SF help!

Hi Everyone,

I need some help!! 4 girlies are coming to SF the first week of July for about 7 nights. We have never been, so we need some advice on where to stay and what to do. Budget wise, we need a good clean hotel with great views and good location.

Also thinking of hiring a car and maybe driving to Vegas! Any thoughts on this?

Thanks

SF help!

I%26#39;ll let others help withhotels but I don%26#39;t think you realize how far it is from SanFrancisco to Las Vegas. I twould take about 10-12 hrs. driving. You might look into Southwest Airliines which flies inside the USA. they do not show up on other search engines. You have to go to their own web site to find fairly inexpensive flights.

SF help!

Priceline is definitely the way to go for SF hotels. Personally, I would go for the Embarcadero area. I%26#39;ve seen people getting the Hyatt Embarcadero on Priceline for very good rates. Get priceline help on biddingfortravel.com

If you do hire a car, wait until you%26#39;re ready to take trips out of town. Parking is prohibitively expensive in hotels with views, and you won%26#39;t want to find a parking place in the city anyway.

I agree, look into flying to Las Vegas. You don%26#39;t want to waste that much time on the road and the route is not very interesting.

I just had a UK visitor stay with me for 3 months. I think it was an eye opener when he found out how BIG things are here and how far apart places can be. There are a ton of things you can see and do within a short range of SF. We took a 2 day trip to Healdsburg (visited wineries, and then over the coast through the Russian River, including the redwoods at Armstrong Redwoods State Park, onto Bodega Bay and back to SF. That journey alone will cover a multitude of things to see and do.

I think the 4 girlies are in for a fabulous time!

You are coming smack dab in the middle of high season, so you%26#39;ll need to use as many tools as you can to get a hotel within your criteria. I%26#39;m not exactly sure what that is since you haven%26#39;t said what your budget is. Everyone wants great views and a good location. Who wouldn%26#39;t?

The Priceline idea is a good one if you study up on how to use it effectively.

Use the search function to find trip reports of other travelers that will help you figure out some of the things you want to do. Each traveler is different, and you haven%26#39;t given much information. How old are the people in your party? What kinds of things do you wish to do?

And, as the previous poster mentioned, if you want to go to Vegas, you really need to be aware of distances. Driving there would be a big fat waste of time for only a 7 day vacation. consider flying.

You are coming smack dab in the middle of high season, so you%26#39;ll need to use as many tools as you can to get a hotel within your criteria. I%26#39;m not exactly sure what that is since you haven%26#39;t said what your budget is. Everyone wants great views and a good location. Who wouldn%26#39;t?

The Priceline idea is a good one if you study up on how to use it effectively.

Use the search function to find trip reports of other travelers that will help you figure out some of the things you want to do. Each traveler is different, and you haven%26#39;t given much information. How old are the people in your party? What kinds of things do you wish to do?

And, as the previous poster mentioned, if you want to go to Vegas, you really need to be aware of distances. Driving there would be a big fat waste of time for only a 7 day vacation. consider flying.

There%26#39;s a new boutique hotel (3 months old, used to be called Gate Hotel but that was gutted completely because it was crap) that%26#39;s close to Union Square called Hotel Fusion. I just booked with them because they have an extended stay rate of 75/night (must book 7 or more days). A better value for a week long stay in central San Francisco would be hard to find. You have to call the hotel directly though as Expedia (the closest rate match) is about 10-15/night more expensive. Originally I went with the Mosser for the now unavailable low rate of 59/night (queen with shared bathroom), but I decided that I wanted a private bathroom, free internet (wired, bring your own cable or they charge you for one), and slightly larger accommodations. The rooms are probably a tad smaller than your average chain hotel, but from the pictures they seem quite a bit larger than The Mosser%26#39;s. I%26#39;m not sure how well it%26#39;d work out if all four of you stayed in one room so if it%26#39;s in your budget you might want to get two. Check out the reviews on this site and on Expedia. Hope this helps.

http://www.hotelfusionsf.com/index.htm

With Priceline the number of beds per room are not garanteed, or smoking preference. Some hotels are more giving than others.

For instance when we stayed at the Sharaton in Fishermans wharf, they gave us a smoking room because they were overbooked. We had to go down to the front desk and ask for a different room because it was so smelly. They gave us a smoking room that was barely used due to nearby construction, which was not in the works in the rain. It was a deal for ~$90.

If you like shopping I highly recommend Carmel on the Monterey Peninsula. It is a beautiful town with lots of art galleries, and nature nearby. Other attractions this way are the Monterey Aquarium, and historic walks

Check out the Kimpton Hotels%26#39; web site, http://www.kimptonhotels.com/. They have 11 hotels in San Francisco. They offer various discounts/rates so spend some time getting to know their web site and you may land a great deal.

If you%26#39;re considering Vegas, Southwest Airlines is your best bet, but you%26#39;ll need to fly out of the Oakland Airport. Take the BART (public transportation system) from SF to the Oakland Airport (about 30 minutes). It%26#39;s an easy airport to get in and out of.

Have fun!