I haven’t been to San Francisco in about 5 years. My friends are going next month and are staying at the Monarch Hotel 1015 Geary Street. As they’re paying a very cheap rate, I was wondering about the safety of the area. One of my friends is from NYC, so he’s used to panhandling and other minor urban annoyances. What can be expected in that part of San Francisco?
The address is less than a block from Van Ness Ave which is as busy a thoroughfare as you’ll find in SF, with lots of foot traffic, good lighting, public transit connections, and stores/restaurants that are open late (or all night). There’s a bit of an adult district nearby and I wouldn’t want to walk further east at night from there, but if your friend’s used to NYC, that shouldn’t be a problem at all.
I went to San Francisco three years ago for the first time. I stayed not far from there on Geary Street. I was watching my then 6 month old daughter by myself most of the trip so I was concerned about safety and general hassle.
The area seemed perfectly fine to me although there were lots of homeless people typical of San Francisco. I don’t forsee any problems for them.
That’s *just * outside of the Tenderloin , often considered the worst part of the city.
We stay in a hotel around that area pretty frequently, I’ve never felt unsafe.
If your friend is used to walking around NYC, they should be fine.
I stayed in a hotel on Van Ness (the Cathedral Hill) earlier this year during my first ever trip to San Francisco and walked along Geary Street several times on my way to or from the hotel.
It might not be the snazziest part of the city but there did not appear to be anything particularly untoward going on, even quite late at night.
The Tenderloin is perfectly fine and has been for years, don’t worry about it. the only “bad” part left in SF is the Hunter’s Point/Bayview area, which you absolutely will not accidentally wander into. The Edinburgh Castle is a fun bar in the TL, if you like that sort of thing.
It’s a little skeevy, but you’ll be perfectly fine. Plus there’s all kinds of cool stuff to do right near there. E-mail me (or keep this thread alive 
) if you want to know more.