Lodging

OK, we all know one. Or two. Frugal Frannies, Uncle Scrooges. They can’t part with a dime, tip a lame 10 percent, and are surgically attached to the first nickel they ever earned.

Well, The Orchard Hotels in San Francisco, have a deal for the Frannies and Scrooges in our lives — and everyone else who would like to save some dinero.

Known for their eco-friendly “green-from-the-inside-out” policies, the Orchard Hotel and the Orchard Garden Hotel, both located on Bush Street in downtown San Francisco, are currently offering the 50/50 holiday package that begins November 23 (in time for Thanksgiving fetes and shopping excursions) and runs through December 30.

The package offers guests a deluxe room for $50 for one night when the guest spends at least $50 during their stay in either of their signature restaurants.

The rooftop terrace at the Orchard Garden Hotel.

Breakfast, dinner, and cocktails are served at Roots Restaurant at the Orchard Garden or Daffodil Restaurant in the Orchard Hotel, two blocks from each other.

Roots specializes in contemporary American cuisine with Mediterranean touches and uses mostly local and sustainable ingredients, it also features a cozy bar for cocktails.

Daffodil is known for hearty, homestyle comfort foods and decadent desserts, as well as great people watching from the street level bar.

Amenities include large-screen televisions, a DVD library, free wi-fi, and the knowledge that you are contributing to the solution when you stay at a LEED certified hotel, the first of its kind in San Francisco.

The location is a big asset — steps from Chinatown, Cable Cars, and Union Square and walking distance to the Ferry Building and the SoMa museums.

The Orchard Hotel
665 Bush Street, San Francisco
415-362-8878

The Orchard Garden Hotel
466 Bush Street, San Francisco
415-399-9807

Photo credit: The Orchard Hotels, San Francisco

The neoclassical facade of Hotel Milano in San Francisco.

One-half block from my office at the San Franicsco Chronicle is a stylish, affordable, and well-located hotel with spacious rooms.

I walk by Hotel Milano’s neoclassical facade several times a week, but only recently stopped in. One of those, “you don’t know what’s in your own backyard” stories.

Hotel Milano is popular with tourists due to it’s location in the midst of retail heaven and business types because of its proximity to the Moscone Center.

King of Thai Noodles is adjacent to the lobby.

I have been to the Thai restaurant that share the ground floor with the Milano’s lobby, though, having been to one of the numerous going away parties for my newpaper colleagues. Good food. Nice private room in back.

An Italian theme is carried throughout with streamlined modern Italian rooms that offer all the goodies you might need including a refrigerator, Nintendo, complimentary newspaper, an oversized writing desk, and double-paned soundproof windows.

Next door is one of the entrances to Westfield Shopping Centre, and upscale shopping mecca that includes the flagship Bloomingdale’s as well as the stalwart favorite Nordstrom and hunders of  other shops like H&M, Lucky Brand Jeans, the Art of Shaving, Borders, and Janie and Jack.

There is also a massive food court on the bottom floor offering everything from French-Vienamese cuisine to gourmet cream puffs.

This area has in recent years aquired cultural significance. The Jewish Museum, the Museum of the African Diaspora, the Crafts Arts Museum, and Yerba Buena Gardens have all secured places here, close to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Spacious room range from $99 to $199. Suites have spa tubs and bidets and there is a fitness center on the premises.

Hotel Milano's rooms are spacious and stylish.

Hotel Milano
55 5th Street,
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 543-8555

Photo credit: Above Lisa Dion; right courtesy of Hotel Milano

From Nancy D. Brown of What a Trip

San Francisco Marriott Marquis

If you need an economic model of suppy and demand, look to the cost of a hotel room. When I walked into San Francisco’s Marriott Marquis on a recent Sunday afternoon, the jukebox was hopping. Locals call it the jukebox due to the unusual shape of the building. Located next to San Francisco’s convention center, just south of Market Street, the Marriott Marquis had a full house this afternoon, thanks to an international pharmaceutical convention taking place across the street.

Supply and Demand

If I’d wanted a room for tonight, a deluxe king would set me back $369. If I’d wait until closer to the holiday season, think Christmas shopping in Union Square, I might be able to snag the same room for $129. It’s all about supply and demand. Of course, savvy travelers know to check the Marriott’s website for the best on-line rates.

Built in 1989, the 1,500 room Marriott is the third hotel in the Marriott chain to earn the Marquis title, behind New York and Atlanta. When I asked the staff what it meant to carry the “Marquis” designation, no one knew how to respond to my question.  Perhaps I should ask Bill Marriott on his Marriott on the Move blog.

