<p>We’ve been finding great deals with booking.com. D and I spent a couple of days in Oakland last year at this time and stayed at the Marriott near Chinatown. We got a much better deal than the hotel itself offered. It was practically on top of a BART station and the street (12th?) had a free bus that takes you to the Oakland side of the waterfront. It was nice and clean but we didn’t get a car nor exercise other than walking all over for sightseeing.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the suggestions. I am leaning toward splurging now and staying in the Fisherman’s Wharf area. Will take all your transportation thoughts into consideration. I only have a little over a week to get it together. Daughter is an athlete in season and takes her training very seriously.</p>
<p><a href=“http://sfmta.com/getting-around/destinations/fishermans-wharf”>http://sfmta.com/getting-around/destinations/fishermans-wharf</a> describes the public transportation options to Fisherman’s Wharf. The most obvious way is the F-Market streetcar that goes between the Fisherman’s Wharf area and Market Street. Under Market Street are both BART (which can take you to Oakland or SFO or OAK) and Muni light rail (which goes to some other parts of San Francisco). There are, of course, buses as well.</p>
<p>Living social or groupon may be worth checking out for deals in SF. I remember seeing one recently. </p>
<p>My H travels to San Francisco for work anywhere from 1-2 weeks a month. The company rented a small studio apartment right in the city that he uses–I’ve been going out there with him since I’m not working and don’t have kids at home. We don’t have a car and use public transportation or we walk. If we don’t feel like using public transportation, cabs are pretty readily available. </p>
<p>We also started using Uber. It’s can be a little pricey but it’s a very convenient . It’s an on-demand car-service that you access from a mobile phone app. You have a credit card on file so you don’t have to have cash to use it and a gratuity is built in. I know Uber is also available in NY and Boston, don’t know about other cities.</p>
<p>Triton Hotel is a Kimpton property.
Union Square location and 24 hour gym access.
Chancellor Hotel in Union Square with access to nearby gym.</p>
<p>We’ve stayed at Le Meridian near the Financial district (walking distance to the Ferry Building where you can catch the Ferry to Marin) a couple of times in the last few months for under $150/night. Beautiful hotel, great location, all the amenities. Used Kayak to search and book–sort by “deals.” We never pay for parking in SF, just grab a spot on the street within a couple of blocks of wherever we are staying. But then my DH has amazing parking karma. Good luck!</p>
<p>Another option: hotel Nikko. I was in the middle of training for Boston and I seriously researched the hotel gym options because I needed a good treadmill to have the flexibility to be able to exercise when my schedule would let me. Hotel Nikko has a great gym and lap pool, apparently, but I was very impressed with what the Hilton (just next door) had for less money. </p>
<p>I would also suggest looking at outside gyms and not focus solely on finding a hotel with a great gym in it. Does your daughter have a gym membership that may allow for reciprocal use? Or can you find a nice facility that will offer a low-priced pass for a few days? </p>
<p>Next of course you must tell us what kind of food you and your daughter like - because SF is a foodies delight! No time for a bad meal there. When traveling, I always like to scope out options on OpenTable.com and book some reservations in advance. </p>
<p>Oh, Mondut, I dunno. You do not have to go too far to find a bad meal. They are offered right there at the Hilton’s Urban Tavern 
Or at the Samover Lounge - however, I just assume that their food is just as bad as the attitude of their wait staff. We never got a chance to eat anything there because we simply left after 20 minutes of staring at the menus while the wait staff flirted with each other. However, our overall SF dining experience was wonderful. </p>
<p>The chancellor is darling and have yummy cookies! If you are an AAA member try their website.</p>
<p>mamabear, here is a timely link from The Points Guy about San Francisco–what to do/see, where to stay, eat, etc. Personally, I would stay somewhere near the Wharf. That location is still walkable to Union Square, North Beach, Chinatown, the Embarcadero, the Marina, Chrissy Field, etc. </p>
<p><a href=“Destination of the Week: San Francisco - The Points Guy”>Destination of the Week: San Francisco - The Points Guy;
<p>I agree with Gosmom. Stay near the wharf if your D wants to run. When I go with my friends we stay near Union Square but we are mainly there for shopping. Near Union Square I like the Villa Florence and Hotel Rex. The financial district hotels are sometimes heavily discounted on weekends. What I enjoy about staying in the Marina /Cow hollow area is that you are not surrounded by tourist but by people who actually live there. I love the 15 walk from our hotel to my D’s apartment. I love seeing all the young people on Union St and love the architecture of many of the homes.
