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Berkeley/SF hotels

j.roj.ro Posts: 111
edited March 2008 in The Porch
Hey Everyone (especially Bay Area people)

My friend and I are looking for an inexpensive place to stay that is close to the Bart and in a fun area. Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!
Jenny
Oh half his life, a hand me down, wasted away
Of he fills it up, with the love, of a girl...
Post edited by Unknown User on

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    WoodenHammerWoodenHammer Posts: 89
    If you want to stay in SF, then inexpensive is gonna be tough. Best case maybe 100 a night. Berkeley you could save 20 a night off of that. My suggestion would be to stay in the city, take the 20 minute BART ride to Berkeley, and have a better time.

    Anything near the financial district or in SOMA will give you easy access to BART. There are Marriott's, Hilton's, Holiday Inn's that you could probably get around 100 and change per night. I live in the city, so if you have any hotel questions feel free to ask.
    We were but stones... Your light made us stars
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    AnonAnon Posts: 11,175
    WoodenHammer hit the nail on the head (wait for it . . . )

    But seriously, staying in the Financial District in SF is a great idea b/c of proximity to BART. Just make sure you don't settle for a hotel too far down Market Street in the Civic Center or Tenderloin districts. They may be cheaper, but those neighborhoods are the definition of "seedy."
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    ZAPPERZAPPER Posts: 246
    stay in emeryville! its right next to berkeley, 2 mins away, and the hotels in the area are fairly new - and cheaper than SF.

    better than those nasty motels on University Ave.

    there is : Woodfin Suites, Courtyard by Marriot, Four Points Sheraton, HJ extended stay, and lots more.

    Free public trasportation within Emeryville, the bus - dubbed "Emery-Go-Round" can take you to the bart station or the correct bus line to get to Zellerbach.
    Previously known as Elzar
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    WobbieWobbie Posts: 29,587
    http://www.jdvhotels.com/galleria_park/

    Not dirt cheap, but cheapish by SF standards. I've stayed there twice and was very impressed. A couple of blocks (max) from BART and MUNI.
    If I had known then what I know now...

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    hawkeye8388hawkeye8388 Posts: 47
    I will be making the trip to the Bay Area also. I predominantly use priceline for hotels. If I am in Union Square area (east or west) I take it I will be close to the BART?

    THanks
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    ZAPPERZAPPER Posts: 246
    yes - you will be fairly close to Powell St bart station or New Montgomery station. a few blocks downhill
    Previously known as Elzar
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    mookie_in_eugenemookie_in_eugene Posts: 1,090
    Some of the old hotels around union square won't be too expensive. There are a few on Post and Sutter. Those streets are just fine. I used to live on Post and I felt safe walking around at all times. Just make sure if you run into a herion addict, give them their space. Geary st. and farther south is a lot more sketchy. That's the Tenderloin neighborhood. Post and Sutter is in what some call the TenderNob area. There are enough nice hotels on those streets thereby forcing the city to keep them somewhat clean.

    Another idea is to find somewhere in the suburbs next to a Bart station. Just make sure you don't go anywhere north of Berkeley. Richmond has a lot of shootings every year. I much rather deal with the addicts of the Tenderloin.

    Hope this helps.
    "Underneath this smile lies everything - all my hopes, anger, pride and shame."
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    mookie_in_eugenemookie_in_eugene Posts: 1,090
    ZAPPER wrote:
    yes - you will be fairly close to Powell St bart station or New Montgomery station. a few blocks downhill

    Just for clarification it's Montgomery station not New Montgomery station.
    "Underneath this smile lies everything - all my hopes, anger, pride and shame."
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    chiquimonkeychiquimonkey Posts: 9,337
    *definitely* avoid the hotels/motels on university, it gets sketchy at night. only hotels in berkeley that i'd recommend would be the french hotel in the gourmet ghetto on shattuck, or the hotel durant near telegraph
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    Gen5Gen5 Posts: 405
    Oh I love how the Bay Area gets describe (I have lived here all my life, no worries)....it just cracks me up.....It is beautiful here, just give the herion addicts their space.....hehehehehehe....
    ~~Rain Love~~

    www.myspace.com/poworgen5

    www.generationFIVE.org
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    mookie_in_eugenemookie_in_eugene Posts: 1,090
    Gen5 wrote:
    Oh I love how the Bay Area gets describe (I have lived here all my life, no worries)....it just cracks me up.....It is beautiful here, just give the herion addicts their space.....hehehehehehe....

