jtp1947

No lounge at the Fisherman's Wharf. However, the hotel is in an excellent part of town for touring Pier 39, the Wharf, Buena Vista, and two cable car stops. The hotel is just okay. As has been said, public transportation is very good so if a lounge is important to you, go elsewhere. Take a look at the link provided by dayone and get your best price for a hotel with a lounge. Be sure to check other sites for a LNF rate.

OU812

The Fisherman's Wharf Marriott does not have a lounge, but does give breakfast coupons, which last time I was there (Oct. 14) included the full breakfast buffet. (Not sure if they enforce the guest + 1 as I was solo). The location of the hotel is good as it is walking distance to the tourist things others have mentioned, including Ghirardelli Square. There is also a Safeway, World Market, & Barnes & Noble two blocks away.

That being said... the Marriott Fisherman's Wharf are standard Marriott rooms, if not a little on the small side. They are also very stingy when it comes to upgrades. They don't have a lot of suites, so that may be one reason. I have had some great upgrades at the SF Marriott Marquis, including the Presidential Suite on past stays. They have 130+ suites there (vs. 10 or so at the Marriott FW), so your chances of an upgrade there are pretty good. The Marquis can be very busy and has a lot of conventions. etc.

If the 13yo girls are anything like my daughter then they would like to shop, shop and shop some more, so staying near Union Square would probably be your best bet. From Union Square, you can always take the cable cars to Fisherman's Wharf or the historic street cars to Pier 39.

Regardless of where you decide to stay, I highly recommend purchasing a 3 or 7 day muni visitor pass for each person, depending how long you will in downtown SF. It will allow you and your family unlimited rides on the cable cars (which a $6 one-way), the historic street cars, and the muni buses and save you a lot of $. More info here: http://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/...tor-day-passes

Regards,

RIP...

tuono07

Thanks for the reply's. I've decided to switch over to the Marriott Union Square from the Fisherman's Warf. Since I'll be staying on points chances of an upgrade are slim but it's happened b4.
Good call on the Muni pass, I'll check it out.
Now...... good out of the way places to eat? It's been years since I was there and I try to always stay away from the big name places.
What
What's your fav?

SkiAdcock

That would be a good question for the San Francisco forum, which can be found here:

San Francisco Forum

Cheers.

trekwars2000

So thanks to $97 round trip flights right now from Vegas, my wife and I are thinking about going out to SFO for a weekend. We have a 3 year old and 3 month old. We are curious where to stay and based on what I've seen the only two hotels downtown with lounges open on the weekend are the JW and the Marquis.

I'll provide some additional information before I ask specific questions. We will likely be going out with our Nanny and her sister. We will be getting two hotel rooms on points (the difference b/w Cat 8 and 9 don't matter) - I'll be more concerned with location, lounge quality and upgrade percentage rates. We should arrive into SFO on Thursday evening and leave Sunday afternoon. My wife and I would like to go to the Braves/Giants game on Friday and Saturday evening. Our Nanny will watch the boys those evenings and during the day on Friday and Saturday they will be with us. As an additional consideration (though not to me), our Nanny and her sister will likely go out after the baseball games are over and we get back to the hotel at 11 pm. For reference, we plan to buy $26 per person transit passport passes (it looks like this covers everything downtown but BART ).

Marriott related question: Based on the info I've provided, where would you stay with your family (JW or Marquis)?

SFO related questions (might be better to post in the SFO forum, but I'll try here first): Any ideas on what to do with a young family on Friday and Saturday during the day? Is getting public transportation after a game at AT&T Park a decent wait? Should we be prepared to just walk back to the hotel after? Is that part of town safe to walk in after a game late in the evening?

NDN

I have stayed in every full-service Marriott (and the Ritz) except the one in Fisherman's Wharf.

