Sign in with Facebook"Where to Stay?" San Francisco Travelogue by Callavetta
San Francisco Travel Guide: 10,987 reviews and 18,687 photos
Everybody coming to San Francisco asks "Where shall I stay?" I must admit, it's not an easy question to answer and it depends on your individual needs and expectations. Will you have a car? Overnighting your car can cost as much as overnighting yourself. Is shopping your highest priority? Are you going to be seeing shows? Will you be relying on public transportation? How are your knees? (San Francisco has some world class hills.)
As a part-time local, I obviously don't stay in many San Francisco hotels, but I will attempt to shed some light on this 64 thousand dollar question by talking about some of the benefits of the different San Francisco neighborhoods.
Seven and a half times out of ten, I will recommend that my visitors stay in the Embarcadero area, or at least within a stone's throw of the area. There are several hotels in the area that fill the bill; the Hyatt Regency, the new Vitale, and even the Omni Hotel (actually about 3 blocks from the Embarcadero on California Street. I have seen the Hyatt and the Omni go for very good rates on Priceline, making these very nice properties very affordable. (For tips on Priceline bidding check out www.biddingfortravel.com)
The Embarcadero is such a great area because of its proximity to excellent public transportation. The Embarcadero BART station gives travelers access to the entire BART system and is an easy way to get to and from SFO. Muni's Market Street line is one level above the BART tracks. The F Line trams run from the CALTrain station to Fisherman's wharf along the Bay. The California Street Cable Car line stops right in front of the Hyatt Regency and there are NO LINES. Visitors will wait in horrendous lines to catch the Cable Cars at the Powell Street and Cannery Row turnarounds.
Is shopping in your plans? The Embarcadero Four are chock full of shops and restaurants. The newly remodeled Ferry Building offers some specialty stores and great restaurants and cafes. On Saturday morning the Farmers' Market brings crowds to buy and sell some of the freshest produce to be found in the area as well as other assorted offerings.
The Embarcdero is ground zero for some of the more interesting historical walks. Just a few blocks and you'll find yourself in Chinatown. Turn the corner and you're suddenly in North Beach ready to sip a cappucino or a glass of vino roso.
The major disadvantage of this area is parking. If you have a car with you, you'll likely pay a pretty penny finding a place to stash it overnight.
To Be Continued
Reviews (54)
Callavetta's Related Pages
-
Healdsburg
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
Big Sur
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
Volcano
-
Sausalito
-
Guerneville
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
Bodega Bay
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
Foster City
-
Pacific Grove
-
Half Moon Bay
Top 5 Page for this destination
-
San Jose
-
Morro Bay
-
Mendocino
-
Tiburon
-
Mountain View
-
Carmel-by-the-Sea
-
Santa Cruz
-
Palo Alto
-
San Mateo
-
Tahoma
-
Lassen Volcanic National Park
San Francisco Travel Guide
Member Travel Pages
- "Bagdad by the Bay"
- "San Francisco - My Favorie City - By Default"
- "SFO ... a declassé love letter"
- "San Francisco: Why this heart never leaves"
- "I Left My Heart..."
- "San Francisco is Really Shaking Things Up!"
- "San Francisco: An Alternate Take"
- See All...
Badges & Stats in San Francisco
- 54 Reviews
- 113 Photos
- 76 Forum posts
- 87 Comments
- 15,866PageViews
- See All Stats
- See All Badges (16)
Have you been to San Francisco?
Share Your TravelsLatest Activity in San Francisco
- Replied to fj40ahoy's Travel San Francisco Forum Forum Question "Walking around down town"
- Uploaded a Photo to "Al Fresco by the Bridge"
- Wrote a Review Al Fresco by the Bridge in San Francisco Restaurants
- Commented on aussiedoug's San Francisco Page
- created a San Francisco Travelogue "Where to Stay?"
Photos in San Francisco
See All Photos (113)
Top 10 Pages
-
San Francisco
Intro, 54 reviews, 113 photos, 5 travelogues
-
London
Intro, 43 reviews, 56 photos, 1 travelogue
-
Heidelberg
Intro, 31 reviews, 62 photos, 4 travelogues
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Keystone
Intro, 36 reviews, 51 photos, 5 travelogues
-
Paris
Intro, 41 reviews, 40 photos, 1 travelogue
-
Chicago
Intro, 10 reviews, 48 photos, 3 travelogues
-
Rome
Intro, 28 reviews, 28 photos, 1 travelogue
-
Beijing
Intro, 4 reviews, 37 photos, 2 travelogues
-
Top 5 Page for this destination
Healdsburg
Intro, 14 reviews, 24 photos
-
Florence
Intro, 15 reviews, 20 photos, 1 travelogue
Wine Tasting
Sailing and Boating
CyclingLatest San Francisco hotel reviews
- Hotel Kabuki San Francisco
- 450 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 29, 2012 - Argent Hotel
- 855 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Jun 1, 2012 - Holiday Inn Fishermans Wharf
- 837 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 30, 2012 - Parc 55 Hotel San Francisco
- 1569 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 31, 2012 - Hyatt Regency San Francisco
- 765 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 31, 2012 - York Hotel
- 280 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 30, 2012 - The Carlton Hotel
- 946 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Jun 1, 2012 - Hotel Nikko San Francisco
- 815 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 31, 2012 - The Mosser Hotel
- 867 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 28, 2012 - Courtyard By Marriott San Francisco Downtown
- 290 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 29, 2012 - Holiday Inn Civic Center
- 236 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 18, 2012 - InterContinental Mark Hopkins
- 688 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Jun 1, 2012 - Sir Francis Drake Hotel - A Kimpton Hotel
- 742 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 31, 2012 - Grosvenor Suites
- 370 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 12, 2012 - Hotel Whitcomb San Francisco
- 622 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 26, 2012
Comments (80)
Your tips and photos bring back nice memories of the years when I lived in Berkeley and often went over to San Francisco. (This was quite some time ago. They were still agonizing about whether to start building BART or not.) Somehow I have never heard of the Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon.
Gosh, and I thought Sydney Harbour Bridge and the number one world rated fireworks display was more famous than both. Very helpful tips by the way. Cheers.
Hi Katherine - Nice to meet you! Thanks for stopping by my HP. What a great place you live in - I loved our visit there last April.
Janet has been telling me what a wondeful and interesting person you are so I thought I would check out your pages! Good job!
Water Bar! I will always remember the fantastic meal we had together. It was one of my most memorable days in SF. You are the perfect hostess.
I will be in SF next month. I am an old native that can't wait to return. I want to try all the restaurants that you have listed! I lived on California Street just near Clement and 4th so I know the area well. It has changed so much since I lived there.
We've got our flight booked, we will be in San Francisco from 9/9-9/14 :-) Hope we can make plans to get together!
very good page, I add a lot of information to my SF trip planner! Hope to meet you in SF, ILse
You have a place to work? With a courtyard? And a job in one place? And you are there working? Well... if a boy can come out of the country, I guess a girl can get a real job... ;-) I hope you're happy & well!
lovely bit of local colour. a great read. thanks
1 - 10 of 80
View 70 More