Peppy Square

Archive for the ‘union square’ Category

San Francisco is visited by many throughout the year. Some may be senior citizens on a holiday. Others may be enjoying a holiday with their families. Still others may be honeymooners. There are also those who go there on business trips. Each might have their own budget and will be able to reserve a hotel according to their needs. The place should provide all the comfort needed and should be a home away from home. Many of the hotels offer seasonal discounts that can be availed.

The main attractions in San Francisco are the Golden Gate Bridge, the Fisherman’s Wharf, China Town, the cable cars, the Alcatraz islands, Theater District, the Financial District etc. Most of the luxury hotels are located within easy reach of these places. Some of them are on the Union Square, some on Nob Hill, some close to the Financial center for business travelers, and some near the Fisherman’s Wharf.

There are many luxury, five star rated hotels in San Francisco. Some of them are going to be discussed here. The ‘New Intercontinental’ is next to the Moscone Convention Center. It is a thirty-two storied glass tower high rise building with 530 rooms and is a luxury hotel. It opened only on 28th February 2008. ‘Four Seasons’ is a very expensive hotel. It is also a five star hotel with 277 rooms. ‘Ritz Carlton’ is also a very sought after hotel and it has 336 rooms. The “Mandarin Oriental’ is a five star hotel which has 158 rooms.

The Union Square has many of the city’s best hotels. There is the ‘Chancellor Hotel’. It is close to the cable cars. It has 137 rooms. “Handlery Union Square Hotel’ is a luxury hotel that has been in existence for the past eighty years and is being run by the fourth generation of the Handlery family. ‘Renaissance Parc 55 ‘Union Square is one of the biggest hotels. They offer the best of services and it is very modern. ‘Grand Hyatt’ is also a hotel with a great view. ‘Prescot’ is a hotel that is famous for its historic architecture.

Hotel Nikko’ and ‘Miyako Hotel’ are ideally suited for those who like the eastern style of life. They have an Asian charm about them. The hotels on Fisherman’s Wharf are good for family holidays, since they are close to all the main sightseeing areas. The best hotel here is the ‘Hilton San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf’.

Nob Hill is a small district in San Francisco. South of Nob Hill is Union Street, East is China Town and Financial District. To the north is Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf. The hotels on Nob Hill are posh hotels located at the intersection of California and Powell streets. The most famous ones are, “Fairmont’, ‘Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel’ which has 382 Guest rooms and 33 suites, ‘ Huntington Hotel’, ‘The Stanford Court’ and ‘Nob Hill Hilton’.

Hotels in the Financial District that are the best are ‘Hyatt Residency’. It is good place for businessman. ‘Le Meridien’ is also there. ‘Hotel Vitale’ is near the Financial District and the ferry building. Other important hotels are ‘Palace Hotel’, ‘Campton Hotel’, ‘St. Regis Hotel’ and ‘Hotel Palomar’.

All these hotels have a scenic view and cater to the tourists of San Francisco. They have rules about check in and check out timings, they have their own restaurants and fitness centers, swimming pools and spas. Some allow pets while others don’t. Check out the best hotel that suits your needs.

One of the famous places in San Francisco is the Union Square. It is a plaza surrounded by Geary, Powell, Post, and Stockton Street in San Francisco, California. Today, this single block plaza’s vicinity has one of the leading collections of department stores, fashionable boutiques, tourist ornament stores, art galleries, and salons in western United States that maintains Union Square as a major traveler attraction. Union Square is also the place where you can find historical landmarks that represents the culture of California.

o Hallidie Plaza at Market Street is an on-the-rise trade hallway that is attached to the SOMA district.

o Nob Hill, with its luxurious manors, apartment buildings, and hotels, is situated in the northwest of Union Square.

o Located northeast is Chinatown, with its well-known dragon gate at Grant Avenue and Bush Street.

o French Quarter is one block north of Union Square and is in the middle of Belden Place lane, among Bush Street and Pine Streets, and Claude Lane off Bush Street. The spot has lots of open-air French restaurants and cafes. Each year the locale is the site of the lively Bastille Day festivity, the country’s largest.

o Directly east of the Square off Stockton Street is Maiden Lane, a little tapered lane of special boutiques and coffee shops that leads to the Financial District and features the Xanadu Gallery, San Francisco’s only structure premeditated by Frank Lloyd Wright – with its center mainly distinguished for being the antecedent for Guggenheim Museum, New York

o The Geary & Curran theaters at the heart of the “theater region”. Union Square is also an institution to San Francisco’s TIX Bay Area, a discounted ticket booth and ticket master retailer. Run by the Theatre Bay Area, tickets for the majority of performing arts in San Francisco can be bought on the very day of the performance at an economical price.

o Lastly, Union Square is famous because the place has many hotels and resorts for travelers. The following is the top of the line hotels in Union Square.

o Hotel Union Square has accomplished a wide-ranging, up- to- date makeover & materialized as the freshest & generally new boutique. The 131-room boutique style, Hotel Union Square was initially the Golden West Hotel, built in 1913 for the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition.

