Which San Francisco Hotel?
 

I'll be attending a conference in San Francisco on a Thursday in April (work) and would like to stay the rest of the weekend (fun, tourism). I'll be using Premier certs I've received. I have no status iwth Hyatt.

From reading older threads, it seems that there was some brand realignment in San Francisco relatively recently (last couple of years). How has it all shaken out? Which hotel would you want to spend the weekend in?

The realignment to which you refer is the dropping of the Hyatt affiliation for the hotel formerly called the Park Hyatt. It is now, as I recall, a Meridien. I had stayed there, when it was a Hyatt, many times, with great satisfaction. The Grand Hyatt is an adequate hotel, as is the Hyatt Regency. My wife prefers the former because it is in the center of Union Square shopping, and I prefer the latter because of the shape of the rooms (angular so that there are more or less good views of the Bay) and its location. The Regency is located on the Embarcadero. Another choice, one which we seldom choose, is the Hyatt at Fisherman's Wharf. The hotel is OK, but the location is not optimum for us as very frequent visitors to SF. If you choose the Grand Hyatt, I think an upgrade to the Regency Club would be desirable, if allowed and the payment is reasonable ($30 or $40), since the views from it are spectacular and the offerings are fairly good, including a nice array of breakfast items.

One advantage to the HR on a Saturday would be that it is just steps away from the big Farmer's Market and the gourmet shops and eating places in the adjacent Ferry Building - this is not to be missed if you're any kind of foodie :)

http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/

I would recommend the Grand Hyatt on Union Square or the Hyatt at Fisherman's Wharf. Grand Hyatt for it's amazing views and close proximitiy to shopping and Fisherman's Wharf for it's recently renovated rooms (32" LCD TV's in all rooms) and fitness center as well as being close to all tours such as Alcatraz etc. Fisherman's Wharf has limited views compared to the other two, but has the best rooms.

I'd go for the Grand Hyatt: it has a great location and there's lots to do there, day and night. I haven't stayed at the Fisherman's Wharf, but I can't imagine it can beat the activity in the evenings in and around Union Square.

Thanks for the responses, very interesting.

Alas, it gets somewhat more complicated. It seems the Grand Hyatt isn't available (with certificates) on the last two days of my planned stay. Its certainly so much better to merit breaking up the stay is it?

Grand Hyatt SF does have a RC, something to take into consideration if you are DIA. Shopping and other activities available in the Union Square area - with Chinatown and SOMA not too far away; not to mention easy access to public transportation (BART, cable car, MUNI), should you want to explore other areas w/o having to rent a car.

SF Hyatt Regency - good access to BART, very close to the Ferry Building (with the Farmer's Market and ferries). Shopping in the Embarcadero Center(it's not Union Square).

FW Hyatt - haven't stayed, passed by it when going to Gary Danko's for dinner in Ghiradhelli Square.

Personally, I would stay at the GH.

RxTravel

Do NOT stay at Burlingame, CA (SFO). This is a dated hotel with aging rooms. During the few times I reluctantly stayed in that property, I was not given the bed/room type I booked, let alone an upgrade. I was given a smoking room and the front desk told me they were sold out, so I couldn't get another non-smoking room. I refused to believe a hotel of that size doesn't have a few extra rooms even when they are sold-out. This hotel also rarely post bonus points automatically. None of my G# and Web Check In points posted, even they are on the reservation and I reminded the check-out clerk. I had to call GP customer service and go through that hassle every time. The front desk clerk are also clueless about Hyatt's policies, often referring to their manager when you have a very trivial request, such as post the bonus points. The managers almost never call the guest back and never initiate contact unless the customer initiates contact first.

I haven't had the chance to stay at F. W. location, but Stockton and Embarcadero are much much better during a couple of my leisure stays, except the $50+/night parking.

I have not had this experience at the SFO Hyatt. I've even seen checkin agents encouraging people to sign up for FFN as they were checking in and paying with a mastercard (if they hadn't already been enrolled). I've gotten welcome cards in my room from the hotel manager. I'm not saying it is a great Hyatt but certainly acceptable for a hotel airport and sometimes the price is very good.

We/ve just stayed at the Hyatt Embarcadero. It was very busy for a Friday night because of some conventions so we were surprised to be told that we had been upgraded to "a very nice room". A slight understatement as it turned out to be a five room suite! :D We also had a large balcony with great views of Pier 1 and downtown. We loved the rooms so much we decided to walk down to one of the restaurants at Pier 1 and get take out and some champagne to eat in one of our rooms.

Things I like about this stay - obviously the upgrade and the great location of the hotel. Things that were off - had to ask for access to RC which is not worth it as it is just an open area on the 16th floor. Canapes in the afternoon are average and the alcohol is guarded by a over zealous attendant who pounces on people if they so much as look at the wine or beer. Breakfast is a zoo and there are so few chairs that it's not worth the hassle.

Parking at $45 plus tax is a rip off but even the parking next door is still $29.50.