SF Hotel ?

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William P
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SF Hotel ?

Post by William P »

Is there a hotel that most people are staying at or is it everybody do your own thing and will meet somewhere when we're settled? Sorry for my ignorance.

Bill
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JimHow
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by JimHow »

hm$ usually takes the lead on this.
I'm sure it'll be a little pricier than usual.
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Blanquito
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by Blanquito »

AirBnB?
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hm$
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by hm$ »

I will try to work on this over the next couple of days.

hm$
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by hm$ »

It was easier than I thought.

My criteria for selection was:

1. Good tripadvisor reviews
2. Sub-$300/night rate (before taxes)
3. Availability of a larger room befitting the Benevolent Dictator
4. AARP/senior-friendly rates to encourage as many of you old coots to attend as possible :lol:

My initial culling has produced:

The Omni (Financial district, near the Embarcadero) - https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/san-francisco (rates from $251)
The Tuscan (Fisherman's Wharf) - http://www.tuscanhotel.com/san-francisc ... hotel.aspx (rates from $223 - $236)
The Orchard (Union Sq.) - http://www.theorchardhotel.com/ (rates from $242, plus 5% cash back, so about $230)
The Griffon (Embarcadero) - http://www.hotelgriffon.com/location.aspx (rates from $181+; the small rooms are apparently quite small)

I would welcome everyone's thoughts.

My initial review of airbnb and VRBO does not suggest to me that these sites offer a viable solution for a group, or that they would result in any substantial savings.

hm$
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William P
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by William P »

The Griffon is the closest to the event but as you know, you get what you pay for. It is a great location for a long morning walk along the bay, very close to the Ferry Building.
The Omni is over by the BofA Building on California ST. and about 8 or 9 blocks. I've heard nice things about it. Price is not bad at all.
The Tuscan is at the Wharf and that is a taxi ride or a long, COLD, beautiful, drunken hike after dinner. Or a hike up or take Bart to Powell and take the Cable Car. It's in the height of the tourist area. I'm not familiar with the hotel.
The Orchard is on Bush between Stockton and Powell. A fair walk or take Bart to Powell and walk up to Union Square area. For me this is the least interesting area.

I would also check the price of the Palace Hotel on New Montgomery. Other than the Griffon, this would be the closest about 5 blocks.

I thinking the Omni from the ones that are listed. Griffon is acceptable because of the great location. But I've also heard the rooms are small. For multi-day people that could be a problem.
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JimHow
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by JimHow »

They all look fine to me, I'll go with whatever you guys decide.
I haven't done any searching, the Hilton Financial District comes in at $234, I have no idea where that is relative to where w are doing our events.
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William P
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by William P »

On Hotels.com the Omni is $193 a night for 4 nights from 3/23 and leave on 3/27.
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hm$
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by hm$ »

The Palace Hotel gets good reviews, but was a step up in price -- it will run $295+ for the smallest room.
At #69, the Hilton Financial District falls outside the top quartile of SF hotels compared with the Omni at #3.

My personal preference is the Omni so far.

hm$
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by JimHow »

Omni is $351 for Wednesday to Sunday.
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William P
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by William P »

Howard, the Palace is $192 a night on Otel.com. Try using Trivago.com for multicomparisons.
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William P
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by William P »

Funny Jim if you cut off Wednesday, it goes down to 193.
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hm$
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by hm$ »

Hmmm. Otel.com is the only place showing that rate. The site says it's refundable; I suspect it's a mistake rate and I don't know how many of us can pile into it before it gets cut off. An excellent find.

Maybe we should try and pile in on the Palace Thursday - Sunday $193 rate, knowing that we can cancel if it only works for a couple of people; use the Omni as a backup if it flops. (If you are coming in Wed, you can always add a stand-alone night at the regular rate by making a separate reservation on the hotel website.)

Or, if we want a place that folks can book all 4 nights and know they have enough space, we can start with the Omni.

hm$
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Blanquito
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by Blanquito »

I played around on Otel.com last night, and I couldn't get it to offer the Palace Hotel at the price Bill found. In fact, Otel wasn't sure there was availability on our dates (?). That said, I'm not an advanced user, so perhaps there's something I did wrong.
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William P
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by William P »

I have approached the Omni about a group rate. I tend to agree with everyone that the Palace rate is an error. It is a good hotel but not at its normal rate.

Bill
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AKR
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by AKR »

For those who have reward points (Hilton, IHG, SPG etc.) SF is a decent place to burn them because of the high price of hotel rooms, and the additional taxes. Usually one saves the taxes on reward redemptions for hotels, unlike airline tix. I'm probably going to do that, but will also be staying for only a brief visit, unlike those of you making more extensive travels.

SF is so Uber friendly/easy that it really opens up more hotel locations than one would think. Parking can be $50 a day, and maybe 4 Uber rides a day is usually less than that.

I only get into SF maybe 2-3 times a year (surprisingly) but would also point out that visitors can pick up stuff at K&L (SF) in person too. So usually for the 3 months prior to a scheduled visit, I'll start prowling the K&L website. At any given point in time they usually have 1000+ BDX selections, 300+ Rhones on offer. For those ordering remotely, just specify that one will do a 'will call pickup, SF location' which they have a button for on the order form. They have an extensive direct import program in lots of regions, and for my tastes, its much better than others who attempt that.
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by dstgolf »

FYI,

Being Canadian getting banged with the exchange right now I rolled the dice on hotwire. I'm booked in for March 23-26 at le Meridien hotel in the financial district for $155USD per night. Looks good 4* with 95% rating by guests. Sounded good as anything???


CAD333 *
CAD207
per night
LOVE IT
38% off
4-star Boutique Hotel in Financial District - Embarcadero area
0.0 - 1.0 mi | Map
95% recommended Amazing!
Pet friendly, Boutique hotel, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access
Danny
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William P
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by William P »

That's a nice place and a great deal.
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William P
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by William P »

I just booked at the Omni. I did it through Hotwire which is a blind bind.
Two nights at $207 a night with fees it comes to $520 for two nights.

This was more expensive than Trivago.com but I was gambling to see if I could get the Hotel Vitale (the only Hotwire 4.5 hotels in the FD were Omni or Vitale) which is the perfect choice for the event though very, very pricey. I lost my gamble.

It's the 4.5 star in the financial center - 90% recommend rate. The Hotels.com/Trivago.coms sights are better for the omni.

Bill
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JimHow
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by JimHow »

I'm all for staying at the Omni, it would be nice to narrow this down before I leave the country on Thursday morning.
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William P
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by William P »

I would like to help. What I need is, for those who are coming and want a hotel, tell me the dates of your stay. The Omni won't negotiate until I have at least 10 rooms to book and we don't have that. Mahalo to the five friends who have responded.

Bill
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JimHow
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by JimHow »

wed to sun for me
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stefan
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by stefan »

Thursday to Sunday for Lucie and me.
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Blanquito
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Re: SF Hotel ?

Post by Blanquito »

Weds to Sunday for me and my brother (single room, two beds please).
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