If you are going to San Francisco

Advantages: Location, value for money, free parking
Disadvantages: Noise

...Having a day to kill in San Francisco (lucky me!) before catching an early morning flight, I needed a hotel, and decided to stay in town rather than near the airport. I searched on Expedia and found the Francisco Bay Inn. One of the features I was looking for was free parking, and the Francisco Bay offers it. There were cheaper options, but not when you add $10-$20 to park your car. Expedia gave me a rate of £39, prepaid, and I took it. Another advantage of the Francisco Bay is its location. This is also a disadvantage. It is on Lombard Street, near the corner of Van Ness, within easy walking distance of Fisherman's Wharf and other attractions. However, Lombard is a major, six-lane thoroughfare, part of Highway 101 as it wends its way to the Golden Gate Bridge. This means constant traffic noise, right through the night. Earplugs are...

Quakerman 05.12.2004 · Read review
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Review of Francisco Bay Inn, San Francisco

Quick tour of San Francisco!

Advantages: Got to see alot in a short space of time
Disadvantages: Slightly expensive. Mostly on the bus

...Gray Line San Francisco Sightseeing This Gray Line San Francisco sightseeing tour lasts approximately three and half-hours. It will take you around different sights and areas of interest in San Francisco. They depart daily at 9.15am, 11.15am and 2.15pm. It costs in American dollars $44 (adult), $22 (child) and $42 (seniors over 60). To give you an idea of the current exchange rate 1 United States Dollar is equal to approximately 0.61 British pounds. We booked out tour in out hotel, which included a transfer bus to our tour. The tour started in Fisherman's Wharf, which we drove through seeing the unique little restaurants, which was buzzing with people. Then we drove through Chinatown and the financial district. A short stop at Mission Dolores was next where we stopped for food. It was a Catholic mission church, which you...

DeniseKelly40 19.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of San Francisco (Gray Line City Tour)

The Dakota hotel: cheap hotel in the heart of San Francisco

Advantages: Cheap, clean and location, location, location!
Disadvantages: old-fashioned, elevator from hell

...In 2007-2008 I lived in San Francisco for work for 4.5 months. The first two week I spent in the Dakota Hotel, in search for a spot of my own. Dakota hotel caught my eye for a number of reasons: the price and the location. Normally, you'd have to rob a bank or two to stay in a hotel in the heart of San Francisco for two weeks. Luckily, Dakota offered an attractive rate for long-term stays. I thought it would certainly be worth a look, given it's excellent location. Location You see, location is undoubtedly one of Dakto Hotels strongest points. This hotel is situated on 606 Post Street, approximately 2 blocks from Union Square. In the street itself, there are a number of restaurants and a small supermarket. The hotel is on the edge of what are considered to be the good neighbourhoods in San Francisco. Two blocks down, you...

hetvuurtje 19.04.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Dakota, San Francisco

Hitchcock's San Francisco Hideaway

Advantages: Excellent value for money, great location
Disadvantages: Old fashioned style

...Just got back from a lovely holiday in San Francisco where we stayed at the York Hotel at 940 Sutter Street, just 4 blocks from the central Union Square area and only 2 blocks from the major transport stops at Powell Street. History: Built in the 1920s, the hotel still has many of its original features, including Bakerlite electrical fittings and ceramic solid baths. It also has a history. If you're a Hitchcock film fan you'll love the fact that Vertigo was filmed here and you will spot the square white hotel staircase used in the film as James Stewart suffers an attack of Vertigo. Also perseved are two of the rooms associated with the film (rooms 301 and 501, also referred to as the Vertigo Room and the Kim Novak room respectively) both of which can be rented for an additional cost and contain posters and photos taken from...

piano123 11.03.2007 · Read review
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Review of York Hotel, San Francisco

Comfy Days by the Bay

Advantages: Clean, simple, cheap, good location
Disadvantages: can be noisy in front of hotel rooms

...I recently spent a very pleasent 6 nights in the Comfort Inn by the Bay in sunny San Francisco. The building itself is typical of hotels within this chain, simple, basic, no frills, but comfortable and pleasent enough to stay in. The entrance lobby is not vast, but big enough that it can easily accomodate several groups of people as you wait to check in/check out, etc. It has a few casual sofas, some hardback chairs, payphones and plenty of leaflets and similar about all things local. There is staff on reception 24/7 which is handy, and we found them very helpful. Being our first time abroad we where confused about the telephone codes and numbers, but they patiently went through it with us on more than one occasion! There are only 2 lifts, which I must admit did prove to be a pain. We were on the ninth floor and sometimes seemed...

