Priceline Hotel: 2.5* San Francisco (Civic Center) Holiday Inn Civic Center

[Colfax]

$42 no, $44 yes.

$149 at Holidayinn.com.

Hotwire had a 3* in Civic Center South-Hayes Valley for $59.

This was my first time at HI CC since they renovated and the new look is a substantial improvement. The last time I stayed here, several years ago, I thought the place was terrible. The HI's exterior is unchanged, still looks 1970's, but inside the transformation is radical. The lobby is stylish and modern. You'd never guess you were in a Holiday Inn. The room was much better than what I remember too, but not as fancy as the lobby. Room was large with two beds. Bedding and chairs seemed new. No flat panel TV yet.

The HI CC has a nice feature that's rare in SF hotels today: a small but functional private balcony. At most hotels with balconies the sliding glass doors are now bolted shut, for safety reasons, or they're rigged to just open a sliver. This sliding door opened all the way...lots of fresh air...and from the balcony I had an unobstructed 180 degree view to the south. They gave me a good room on a high floor...most of the HI rooms don't have unobstructed view like this, and some have no views at all.

HI's renovated their parking rates too. Parking is up to $35/night now, self parking with in and out privileges. Internet is free.

Bids were placed through the BetterBidding PRICELINE link.

[thereuare]

Congratualtions on your success!

Looks like this was a great rate and a very good stay. Nice to see you were pleasantly surprised by the renovations and you received a good room assignment.

I think the Holiday Inn is trying to spruce up their brand a little (started with their new logo a few months ago) and hopefully your experience is a sign of more things to come from this chain.

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and using our PRICELINE link to begin your bidding.

Glad you enjoyed your stay.

[Colfax]

I used Add a Night and got 10/19 for $44 too.

Can a mod edit the subject line to show a two night stay, 10/18-10/20. Thanks.

[thereuare]

DONE... thanks for the update.

Hope this is a good sign that you enjoyed your stay.

[Colfax]

I enjoyed my stay, thanks to the good room assignment and the balcony.

Overall I still prefer the classic Whitcomb Hotel next door, but with this stay the Holiday Inn jumped up a couple notches in my estimation. It really matters what room you get though. If I win the HI again and get assigned a low floor connecting room with no view I'll probably offer to pay an upgrade fee for a preferred room.

[thereuare]

Glad to hear this worked out well... thanks for the report.

[WillTravel]

Colfax, thanks for the report. I don't remember seeing a Holiday Inn next door to the Whitcomb, but I guess I wasn't looking very hard. How does this compare to Holiday Inn Golden Gateway for you?

[Colfax]

I used "next door" loosely. The Whitcomb's entrance is on Market Street and Holiday Inn's entrance is around the corner on Eighth Street, so the hotels don't look next door at street level. But the Whitcomb's rearmost wall is almost flush against the Holiday Inn and the reason many HI rooms have no view is that the Whitcomb is blocking them. The two hotels are very close.

As far as which hotel I prefer...well they're both Holiday Inns, but the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway is in a better neighborhood than HI Civic Center, imo. HI-GG and HI-CC are at opposite ends of Priceline's Civic Center zone and the further north you go in that zone the better it gets. HI-GG is at the far north end of the zone, walking distance to Pacific Heights, and there are lots of good little restaurants and local non-chain shops in that area. HI-GG also has some terrific view rooms, and the cable car stops less than a block away.

HI-CC's advantages are that it's newly renovated, has a much nicer lobby, and it's walking distance to BART and Moscone Convention Center, which the other HI isn't.

Priceline rates HI-GG as 3* and HI-CC as 2.5*. Although ratings are supposed to be based on amenities, not location, I think the HI-CC is being penalized a half point for its marginal location. The same is true for Whitcomb, also a Priceline 2.5*. If the Whitcomb was closer to Union Square I think it would be rated 3*, maybe 3.5* with a little polishing.