Anonymous wrote:Op here to San Fran local-- which if the hotel you mentioned have a great lobby for my mom to sit and vege and people watch and have a cocktail. Not too big though like a conventions center! Am I asking too much

I am thinking westin st Francis.

Yep, the Westin on Third Street, for sure. They just re-did their lounge area. They also have a bowl of fruit (apples or oranges) out in the afternoons. Not that I've stopped in with my kid to use the bathroom and discovered four blocks later she's helped herself to a free apple meant for hotel guests or anything.

I don't know when you're coming here, but if it's during the Christmas season, it's fun to sit on the bench in the lobby of the hotel with Michael Mina's restaurant. The tree is HUGE, and there's an elaborate train going around it, and tons of people dressed up walking around, going to and/or coming from parties. I don't even celebrate Christmas and love that!

Op here to San Fran local-- which if the hotel you mentioned have a great lobby for my mom to sit and vege and people watch and have a cocktail. Not too big though like a conventions center! Am I asking too much


I am thinking westin st Francis.

Thanks to the previous posters!

We stayed at the Omni in the Financial District this summer with my mom, who used a walker. It was relatively flat in that area, and she was able to walk 2-3 blocks from the hotel to catch one of the hop on/off bus tours. She really enjoyed that as she was able to see all of the sites, without traveling much on her own.

I live in SF and my sister who also lives here has a-fib, though has a pacemaker.

What. I think you'll be best off doing is staing somewhere close to a lot of transportation options. You could stay at the Westin on Third Street, in SoMa. It's half a block off Mrket and you can pick up the F in either direction.

Also consider the Westin St Francis in Union Square, which is where Michael Mina's Bourbon Steak is. That one is on Powell Street. It's literally IN the square of Union Square, on a little incline so you'd have to walk two or three blocks to Market.

Nothing in Fishermans Wharf is luxury. The Hyatt Regency near Drumm is pretty lux, and that is very flat, across from the Ferry Building (where you could jump on the F to get down to the piers and G-Square) and right near the Embarcadero station, so you could go down there to get to the trains for the zoo or museums (though not the MoMa because you'd walk there plus it's closed for a few years).

I don't know bout the hotels out near the Pacific. There are more lux hotels in SoMa but farther off Market, and I think your mom would highly dislike the 14bus. Post again if you need more help.

Lots of the "touristy spots" in SF require a lot of walking up and down hills. Chinatown, Lombard St., etc., all come to mind. If you're thinking of the Pier 39 tourist trap, that's relatively flat if you're walking along the Embarcadero, and there are often cable cars going between sites, although the wait can sometimes be long.

I haven't stayed at that hotel, but it seems like it's in a relatively flat area, but not that close to much. I think it's in the financial district (I haven't spent much time in that area)? If you go a little bit closer to Union Sq there are a lot more hotels and it's close to many public transport options. I only took a cab one time when I was in SF for a whole summer in college, and although I walked a lot, I also used public transportation a lot. It's much better than DC.

Google maps has a cool feature for the walking and biking directions. You can click "show terrain" and it will show you elevation changes on a walk/bike. That might be helpful when looking at places. SF has a lot of Kimpton/boutique hotels, but some of them IME don't have elevators or you have to wait a long time for them.

Hi -- going to San Fran with my mother and need a luxury hotel within walking distance to the main sites. My is pretty mobile but has Afib. So need something close to the attractions but looking for something luxurious. We are ok taking a cab here and there but want to walk most of time.
Obviously nob hill is out.
How about the mandarin? Is the walk to the touristy spots flat?

TIA