Priceline Hotel: Help on staying in SF

[Sciamano]

Hello!

we are going to travel to the States next summer (august/september) because we want to show the country to my in-laws.

We are going to be in San Fran approximately from 9/11 to 9/14, and we were trying to make a budget.

Apparently USW and USE are the highest priced zones, so we thought we might save some $$ by choosing a hotel somewhere else. I was thinking Fisherman's Wharf, which seems to have nice 3.5* hotels at good prices.

Would this be a good base to visit the city?

I've been to SF a few times, but a lot of years has passed since, and I don't really remember how we used to get around. Will the car be needed or public transport is good? We already have a car, but I'm a bit stressed out by the steep streets of SF!

Rates for a 3.5* at FW go from $206 to $263 for the dates we should be there, while USE has a $309-$349 range and I guess USW would be about the same.

Would it be a realistic expectation to get a 3.5* at a rate below $100 with PL? That would be good.

Otherwise, would you recommend to spend a bit (or a lot) more and stay closer to downtown?

Thanks a lot.

[thereuare]

Please use the requested PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board each time you access the respective site(s)... including your searches.

While PRICELINE is a little cheaper than HOTWIRE... it's not 50% cheaper. With HOTWIRE rates at $200+ a PRICELINE win at $100 is not a realistic expectation.

Fishermans Wharf is touristy but has good cable car access. The subway isn't accessible from Fishermans Wharf, but you can take a cable car to the train.

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

[Sciamano]

Thanks for your reply.

The rates I quoted were taken from the official hotel sites, so I did not use PL not HW to check them, but I will make sure to use the link whener I visit those sites.

If $100 is too low, what would be a realistic expectation in regards of both FW and USE/USW?

We don't need 5* luxury, just a good comfortable and clean room to spend the nights. Are there any particular star rating and/or zones in SF which are "dangerous" (in the meaning of getting a bad/dirty hotel) and which would be better to avoid?

Thanks

[thereuare]

Sorry for the confusion... i see you wrote FW (fishermans wharf) but my eyes get used to see that as HW (HOTWIRE) so i thought you were quoting prices from HOTWIRE.

Unfortunately looking at HOTWIRE rates are high for these dates, with 3.5*-4* properties going for $175-$225+, so unlike your Priceline Las Vegas trip, nothing that i would be running to bid on right away. You can try low balling a bit and/or book a refundable back-up if you'd like, but based upon current prices i'm guessing at the moment you'll likely need to be in the ~$150+ area.

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

[Sciamano]

Hmmm, I see... so do you suggest I just make a backup and cancellable reservation while I wait and see if rates get lower, and then start bidding then?

Or should I try anyway?

Thanks again.

[Gallus50]

Hi Sciamano - Sept is a popular time to visit SF and there are often big conventions. When there are, it can be really hard to get a deal. I would check the SF Conventionand Tourism calendar. Look online for it.

You're also bidding very early. You might get lucky, but I don't think anyone would be feeling the need to rush to fill September bookings.

You do not need a car to get around SF. I would get a MUNI pass and take cable cars, buses, the F market trolley and muni trains. All should be covered by the pass. BART is not, but it's a good way to get to the East and South Bay, and to and from the airport. (Costs more than it used to, though)

I personally avoid Civic Center, as I find it a bit rough. Japantown is a bit far from the center, as is Pacific Heights/Marina/Cow Hollow.

Hope this helps.

[thereuare]

I would make a cancellable back-up AND try bidding, again, you might get lucky... but i wouldn't compromise/deviate too much from what you really want for this stay. In other words, if (for example) you really want a 4* in the USE or USW zones, then i wouldn't necessarily lower your star rating to 3.5* in this zone OR add the Fishermans Wharf zone if USE/USW is what you really want... unless you're bidding at levels which would make it worthwhile to compromise this much before your stay.

Hope that makes sense and i've explained it clearly enough (sorry, no coffee yet today... perhaps that explains my FW and HW confusion earlier :) ) but if it's not clear just let me know and i'll provide further detail more specific to your goals above.

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

[Sciamano]

Thanks Gallus50, I'll check the calendar for the conventions and see if there's anything important during my stay. Would it be safe to assume that, if no major events are expected those days, rates might get lower in the future?

