InterContinental Mark Hopkins, San Francisco

Advantages: Luxurious rooms, great views, helpful staff, great location
Disadvantages: Not cheap, but you get what you pay for.

...Yes, it is not cheap. But you get what you pay for. If you want luxurious rooms, great food, (the seafood "all you can eat" buffet is excellent), and friendly staff, then stay here. Go to the top floor, where the swimming pool is located, and take photos of the surrounding area from there. Also the location is good, 3 minutes walk down to Circular Quay, the Opera House, etc., can't be beat. If you need sundry consumables, water, fags, chocolate, toothpaste, etc., then there is a "Open all hours" store on the way up from the harbour. Very useful. Breakfast at the hotel is nice but expensive. Alternatively walk down the hill to Circular Quay and have a full English at one of the Al Fresco cafes, before going for a cruise around Port Jackson, or wherever your fancy takes you. Dinner at the InterContinental is also not cheap... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

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: Includes many classic movies
Disadvantages: A bit anorakish

...I used to have a work colleague (who sadly died) who was a huge film fan, in all his spare time he & his lovely wife would be off to the cinema to watch the latest releases & spend their spare time at home watching just about every type of film imaginable. On their holidays they would go to Hollywood & see the film studios & sample the locations were many of the most famous movies were filmed. They knew all the stars, all the producers, directors & just about everything else linked to the film industry. It was him I was thinking about when I visited San Francisco & during a half day tour of the city had pointed out to me one or two locations were some of the classic movies of the 1960s & 1970s were actually filmed. It was only when I looked into it for more details I realised many more films have been filmed in San Francisco. For any... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful