Travelomania

We will be a 4-adult-family "doing" San Francisco plus Yosemite over X-mas and the following days.

I'd like very much to stay in a HH or HP in a San Francisco area, where parking would be no problem and I can use points.

Can anyone recommend a HH or HP in the vicinity and mention why one would have preference over the other ?

TIA !

365RoadWarrior

The Hyatt House in San Ramon is in a nice area. The HH in Belmont is area short drive from interesting things. The Emeryville property is a short hop from San Francisco; best choice for SF-proper. The Santa Clara HH is in a nicer shopping center, though not near much else. The HH Silicon Valley is in a more limited shopping center, but near light rail to San Jose and many other nice spots (e.g. Mountain View). HP downtown San Jose is right in the middle of an interesting city; paid parking, but it might be my first choice.

HH Pleasanton and HP Fremont are basically in industrial parks. HP Dublin has a little shopping eating nearby, but nothing very interesting; good freeway access for your onward travels.

Kacee

Depends on what you mean by "San Francisco area." If you want to be in San Francisco, there's nothing. Any HP/HH will be at least 15 minutes drive from the City (closest would be Emeryville), and multiple that by 2x-4x at most times of day due to traffic.

notquiteaff

HH Belmont is very close to a Caltrain station, so you can get to the city without taking your car if that is what you want. They have two bedroom suites with two bathrooms and. Shared kitchen/dining/living room in between. Not sure how they price them (I have often gotten them as a single traveler as an “upgrade”), but that setup might be nice for a family of for adults.

MSPeconomist

My guess is that Emeryville might be cheap around the holidays because a significant part of their business would be visitors to UC Berkeley.

Also, around the holiday period, don't assume that evening reception offerings will continue; verify with the property if this matters.

Also, don't assume that all HP/HH outside of the city offer free parking. I don't think this is true for HP around LAX and I know that the aloft/Westin near SFO does charge for parking. Check the website for details.

Isn't there a HH or especially HP around SFO?

Is your schedule such that you would prefer to be located on the "right" side of SF relative to Yosemite, versus having to drive through a lot of traffic when you leave for Yosemite?

notquiteaff

There is the HR in Burlingame, and then the HH in Belmont, some 10 miles south of SFO.

The latter has free parking, the former has a paid parking garage and I think some free street parking (check the thread for that property for details; there was some discussion about car breakins).

Travelomania

Correct.


Not important.

Some are blocked for award stays, while others have no vacancy.
And it is not so much about the "free" parking as it will be about the - sometimes outrageous - fee for parking.
i.e. I just booked SF Fairmont and was informed that daily parking would be $78.-
(This will be for the rental, since we're arriving SFO from various parts in the world for my family's Xmas getogether.)

Exactly - you get my drift

And thanks a lot for your input !

One more question please:

Has Hyatt Place the preference over Hyatt House, since the rates for HP seem to be higher ?

escog

Emeryville may be closer to the City, but you have to cross the Bay Bridge, which during commute hours can be very time consuming. Better for Yosemite, but worse for getting into SF.

One advantage the Emeryville location has is that there's a nearby stop to the Emery Go-Round shuttle. This is a free shuttle bus that takes you around Emeryville and to the MacArthur BART station which you can take into the City.

https://www.emerygoround.com/index.html

Travelomania

Thank you so much - your info is really appreciated !

Kacee

The Bay Bridge sucks at most times of day, but 101 into the city is not that much better . . . it tends to back-up around Cesar Chavez during both the morning and evening commutes (and the window between those two draws ever narrower, now maybe 10:30 am to 1:30 pm you can at least hope for no back-up).

For most people, renting a car for an SF stay is not a great idea. Stay in the city and use public transit and Uber/Lyft. Then rent a car for day trips or when you're ready to head somewhere else.

MSPeconomist

If possible, use BART to get to the city. Since you have a rental car, you might want to focus on things to do outside of the city, such as Muir Woods, Sausalito (although there can be traffic to get there and back), wine country, etc.

Travelomania

Thank you ^

Travelomania

That's what I'm planning on doing. When in the city, just walk or use public transport.
For outside the city - hence the east-side - use the rental.

Travelomania

What is the difference (or preference) between Hyatt Place and Hyatt House ?
I've noticed some differences in rates and award-stay blocking.

TIA !

Kacee

Theoretically HH is more of a long stay option. But the difference property-to-property matters more than brand-to-brand. For instance, Pleasanton HH > Fremont or San Jose HP (both of which suck).