Best Western Civic Center Motor Inn, San Francisco

Advantages: Good value, comfortable, close to attractions, great location
Disadvantages: Basic, but not necessarily a disadvantage (see review)

...The Castle Inn is a small B&B/motel and one of the best kept accommodation secrets in San Francisco. My wife and I stayed there for our belated honeymoon for just over a week in April this year, encouraged by all the great reviews we had seen on various websites. Whilst it can't compete with the likes of the Sheratons and upper-end Holiday Inns in the luxury stakes, it has plenty of its own plus points setting it apart from the more well known hotels. The first thing you'll notice on arrival at the Castle Inn is its location - on Broadway in the Russian Hill district, it's set away from the main tourist hubs. Instead, you're right in with the locals and treated to a more natural SF, a world away from the city's most famous landmarks. Not that it's miles away from anywhere, mind - Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Location, value for money, free parking
Disadvantages: Noise

...Having a day to kill in San Francisco (lucky me!) before catching an early morning flight, I needed a hotel, and decided to stay in town rather than near the airport. I searched on Expedia and found the Francisco Bay Inn. One of the features I was looking for was free parking, and the Francisco Bay offers it. There were cheaper options, but not when you add $10-$20 to park your car. Expedia gave me a rate of £39, prepaid, and I took it. Another advantage of the Francisco Bay is its location. This is also a disadvantage. It is on Lombard Street, near the corner of Van Ness, within easy walking distance of Fisherman's Wharf and other attractions. However, Lombard is a major, six-lane thoroughfare, part of Highway 101 as it wends its way to the Golden Gate Bridge. This means constant traffic noise, right through the night. Earplugs... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Not expensive
Disadvantages: Staff not very helpful, not great location

...Need I say any more?! I stayed at the Best Western Hotel Americania in San Francisco earlier this year. I was on a business trip (on a budget) and stayed there for 2 nights. The location of the hotel is just south of Market Street (in the SOMA district) which is described on one website as "a funky, lively, up-and-coming area of San Francisco". I would say that this is probably one of the slightly edgier areas of San Francisco, and being a visitor, you do stick out like a sore thumb. However, you are only a short walk from Market Street, with great transport connections to the rest of the city, and not far from Union Square, with all it's shops! The hotel itself is a garish salmon pink building (so easy to spot!), and inside, the rooms are set around several courtyards, which does mean that any sound made around the courtyard... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful