are only a short walk (which always seems to be UPhill) and anything else is just a cheap trolley ride or cabride away. I loved how compact that city was for having so much to do.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 8:05 AM on January 25, 2005

unless you're going to escape the city (which you should -- muir woods, point reyes, route 1 north and south of san francisco, etc.) having a car for just sf is nuts. parking is crap, drivers are insane (though not quite so as montreal) and pedestrians militant. did i mention parking was crap?

otherwise, april is typically one of our finer months and a convertible would be just dandy. esp, if you do the muir woods, etc. thing (which you should).
posted by heather at 8:49 AM on January 25, 2005

So you know - that convertible is going to cost you about 30 bucks a day to park at any of the downtown hotels. Skip it - or use one of the downtown car rental places to get a car for the day if you want to do some exploring outside the city. BART from the airport is such a quick and economical option.
I second the Sears Fine Foods recommendation.
I am full of San Francisco recommendations - username at gmail if you'd like any of them.
posted by Wolfie at 8:50 AM on January 25, 2005

Piggybacked question-- are there any bars either in the general area of the SFO airport or in the common area of the airport (i.e., not in the restricted security zones of the terminals) where people could easily meet? I'm flying in whilst an old friend is flying out, and we're on different airlines so we can't get into the other's gate areas.
posted by norm at 9:49 AM on January 25, 2005

norm - the international terminal has restaurants and such in a common, non-secured area as I recall.

So just walk over there from wherever you are, and it should work out ok.
posted by jasper411 at 10:56 AM on January 25, 2005

I'm fairly certain SFO's domestic terminal also has a "Cheers" type bar in the area before you enter the secured gates. Beers and expensive but you can add a shot for a dollar more!

I also second not renting a car. Parking is either impossible to find or very expensive downtown. If you find yourselves wanting to leave the city you can always rent one from a downtown location...

Congrats and have fun!
posted by John at 11:34 AM on January 25, 2005

You should be aware that there is currently a hotel dispute going on in the city.

You'll be safe in small boutique hotel though, there are plenty of good ones around union square. A lot of the big ones are being boycotted by HERE LOCAL 2, the mayor, and progressive organizations around the country. Visit: http://www.unitehere2.org/ for a list of boycotted hotels.

The site also has a list of alternative accomodations.

The workers are back on the job now after a long lockout. But one of the best tools the union has at this point alternative action like hotel boycotts and other economic actions.
posted by prettyboyfloyd at 12:35 PM on January 25, 2005

Let me second (or third or whatever) the recommendation that you NOT have a car while in the city, in general. Instead:

* Schedule a LIMO to pick you up at the airport and take you to a hotel, if you want to splurge (it will be less expensive than a rental car plus parking).

* If you do decide you want to do some things outside of the city, rent a car for a day. There are lots of car rentals downtown (check Avis, Hertz, and Enterprise web sites, or just call the hotel and ask them to suggest a nearby car rental - but do check on mapquest to confirm how close it is).

It may seem more convenient to have a car to get around the city, but that's incorrect - any place interesting that you might want to go will (a) be impossible to find street parking nearby and (b) force you to spend a lot of money in a parking garage. Plus you'll be stressed driving in a city you don't know with a lot of one-way streets.

Cabs and public transportation are definitely the way to go.
posted by WestCoaster at 12:51 PM on January 25, 2005

thanks much, there are indeed (expensive!) bars in the common non-secured areas. woo hoo for same day service here.
posted by norm at 10:19 PM on January 25, 2005