Regarding transportations: we are four persons and we'll arrive by car, so we will have to place it in a (costly, I guess) parking during our stay. Considering this, would public transport still be more convenient?

@thereuare: I'll book a cancellable back-up and try our luck. After all, all we need is a bed to sleep, nothing else. We're going to be out visiting SF most of the day, so we don't really need anything too fancy, just a clean comfortable bed, in a safe zone possibly. :)

I guess this would mean a 3.5* (did not check 3* hotels yet) in any zone comfortable enough to get easily around the city. My in-laws have never been to SF (never been to the States actually), so I guess the important thing for them would be to be able to get around easily.

I'd say that saving a few bucks would be more important to us than getting a super-fancy hotel, as long as the place we get is respectable and decent.

P.S.: I understand completely how you feel about not having had coffee yet. :)

[Sciamano]

I guess the first and the last events might explain something about rates, considering the expected attendance. Or not?

09.11.11 - 09.14.11 2011 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO

American Academy of Otolaryngology

Sunday, 9/11/2011 through Wednesday, 9/14/2011

Attendance: 9000

Peak Rooms: 4700

09.11.11 - 09.15.11 Taleo World User Conference 2011

Taleo

Sunday, 9/11/2011 through Thursday, 9/15/2011

Attendance: 1200

Peak Rooms: 679

09.12.11 - 09.15.11 Annual Conference

National Association of Telecommunications Officers & Advisors

Monday, 9/12/2011 through Thursday, 9/15/2011

Attendance: 200

Peak Rooms: 130

09.13.11 - 09.15.11 Intel Developer Forum 2011

Intel Corporation

Tuesday, 9/13/2011 through Thursday, 9/15/2011

Attendance: 5000

Peak Rooms: 2500

[Gallus50]

Yes, the conventions are probably affecting prices already. 9,000 is on the bigger side. I'd book something you can cancel and keep at it. If you see prices dip on HW or other sites, move for sure.

Parking is a pain almost everywhere you go in SF. You almost always have to pay or search a long time and squeeze in. If you find a cheap parking lot and let the car sit, that's what I would do. SF is really a walking city, though the hills can be tough on the elderly if you go in the wrong direction, like trying to walk up Nob Hill.

[Sciamano]

Ok, thanks a lot for all the information.

I've booked a cancellable rate at a hotel which seems ok, but not really where I'd like to stay, but if we can't get anything with PL, at least we will have some place to go...

I've tried bidding up to $150 for a 3,5* at Fisherman's Wharf (with the help of a lot of free rebid zones), but always got rejected. With the Hilton going for $206 (not refundable) I hoped $150 could be enough, but it appears as though it is not.

Will try again in the future.

All bids placed through the PRICELINE links on this board.

[thereuare]

Sorry your bids haven't been successful, but plenty of time between now and your stay, hopefully something will 'break' in the weeks/months ahead.

Keep us updated and thanks for using the PRICELINE links for your bidding.

[Sciamano]

How is JapanTown served by the public transport?

There are a few hotels with very good rates there. I've stayed there like 15 years ago, but I only remember going aroung by taxi (I was richer at the time and could afford spending a fortune in taxi fares! :) ).

[Sciamano]

I'm resuming this thread because we are still looking for a hotel for our stay.

Thanks to an offer from a local travel agency, we have booked a cancellable backup reservation at the Hotel Tomo (2* in JapanTown) for which we have spent 594

[thereuare]

I scanned this thread but didn't see this listed... are you looking for one room for quad occupancy or are you searching for two rooms (double occupancy each?)

[Sciamano]

Sorry, did not realize I did not mention it anywhere. We need two rooms. Thanks!

[Gallus50]

HW rates do look high. If you are not successful in bidding, check out lastminutetravel.com. In the run-of-house section on this site, they can tell you how to ID the opaque hotels.

On there, among others, I am seeing the Hotel Griffon, a 3* FD/Embarcadero hotel that gets very good reviews. It is central to BART, cable cars and MUNI and is right across the street from the water. It is "On Request" on LMT, but you have time, so you might want to request it and see if you can get it.

