Hotel Union Square recommendations.
 

DH is going to SF for a conference in September (4 nights). I am going with him. We really don't want to rent a car....

We want to be in Union Square (his conference is at the Hilton there).

We have tix to the Dodgers/Giants game, but because we don't want to rent a car, we want to take public transportation, even to the game.

We will take a shuttle to and from airport.

What would be the top 3/4 hotels for location, public transportation to the game, and overall bet choices. Trying to stay under 450 p/n, preferably, under 400 p/n.

Thanks!
J.

Well, I stayed in the "Hotel Union Square" and didnt like it. Room was tiny, with no legitimate window. It was supposed to have air conditioning, but instead it was a floor unit with a hose running out the window, which was marginally sealed, and the room was beastly hot. Not a prime property.

Do you have to be right on the square? Within a few blocks? Being in that general area you will have no issues with public transit (subway to the game, cable car to Fisherman's Wharf!).

The main hotels right on the square that come to mind are the Westin St. Francis and Grand Hyatt. Both are fine. Within a few blocks (like the Hilton) you have many more choices. Clift is cool. I stayed at the Hotel Nikko once and that was really nice. JW Marriott is nice. Joie de Vivre'ss Hotel Rex is and Kimpton's Sir Francis Drake, Palomar, and Triton are cool boutique places.

Of course if your budget is really $400/night (or even better, pounds per night?), my recommendation is to look at the one hotel in this post I have not stayed at -- the Taj Campton Place! Right there at Union Square and several colleagues have told me it is very nice. They compare it to the St. Regis where I have stayed often (and is a very nice place to stay).

Proximity..
 

DH likes to walk, and is is fine shape, so walking to his meetings at the Hilton is not a problem,so any hotel within a 10-15 minute walk to the Hilton would be fine. Would that amount of walking include the hotels you have listed? As long as we can get public transportation to the game, location near-ish to the Hilton, and price, the only last "requirement" would be as quiet as possible. If all things being equal, and one hotel is on a a main busy street, and one is on a quiet tiny street, we would chose the quiet one.

Sorry for all the details, but maybe that makes the list a short one!

Thanks so much for the input so far

J.

Everything I listed is within a few blocks of Union Square. 5 minute walk at most to the Hilton (and the Hilton itself is actually a couple blocks west of Union Square proper). Hotel Nikko and Clift are a block from the Hilton. Kimpton has another property, the Hotel Monaco, over there as well.

If you open up to a 10-15 minute walk, you can also look at the hotels closer to the Moscone Center (Yerba Buena district). The nicer ones over there are the St. Regis, Intercontinental, and the other Westin. There is also the Four Seasons on Market. Really lots of choices - there are many cool/nice places to stay in downtown San Francisco. I have stayed with the larger more well known ones - and higher end of the price spectrum - but there are lots of other boutique places in close proximity that I am sure others will chime in with.

If he really likes to walk, you could look at the Nob Hill hotels (Fairmont, Intercontinental Mark Hopkins, Ritz-Carlton). That is actually my favorite area to stay at a tourist in SFO because of the views. But not as close to public transportation (unless you travel exclusively by cable car). And the walk back up the hill is REALLY a workout!

Given your original criteria, I still think the Taj is still a great choice. The Four Seasons may also be worth looking into.

One last wild card suggestion. One of my favorite hotels is also the Harbor Court Hotel, which is near the San Francisco Ferry Building. Would put you very close to AT&T park (so a walk to the game). But probably a 25-30 minute walk each way to the Hilton Union Square. I was lucky enough to have a client close to there once -- really loved the views of the Bay Bridge from my room.

I stayed at the Westin St. Francis which is right infront of Union Square, rate was perfect, it went as low as 133 USD per night, as an SPG plat I also got upgraded to a huge corner suite. I'm not sure if you have any loyalty program, but this hotel really went all the way for me.

I would not recommend the Fairmont, Mark Hopkins or the Ritz. I live very close to them now (on Powell and Pine) and let me tell you about something, the going up the street from Sutter to Pine is tough, so going further up to California is even more difficult. If your going up and down once or twice per day I think it's ok.

Again depends on your budget, if you want somewhere where it's luxurious I would go for the Four Seasons on Market, but my heart would always say the Westin for it's location and can't beat prices.

From any hotel in the vicinity of Union Square, you can walk down to Market Street and get Muni to the stadium. Public transit to the stadium is not a challenge in SF!

Of the hotels listed so far, IMO, the Four Seasons is the best quality. It's only about a 10-15 minute walk from the FS to the stadium.

Just did the Westin St Francis again recently. Something weird is going on there, they are actually upgrading me now lol. I recommend this hotel, esp with the cheap rates lately.

Look up the Wyndham Parc 55. It is almost next to the Hilton.

My mother in law is staying there now and she also was upgraded to a corner suite.

Keep in mind, even though the hotels on Nob Hill are only about 4-6 blocks away, the hill is VERY steep, and not something I'd look forward to doing in business attire - esp. shoes. It is a vigorous workout. You can, of course, take public transit, but that is basically Cable car, and certainly, being right on the Square is more convenient. I'd recommend the St. Francis.

Just got back from a reward stay at the JW Marriott Union Square. Quite enjoyed the location, service and hospitality.

while it isn't exactly union square, my recommendations are the W or the Palace hotels. Palace is on market and the W is just another block down. Recently stayed at the Palace the night before a wedding and it was only $150.

If you don't have to stay on the square the top 4 hotels would be on Nob Hill. In no particular order The Huntington, Mark Hopkins (Intercontinental), Fairmont and the Marriott (I think its a Stamford Court). Take the BART all the way into Powell and then either cab or walk it up. You get a fantastic view of the city from all these hotels and PacBell is accessible by either walking down to Market Street or taking one of the cable car lines. You can also take the cable cars down to fisherman's wharf.