San Francisco and what to do in it

bay area people: i'm looking for ideas for weekend getaways, anything from campsites/cabins in really cool places, through to high-end luxury B&Bs. anywhere within about a 3 hr driving radius.

places i've found so far:
http://blackheroninn.com/
http://www.hiddenvilla.org/rentals/josephines-retreat
http://www.lingonberryfarm.com/farm_home.html
http://www.treebonesresort.com/index.php
http://www.windsongcottage.com/

i should say: within a 3 hr driving radius of el cerrito

check out places along the Russian River, Guerneville, etc.

Yeah, I've been going w/friends up near Gurneville for a couple of years in a row, now. It's pretty fantastic.

todd edwards tonight, alvin lucier tomorrow, remarc next week

not bad, SF, not bad

alvin lucier is in Oakland, tbrr

yeah yeah

hey, i gotta represent!

I had no idea Remarc was still getting around. Good on him.

NOOOOOOOO

:(

really irritating that it's not even business-driven - it's not like Serra Bowl isn't making money or lacking in clientele, it's just that the landlord is a greedy asshole

How will he make more money, though?

I assume he has plans to sell the property?

where should i stay in san francisco? i need to get to the mission district relatively easily/quickly at rush hour each morning. am looking at union squareish area bc it's very close to transit... any other recommendations?

union square would be fine for your purposes but it won't be cheap

civic center/south of market or tenderloin

I wouldn't really recommend the tenderloin. I mean, I spend time there and I have friends there but y'know some people might be alarmed by preponderance of speedfreaks/crackheads, trannywhores, random stabbings, crazed homeless people etc

Agree. Plus Tenderloin is not terribly fun to walk around at night (reinforced for me after seeing a show at GAMH last night.)\

Any reason why you don't want to just stay in the Mission? Upper Market near Castro/Church is also a good spot.

yeah was gonna suggest the Church/Castro axis, there's decent B&Bs around there

otoh if you are comfortable with the prospect of seeing someone take a shit in the street at any given time of day, by all means hit up the Tendo!

mission hotels didn't seem particularly great from the online reviews. can anyone recommend a good one?

my mother-in-law stayed at some B&B near us that seemed pretty decent, I think it was on Van Ness. Lemme look it up and see if I can find it.

I think it was this one

how do you feel about doilies lol

i do not wish to stay at a b&b for a week! hah. maybe one night. but i'm going for a work trip so i think it would get... awkward. i dunno, for a week, i guess i want more amenities that a hotel offers like a gym, my own bathroom, etc.

there are cheap hotels around Union Square too. They really run the gamut.

yeah the hotels in the Mission aren't gonna meet your needs. if it's a work thing and they're payin for the stay, Union Square or or the SOMA hotels are best for that kind of thing

xp

union square plus a few blocks to the north, a few blocks to the east, a few blocks to the south, and like 1.5 blocks to the west keeps out out of the tenderloin

what are hotels in the mission? aside from really ratty looking places with signs that say they offer color tv.

those are the only ones

I assume it's a zoning thing

what are hotels in the mission? aside from really ratty looking places with signs that say they offer color tv.

this is the impression i was getting from searches. glad it's not just me!

ok, another q: is there a relatively quick/easy way to get to santa cruz other than renting a car?

no

I had some cheap friends stay at a place on bush st. that was essentially a "cheap hotel" but not a flop. there are a number of places like that around there. that puts you fairly in the center of things. hotel astoria maybe? or grant hotel? these kinds of places are all similar, I think.

no; i think there is a train/bus combo you can take

yes, Greyhound from Transbay terminal

my brother took some hellish multi-hour bus trip that I would never advise

Greyhound's gonna make a LOT of stops

the other option is caltrain to san jose then amtrak bus

you can take Caltrans to somewhere that has a bus route that connects to Santa Cruz iirc. it was painful the one time I did it. Just rent the car, it's like an hour/hour and a half to drive it (provided you aren't going during rush hour)

xp

yes but then you get to see San Jose, Foster City, Los Gatos etc

xxp

the jewels of the peninsula

don't knock em

Los Gatos is pretty posh iirc

Do you hear me knockin'?

If you're close to Market St. in SOMA or Union Square, BART will get you to 16th St. or 24th St. fairly quickly depending on the scheduled trains.

I know 4lly stayed here once - http://www.hotelmilanosf.com/

Transit-wise, it's pretty central. It's been ages but I used to know their chief engineer and I long ago worked on a photo shhot that used their business center as an office for a week.

Union Sq is probably your best bet, anywhere near Powell Station is properly central. When are you here?

is a FAP in order? been a long time

thanks, all. I'll be there mid-april, exact dates tbc but roughly 4/7-13. kinder, I didn't realize you were an sf ilxor!