“Great for the money and free parking”
I took a very long time to pick a hotel. I was looking for a hotel that had free parking and breakfast. The breakfast didn't work out too well for us, we had kids with us and there wasn't much they were interested in, they just had muffins and Nutrigrain bars. But, even the fact that they offered free parking made up for it, and there was no problem finding a spot. The room was very clean and did the job, we just used it to sleep in. The front desk was very helpful with directions and bus transportation information. Within walking distance to much of the major sights, such as Lombard street and China town, the warf was walking distance, but you come in at the far end, we were going to alcatraz so it was quite a distance just to walk from one end of the piers to the other, still doable though. There was the best pizza and mexican food restaurant on the corner by the hotel, Nicks crispy tacos, and Escape from New York Pizza. Walgreens was also on the corner, which was convenient. I didn't see any transients out front the entire time, which I know was a complaint for a lot of other hotels. It was located close to Russian Hill, if your wondering about the area. Overall, I am glad I saved the money and went with this hotel, it did the job. Nothing disgusting or to gross you out, just what you'd expect from an older hotel for the price,standard beds, sheets and bathroom.
Area recommendations
I thought this area pretty much put us in the middle of everything we wanted to see, although the Golden Gate Bridge was a bit far so we took the bus. We decided to just keep our car parked the entire time and either walk or take bus or taxi, I am not from a big city, so parking was too intimidating and might have been a bit frusterating. Union Hills looked like a nice area if you are willing to pay out more for your stay.
Dining
Nicks crispy tacos and Escape from New York Pizza were great, located on Polk and Broadway, also Capricollas, I think that was the name in Little Italy was very good, but quite pricey. Be prepared to spend a lot on food, it definetly isn't cheap anywhere. Also, down on the warf there is an area that has fresh crabs and other seafood that you can just walk up to and they will steam the crab right there for you, the clam chowder bread bowls were there also and were very good. Ghiradelli was by the warf and they had good sundaes but very expensive and busy. We ate at Imperial Palace in China town and did not like it, waitress was very rude when we decided to order just one item to share,(cuz we were kinda turned off by the place after we sat down and felt like we had to order something) wouldn't bring us our bill or make eye contact while helping tables right next to us, finally walked up to counter and asked for bill, there was a mandatory tip included because we had a party of 5 which is odd because it was us and our three children. Food at next table looked good though, so maybe it was just our experience.
