SF - best place to stay (Los Angeles, Berkeley: how much, hotels, taxes)

[ducviloxi]

I am driving up from LA for labor day weekend, I would be hanging out in downtown SF late night for 1 of the days (probably 1am or so) and would like to know the best strategy in terms of accommodation pricewise. Is it better to just drive to downtown and park in a lot there? How much is parking in downtown SF? Until what time does BART run? Which is the most economical place to stay closest to downtown? I am looking for an economy joint and to spend less than $100/night if possible.

[dalparadise]

There are a lot of clean motels along Lombard and Van Ness, at the base of Russian Hill and The Marina. I think you can probably find one that fits your bill. They will have parking available and are close to bus lines that can take you up to Polk or into Lower Haight easily. BART will not serve you very well for hopping around Downtown. It can get you from there into the Mission, though, if that's what you need. Ride MUNI instead (runs 24 hours) and have fun along Polk, Lower Haight, Marina, Filmore, Western Addition, North Beach, etc.

[mayorhaggar]

A) there are a lot of hotels near downtown, mainly in the Union Square area, but most of them are quite expensive, probably more like $200 and up. They would be more convenient for you but you're paying for the location. There are some cheaper ones here and there that have communal bathrooms that might be less, like the Edwardian near Hayes Valley. Other than that definitely look at the ones on Lombard but they aren't really convenient to downtown. There are cheap hotels by the airport, like $60 a night for rooms that would be $200 in Union Square, but that's not convenient at all.
B) Parking is expensive in downtown SF, it's not like LA where there's a ton of lots that are moderately priced. Expect to pay $20 for a few hours and $30 to $50 for overnight in a downtown garage. The Lombard hotels are more likely to have free or cheap parking, the ones in Union Square won't have parking or will charge you an arm and a leg.
C) BART runs until about midnight. Most Muni lines stop running around midnight, and drop off a lot in frequency past 10pm, and only a few lines run all night. Getting a cab in downtown or Union Square is generally pretty easy, people complain about it not being as easy as NYC but I've never had a problem getting a cab in downtown SF even late at night. SF is small and traffic is light at night so the fare won't be much unless you're going way across town.

[bmw335xi]

This place is nice, no amenities, but nice victorian style room. The rates are usually around $140/night but parking is free.

Cow Hollow Motor Inn

[ducviloxi]

good advice, thanks all! I will look into the hotels on Lombard!

[ducviloxi]

Guys, I've decided to stay in the East bay (found a decent hotel around $80/night with taxes) as the economics of staying in downtown SF just to stay up late one day doesn't make much sense. I am with my GF and for the 2 of us the BART fare is $15. Now, we expect to catch the BART back before 12am and the BART site says that's about when the last train leaves in the direction of Richmond.... BUT even if we somehow missed it the cab fare back to Berkeley is only $50 which is $35 additional.

However, the cheapest hotel with parking I found in SF itself was $110/night at that was near Taraval and 47th (Robers at the beach motel), that's and additional $90 over staying in the East bay and it looks like the commute time from downtown SF is almost the same!

LOL, just trying to save some money thanks for all the advice here...

Looking at prices of hotels in downtown SF is just simply shocking...dumps for $150/night! You would find hotels in just about ANY tourist relevant area of Los Angeles for much cheaper than that...

[jaypee]

Have you looked into bidding on Hotwire or Priceline?

[Hybrid_Moments]

Just throwing this one into the ring. I love this place. No frills hotel, a bed to sleep in and a toilet down the hall. You can get a room for $80-100. Clean and full of Victorian charm. I always stay here when I'm in town.

[ducviloxi]

well, I found a downtown parking spot with rates at $17/24 hrs with unlimited in/out so that's equal to the BART fare for 2 from east bay! A no-brainer.