    There's nothing beautiful about the 'loin. Good thing is that the herion addicts can't climb hills very well. That's why Nob hill is...beautifull.
    "Underneath this smile lies everything - all my hopes, anger, pride and shame."
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    j.roj.ro Posts: 111
    Thanks everyone...this was a great help and much appreciated. I am going to look into all your suggestions :)
    Oh half his life, a hand me down, wasted away
    Of he fills it up, with the love, of a girl...
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    julieferjuliefer New Westminster, BC Posts: 395
    when we went to sf for the shows in 05 we stayed at the York Hotel. It's where Vertigo (alfred hitchcock) was filmed. it was reasonably priced, and it was easy to get to almost everything from it. it's sort of on the border of the seedy area, but i still felt comfortable.
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    nsmooth78nsmooth78 Posts: 36
    what are some of the must-do things, resturants,etc? itll be my 1st time in the area. were def trying to get to the redwoods forrest, john muir
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    julieferjuliefer New Westminster, BC Posts: 395
    the highlight our trip to sf, for me, was telegraph hill. before we went we watched the documentary 'wild parrots of telegraph hill' and then we went up there to check out coit tower. the tower is cool, but the neatest thing was passing all the crazy little houses of the people that are living basically on the side of a cliff. it's the coolest.

    i see you're from new jersey... i'm taking a trip to new york at the end of may. we have about a million places we want to check out in 3 1/2 days... any recommendations?
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    Gen5Gen5 Posts: 405
    mookie_in_eugene wrote:
    There's nothing beautiful about the 'loin. Good thing is that the herion addicts can't climb hills very well. That's why Nob hill is...beautifull.


    I agree, the tenderloin isn't "beautiful", but your description is fascinating!! =)
    ~~Rain Love~~

    www.myspace.com/poworgen5

    www.generationFIVE.org
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    j.roj.ro Posts: 111
    juliefer wrote:
    i see you're from new jersey... i'm taking a trip to new york at the end of may. we have about a million places we want to check out in 3 1/2 days... any recommendations?

    What types of things are you interested in? I've been in NY my whole life. You could do all the typical touristy things but there is sooooo much more. Let me know and I'll give you some suggestions :)
    Oh half his life, a hand me down, wasted away
    Of he fills it up, with the love, of a girl...
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    sarge.pjsarge.pj Posts: 31
    I am search of a set for either of the berkeley shows. please email me at sarge.dmb@gmail.com

    Thanks.
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    nsmooth78nsmooth78 Posts: 36
    would it work if i stayed in fisherman wharf?
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    AnonAnon Posts: 11,175
    nsmooth78 wrote:
    would it work if i stayed in fisherman wharf?

    stay as far away from fisherman's wharf as possible for many reasons, but mainly because it's not close to BART at all.
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    AllieAllie Posts: 2,908
    I lived in SF 10 yrs ago,
    absolutely avoid the TL, as others said
    This hotel is super expensive, celebs stay there, but it's gorgeous:
    http://www.hoteltriton.com/

    It's literally across the street from the Gates of chinatown.

    Fisherman's Wharf is a tourist area, it's interesting to see but far away from downtown and super expensive.

    If you go down in that area, Ghirardelli Square is amazing. The Ghirardelli Chocolate company is based there and they have sundaes that are just incredible

    Riding a cable car is fun,
    You can take a ferry and go to see Alcatraz, which was interesting.

    Chinatown is fun to see...


    Union Square is in the heart of the downtown area, all the major dept stores are there: Neimans, Macy's etc,

    I love Haight/Asbury area and Golden Gate Park. Just for the historical aspects, it is really cool to go see the Haight.

    Berkeley is really cool also. It is an easy BART ride from SF. It's usually warmer up there than it is in SF.

