i’m planning a trip to san fran end of march and need to make hotel reservations. a friend recommended these 2. i dont know which one would be better. i want it to be in close distance to fisherman’s whaf, golden gate park and bridge as well as the pier where alcatraz is. i looked up the hotels but any recommendations would help.
thx.
Tags: Fishermans, Francisco, Hotel, Sheraton, Wharf
Since I live in the Bay Area, I haven’t stayed at these hotels, but I can give some general advice.
First, there are reviews of both hotels on TripAdvisor:
http://www. tripadvisor. com/Hotel_Review-g60713-d81375-Reviews-Sheraton_Fisherman_s_Wharf_Hotel-San_Francisco_California. html
http://www. tripadvisor. com/Hotel_Review-g60713-d119650-Reviews-Francisco_Bay_Inn-San_Francisco_California. html
The Sheraton is a higher-class hotel, and also gets better ratings. The Sheraton is ranked 86th out of 250 hotels in the city, while the Francisco Bay Inn is ranked 147th.
Second, in terms of location, the Sheraton is definitely better. It’s very close to the Fisherman’s Wharf area (which also includes the boat to Alcatraz, Pier 39, and Ghirardelli Square), and close to a cable-car line and the F streetcar which can take you to other interesting spots (Ferry Building, downtown, and the Castro). The Francisco Bay is somewhat more out of the way.
(Note that San Francisco is a relatively small city with good public transit, so you can get from anywhere to anywhere else without too much trouble; but the Sheraton is a little more convenient. )
If money is an issue, the Francisco Bay is typically about $100 less a night. Hotel prices can vary tremendously, however, depending on the season and on what bargains you can find. The end of March is kind of an off-season for tourism (and could possibly still be chilly and rainy); and with the current bad economy, you should be able to find some bargains.
If you want to broaden your search, you can look at TripAdvisor’s ranking of hotels, and pick a top-rated one that matches your location preference and budget:
http://www. tripadvisor. com/Hotels-g60713-San_Francisco_California-Hotels. html
Finally, note that the spots you mentioned are not near each other. The Golden Gate bridge is somewhat far from Fisherman’s Wharf (longer than most people want to walk), and Golden Gate Park is in another location altogether; so you can’t find a place close to all three spots. Of these three, only one of them (Fisherman’s Wharf) is close to many hotels. Another concentration of hotels is in the downtown and Union Square areas, and another along Lombard Street (including the Francisco Bay Inn).
I’m a great fan of public transit in the city. If you want to take public transit, you should pick up a Muni transit map when you arrive (and also a 3-day or 7-day Muni passport). You can get them at various places, but one of the most dependable is the kiosk at the corner of Powell Street and Market Street, near the cable-car turnaround. You can drive if you want, but parking can be expensive or difficult in most neighborhoods.