My husband and I really love the Sheraton Palace - great location - very historic - they have a few small rooms - make sure you mention that you've heard that and don't want one of them - but the Sunday candlelight brunch with a string quartet is very romantic and tremendous food. They are
truly special in our view! Here's the link:
http://www.luxurycollection.com/prop...prop=373&lc=en

I like the Grand Hyatt. They have fabulous service, great location, and wonderful food believe it or not with a view you can't beat in their penthouse restaurant.

The W is neat but the rooms are very small.

And I am partial to the Westin properties even in San Francisco. The Crowne Plaza is okay, the Sir Francis Drake too dowdy at this point, the Fairmont is nice but I don't know if I'd go out of my way to stay there...

Thanks all for the suggestions and rec.s

I was leaning toward the W as it was so close. When people say the rooms are small, just how small are we talking? It is my wife and her friend going so they will need two beds in the room.

The brunch at the the Sheraton sounds good svpii, thanks for suggesting it.

Does any one have anything to say pro or con the Pickwick or the Argent?

The final choices will be:

Marriott, Sheraton, W, Pickwick or Argent

Do any of the above have a health club that really stands out from the rest?

Just remembered that Marriott gives 3 miles per $1 spent for AA vs the standard 500 mile per stay. That's 3000-4500 miles vs 500 so it will be my #1 choice.

[This message has been edited by Mvic (edited 10-14-2000).]

Can't get tickets to Beach Blanket Babylon, eh?

Here's two EXCELLENT uses for the evening:

a) TEATRO ZINZANNI is a dinner show down on the Embarcadero which, while a little pricey (about $100 a ticket I think) is SUPERB. A decent meal, and an ongoing show very much like the Cirque du Soleil, a strange review loaded with stunts and wild acrobats. It was a total evening's amazement for us.

b) If you can get your concierge to finagle a ticket (not that difficult) try to catch the play "Fully Committed". It's a great evening, too--- a one-man testament to the neuroses of diners and restaurants and class. We howled.

Have a great trip!

Three stays at "W" in upgraded room and I would say that adding a third person would disqualify this place for you.

Like others have said, it is a neat hotel and great location for the Convention Center.

I don't know the W or the Pickwick, so I'll just offer my personal opinion on the other three. The Marriott is a large convention hotel. Nothing wrong with it, but I find it a bit sterile. The Argent is the former ANA. Again, a good basic hotel, little to complain about but nothing special. So that leaves the Sheraton, which would definitely be my choice among those three. The Sheraton has a distinctive and unique ambience that sets it apart from most other downtown hotels and has a real feeling of class. You feel as if you are somewhere special when you are at the Sheraton.

I have been to conventions in SF and had the so-called shuttle service be so poor that we had to take cabs. Sooo, I recommend you select a hotel near the convention center and I think everyone is too hard on the Marriott. I was very happy there as a Gold member. The bar up top is fun. The Sheraton is wonderful for atmosphere but I have never stayed there. Certainly, the Sunday Brunch is a treat visually and gastronomically.

I agree with Karen2 - even "good" shuttle service can take a while due to one-way streets, traffic, etc. Plus who wants a shuttle if you want to go back to your room to freshen up before dinner - better be a late reservation!

As a San Francisco resident, I've never had occasion to sample the rooms/service at any of the hotels, of course. Well, maybe not "of course" - back in the sleazy 70's, I had a friend who had "experienced" virtually every hotel in town!

The King George is small, quaint, well located off Union Square and usually inexpesive (by SF standards).

However, it's not in the same league as the St. Francis, Fairmont or Mark Hopkins.

Looks like it will be the Sheraton afterall (all the overflow hotel rooms at all the many hotels I listed above and some that I didn't were sold out and they had to renegotiate a rate for extra rooms, who knew there were that many people who wanted to attend a hematologists annual conference). Thanks for everyone's input, very helpful.