o In the 1950′s, the hotel was renamed the Golden State Hotel. Personality Hotels obtained the building in 1980 and launched it two years soon after as the Hotel Union Square.

o Hotel 480, a stylish San Francisco boutique lodge situated in Union Square, the renowned heart of California’s dazzling culture, food, and outstanding shopping. The hotel is supremely situated with San Francisco hotels close to the downtown Financial District and Moscone Convention Center. It is ideal for vacationers with an eye for the big city.

o Kensington Park Hotel is a hotel merged with a typical sense of extravagance and technique, with up- to- date services to make your stay as contented and relaxing as possible. Furniture includes mahogany desks and armoires that emphasize each of their 92 spacious rooms. This hotel is found in Union Square, well known for old-fashioned cable cars, “climbing halfway to the stars” and world- famous shopping place. The Kensington Park is the excellent location for equal trade and holiday tour.

o Hotel Metropolis- is a place with brilliant designs that surrounds each room of the hotel. The motifs of the Metropolis are a smoothly done up earth, wind, fire, and water from the classy reception area straight to their guest room. It is found just to the north of Market Street and one block west of the Powell Street cable car line. Metropolis is just a walk away from Union Square shopping.

o Steinhart is one of the few personal hotels that deviously demonstrate the real meaning of San Francisco residential buildings that still exists. It has a spectacular structural representation and stylish interiors. The hotel has recently been through a full reconstruction.

Also known as Fog City, San Francisco is a west coast jewel. Gorgeous scenery, charming tourist attractions and mild weather all contribute to this popular destination. Cheap, on the other hand, is not usually a word visitors or residents use to describe the city. Follow our tips below to get around SF On The Cheap.

~Cheap Lodging

As usual, hostels are our choice for cheap lodging and the same advice applies to San Francisco. A couple of our favorites include:

*USA Hostels San Francisco* Just 3 blocks from Union Square and includes an all-you-can-make pancake breakfast. Single and mixed gender dorms (3-4 beds) start at $28 or opt for a private double room for just over $70. Another bonus: Some of the dorm rooms have an ensuite bathroom. Free linen and lockers are also included and staff are happy to help arrange activities or transportation. This relatively new chain of hostels also has locations in Hollywood, Las Vegas and San Diego.

*Green Tortoise Backpackers Hostel* Located near Chinatown, this very popular hostel has some great amenities. In addition to free breakfast (and dinner 3 nights per week!), there is also free internet, free lockers and tons of activities planned. There is also a spinoff company that organizes travel to nearby destinations such as Yosemite. We also love that the dorms have small numbers of beds in them (2-5!) and are available in female-only or mixed genders. Rates start at $25 pp for 5-bed dorms and 33.50 pp for 2 bed or double bed rooms.

Not up for hosteling? There are also some budget hotels left in San Francisco. We particularly like the Park Hotel or the SW Hotel. Both are centrally located and include some nice extras.

~Free San Francisco

Check out the Palace of Fine Arts. This structure was built as part of an Expo after the 1906 quake, and has withstood many a quake after that. The Palace of Fine Arts is a place of indescribable beauty, with a huge dome with thick pillars, creating a classical Roman sort of effect.

Also notable are Fisherman’s Wharf/Ghirardelli Square/World Famous Sea Lions. Fisherman’s Wharf and Ghirardelli Square are two big shopping centers located near the water. As one of San Francisco’s finest attractions, you simply can’t say you’ve been to San Francisco unless you’ve been there. These two centers are located only within a few blocks of each other, at the end of one of SF’s Cable
Car routes. While you’re there, be certain to check out the World Famous Sea Lions. For some odd reason, sea lions tend to lounge around and basically hang out there. According to an SF guide, they are the most popular attraction in CA, save for Disneyworld and Disneyland.

~Cheap Eats

If you walk along San Francisco downtown, you will be bombarded by some of the best scents the world has to offer. Try these restaurants of various international cuisines that are easy on the wallet.

*Cordon Bleu Vietnamese Restaurant: The French-sounding name of this place is kind of misleading, but this restaurant serves wonderful Vietnamese food at a low price. For fewer than 8 dollars, you
can enjoy a good combo meal that includes 5-spice chicken, grilled barbeque pork, an imperial roll, rice with sauce, and a country salad.

*The Pork Store Caf?: As the name implies, this place is dedicated to all things pork, and you can
definitely pork out with the Pork Store Special. For $6.95, you can get two pork chops, two eggs, two biscuits, and lots of hash browns.

*Chow: What the name says, that is what it gives. The food choice is incredibly diverse. The highlights include Goat Cheese and Mushrooms on Toast ($6), Sonoma chicken ($9), lemon and butter mussels ($6.50), and a salmon sandwich ($8).

Don’t miss San Francisco just because you hear how expensive it is. For more tips on how to visit SF On The Cheap, please visit our website at [http://www.onthecheaptravel.com].

Happy Travels!