I much prefer the JW Marriott over the Marriott Marquis. The Marquis is huge. You will get a high percentage of upgrades to very nice rooms there, but sometimes the rooms could be interior--with a window over the lobby. The Marquis is way too busy for me and feels too fake; some love it. The JW is in a sleepy area overall. Inside it is MORE sleepy. The rooms are not as new as the Marquis, but they have separate soaking tubs. Public transportation on BART won't get you to the stadium anyway, but BART is right next to the Marquis. It is a hill to walk to BART from the JW. You could also consider the Marriott at Union Square. I found that hotel a little more comfortable than the JW and the Marquis. The neighborhood is fine to walk for the most part. There is an area next to the JW that is not good (I walk there all the time anyway), but its south and somewhat West of the JW and Marriott Union Square. It is north and west of the Marquis.

Eujeanie

I've only stayed at the Marquis and did like it, but my comment is about something different - a block in back of the Marquis (not even a block, right across the street) is a huge open green area with a playground, tons of room for a 3 yo to run around, and even an indoor carousel IIRC. I think it's called Yerba Buena park. Rather than have to trek to green from a more urban location even just a few blocks away, this would be a great place to stay with a 3 yo.

SkiAdcock

Noticed this on the property's website:

Registration desk is located on the third floor. This hotel does not accept third party credit card authorization forms.

SkiAdcock

Noticed this on the property's website:

Guest rooms with two double beds cannot accommodate a rollaway bed. Please do not request.

NDN

Yes, I have stayed at this hotel many times and in several types of rooms. As a platinum, I usually get upgraded to a Jr Suite, of which there are a few kinds. The lobby is on the third floor. When you enter the hotel, you go to the center, where there are 4 elevators. Just go up to the third floor and around the elevators to check in.

simong

Maybe I missed it but not heard about a new Courtyard "Union Square" opening in September.. Not that a Courtyard ever does much for me outside of Asia.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...-union-square/

NDN

Yeah, I have been tracking this for a while. I am staying at the Ritz-Carlton in SF next week, but I usually stay at the JW Marriott. I don't see myself staying at the Courtyard hotels ever in San Francisco, since there are so many Full-Service options. I'd much rather stay at the Adagio (often the cheapest full service Marriott) than a Courtyard.

CJKatl

I'm not a CY fan, but the CY in downtown SF is actually quite nice. It's a little removed from the touristy area, but within walking distance. Sometimes it's much, much less expensive than other nearby Marriott options. My favorite right now is actually the newer FS (Union Square). IMO, it's nicer than the JW, especially if you get a corner room.

NDN

I have stayed at every FS Marriott and Ritz in SF, Oakland, and SFO (except Fisherman's Wharf). I really enjoyed the food at the Union Square Marriott--and I had a corner room. My corporate rate there is generally $329. I can get the JW for $299 on corporate rate. My corp rate for the Ritz is usually $350.

The determining factor is availability. To book the Ritz, I need 2-3 months advance notice of travel to get that rate. To book the Marriott, I usually need 3-4 weeks notice. I can pretty much always get the JW even up to a couple days before at the corporate rate. The problem with the FS Marriott is that the rate corporate rate isn't always available. Sometimes, the best price will be closer to $400. I won't pay $100 more a night for it vs the JW, where I always get a corner room.

It's all just a matter of availability. Most times when the $329 (or better) rate is available at the FS Marriott, I can instead get the Ritz for $350, so I choose that. When the $329 rate is not available, I end up booking the JW or the Adagio (where I can sometimes get a corner room for $200).

I just see no need to ever book the Courtyard. The prices don't even show up on Concur for me automatically.

jlb3

Does anyone know if the CL at the Marquis is open over HOLIDAY weekends? I see it's normally open over the weekend, but I'm thinking of going to SF January 1-4. I suspect there's fewer biz travelers at that time, so they may close the CL. If that's the case I may go with the Adalgo, or whatever it's called, as I typically prefer Autograph hotels. But if the CL is open I'd like to take advantage of that. Thanks!