rusticgirl 28.03.2008 · Read review
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Review of Comfort Inn by the Bay, San Francisco

I Left My Heart In San Francisco

Advantages: Easy to use, comprehensive and sturdy
Disadvantages: Slightly heavy

...San Francisco is a wonderful city and before you go you really need to read up on this fantastic place. Before a recent trip I made sure to buy my handy Eyewitness Guide for San Francisco and Northern California. So, let's look at it! Cover: The book is laminated paper back that is VERY sturdy. The photographs and art work of San Francisco decorate the front and make it very inviting. The back gives a quick overview of what is in the book and more pictures and maps. On the inside cover you will find a map of San Francisco colour coded for the various areas and makes it easy to find the information in the book about specific areas. The areas are: Presidio Golden Gate Park and Land's End Haight Ashbury and the Mission Civic Center Pacific Heights and the Marina Chinatown and Nob Hill Fisherman's Wharf and North Beach...

ukusa 20.12.2004 · Read review
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Review of San Francisco

The Streets of San Francisco

Advantages: saves money, time, hassle
Disadvantages: some confusion over the Alcatraz tour

...If anyone is thinking of visiting San Francisco then I have a tip which will save you money in an otherwise expensive city and help you do the things tourists want to do as easily as possible. My tip is that you buy a Citypass ticket at the first tourist attraction listed below. This ticket gives you unlimited city travel by bus, streetcar or the famous cablecars for 7 consecutive days from the date of first use as well as admission to 5 main attractions including Alcatraz. Another major feature is that there is no further time wasted waiting in queues to buy more tickets. The other attractions included on the ticket are: the Exploratorium, the California Academy of Sciences, the Palace of the Legion of Honor, and the SF Museum of Modern Art. There are a number of points to bear in mind when buying a Citypass and using it...

docrt 24.03.2001 · Read review
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Review of San Francisco (California)

The Westin St Francis Hotel. San Francisco

Advantages: Nice hotel
Disadvantages: Bad staff

...If you have heard the expression "Meet me by the clock" spoken by an American, it derives from the famous St Francis hotel in San Francisco with the huge Magenta grandfather clock in the foyer. It was built in 1904 and opened to much fan fare. It originally had just 2 tower blocks, providing luxorious accomodation to the rich and famous. It has since been extended with an extra front tower that matches the building as well as an ugly high rise tower block to the rear that does not fit in. Several famous guests have stayed there over the years and led to some controversy. During the 1920's Fatty Arbuckle stayed there. Friends with Charlie Chaplin and other Silent film performers, the larger than life man was accused of killing a young woman in his suite during a drunken party. It has also been the resting place of Robert...

andycharger 12.07.2001 · Read review
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Review of San Francisco (California)

Need a place to stay in San Francisco?

Advantages: Good value, comfortable, close to attractions, great location
Disadvantages: Basic, but not necessarily a disadvantage (see review)

...The Castle Inn is a small B&B/motel and one of the best kept accommodation secrets in San Francisco. My wife and I stayed there for our belated honeymoon for just over a week in April this year, encouraged by all the great reviews we had seen on various websites. Whilst it can't compete with the likes of the Sheratons and upper-end Holiday Inns in the luxury stakes, it has plenty of its own plus points setting it apart from the more well known hotels. The first thing you'll notice on arrival at the Castle Inn is its location - on Broadway in the Russian Hill district, it's set away from the main tourist hubs. Instead, you're right in with the locals and treated to a more natural SF, a world away from the city's most famous landmarks. Not that it's miles away from anywhere, mind - Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39...

great_badir 12.10.2006 · Read review
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Review of Castle Inn, San Francisco

A San Frantastic Boutique Hotel

Advantages: The price, the location, the staff, the rooms, everything
Disadvantages: ...our shower was like needles

...Introduction: So, we're stuck in Albuquerque, and have pretty much seen about as much desert as we can take. We've 'done' all there is to do. With a spare weekend on our hands, we decided to take advantage of our Geographical positioning and take a trip to somewhere on the west coast. I've always wanted to see San Francisco, and after looking into flights, we found some bargains. So off we go. We looked for reasonable hotels, and came across The Petite Auberge, it wasn't the cheapest we found, but it had an appealing charm that won us over, so we booked. Company info: The Petite Auberge is part of the Joie De Vivre chain, I found this information on their website: "Joie de Vivre Hotels is California's largest boutique hotel company. Started in San Francisco in 1987 by Chip Conley, while in his mid-twenties, Joie de...

MarcoG 11.10.2008 · Read review
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Review of Petite Auberge, San Francisco