Marriott King Room

The 39-story, four star hotel offers the signature “Heavenly Bed” and is located in downtown San Francisco next to the Moscone Center. The property is steps from Yerba Buena Gardens and several blocks from Union Square, home to up-scale shopping heaven. The hotel appeals to business travelers, couples looking for a romantic escape or girl-friend getaways.

On site parking is a hefty $55.86 daily and only valet parking is available. I’d park across the street at the Fifth and Mission garage if it was my dime. The smoke-free Marriott Marquis is wired for WiFi and charges $12.95 daily for high speed internet and local and long distance calls within the country.

Marriott Marquis photo courtesy of Marriott Hotels. Photo of Deluxe King Room by Nancy D. Brown.

San Francisco Marriott Marquis (415) 896-1600

55 Fourth Street, San Francisco, CA 94013-3199

Personality Hotels is offering a special "Cougar Package" featuring a stay at Hotel Diva.

Cougars. The country is lousy with them. From “cougar parties” in major cities to  a primetime television show featuring Courtney Cox in the lead role (as the resident “cougar”), this country has embraced the idea of women over 40 dating significantly younger men.

OK, so the French broke this taboo decades ago, but, hey, they’re French. As the idea becomes mainstreamed here across the pond, more women are owning their “cougar” status and Personality Hotels would like to celebrate these ladies with a special package designed just for them.

The Cougars with Personality package includes:

• A one-night stay at Hotel Diva
• Two animal print thongs
• Two lemon drop cocktails
• Two $25 gift certificates at Epi Med Spa
• Professional bra fittings for two women at Nordstrom
• A list of San Francisco’s hottest cougar bars

Enter to win the package by telling Personality Hotels, in 150 words or less,  why you belong in their “cougar den.” Send your essay and your best cougar photo to cougar@personalityhotels.com from now through October 9.

Hotel Diva is a hip, stylish boutique hotel near Union Square in San Francisco that has recently undergone a “facelift” with new sumptuous linens, bold furnishings, and (very important for cougars) recessed mood lighting.

We can’t all look like Courtney, but there just might be some young cubs lurking around the city who want to learn a thing or two from a woman who has a bit more life, and, er, other experience.

Photo courtesy of Personality Hotels

It's possible to visit San Francisco on a family-friendly budget.

San Francisco is a great family travel destination, but to be totally honest – it’s a pretty spendy city. Here are a few ideas to stretch your vacation budget while still getting the most out of the City by the Bay.

• Look for hotel rooms or suites with a kitchenette. This enables you to eat breakfast in the room, pack snacks for the rest of the day or have a light dinner “at home” some nights. If you can’t get a kitchenette, try for a room with a refrigerator and microwave. Call ahead, some places will furnish them even if they don’t come standard.
• Buy a MUNI passport. San Francisco is served by a network of public transportation referred to as Muni. This includes buses, underground trains, streetcars, and the legendary cable cars. Visit www.sfmuni.com for routes and schedules or check out this handy website http://transit.511.org. Mastering MUNI for your stay will save cash and show give you a glimpse of real San Francisco. And we all know littel kids love streetcars and trains…
• Don’t rent a car unless you are going out of the city. Parking is notoriously hellish in SF and can be expensive and/or inconvenient. Some meters downtown and near some of the popular toursist destinations need to be fed every twenty minutes. That’s a hassle. And if there is one branch of Frisco government that is rabidly efficient, it is the Department of Parking and Traffic. Don’t risk it. you will get a ticket.
• Golden Gate Park. Even if you don’t avail yourself of the world-class museums in GG Park (the DeYoung and the California Academy of Sciences), this vast 1,000 acre playground is great for families. The Koret Children’s Quarter is a spanking new playground with various types of equipment for multiple ages, including a concrete slide built into the hillside for sliding fast on cardboar. The vintage carousel delights little ones. The Strybing Arboretum nearby is a fascinating botanical garden. Then there is Stow Lake where you can rent a paddle boat or climb to the top of Strawberry Hill. Lots of open space provides space to throw around a baseball or kick a soccer ball. And don’t forget to visit the herd of buffalo — yep, that’s right buffalo –  that live in the northwestern corner of the park.

Burritos are filling and cheap.

Burritos. They are fresh, delicious, ubiquitous, made to order, travel well in their foil wraps, oh, so filling and cheap. San Francisco has tons of taquerias, with the biggest concentration being in the Mission district. But you can find burritos all over town these days.

Photos by Lisa Dion

The Renaissance Stanford Court in San Francisco.

Last week, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that two prominent luxury hotels in San Francisco defaulted on loans last month, painting a bleak picture for the city’s hotel economy.

