Visiting SF - Where should I stay? (San Francisco, Sacramento: hotels, neighborhood)

[DallasGuy]

My fiancee and I are visiting the Bay Area for the first time on our honeymoon in September. Right now we are looking Marriotts in the Fisherman's Wharf area and another in SoMa. Any suggestions on which is better?

I'm also open for tips on things to do, places to see, etc. Any info is GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks!

[clongirl]

Well, the Fisherman's Wharf area is purely a touristy destination with lots of really bad,overpriced restaurants (with a couple of exceptions)- locals rarely ever venture out that way. However, that being said, the sea lions are fun to watch and you will be near Alcatraz with some amazing views. The South of Market area has some "shady" parts but is close to downtown and is quite central to most everything. Have you considered anything near "Union Square"? I think if i was visiting San Fran on my honeymoon then that would definitely be the most romantic area- close to Chinatown, North Beach, and near the cable car line. Overall, you can pretty much get anywhere via buses and MUNI so I guess it's not really that important where your hotel is located. I think the best part of San Francisco are it's restaurants- can't go wrong with eating!

[GreenGirl]

Depending on your hotel and room, you could have a beautiful view of the GG bridge, the bay and Alcatraz staying anywhere near Fisherman's Wharf, but staying in that area would be a bit like living in a gift shop. Definitely worth a days visit, but the restaurants are WAY overpriced and if you spend most of your time around the Wharf, you won't get a feel for the what the city is really like. SoMa is alright, but it shuts up tight pretty early and there's not much to do in the immediate area. My vote would be Union Square, too. There are some very nice hotels, worthy of a honeymoon visit, and it's really the heart of SF. From US, it's easy to get downtown, or out to Fisherman's Wharf by cable car, and BART and MUNI are everywhere.

I do also like the Hyatt Regency downtown, especially if you get a room with a bay/bay bridge view. The rooms have very private balconies and at night, with the lights on the bridge, ooh la la...very nice. It's downtown though, with the same problem as SoMa. When the work day is over, the place clears out and everything in the neighborhood outside the hotel closes except the Chevy's and the movie theater.

[DallasGuy]

Thanks for the help. Now I am looking at the following Hotels:

Renaissance Stanford Court (Marriott) - Nob Hill
JW Marriott San Francisco

Both of these appear to be close to union square, the JW is a little closer.

Any insight is appreciated.

[boaster]

The Marriott is nice, but is on the border of a very marginal and unsafe at night neighborhood.

[readuntil]

Also take a look at the Marina (the rich part of town). It's always vibrant, has good restuarants and bars, and has the Crissie fields beach.

As for what to do here, it all depends on what you like to do. There are lots of theatres around Union Square, along with some museums. Lots of shopping in Union Square, Marina (though generally very pricy). The symphony, opera, ballet is about 1.5 miles west of Union Square in what I think is called the Civic Center district, which also has the Asian Art museum. There are restuarants everywhere. Many tourists don't ever visit the Mission (the Mexican part of town), so I always like to take people there. If you like kayaking, check out City Kayak which is 1 mile south of the Bay Bridge. An of course, in that area there is the AT&T ballpark.

If you want to go to a bigger beach, check out Stinson, which is about 1 hour north of SF. But Capitola beach about 2 hours south is a tad warmer. If you want to surf, then bring a wetsuit and be careful about where you go as some places the waves are dangerous.

But travel a little further north (or south), and you can go to wine country. There are plenty of hikes all around the area. Also, around Sacramento, and even furhter north by Oregon, there is great white water rafting.