Are you going with your husband? We spent our honeymoon in San Fransisco and stayed at the Union Street Inn. It's not a hotel, but rates are reasonable and the bus service was fantastic. My parents recently stayed at The Chancellor. They said the rooms were small but clean. Reasonable rates. They said to ask for a room on the street.

San Fransisco and Monterey? Heaven.

We stayed the majority of our time last October at the Holiday Inn Golden Gate, which, while being far from fancy, was nice enough. It's got a great views of downtown (here are a couple of pics I snapped from our window)and is right on the trolley line. I was pleased with it, even though we had no choice (we were there for a conference that the S.O. got sent to). Looks like it's about $150-$170 a night in June.

We stayed our final night at the Ramada Inn Downtown San Francisco. Avoid it like the plague. To say it sucked balls is offensive to both bottom-feeders and testicles of the nastiest variety. We seriously just had to laugh to prevent ourselves from going nuts and destroying things. Unfortunately, it was fleet week, so everything else was booked solid. I hate that hotel with a fiery passion. I had better accomodations the night I spent sleeping on a bench under a bridge in Newcastle, England. Fuck them.

Thanks Lori, I'll put them on the list.

Also, no, I'll be alone. I'm in SF for two days and then going to a conference in Monterey. So small rooms aren't a problem.

I've stayed at the Best Western Canterbury Hotel, which is a few blocks from Union Station. As I recall, the price was fine, the rooms were small, but the hotel was very nice.

ufez, glad to hear Holiday Inn Golden Gate is decent. We try to rack up Holiday Inn points as much as possible.

I checked into a Best Western south of Market--don't remember which one--and was eaten alive by bedbugs. I switched to the Holiday Inn by Fisherman's Wharf,which also had a coin laundry (one of my top criteria), but I had to go through the parking lot to get there and it was locked at night.

Make sure to go to Sears on Union Square for breakfast--call ahead though, it's not open every day.


And you'll be able to get extra-sourdough bread!

Getting from SFO to Monterey

Other than hitching (which I have done), this seems the best bet.

gaspode, i'm not the most experienced at SFO, however i can definitely second the Union Street Inn.

This is great folks. Thank you so much (incl the ones to avoid!) Of course, keep the recs coming. Will look into the airbus thingy as well. Awesome.

Depending on how firm your price range is... I always put my father in the Hotel Palomar, which is rather inexpensive for the quality of the hotel, I think, especially at Christmas, which is when he visits. June's a bit higher, but they're showing king rooms for $229 in June. (That was a weekend rate.) It's really a super super nice place.

It's part of the (local?) Kimpton chain, which I've heard good things about in general. Hotels.com often has discounts in SF, and I'd have no qualms about booking any of the Kimpton hotels through them. (Though I have heard mixed reviews of the Drake -- my parents loved it, but I've also heard it can be noisy.)

Hotel Nikko is also surprisingly cheap sometimes, especially on weekends (looks like they're showing right around $200 for weekends in June). Both Nikko and Palomar also seem to have 5-10% discounts for AAA members, if that applies to you.

Definitely avoid Hotel Diva. Some friends stayed there once and it was like paying $300 a night to sleep in Ikea. Ugh.

Pode, depdending on your dates, I know someone (i.e., me) who might be willing to drive you to Monterey. I could use a couple days down there anyway.

Send me an email if you're interested.

I realize now I should have just emailed you. Stupid. Sorry.

The buses sucked three years ago--I would step out from the shelter at night when I saw one coming, and I KNOW the drivers saw me, but they roared past me and I had to take a cab. Next trip I'll rent a car.