sgaldis

Will be staying at this property this Thurs. (the 4th), for 1 night. It's just a quick solo trip, and I was able to get a decent cash and points rate today (4000+$60), so I thought I'd give it a shot. Anyone care to chime in on the best BART stop to get to the property? I stayed at the St. Francis about a month ago, and loved the proximity to the Powell St. stop. From the maps, it looks like the Powell St. and the Montgomery St. might be fairly equidistant to the Westin. Maybe someone has some real world experience of which would be better...?


Thanks a ton!

BlissWorld

Get off Montgomery, look for Market St Exit, walk half a block, then turn left onto 3rd st.

Bulldog King

Given that the main entrance to the hotel is on Third St, the Montgomery St BART station seemed to me like it's the closest.

Disclaimer: While I was recently in the downtown SF area near this Westin, I didn't stay at a downtown SF hotel during this visit.

A.J.

sgaldis

Mind sharing any other suggestions? This is only my 2nd trip to SF. Like the first time, it is only a one day affair with a kind of odd itenerary. My main goal is to have something very close to a BART stop (need to avoid paying for taxis). I would LIKE to have something downtown, so I can just leave the hotel in the afternoon and do some exploring on foot. At night, I will visit some friends, and go to a concert where I will be doing some photography. Both of these places are located within a 2 block radius of 24th St. Mission stop, so the BART proximity will play an important role there, as well (no $ for taxis). Next day, BART straight back to SFO.
thanks again!

BlissWorld

Ummm, did you not see my post?
I lived in SF for 5 years. BART station is less than a 5 minute walk away from Westin. San Francisco is a walking city. Cabs won't be that expensive. In fact, a cab ride from Castro to 3rd street should run no more than $15. It usually costs me $11. If you don't want to pay $10, then you can always take the bus and muni. BART stops running at about 12:30am. The cable car running from Embacadero all the way to castro runs 24 hours a day. You can take bus muni to 24th and mission as well. They run 24 hours a day.

HomerJ

...just completed a 2 night stay here and was definetly unimpressed. Rather surly staff...no u/g for this plat (yes i know i should argue for it but sometimes I just dont feel like arguing especially after flying for so long).
No amenities really for tourists...a rather uniformed consierge...I am sure as a biz property this is fine and the access to transit is 100' away on market st. but over all as a tourist i would not return here.

sgaldis

Thanks a lot for your help, Blissworld! I was a little hesitant to try out the bus lines in SF, and chose to opt for only BART transportation instead; maybe I'll branch out this time! It's nice to know that taxi's are inexpensive as well.
Down here in lil' ole Alabamy we don't really use them too often. It seems every time I'm in a metropolitan city like NY you're looking to drop at least $20-30, minimum. I know that's not a big deal to most, but when traveling by yourself, adding in that much extra for every little bar, shop, tourist stop etc... you want to visit can add up!

BlissWorld

You are welcome.

I understand as $ here and there do add up. There are more bars and restaurants that open late (past midnight) in the mission district. Unfortunately, if you do plan on staying past BART time, the easiest way will be a cab. The bus will be cheaper, obviously, at $1.50, but you might have to wait for a long time for them as they don't come that frequently after midnight. Worst case scenario, you can always walk! The cross street at the Westin is Mission and 3rd, and if you will be at mission and 24th, you can always walk 21 blocks. (I've done it before, although I wouldn't recommend it at 2am in the morning). Check out www.sfmuni.org for bus routes.

If you have any other questions please feel free to PM me.

L1011toHNL

Another great option is the F Line historic streetcars that you can pick up just a half block up on Market. Our kids loved them; we used them and buses and BART for all travel (except to Santa Cruz) when we stayed at the Westin. Like others, it was just so-so. Enjoy your trip!

http://www.streetcar.org/mim/streetc...ute/index.html

BlissWorld

That's the line I was referring to that goes from Embarcadero to Castro. They do run 24 hours. However, they will stay on market all the way to castro. Since OP will be in 24th and Mission area, it wouldn't make sense to walk there to Market St. Look at sfmuni.org

L1011toHNL

No doubt you're right in that instance. I was suggesting it as an alternate method for the general exploring he mentioned doing.

Bulldog King

In all fairness....it was a bit short.

Which theoretically makes this an idea location to stay at while in downtown SF.

