Opinions on San Fran., L.A., & San Diego Hotels?

[AshleeH]

Honest opinions needed for potential hotel choices:

San Francisco - The only choice I have so far is the Argonaut. A little pricey, but (aside from Disneyland) we'll be in S.F. for the most nights, so we might splurge a bit. Is it worth it?

Los Angeles - Touristy things planned (Mann's, Walk of Fame). When we were planning Universal for a day, I was looking at the Sheraton Universal and the Hilton in that area. I'm open to other options!

San Diego - The zoo is the big plan (although we might add a day in SeaWorld if we have more time) - the Doubletree by Hilton looked like it was a good location to get to the zoo.


Any alternatives? Are these good choices?

 

[mr.bungle]

http://www.halfmooninn.com/

 

[mr.bungle]

http://www.halfmooninn.com/

I'm sorry, the dis app won't let me edit on the iPad or even fix before I post. Humphreys is in SD and pretty nice and in a good location.

 

[gatorfreud]

I have heard that people like the Argonaut.

 

[bamagirl@hrt]

We stayed at The Argonaut in October and LOVED it! The location is perfect! It is directly across the street from Hyde Pier with its historic boats. There is even a free maritime museum in the hotel. It's right next door to one of the cable car turn abouts. We were able to look out our window to check the crowd level before getting in line. Ghiradelli Square is just up the hill from the cable car - yummy chocolate and ice cream sundaes!

You are also in easy walking distance of Fisherman's Wharf but removed from a lot of the crowds. Plus, the theme of the hotel is just fun!

 

[AshleeH]

Thank you! The Argonaut is looking better and better - now if DH will be okay with the price, we'll be set . It will be a bit of a splurge, but we'll be staying in cheap motels on the drive to CA (3-4 nights) so he might be ready for a splurge by the time we get to S.F. .

 

[bcla]

You might be able to book it on Priceline or other online travel agent. You might also be able to get a tiny discount for booking a nonrefundable rate (less than $10 actually).

 

[bamagirl@hrt]

If you have AAA, the hotel does offer a discount for that. Also, check TripAdvisor. I was able to get a discount code through their listing (still booked through the hotel's website) that gave me 20% off. It was better than the AAA rate. I think we paid just over $300/night.

The valet parking is what gets you, though. We had a rental, as we had come to SF from Yosemite. I was expecting the $45/night parking fee. However, I wasn't expecting an EXTRA $15/night because our rental was an SUV. With tax, we paid $70/night for parking! That was the only damper on an otherwise perfect stay.

 

[ncc1701]

We liked the Hyatt at FW in San Francisco. Sometimes Hyatt has a deal if you stay 3 nights the 4th is free. It is a few blocks away from the Argonaut. We never had a car so I can't speak about the parking but $40.00 or more a night would be the norm.

 

[nycdisneygal]

We stayed at the argonaut in june and loved it!! It was pricey but really nice and everymorning I took a walk by the water... We are going back to SF next month but its b/c my sister has a conference and we need to stay near her conf in union sq (so we are trying another kimpton hotel but hear that its not as good as the argonaut)...

 

[larina]

We stayed at the argonaut in june and loved it!! It was pricey but really nice and everymorning I took a walk by the water... We are going back to SF next month but its b/c my sister has a conference and we need to stay near her conf in union sq (so we are trying another kimpton hotel but hear that its not as good as the argonaut)...

We are Union Square stayers when in SF. Now that I don't live there, I like to be where I can walk any time and feel safe, so we stay ON Powell mostly. R
We've had recent stays at the Drake (it's a Kimpton hotel and a family favorite), the St. Francis and the Parc 55. All are nice, but spring for a view, it makes the stay!