Owners of the elegant, 97-year-old Renaissance Stanford Court on the top of Nob Hill defaulted on an $89 million loan. Later in July, the Four Seasons-San Francisco on Market Street withheld payment on a $20 debt.

Analysts such as PKF Consulting, that track trends in the hotel industry saw that the average room rate drop to $134 in June, the lowest it has been since 2005, according to the Chronicle.  This is signicantly lower than the $162 peak in June, 2008.

The hotel occupancy rate dropped to 73 percent from 85 percent at the some time last year.

The article goes on to report that many hotel owners in the city and throughout California “financed purchases or refinanced loans between 2005 and 2007 — when the hotel values were at their peak. Since then, hotels statewide have lost 50 to 80 percent of their value.”

Like so many homeowners who overextended themselves with housing loans, now we’re seeing hotel owners with debt that is far higher than their assets are worth.

Customers aren’t willing to fork over as much cash as they did in recent years due to unemployment, wage cuts and job instability.

So how does that affect the average family booking a vacation? While cheaper rooms might be available for a while, cuts in staff and service are happening resulting in a less comfortable experience. And with smaller, independent hotels looking at foreclosures, there will be fewer choices for consumers.

Photo courtesy of the Renaissance Stanford Court Hotel

An historic, Art Deco gem by Ocean Beach.

Art Deco architecture is one of my passions. I’ve taken walking tours, gone to weird but fun Art Deco Society parties where everyone dresses in period clothes, and marveled at such Deco masterpieces as the Paramount Theatre in Oakland and the Golden Gate Bridge.

So, I was completely jazzed to stumble upon an Art Deco motel near the San Francisco Zoo last weekend.

Little did I know that this gem, built in 1936, was San Francisco’s first motel — I’d hit the history jackpot, too!

According to owner Vicki Duffett, when the Ocean Park Motel was built it was actually on the ocean. You could run right out the doors into the sandy dunes of Ocean Beach. Since then, highways, houses, and buildings have gone up obstructing the views.

The courtyard motel was built in the streamline moderne style, with lots of nautical touches like porthole windows, ships’ wheels, and curved railings.

The beautifully manicured courtyard separates the buildings and a little garden has a children’s play structure. An inviting hot tub is the perfect antidote to chilly fog-swept days and evenings in this often shrouded part of the city.

Take the chill off in the hot tub.

Several different floor plans offer the correct level of desired privacy. Many rooms are quite small but the motel also has larger two-bedroom family suites with either two or three queen sized beds. Eight of the suites have cozy, fully-equipped kitchens. A number of the rooms have the original deco tile in the bathrooms.

Rates are adjusted seasonally and range from $90 to $135 for one queen; $100 to $145 for a queen and twin; and $125 to $195 for two to three queen bed units. Kitchen units cost up to $20 extra per day and require a four-day minimum stay, but do ask — they can be rented on a space-available basis.

The Ocean Park is family owned (the Duffetts live on the property) and also dog friendly.

The San Francisco Zoo is a block away and several restaurants and cafes are within easy walking distance.

A trip down the Great Highway to the Beach Chalet is a must for hungry history/architecture buffs like myself. The views are magnificent and the WPA murals are exquisite National landmarks. If it’s crowded, as it often is (especially for brunch), check the Park Chalet in back of the same building for relaxing views of Golden Gate Park and live music.

Ocean Park Motel
2690 46th Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94116
(415) 566-7020

Top photos by Lisa Dion, lower right courtesy of Ocean Park Motel.

Clean, convenient, and soulless, the Days Inn SF.

Sometimes, what you’re looking for is a predicable hotel chain that offers a decent value for your money. Two words: Days Inn.

There are three Days Inns in the city, all individually owned franchises. This Grove Street location, also called Days Inn San Francisco is close to San Francisco’s geographical center and borders on the Civic Center area — home to City Hall, the ballet, symphony, Herbst Theatre, the Asian Art Museum, and a great Farmers’ Market. It’s a block north of trendy Hayes Valley with great boutiques, restaurants, cafes, corner markets, and a nice open greenspace.

It is also adjacent to some of the city’s toughest housing projects, so vigilance is mandatory, particularly at night.

You get what you would expect at Days Inn. Free parking in a lot out front, clean, antiseptic-smelling rooms, polyester bedspreads, in-room coffee makers, decent mattresses, convenience.

The Days Inn San Francisco on Grove Street.

At the Days Inn San Francisco, they also throw in free wi-fi, newspapers (USA today), refrigerators, microwaves, cable, and free continental breakfast — if you call individually-wrapped muffins with a shelf life of more than 50 years and a styrofoam cup full of weak coffee breakfast… This location also offers suites and Jacuzzi rooms and there is a burger joint on the premises.

