Oct 15, 2006
AS befits a city that is both a major tourist and business destination, and one that draws lots of families in for a visit — 65 percent of its population was born outside California — San Francisco’s range of hotels is at once profuse and varied. The city has more than 32,000 hotel rooms, ranging from $12,500-dollar-a-night suites that are more like mansions to bedbug-infested S.R.O.’s that have always held a certain Bukowskian charm better read about than experienced.
While it’s easy to come here and spend $60 for a cellblock out by the airport, it’s also totally unnecessary: with a little planning, you can find a hotel that is affordable yet also embodies the eclectic charm that has always been San Francisco’s appeal.
The sweet spot is just under $200 a night. In that price range, you can expect a habitable room with distinctive character, friendly, attentive but hands-off service and an occasional funkiness that is best thought of as a reminder of what a deal you’re getting.
You can expect general cleanliness that is not a given further down the scale, plus amenities — private bathrooms, bar refrigerators and Wi-Fi — that, depending on your perspective, can be either nice touches or absolutely critical features.
You would be hard pressed to find truly bad service in this price range, and labor troubles that have affected San Francisco’s hotels over the past two years have been resolved. Union hotel workers have new contracts, so you don’t have to confront the possibility of crossing a picket line to get to your pillow.
In all, I found 13 hotels that I can confidently recommend for the cash-strapped tourist who is looking for something a little grander than a youth hostel. Following are my top three picks, ranging from an artists’ enclave near Union Square to an urban pied-a-terre for business travelers.
