Priceline Hotel: I need 3* or 4* in San Francisco (4 nights)

[alair_2000]

Hello all,

I need help getting a decent clean hotel in SF for my first visit there. 3* or 4* is good. I am willing to pay up to $95/night.

What are the best hotels there? Where should I stay if I want to see most of SF in 4 days?

Please help if you have a specific strategy in bidding

THANKS

Abdul

[alair_2000]

The date I am planning to go 11/24 - 11/28 (4 nights)

[thereuare]

Please follow-up your previous Priceline Las Vegas thread with whatever you ended up doing for that stay, then reply to this thread and we'll have a look and comment on your stay above.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[alair_2000]

but I was hoping for recommendations on where to stay? Downtown or other places?

I also heard that parking is expensive there, so do you know any hotel with free parking included?

Which areas should I choose in the priceline when bidding? There are 11 of them in the Priceline and I have no idea what to choose as a starter.

Thanks

[thereuare]

Please follow-up your previous Priceline Las Vegas thread with whatever you ended up doing for that stay, then reply to this thread and we'll have a look and comment on your stay above.

2x

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[alair_2000]

I replied to my previous thread.

[thereuare]

There are others on the board more local to San Francisco than i am and hopefully somebody will jump in and add to my comments, but here are some general thoughts regarding the most popular and frequently bid zones:

Financial District-Embarcadero = good if can get a good deal but can be quiet on the weekends

Fishermans Wharf = popular and touristy

USE = good Downtown

USW = good Downtwon, especially at the 4* level, below that some hotels end up being in/close to the Tenderloin which some people to choose to avoid as there can be quite a few homeless panhandling

What is your expected nightly budget for this stay?

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[alair_2000]

Thanks for the info. I am willing to pay up to $90/night for the hotel. But I don't want to stay far away from the attractions.

So is it a better choice to stay in Downtown or in other tourists places?

[thereuare]

... I don't want to stay far away from the attractions.

What attractions do you intend on doing and where are they located? If you have an idea of your itinerary in regards to what you would like to see/do during your stay, then you can take a look at them on a map and have a better idea of which zone(s) will work best for your particular needs this trip.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

[Gallus50]

OK, I'm chiming in. Not local, but ex-local.

So alair - specifically, what do you mean by attractions?

Fisherman's Wharf is where most tourist attractions are - Pier 39, Alcatraz tours, Ripleys, seafood restaurants, Ghirardelli Square, etc. But there are lots of neighborhoods that people consider attractions, including Chinatown, North Beach, Haight Ashbury, the Castro, the Mission and Nob Hill. The Embarcadero is pretty, the shopping is the best in Union Square, Ocean Beach is vast, Golden Gate Park is appealing and the clubs are the most hopping in SOMA, by and large.

So what are you the most interested in? Thereuare pegged the areas I'd stay in, aside from FW. (But I'm usually there for work anyway.) And be sure you learn about re-bid zones. SF has plenty.

[alair_2000]

Thank you all for your insights!!

The areas quoted below are the ones I am interested in...So which zones do you recommend I should bid on as a starter? I will have my car but I don't want to keep driving to every single place.

Fisherman's Wharf is where most tourist attractions are -

Pier 39, Alcatraz tours,

Ripleys, seafood restaurants,

Ghirardelli Square, etc.

The Embarcadero is pretty, the shopping is the best in Union Square, Ocean Beach is vast,

Golden Gate Park is appealing

[DebitNM]

If you are driving and need to park a car, that is going to add on $$$ to your per night rate as most hotels in San Francisco charge upwards of $40 or more per night to park.

I would suggest Columbus Motor Inn which is in North Beach and offers free parking. It is nothing fancy, but clean and a pretty convenient location for the sites you are interested in seeing. Not sure if you can book there through here, sorry.

[Gallus50]

DebitNM is right about parking. You can check on TravelZoo.com and Travel Ticker to see if they have deals that include parking; it will add a lot to your total.

But if you want to bid, I'd go for FW, EMB/FD, USE and USW. If you get something you like, be sure to check out independent garages nearby as the hotels will absolutely gouge you. You may have to walk a bit, but you can probably find $15 - $25 a night versus $40.

If you'd like a PRICELINE bidding strategy, please request one and Thereuare will provide. Let us know what happens.

[beantowner]

I can attest to the parking. Hotel parking is a ripoff.

Definitely try to find an independent outdoor parking lot. Weekday rates will still run about $15-$20 per day. The lower end is the early bird rate. You might find the weekend daily rates to run about $10/day but the lots are located down south of market in the financial district area.

If you are interested in Fisherman's Wharf, I recommend you try your luck bidding with the Embarcadero area. I usually end up with the Grand Hyatt. It's a short trip to Fisherman's Wharf by street trolley, which is a hop and a skip away. It's also a long 5-6 block walk to Union Square.

[alair_2000]

Thank you all for your suggestions.

I found this hotel "Buena Vista Motor Inn" through PRICELINE which I am considering but it's only 2 stars!! So I am a little worried but it has free parking. It will cost $93/night exclduing taxes and fees.

I am also considering bidding ASAP but I am not sure if I will score a hotel with free parking or at lease a cheap clean hotel so when the parking cost is added it won't be expensive (hopefully won't exceed $110/night with parking). Can you recommend a strategy to use in bidding? I would also consider 3 stars hotel now.

THANKS ALL AGAIN

[DebitNM]

Cow Hollow Motor Inn has availability for your nights, free parking, a nice area and decent reviews. Avg price for the stay is $90 a night. Room has 2 double beds and is handicap accessible.

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

It has great reviews on Tripadvisor, and I know folks who have stayed there and really liked it.

I wouldn't wait much longer.

Since you have a pretty limited budget and are seeking free parking, I personally would not risk Priceline.