If you’re looking for charm, character, or perhaps to meet other travelers, this is not the place. But, if you want something reliable, clean, and affordable with parking, Days Inn won’t disappoint.

Rates seem a bit arbitrary with different discount promotions bandied about on the website, but basically ranged from $80.75 on the low end with a 15 percent discount to $145 for a king bed suite. I would call personally first and ask for a discount.

Days Inn San Francisco

465 Grove Street

San Francisco, CA 94102

(415) 8654-4040

Photo credit: Lisa Dion

Elements Hotel in the Mission is hipster paradise.

San Francisco knows no bastion of hipness cooler than the Mission.

Traditionally a Hispanic neighborhood, it retains its ethnic charm while also becoming known for great bars (swanky and divey alike), lipstick lesbians, art, murals, and food — both nice restaurants and cheap eats.

Medjool is the city's only rooftop lounge

Then there’s the weather. In a city that is perennially foggy, the sun shines bright in the Mission.

Aside from at the Mission Dolores, there aren’t loads of tourists milling about this neighborhood, nor is there much in the way of lodging. But upping the hipness quotient is the Elements Hotel which claims two floors above the Mediterranean restaurant Medjool and below San Francisco’s only rooftop bar, (also run by Medjool). So, as you might figure, the location is pretty much Party Central.

It’s called a hotel and you can reserve private rooms but they also offer men-only and women-only dormitories that contribute to a hostel-like vibe. The walls are brightly painted and rooms have private bathrooms.

Hipness has a price, and it’s cheap! Double private rooms with queen beds are $30 per person (two person minimum); twin privates have two bunk beds and also cost $30 (two person minimum). Dorm rooms are $25 per person.

Linens are included all rooms, even dorms. Private rooms have televisions. A dark, spare hallway space is considered the “Internet Lounge” but there is free wi-fi access throughout building. Continental breakfast is gratis and served on the rooftop deck which is not to be missed. The website promises movie and game nights and rooftop parties. Thus, Elements is probably not the best choice for families, early risers, older folks, or the cranky.

The surrounding neighborhood is a mix of Spanish-speaking grocers, dilapidated movie houses, hip bars (Bruno’s, Lazlow, Doc’s Clocks), burrito joints, and dollar stores. Foreign Cinema, one of the city’s best and most unique restaurants — think organic, locally-grown heirloom tomatoes while watching Fellini on a giant outdoor screen) is next door. With the money saved at Elements, treat yourself to Foreign Cinema’s legendary brunch.

Elements Hotel

2524 Mission Street

San Francisco, CA 94110

(866) 327-8407

Photos by Lisa Dion

The 32-story Intercontinental San Francisco is worthy of a James Bond film location.

If James Bond had an assignment to take down the enemy in San Francisco, this is where you would find him.

Tall, sexy, and technologically sophisticated, this 32-story hotel even has a name worthy of Double-O-Seven — InterContinental.

Perhaps you’d find that Bond had done the unthinkable and switched from his signature vodka martini after sampling one of the 200 grappas from Bar 888’s extensive collection in the hotel lobby.

If he needed to call a meeting with his fellow agents, there is 43,000 square feet of the most technologically-advanced meeting space in the city to do so — featuring Cat-6 fiber optics, T3 Internet connection, and dedicated conference room bandwidth.

When JB needs a more casual rendezvous spot, Club InterContinental is a laid back business lounge on the sixth floor that offers five meals daily, cocktails, and business and VIP amenities with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city.

Special agents don’t get a lot of downtime and they work odd hours, but in this line of work it’s crucial to stay in top shape. For this, James has the state-of-the art, 24-hour fitness center, indoor lap pool and heated Jacuzzi

Nearly every space features floor-to-ceiling glass.

Of course, there are times when a spy needs to be on the downlow. The I Spa is the perfect place for him to duck away in a dark, aromatherapy-scented room get a very expensive treatment — from an Ayurvedic balancing massage to table Thiatsu to “cupping release.” Bond will surely emerge rejuvenated and ready to continue his mission.

There are always lovely ladies in any Bond’s tale. When it comes time for Halle Berry, clad in lingerie and a jet pack, to come crashing through the floor-to-ceiling glass into James’ suite, (one of the hotel’s 550 guest rooms), she will be taken by the airy spaciousness of the rooms, the marble and wood accents, elegant muted color scheme, and 42-inch flat screen.

And, one detail she is certain to remember is the exquisite feel of of rolling around in Frette linens.

Intercontinental San Francisco

888 Howard Street

San Francisco, CA 94103

(888) 811-4273

Photos by Lisa Dion