Recent reviews San Francisco
[LoungeLizzard, 28/11/2011] The location is good and it is easy to reach from the airport and a change from the usual Sheraton, Hilton or Hyatt properties I usual stay in. On the other hand, the lobby is a bit too busy and I dislike tourists doing some sort of sightseeing here. Luckily, this is not that annoying anymore with the hotel being open for a longer time now. The rooms are modern but comfortable and the pool is a nice add-on. A nice place if one needs a change from the usual hotel rooms, but not for everybody. If I need a break from the average room, I book this one.
[Aldo26, 25/11/2011] Great location, amazing room, new bathroom. Wifi internet in all rooms, amazing breakfast with fresh omelettes as you wish...
Really good option!
[Aldo26, 25/11/2011] Really nice hotel two blocks from Union Square. Quiet at night, nice big rooms, new bathrooms. Great bed, nice home cinema system in every room.
Good variety of food at breakfast, cheap parking with valet.
I would defenitely stay there again!!
[jj721, 15/10/2011] We stayed at the serrano for two nights, it was very nice and the staff were helpful. I thought it was a little on the expensive side, but it's in a really good location at just one or two blocks from union square. There was no breakfast which was disapointing because at every hotel we stayed at during our stay we had a least a muffin! Although there was free tea and coffee in the morning and free wine between 5-6 which was nice! The bedrooms were clean and it was quiet at night despite being central.
[TanaN, 20/09/2011] I stayed in this hostel while touring USA with a friend of mine. We were traveling on limited budged and this hostel meets our requirements concerning our budget the most.
Location is very central, so no trouble with the transport from San Francisco airport or Oakland airport, as the BART station is literately in front of the hostel's door. Shopping facilities are nearby, there is a big shopping center on the main street.
We booked our stay in a female dorm. Must say, that this was the best hostel I have ever stayed in. Rooms with fluffy carpet on floor, en suite bathroom with toilet, comf
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[LoungeLizzard, 25/04/2011] As a member of the Hyatt Gold Passport Programm (either Platinum or Diamond in the last couple of years), I am a frequent guest at this hotel and like it very much.
Staff is always friendly and helpful, status recognition is usually good but this is depending on the occupany of the hotel. The location near Fisherman's Wharf is great for leisure activities. You can reach the financial district in either 10 minutes by cab or 30 minutes walking. The downs of this location, high rates for parking (but that is not uncommon for downtown San Francisco). The room is nice, a bit of the "darker side" u
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[jl132, 11/12/2010] The Exploratorium in San Francisco has more than 500,000 visitors annually and is one of the most visited museums in the city. The museum is housed in the Palace of Fine Arts.
Palace of Fine Arts
The Palace of Fine Arts is a remnant of the Panama-Pacific Exposition of 1915. The building was designed by Bernard Maybeck, who was inspired by Greek and Roman architecture. The Palace of Fine Arts is not demolished after the exhibition and is now regularly used as a wedding location. The Rotunda, the neoclassical domed building is the most striking part of the Palace of Fine Arts. At The Palace of
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[solinajohn, 02/11/2010] I just want to share my experience for my trip to San Francisco. It was really a wonderful trip I had to San Francisco. It was my 3rd business visit to San Francisco in California and as usual it was one of the best trip out of my 2 earlier trips.
I took my flights from LAX to SFO on September, 9, 2010. I book my flight from Expedia and it was a nice deal I had from them. I had to look for the hotels as well that I actually did not find good on expedia, so I google and found hotels2stay.net and I got the best hotel rates for San Francisco and I quickly book my hotel room as it was discount g
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[mabel1234, 20/04/2010] The room is nice enough but I did not know when the airport shuttle dropped me off that the check in is at a hotel three blocks away so I carried my three pieces of luggage up one hill and down another to check in and then up one hill and down another to get back to the hotel. I also did not know that I would have to leave a $200 deposit in case I made any long distance phone calls or smoked in the room (I am a non smoker). There is a band that plays an enless drum selection well into the night somewhere near enough that it comes right through the walls and floor. Oh by the way there is no ele
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[AndrewPo, 13/09/2008] This hotel is very different to the majority of hotels in San Francisco. It is just far enough away from the downtown area to have missed burning down during the fire that followed the 1906 earthquake, so it is, by American standard, ancient. I have stayed at this hotel several times, at the weekends, while working in Silicon Valley during the week, and it is, for me, a breath of fresh air after the ultra modern environment there. This is however the sort of hotel you will either love or hate; If you want a modern international business style hotel don't stay at the Majestic, but if you want t
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[merkat, 07/04/2008] When I went to San Francisco, back in 1991, with group of students, one of the first things we wanted to see was the Transamerica Pyramid. It was almost impossible for us to think about San Francisco without seeing in our mind's eye the famous Pyramid looking at the Bay. It became even more famous after the big earthquake in Bay Area (two years earlier, in 1989), when it was shaking for more than one minute, but remained intact and, what was more important, no one inside the building was seriously injured. As I have great earthquake-phobia, being the witness of another great earthquake in Mont
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[Helencbradshaw, 12/01/2008]
Alcatraz Island and its infamous prison holds fascination for many of us, and so I was absolutely certain I didn't want to miss a tour to the Island on my recent trip to San Francisco. Visit the NPS.gov website for more information, and this links you to the http: / / www.alcatrazcruises.com / which is the official agent for tickets.