The last time I actually stayed in downtown SF (2005), I actually stayed at a Hilton.......a stay which actually led me to almost totally avoiding Hilton-branded hotels and switching entirely to Starwood.

I was actually considering staying at this Westin during my recent visit ast weekend......just to pickup another stay towards requalification for Plat.

Unfortunately, the rates for last weekend jumped to over $300 per night by the time I knew which night I could 'get away'....and I couldn't justify that price.....simply to pick up my 22nd stay of the year.

So, I decided to check out the newly remodeled rooms at the Sheraton Gateway SFO (especially since I was able to get a $99+tax rate )......and then take CalTrain into downtown SF the next morning........as I had very little baggage (1 small bag...as the rest of my luggage was left at my cousin's house in Mountain View).

This was my first time at this particular hotel.....as I had previously stayed at the Westin SFO and once at the 4Pts SFO.

While the new rooms are quite nice, the club lounge was tiny and severely overcrowded......and offered next to nothing for breakfast the next morning.

There is a free trolley (Burlingame Trolley) that stops at various hotels as well as various shopping/restaurant areas (within a 6 or so block walk of the CalTrain Broadway station) and the Burlingame CalTrain station.

Well........more or less.

I certainly wouldn't walk through some parts....especially at night........and definitely NOT up any of those damn hills.

However, taking a walk along the Embarcadero......say, from CalTrain's 4th and King station or the Ferry Terminal building to the Maritime museum (just passed Fisherman's Wharf) is a nice thing to do on a nice day. Or, if you don't want to walk a mile or so, one can always pay the regular Muni fare and take the Historic Streetcar ('F') line from Market street to the Wharf area.

The nice thing about the SF Muni is that they still use paper transfers......and those are good for unlimited rides in any direction and on any route until the time marked on the transfer.

If you purchase your fare at a machine for the light rail, you only get 90 minutes..........

For bus-issued transfers, they are torn at a certain point to indicate valid time.......but in practical experience, these usually offer much more than the official 90 minute window......as during my most recent use, I received one from a bus driver at roughly 3:30PM that would theoretically be good until 8PM ).

It's a YMMV situation.....

Umm....not quite. (Edit: I see you realized this)

First, the service between Embarcadero and Castro is either bus, Light Rail (underground) or the Historic Streetcars (the aforementioned 'F' line that runs from Castro St.....along Market St and then turns to run along the Embarcadero to the Fish. Wharf area).....which should not be confused with the actual SF Cable Cars.

Also, according to the schedules on Transit511, all of the SF Muni 'rail' lines (including the 'F') start service around 5am and end around 1am.......as only 'Night Owl' bus service is provided along this route at other times.......more or less in place of the L and N Muni lines.

FWIW, the actual cable car routes (2 Powel St routes...ending at either Hyde or Mason St and the California St route) are separate fares....$5 each way (no transfers). However, there is an $11 'All-Day Passport' which is good for all SF Muni lines........which can be a good deal only if one plans on taking a RT on the cable cars as well as traveling on other SF Muni lines.

The #14 bus which runs along Mission is a good option/alternative as it stops right near both the Westin and the 24th St BART station.

However, as with most late night Muni service....it's quite limited.

A.J.

PS: Would you believe that I had to force myself to 'limit' the amount of info included in this post?

BlissWorld

Thanks for your detailed information once again We missed your equally detailed trip reports!! Seriously, you should consider reviewing some of these properties that requalified you for Platinum this year

Score8

Interesting thread of Platinum issues...I stayed here sometime in May or June and the front desk (one of the managers also) seemed particularly eager to adhere to the SPG program.

Behind the desk, in several places, I notied prominantly placed SPG guidelines (Gold, Plat, VIP). I struck up a conversation with the manager, informed him of FT, and let him know that if he wants to attract a loyal following among heavy travellers...upgrading plats would be a good start and that it would have a viral effect on occupancy.

Perhaps a follow-up email is in order?

schoflyer

In 5 Stays at this property.

1) Suite Upgrade Right after re-branding with brand new everything.
2) No Suite but good room high floor.
3) Suite Upgrade
4) 2 concurrent rooms during my tradeshow. No Suites avail.
5) Suite Upgrade on Cash and points

If there is a major convention you can just forget about Suites here is the way I see it. They do give suite upgrades when available.

I think it's the best SPG value in SF frankly.

-Scho