So, the gooti and I were married back in October and we didn’t take a honeymoon yet. We had 3 or 4 cities that we wanted to see but I think we have eliminated the rest of them … SF it is!
So then…I am looking around online and I just found the the Pheonix Hotel , which looks like it could be a lot of fun. Whatcha know about this place? We’re open to any other Hotel suggestions as well. I’d like to keep them in the $100-$150 range per night.
We’re very likely going to be there in late April early May, the way our work schedules are panning out. I know there are some museums, and there’s always a Giants’ game. We’ll probably go to Alcatraz and Chinatown. I’ve heard Fisherman’s Wharf is total tourist trap and it sucks…is this true?
What else should we do and what should we avoid?
Thanks!
That hotel is nice, but is in just about the crappiest neighborhood you could possibly find. Backflip, a once-trendy club/lounge is in the hotel. I dunno if it still cool, my clubbing days are long gone.
Good luck, if I can think of a good hotel in a nice area I’ll post again.
That depends…
What are you looking for? Something downtown? By the wharf? Close to the airport? Are you going to be using it for much more than a place to sleep and drop your stuff? If you don’t mind driving a bit, want a decent restaurant in the hotel, and something semi-romantic, I really cannot recommend the Sofitel enough. About $110 a night, and absolutely beautiful.
We probably will cab it everywhere we need to go. So a bit of a drive is probably not in the cards. We want something near the fun. Wherever and Whatever that is (more along the drunken binge vein, not so much in the opera vein). I imagine it will be downtown somewhere – We will probably drink a lot during the evenings, want to see some of the famous SF sights during the days, and ____________ (hoping someone can fill in the blank with a good suggestion.)
I’m fond of Ghirardelli Square, which is mostly just shops, but there’s a nice architectural bookstore there. And of course the sundaes. Okay, I’m highly food-motivated.
To that end, I recommend Kuleto’s, very yummy dinner. The Cliff House is also quite nice. Make sure to avoid the rotating restaurant on top of the Hyatt, the food is crap.
Wandering the ruins of Sutro Baths can be fun. The DeYoung museum is nice (not sure if it’s open currently) Palace of the Legion of Honor is a very fine art museum as well. The California Academy of Sciences will be closed, but their temporary exhibit on Howard St. might be open by the time you’re there.
Not to be missed is the Exploratorium, if you’re at all interested in general science; it has tons of hands-on exhibits to play with. It’s build amongst the last remaining architecture from the Panama Pacific International Exhibition, which is really fabulous.
Golden Gate Park is nice to wander through, and I believe on sundays they close off some of the streets for folks to skate on.
The San Francisco Zoo is enjoyable, if you like that sort of thing. Not a huge zoo, but still good.
Chinatown can be fun, although eventually you realize that every store seems to have the same asian-themed junk in it. For fabulous dim sum I go to Yank Sing on…Speare St, I think. Oh so good.
All of these places are googleable; I’m too lazy to give you urls.
I visited a few Dopers at that hotel a few weeks ago. I made sure to look over my shoulder as I walked, but I wouldn’t avoid it totally. It’s not far off the beaten path- Van Ness and Polk, both of which have a healthy nightlife. Not too far from the Red Devil Lounge or Great American Music Hall, two live music venues, and Edenburgh Castle, a pretty cool bar is also nearby. (Then again, SF is a teeny tiny little City, and you’re really never far from anything.)
The Wharf basically is a tourist trap, but it has its nice spots- I frequent a bar/restaurant called Pompei’s Grotto, whose staff is delightfully goofy, and the place attracts a pretty eclectic crowd- local fishermen, tourists, and just plain locals liek me.
My contact info’s in my profile- don’t hesitate to contact me for more advice- I love showing people around here!
No on the Phoenix. The 'hood looks worse than it is. But their remodel was a while ago, and it’s kind of lost some of it’s charm.
But I’d check out The York, or Nob Hill Hotel, The Carlton, or some of the other smaller, but nicer Hotels downtown.
The Wharf and Pier 39 are for tourists, but so is Alcatraz. They’re all fun. Chinatown too. So is Japantown for a few hours and lunch. The top of Twin Peaks has a great view. And ride a cable car or two.
As another posted mentioned, this is a small city. It easy to get around. Just walking around the nighboorhoods is cool too.
I stayed at the Argent last time I was in SF, and it was the best Hotel experience I’ve ever had. The rooms are kind of pricey, as I recall - I was there for a meeting so we got a discount. But, this far in advance I’m sure you could find some kind of special.
The thing that was so nice about the hotel was the staff, besides being walking distance to Chinatown and great shopping, etc. Every time we wanted to do something, we asked the concierge and they never steered us to less than a perfect experience. And, without asking, they never sent us to a restaurant that was out of our price range. Pure magic.
Whenever I go back to San Francisco, I won’t consider staying anywhere else. It was just that good.
I don’t live in SF as I am a bit south but I will recommend that you visit the Muir Woods. It is not to far away and a stop in Sausalito would be nice.You will need a car but there are some fine redwood trees there which should be seen. Bring layers of clothes because it can be chilly in our area.
Make sure to pre-buy tickets to Alcatraz or get reservations. They sell out sometimes, esp in nice weather.
If you have time, take the elevator to the top of the Transamerica building, the views are quite fabulous.
Oh, and you must eat at Zarzuela (2000 Hyde St, Phone: (415) 346-0800). Spanish tapas, everything is good. Call ahead and get there when they open, otherwise you’ll end up waiting outside, drinking sangria.
If you have money and lots of it, really must eat at La Folie (2316 Polk Street Phone: (415) 776-5577). Get the foie gras stuffed birds appetizer. Your mouth will have an orgasm. I’m quite serious.
I haven’t lived there for about 3 years, but expect the Phoenix to be very, very noisy. Zero chance of sleep before about 2:30am. The hotel is built in a square with rooms around 3 sides of the pool. Backflip is on the fourth side and patrons regularly go into the pool area to smoke. I don’t recall the neighbourhood being too bad so unless it has changed dramatically I would say it will be quite safe.
Back Flip isn’t too bad a place, and it is just next to Jezebelles Joint which is a good weirdo hang out. Not a pleasent area, but street crime doesn’t seem to be an issue in SF (well I’ve been through all sorts of seedy areas without trouble or sign of trouble). I wouldn’t recomend this area to a nervous woman walking on her own late at night.
You should use the cabel cars to get arround if you can, a three day ticket doesn’t cost much and allows you to use any public transport in the city including the cable cars and trolly busses.
I’m no expert, but I’ve been there a few times. Fisherman’s Wharf is awfully touristy, but the best part is watching the sunbathing sea lions. To me it’s worth the trip just for that. I second the recommendation for Muir Woods; the redwoods are amazing! You feel like you’re in some kind of prehistoric forest.
I must stick in a plug for my childhood friend’s husband, who is the Webmaster for the Exploratorium. He’s been working on some cool educational stuff for the website, involving making music with everyday objects. I haven’t looked to see if he put them up yet, but there should be some other cool stuff there too.
If you’re going to be in town long enough that you might want to get out of the city a bit, try a day trip to Napa/Sonoma. There must be bus tours or something if you don’t want to rent a car and drive. Beautiful countryside, and if you’re a wine drinker, it’s fun and educational to tour a winery (and maybe a tasting room or two). Or it’s great biking; I’m sure you can rent bikes there somewhere.
Can’t really help you on the acommodations, though; I always stay with friends.