There are several crossings a day over to the Island, typically every half hour, and Evening Tours are also available. It is recommended you leave around 2.5 hours for the trip and I would agree with this. Tickets are non transferable and non refundable.
We
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[hugoburge, 11/01/2008] It is a real dilema when trying to rate this hotel. The view will stay with me forever but the rest of the experience did not match up.
[Bloodnok, 07/07/2007] Make sure you book tickets some time in advance in high season. Access from Pier 41 via a short boat trip.
Also make sure you opt for the Audio Tour. This really brings the entire place to life. All the background noise you hear will be the "prison life" sound effects - removing earphones reveals an eerily quiet atmosphere as everyone is avidly listening to their commentaries. Highly informative, well scheduled and interesting content.
It's one of those tours that makes you say "Wow, I'm really glad I went on that!", and not being easily impressed, that's a real recommendation from me. It re
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[micksheff, 06/07/2007] The island of Alcatraz lies in the middle of San Francisco bay off the west coast of California; although it is only about one and a half miles from the coast its isolation is immense and best appreciated from the island itself. As I stood on the edge of the courtyard and looked down the steep rocky cliffs to the sea I realised that this was the true definition of isolation. The distant lights of San Francisco city shimmered beneath the haze and the Golden Gate bridge spanned the pacific ocean to my right but separating them all was one of the deepest, darkest, most shark infected stretch of w
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[tartlette, 06/06/2007] The last stop of our trip across North America was San Francisco. I'd been before and was really looking forward to showing my boyfriend around all the sights. We decided to book our hotel before we left the UK, to make sure of a room on arrival. After a lot of trawling through various Internet pages, I came across the Edward II Inn and Suites. It looked good so I went to have a look at their website. Now, I was aware of SF being seen as a city noted for its gay scene, fair enough. However, as a historian, I was also aware that Edward II had met a rather painful end in Berkley Castle in 1327,
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[toombsey, 11/05/2007] In order to visit Alcatraz, you have to board a boat at Pier 41 for the short ride across to the island itself. When you disembark, a tour guide greets you and explains the routes to take and what to expect, etc. There is quite a lot of walking up stairs and hills, so for those with disabilities and the like, there is a trolley bus to take you to the top.
We started off by going into the theatre to watch a film about the history of the Rock which was very interesting. It outlined the various uses the place has had over the years -- by the Army and, of course, the prison to the Indian occupa
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[toombsey, 11/05/2007] It is very difficult to rate this hotel as there are as many good things about it as there are bad. As we stayed here some time ago, they may well have address the issue I bring up, but not having been back there (or ever likely to - the hotel, not San Francisco), I cannot comment.
If you plan to go to SF, I would not recommend this hotel. There are so many others about to choose from that are better. I would however recommend the breakfast at the Bristol Bar & Grill.
[digital_explorer, 09/04/2007] LAST 2006 SUMMER, I was able to visit again the Californian state for the third time. San Francisco is one of them for the very first time. Fortunately, I stayed at my close friends apartment near the downtown area for three days. With my limited time and resources, I chose a package tour which PIER 39 was included, the place where you could find a range of souvenir shops, restaurants / bars, coffee shops, entertainments and even fresh food markets. This is also the place where the boats / ferries depart for the Alcatraz tour. The pier is a public place so there is no entrance fee being impose fo
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[Helencbradshaw, 03/11/2006] Choosing a hotel for our recent trip to San Francisco was difficult indeed. We were travelling with my younger sister who had a smaller budget than us. Then there is the inevitable situation where you think you have found the perfect hotel and a visit to tripadvisor.com for previous guest history puts you off altogether. Finally we found something which seemed to tick all the boxes with regards to price, luxury and location with the Renaissance Stanford Court Hotel.
The Stanford Court is actually part of the Marriott group of hotels. Its official classification is four stars although we bo
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