There are some other decent prices there, but be careful with some of the opaque 2* & 3* offerings. Some don't look so nice and others are in, let's say colorful, areas. I don't know if a tourist would enjoy staying on Polk Street, for example. Some might, but it's not for everyone.

Ordinarily, I'd say to wait, but Sept can be very busy and you may do better now than later. I've waited and been bummed, and booked early which turned out to be a good thing.

Let us know what you find and which direction you go in.

[Gallus50]

Another idea would be to get more of an apartment/timeshare one bedroom. Since you need two rooms, one couple could have the bedroom, the other the living room/sofabed. Examples would be Grosvenor Suites on Nob Hill (1 bdrm is about $250) or the Gaylord Suites on Jones St.

Furthermore, Hotels.com has some decent prices on hotels closer to the center, like the BW Hotel Calfornia @ Geary&Jones.

I think I'm done now.

[Sciamano]

Thanks for your insight.

I've already taken a look at lastminutetravel.com but really did not see anything really interesting, although I must have missed the Griffon. I'll check again and see.

If we can't find anything good, we'll stay at the Tomo. It's pretty weird, but it has good reviews on TripAdvisor, and we are going to be out most of the day anyway, so if the bed is comfy, we have most of what we need.

I've used PL many times before, for friends, relatives and so on, and booked in big cities throughout the year. I've got to say that it looks to me that Priceline rates have gone way higher than they were a few years back!

Regarding the apartment/suite, we thought of that but my wife would rather have two separate rooms. I thought best than investigating why. :)

[Colfax]

First, congrats on your patience. You've been working on this more than four months now. And yes, Priceline rates in SF, among other places, are higher than a few years ago, in some cases much higher. This summer has been very strong for SF hotels so far, and I'm happy for them, but it's made Priceline bidding tougher than it used to be.

You got a bunch of good suggestions from Gallus. Tomo gets good reviews and it's managed by Joie de Vivre, which has a reputation for quality and style. So for $139 Tomo might be a good deal for these expensive dates.

Tomo's disadvantage, if any, is Japantown's a little remote from the action, compared to FW or Downtown. It's not a bad area but there's not a lot going on at night, if that matters to you, like there would be downtown or in Fishermans Wharf. One bus will take you to Union Square or it's less than $10 cab.

This is a long thread now and I might have missed it but I think you've only bid for 3.5* in Fisherman's Wharf. If you prefer to stay in a busier or more central area you might consider bidding to your limit for a 3* in FW too. Even the 2.5* Holiday Inn Express is generallly well liked. A 3* in FW for $110 or $120 would probably be a good deal for these dates.

And $139 might be more than enough for a 3.5* or 3* in a Downtown zone too, if it's not enough for a 4*.

[Sciamano]

I've noticed this increase in prices in NYC also. Sure it's good that hotels are having a good season, otherwise they would all close and it wouldn't be good. But Priceline-wise speaking, it's getting more difficult to get a good deal in the big cities, and this is somehow disappointing for those of us who have been using Priceline for more than a decade, when you could get the Hilton in NYC for less than $80/night :-)

Anyway, we don't care about nightlife, since my in-laws are not people who get out at night much. We really only need a clean and decent place to sleep. Also we are going by car, so a cheap parking would be a plus.

I've stayed in JapanTown more than 15 years ago and I remember it as a quiet neighbourhood, very different from the "usual" San Francisco, but still interesting. If it remained so during the years, I think we wouldn't mind staying there.

Still, I'll try for 3* or lower in FW, and see what happens. FW would definitely be a better place to stay considering it's the first time for my in-laws in SF.

I'll report when I get back. I'm leaving for Venice (Italy, not California) tonight, so I won't be able to bid. :)

I'd like to thank everyone for all the insights and the continuous help we get from this board.

[Gallus50]

Hotel Griffon is 3* FD/Ferry Building on LMT for about $137. It's on request, so you have to ask to see if it's a go. (Thought it was cheaper yesterday, but I can't remember.)

[Sciamano]

Hotel Griffon is 3* FD/Ferry Building on LMT for about $137. It's on request, so you have to ask to see if it's a go. (Thought it was cheaper yesterday, but I can't remember.)

The only problem is that $137+tax equals $164, which is a little over our budget. Considering parking is extra, it would mean about $200 per night at least... :)