Places to stay for 3 nights in San Francisco

riverdees05 · Dec 29, 2013

My wife and her two or three sisters are going to Napa Valley on an exchange in September 2014. They want to spend two day, 3 nights in San Francisico on the front end of the trip. Any recommendations on places that they should investigate that is close to everything? Also are the two airports they should consider - San Francisco and Oakland?

presley · Dec 29, 2013

San Francisco is very compact. So, most hotels and timeshares are equally close to things. Fisherman's Wharf area is a nice place to stay if they want to be able to walk to things without scaling hills coming and/or going. Public transportation is very good, but there are still hills getting to and from the stops.

I haven't been to the Oakland airport. Distance wise, the 2 airports are about the same to the city. I've had issues with pilots not being able to land in SFO because of fog several times. We get there eventually, but it has come up a number of times. I don't know if Oakland gets fogged in.

Luanne · Dec 29, 2013

I like the Union Square are. It's also easily accessible by foot, cable car, bus, BART or cab to most other areas of the city.

If you are Starwood member you can use points for the Sheraton St. Francis. We've also stayed at the Hilton, which we liked. I've gotten some good prices for San Francisco using Priceline as well.

Either Oakland or SFO works. SFO is closer to the city and there is a direct BART line in if they plan to use public transportation. If they fly into Oakland they would need to take a BART bus/shuttle from the airport to the closest BART station.

klpca · Dec 29, 2013

I can second the Union Square suggestion. Most hotels in that area are walking distance to BART, which they can take directly from the airport (either one).

Rent_Share · Dec 29, 2013

X 2 on everything being close to San Francisco, Between Shell, Wyndham, Worldmark and ? {not as familiar with other brands} there are several options that might create an opportunity for a timeshare rental for less than a week from an owner.

Consider picking up a rental car on the way out of San Francisco heading towards Napa

Avoids airport concession mark ups
Parking in San Francisco will run a minimum if of $ 30 / day plus charges at various attractions $$$
Make sure the drop fee doesn't cancel the savings

Either Airport can provide BART access into San Francisco, Oakland requires a shuttle bus transfer to the Bart Station

If at all possible book the return from Napa out of Oakland, driving from Napa to SFO Airport could be an issue since you will have to drive through downtown San Francisco to get there.

sue1947 · Dec 29, 2013

You might also check into flying out of Santa Rosa. It's a small airport which makes it easier to navigate and saves the hassle of getting through traffic to either Oakland or SFO. Check rental car rates out of downtown SF (there are several in the downtown hotels) and see if you can drop it at Santa Rosa. This came up for me several years ago and I had the option to drop the car at any of the SF cluster of airports which included Sacramento. It's worth checking. I also believe there is a shuttle service that runs from Santa Rosa into the city.

Sue

Laurie · Dec 29, 2013

We needed an extra nite in SF, wanted Union Square/Nob Hill area, and got a good deal at a really sweet boutique hotel/b&b: White Swan Inn. There was a good price on either Hotwire or Orbitz, and they matched it at the desk. Fabulous breakfast and complimentary snacky things during the day.

http://www.whiteswaninnsf.com/

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...-White_Swan_Inn-San_Francisco_California.html

We'd checked at the timeshare Nob Hill Inn and they were full, so they suggested this place instead. I'd stay there again in a heartbeat.

Rent_Share · Dec 29, 2013

sue1947 said:
You might also check into flying out of Santa Rosa.

Sue

The only commercial carrier that services Santa Rosa is Alaska Air, poster is from Seattle which would Make AA viable, from Tennessee you would need to connect to one of the west coast Airports

http://www.sonomacountyairport.org/

LAX / SAN DIEGO / PORTLAND / SEATTLE

Deb from NC · Dec 29, 2013

We did the same trip..a week in Napa preceded by 3 nights in SF. We stayed at The Inn on Union Square..great place, great location and fabulous customer service. It was reasonably priced too...
We have also stayed at the Wyndham Canterbury and enjoyed it as well..uses up a lot of points tho!

riverdees05 · Jan 4, 2014

They want to rent a car because of not wanting to deal with Luggage on Public Transportation. Is that an issue? Any recommendated places to stay with parking and how much will it cost?

Rent_Share · Jan 4, 2014

I would look for a car service then or

"Super Shuttle" :ignore:

presley · Jan 4, 2014

riverdees05 said:
They want to rent a car because of not wanting to deal with Luggage on Public Transportation. Is that an issue? Any recommendated places to stay with parking and how much will it cost?