    Have a great time.
    "...like a word misplaced, nothing said, what a waste.."
    "Sometimes life should be consumed in measured doses"
    6-01-06
    6/25/08
    Free Speedy
    and Metsy!
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    meisteredermeistereder Posts: 1,576
    I am the Omni right now in the lobby typing this. But it is expensive -- here on business. It's nice though.
    San Diego 10/25/00, Mountain View 6/1/03, Santa Barbara 10/28/03, Northwest School 3/18/05, San Diego 7/7/06, Los Angeles 7/9/06, 7/10/06, Honolulu (U2) 12/9/06, Santa Barbara (EV) 4/10/08, Los Angeles (EV) 4/12/08, Hartford 6/27/08, Mansfield 6/28/08, VH1 Rock Honors The Who 7/12/08, Seattle 9/21/09, Universal City 9/30/09, 10/1/09, 10/6/09, 10/7/09, San Diego 10/9/09, Los Angeles (EV) 7/8/11, Santa Barbara (EV) 7/9/11, Chicago 7/19/13, San Diego 11/21/13, Los Angeles 11/23/13, 11/24/13, Oakland 11/26/13, Chicago 8/22/16, Missoula 8/13/18, Boston 9/2/18, Los Angeles 2/25/22 (EV), San Diego 5/3/22, Los Angeles 5/6/22, 5/7/22, Imola 6/25/22, Los Angeles 5/21/24, [London 6/29/24], [Boston 9/15/24]
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    salngrsalngr Posts: 55
    im kinda in the same boat
    looking desperately for a hotel in the 100-120 per night range and close to a bart to the venue

    any help is appreciated

    thanks
    "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini (or diet coke) in the other hand, body thoroughly used up, worn out and tired..."
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    stupidcorporatewhorestupidcorporatewhore Posts: 761
    giventoflyjbs wrote:
    stay as far away from fisherman's wharf as possible for many reasons, but mainly because it's not close to BART at all.

    ever heard of a bus or a cab?

    f**king city is only 6 1/2 miles square!

    pick up a muni (bus) map and a bart schedule and the city is at your feet.
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    AnonAnon Posts: 11,175
    stupidcorporatewhore wrote:
    ever heard of a bus or a cab?

    f**king city is only 6 1/2 miles square!

    pick up a muni (bus) map and a bart schedule and the city is at your feet.

    actually, it's 7 miles by 7 miles, or 49 square miles.

    and you're right, it's a very easy city to get around. but staying near fisherman's wharf is a terrible idea one way or the other.
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    jimed14jimed14 Posts: 9,488
    When I first came here, my first priority as a music lover was to hit up the Fillmore (Fillmore and Geary) ...

    http://www.livenation.com/venue/getVenue/venueId/1259/

    Lots of good history in there ... even if there isn't an act playing that you like, maybe check it out for all the pics and posters they got hanging ... still my favorite place to see a show here in the city. (an EV show there would have been AMAZING).

    I always try and check out other shows when I'm in a differnt city ... check out Pollstar by city to see what's going on ...

    http://pollstar.com/tour/searchall.pl?By=City&Content=CA_San+Francisco&PSKey=Y&Sort=Date&Date_From=&Date_To=03-21-2010&Market=N&Market=N&Page=1

    Aside from The Fillmore, other place I like to see shows ...

    Great American Music Hall
    The Independent
    Bottom of the Hill
    Slims
    Warfield
    Bimbos
    Cafe Du Nord (right up the street form me)
    Red Devil Lounge

    Oh, and Dirty Frank, PJ cover band stated they were palying a gig at Geary and Green on that Friday ... it's in a different thread around here.


    For you poster freaks visitng the area ... make sure you make a stop into Off The Wall ... http://offthewallposters.net/

    Sadly, they jsut moved out of their Haight area location (a day at Amoeba for used records and cds, a visit to the Red Vic movie theatre and Off the Wall was a great day up at the Haight)

    Anyway ... Off The Wall if you're into rock posters ... while she doesn't carry a lot of Pearl Jam per se, Naomi is really good people and has a lot of stuff.


