Advice on a hotel in San Francisco. *Solved* (Lock Please)

Esh

So I'm taking a little vacation to see a friend down in San Francisco this September. What I need advice on is a decent hotel in the $200-$250 range per night to stay at. Financial District, Russian Hill, North Beach and basically anything near or in downtown are fine. I really don't want to stay in like a Days Inn or anything, but if I can't afford to be picky I won't be.

Another two part question here. I've never really booked a hotel before. Do you generally have to pay up front or do you pay at the end of the stay and what's the best site to book through to get deals?

Thanks!

Melinoe

Having only lived in San Francisco I have no idea what hotel prices are like; however, I have decided that if I ever do need to stay in a hotel there for some reason it would be the Westin St Francis. It overlooks Union Square and is pretty swanky so it may be out of your price range but like I said I have no first hand knowledge of this. It does have sweet elevators that look out over the city as you go up them and give you an amazing view.

Second part I can be a bit more helpful on, IIRC when my boyfriend and I went on vacation they put your credit card on file when you get there but don't charge you anything until you check out. We generally checked hotwire or some such site for the best deal while we were en route to our next destination and chose whatever was the best deal, cross-checking hotwire against expedia against whatever other traveling deals sites because sometimes they would have different prices.

Mike Danger

I was in San Francisco this past week for a job interview and they put me up at the Hotel Triton downtown, right next to the Chinatown gate, and it was awesome. I think rooms there start in the $220-$230 a night range?

Talka

Melinoe wrote: »

Having only lived in San Francisco I have no idea what hotel prices are like; however, I have decided that if I ever do need to stay in a hotel there for some reason it would be the Westin St Francis. It overlooks Union Square and is pretty swanky so it may be out of your price range but like I said I have no first hand knowledge of this. It does have sweet elevators that look out over the city as you go up them and give you an amazing view.

Second part I can be a bit more helpful on, IIRC when my boyfriend and I went on vacation they put your credit card on file when you get there but don't charge you anything until you check out. We generally checked hotwire or some such site for the best deal while we were en route to our next destination and chose whatever was the best deal, cross-checking hotwire against expedia against whatever other traveling deals sites because sometimes they would have different prices.

I've stayed at the Westin St Francis myself and liked it. Good location, nice building and a decent price. Seems to have nice reviews online that back up my experience. It's also where my current company likes to stick visitors whenever we need to arrange accommodations.

We also sometimes put people in the Omni or the Galleria Park, both of which are nice but I think slightly more expensive and a little further off Union Square.

Esh

Thanks for the advice, but my friend decided that she's going to come to Portland to visit and stay with me. Saves me the hotel costs. Next time I'm down there I'll look into those places though!