I think it will cost less to pay for a taxi or a car service than to rent a car and pay for parking. Last time I was there, we took a taxi from airport to our hotel. We used a taxi once to go to Golden Gate Park, but the rest of the time we took the bus or trolley. We used an airport shuttle to get back to the airport. It all worked out extremely well.

If we had a car, we would have had to spend an hour looking for a place to park whenever we went anywhere. That's just not my idea of a vacation.

radmoo · Jan 4, 2014

We travel quite frequently to SF as my son has been living there since 1997. Truthfully I would NEVER rent a car for SF city proper. It would be as disastrous as driving in BOston or NYC. I am totally comfortable with city driving, having driven in many parts of the world. I work in downtown Bostonso drive there frequently and learned to drive in NYC. But as a tourist, no way! Stick with public transportation, taxis and feet!

DeniseM · Jan 4, 2014

Parking in SF is $30 - $50 a night. It's cheaper to take public transportation and pay for a cab. Or walk, or take the bus. We usually walk from the BART station pulling our rolling suitcases, but we never take more than a carry on and our computers.

You can take BART (subway) from both Oakland and SF Airports. Oakland requires a shuttle transfer to the BART station, and the BART station is right IN the SF airport. If airfare is similar, I'd fly into SF - if Oakland is a lot cheaper, I'd fly into Oakland. They can take BART to SF proper, and then take a short cab ride to their final destination - SF is very small.

If they are bound and determined to have a car, this hotel near Union Square has free parking. I've never stayed there, but the reviews seem good, and it's a very good area: http://www.yelp.com/biz/handlery-union-square-hotel-san-francisco

CatLovers · Jan 14, 2014

We go to San Fran and Napa Valley A LOT. Here's what I would do.

Fly into SFO with manageable roll-aboards (or at least make sure your luggage has wheels)
Catch BART to the Union Square area
Walk (with your roll-aboards) to your hotel (see next point)
Stay in one of the many options in that area - we always stay at The Donatello which is one block from Union Square and an easy few blocks from the BART station. Look for deals online or see if a Shell owner is willing to rent you a few days.
Use public transportation during your time in San Francisco (it's super easy)
Attend a comedy or stage show, walk the bridge, enjoy the restaurants. Sign up at Goldstar.com in advance for emails about half-price and discounted events in the SFO area. Take one of several free walking tours offered by the San Francisco Public library. They're excellent and did I mention? -- they're free (donations accepted).
Pick up your rental vehicle from a downtown location on the day you want to go to Napa Valley. Make sure you book a vehicle return to the airport (SFO or OAK, see later)
Have a fabulous time in Napa Valley - visit wineries, go on the Wine Train, eat at wonderful restaurants. Don't drink and drive.
Drive back to either Oakland or SFO airport. Oakland is easier to get to, but SFO has better flight options so we almost always fly out of there. Just plan for the traffic, it's not impossible, we've done it many times.

Have fun!

vacationtime1 · Jan 14, 2014

CatLovers said:
We go to San Fran and Napa Valley A LOT. Here's what I would do.

Fly into SFO with manageable roll-aboards (or at least make sure your luggage has wheels)

Catch BART to the Union Square area

Walk (with your roll-aboards) to your hotel (see next point)

Stay in one of the many options in that area - we always stay at The Donatello which is one block from Union Square and an easy few blocks from the BART station. Look for deals online or see if a Shell owner is willing to rent you a few days.

Use public transportation during your time in San Francisco (it's super easy)

Attend a comedy or stage show, walk the bridge, enjoy the restaurants. Sign up at Goldstar.com in advance for emails about half-price and discounted events in the SFO area. Take one of several free walking tours offered by the San Francisco Public library. They're excellent and did I mention? -- they're free (donations accepted).

Pick up your rental vehicle from a downtown location on the day you want to go to Napa Valley. Make sure you book a vehicle return to the airport (SFO or OAK, see later)

Have a fabulous time in Napa Valley - visit wineries, go on the Wine Train, eat at wonderful restaurants. Don't drink and drive.

Drive back to either Oakland or SFO airport. Oakland is easier to get to, but SFO has better flight options so we almost always fly out of there. Just plan for the traffic, it's not impossible, we've done it many times.

Have fun!

This is very sound advice (I work in downtown SF), although I would pass on the Wine Train.

Places to stay for 3 nights in San Francisco

riverdees05

presley

TUG Review Crew: Expert

Luanne

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klpca

TUG Review Crew: Veteran

Rent_Share

sue1947

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Laurie

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Rent_Share

Deb from NC

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riverdees05

Rent_Share

presley

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radmoo

DeniseM

CatLovers

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vacationtime1

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