    Fisherman's Wharf ... avoid at all costs ... there is no good reason to go there ... at ... all.

    If there's one "touristy" thing to do ... heck, try the Alcatraz tour ... I got a kick out of it ... (granted, that was about 10 years ago and I was by myself for the day.)

    Looks like the Giants are in town for quite a while around those shows ... AT&T Park is one of my favorite places to see a game ... and I've been to around 15 MLB parks.

    I'll tihnk of more when I sober up ...
    "You're one of the few Red Sox fans I don't mind." - Newch91

    "I don't believe in damn curses. Wake up the damn Bambino and have me face him. Maybe I'll drill him in the ass." --- Pedro Martinez
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    stupidcorporatewhorestupidcorporatewhore Posts: 761
    giventoflyjbs wrote:
    actually, it's 7 miles by 7 miles, or 49 square miles.

    and you're right, it's a very easy city to get around. but staying near fisherman's wharf is a terrible idea one way or the other.

    I've been directing people to the san remo. It's close to the water but more like north beach

    FW is ok. It's VERY touristy and fake.
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    acutejamacutejam Posts: 1,433
    I'm too lazy, sorry, to actually do any work, but out east on BART are some nice lil suburbs, nice and safe and you can take BART into San Francisco/Berkeley as desired.

    There are hotels in Berkeley of course, but Shattuck (near BART) can be somewhat dicey. I don't know how things price out -- Emeryville can be ok (hehe, we're all on Biz trips, I'm actually at the Huntington in Pasadena Right now!!! Thanks Company!)

    C'mon out to Walnut Creek!!! We'll take good care of you. Marriots, Holiday Inns, a few other motels and what not. Some happening microbrew pubs and wine bars, some local bars too with acoustic sets. Awesome restraunts. But honestly NOTHING touristy in WC. Just a nice safe place to stay with hotels not too far from BART.

    Some good advice in this thread though -- North Beach is a blast on weekends. Check for shows at the WARFIELD and FILMORE or just check 'em out. (Man, PJ's gotta rent the Filmore for a month like Petty did!) The SF Giants are in Milwaulke over the weekend -- HA Their Home Opener is 4/7! If you stick around, yes, a game at AT&T Park is a must -- SWEET Ballpark.

    And some AWESOME breakfast joints in Walnut Creek, c'mon that's most important!

    The ZELLERBACH at UC Berkeley is a good clip from Shattuck Bart (Berkeley) -- I used to walk it as a teenager, there's a bus route as well, but it's a good clip form BART. Google map Shattuck to Telegraph to get an idea (isn't the zellerback kinda right at the north end of telegraph?)

    And I'll meet you there each night.
    PM me if I can offer ya more advice... Been here since '77.
    [sic] happens
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    jammergirljammergirl Posts: 599
    may i offer some advice on ppl coming to see the shows in berkeley? personally, i would reccomend that you stay in the east bay, since the bart stops running around 11:30, and do you really want to be stressing about that after seeing EV in concert? there are some good places to stay that arent' dives, but thats just my suggestion.
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    jimed14jimed14 Posts: 9,488
    jammergirl wrote:
    may i offer some advice on ppl coming to see the shows in berkeley? personally, i would reccomend that you stay in the east bay, since the bart stops running around 11:30, and do you really want to be stressing about that after seeing EV in concert? there are some good places to stay that arent' dives, but thats just my suggestion.

    11:30? It's a little later than that ...

    For those planning on staying in the city and using BART ... here's the last train from Berkeley back to the the City (there's a transfer) ... go to bart.gov and you can confirm.

    And indeed, they hold the trains for these transfers knowing it's the last of the night ... there's another set 20 minutes prior to this too.

    Depart: Downtown Berkeley at 12:29a - Fremont train
    Arrive: MacArthur at 12:45a Timed

    Transfer

    Depart: MacArthur at 12:45a - San Francisco Int'l Airport train
    Arrive: Montgomery St. at 1:02a
    "You're one of the few Red Sox fans I don't mind." - Newch91

    "I don't believe in damn curses. Wake up the damn Bambino and have me face him. Maybe I'll drill him in the ass." --- Pedro Martinez
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