San Francisco trip

[Cherbear013]

MY husband and I need to make a business trip out to San Francisco next month for a few days. We will be driving from Colorado with our 9 month old and 2 dogs. Are there any good places to stay in the area that are reasonably priced? Our meeting is at the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental. I've looked at VRBO too but they are all too expensive. My cousin told me about airbnb.com and I've found a few possibilities. Any other suggestions?

 

[shortbun]

San Fran isn't cheap and what IS cheap is undesirable most of the time. The dogs severely limit your choices, as you probably already know. You might be able to find something by the airport which is a long way from town. I booked us a cheap hotel near Sausolito once and we ended up in a brothel. Beware.

 

[Zerosinthecloset]

If you plan to stay in the City, be aware that parking can run as much as $50/day depending on the hotel.

I'm pretty sure the Omni is a pet friendly hotel, depending the size of your dorgs, and it's a short cable car ride to the Mark Hopkins.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Why are you bringing your dogs? What are they going to do all day? I agree that this is going to really restrict where you can stay.

Downtown hotels are going to be quite expensive. You can find cheaper ones, but lots of these are rather sketchy. You might want to browse tripadvisor.com for some ideas of what is available.

 

[branv]

If you plan to stay in the City, be aware that parking can run as much as $50/day depending on the hotel.

I'm pretty sure the Omni is a pet friendly hotel, depending the size of your dorgs, and it's a short cable car ride to the Mark Hopkins.

I was just going to mention this -- I know last time DH went for business (he goes every year), parking at the Hyatt near the convention was like $30/night.

The very first time we went to SF, DH's convention was at a hotel near the airport. Nice enough place, but it is far. We thought it would be simple to explore SF with our rental car. Ugh...no. We were miserable and hated it. Traffic was awful, parking impossible and crazy expensive for even hourly rates. The next time we went, we did all the research on the trains and buses, mapping out where we wanted to go and how to get there. It was an AMAZING trip. And so easy, even for people like us who were completely uninitiated with public transportation. OP, if you choose to stay outside the city center, definitely plan on using public transportation. If I'm not mistaken, they now even have a phone app for it.

So be aware that it may suit you to pay a little more for a hotel that includes parking. However, those seem to be more rare. I remember years ago when we were really on a budget, I considered this place: http://www.chelseamotorinn.com/ and its sister properties. I know at least one of them includes parking. It's dated and not spiffy, but...at least then...it was popular for people who wanted clean, affordable rooms in safe areas. I'd just check on trip advisor first to make sure they're still getting decent ratings. Also, on one trip we got an amazing rate on Priceline for the Fisherman's Wharf Marriott. We rode up in the elevator with a couple who were talking about the rate they paid using the Marriott website. We'd paid like 1/3 of what they did. Go to biddingfortravel.com to see what hotels typically are the ones won using priceline or hotwire.

Good luck!