Regarding dinner. Make reservations in advance. Many places are small and people in San Francisco eat out. There have been many a Saturday night that we can’t get a reservation for dinner till very late. We sometimes end up at the cafe at Whole Foods which is actually not bad.
Haven’t used Uber but you see the pink mustaches all over the city.</p>
<p>You might want to check out the Harbor Court, a Kimpton hotel, which is just off the Embarcadero about a block from the Ferry Building. If you’re on the Bay side of the hotel you have a lovely view of Treasure Island, The Bay Bridge, and the Ferry Building. I don’t think they have an exercise room, but the YMCA is on the same block and I believe you can get a day pass there. </p>
<p>Agree with mom60…dinner reservations a must on weekends. </p>
<p>SF is where Uber started…great service. </p>
<p>Also…IF you end up with a rental car and plan to head over the Golden Gate…read this first. You don’t want a nasty surprise… some rental companies have been charging customers with obscene toll fees.
<a href=“Tolls & Payment - Bridge | Golden Gate”>http://goldengate.org/tolls/rentalvehicles.php</a></p>
<p>BTW, my favorite walking spot is Chrissy Field. One can walk/run from the Marina Green to the base of the GG Bridge. Fabulous views. </p>
<p>FY I, Uber is E pluribus unum. After exhausting your welcome ride, check the other services that are more affordable:
<a href=“Sidecar Versus Uber Versus Lyft”>Sidecar Versus Uber Versus Lyft;
<p>Was in SF for a weekend in December and stayed in Union Square area because very easy to get around. Mostly used buses, did cable car once because how can be in SF and go on at least one cable car ride and walked and walked and walked. We took a shuttle bus from the airport to our hotel and we booked with them to pick us up for the trip back to the airport. It was very reasonable. You can go to Yelp or Trip Advisor to look at restaurants. We had a very fine meal at Coco500 in SOMA and a nice lunch at Fisherman’s Grotto on the Wharf, we found a local hotspot for breakfast every morning, kind of a diner where people were lined up on the street to get in, and enjoyed some nice munching at Blue Bottle Coffee and other stops at the Embarcadero. </p>
<p>I am enjoying all your comments. We have dinner reservations Saturday night at Aziza. D is a vegetarian and not much of a seafood fan. Apparently there is also a St Patrick’s Day parade. Oh and my S will be in town for the huge Game Developers Conference. Still working on transportation. I would like to drive out to Point Reyes one day, maybe I will get a car just for that one day. We are sight-seers, but NOT shoppers at all. Thanks for the article gosmom, I would like to hit Golden Gate Park too, and we will probably walk around some of the areas you mentioned. Riding a cable car is on the list. </p>
<p>On our last trip in early February we went to the Botanical Gardens in Golden Gate Park. It was the start of the magnolia blooming season. If that interests you they might still be in blossom. It also looked like the camellia trees were going to burst into bloom. I would love to go back when we go up in a few weeks.
Just looked up St Patrick’s day and it looks like we will be up in S F the same time period.</p>
<p>We went to Cafe Pescatore twice at the Wharf for breakfast.
Also in & out once, but we have Dicks in Seattle and they are faster.
Toured the Castro & had lunch at Harvey’s.
Very friendly staff.
Saw Beach Blanket Babylon, which may still be running.
Our hotel room didnt have a fridge, but I had anticipated that & brought a foldable cooler, which enabled us to go to the nearby Trader Joes and get snacks.</p>