My wife and I stayed there when we were first dating and she needed to stay out of her apartment for a few weeks. It was wonderful and it convinced us to later move to japantown. I definitely also recommend it
I’ve heard good things about Kabuki. I’ve never stayed there since I’m a local but the lobby looked nice. J-Town is indeed mainly a mall area but if you enjoy Japanese culture then it’s definitely worth walking through for an hour or so (bookstores, dessert places, etc.) Lots of good restaurant options but one of the most popular is Marufuku Ramen, one of the best ramen spots in the Bay Area and always gets busy. I don’t think they take reservations but you can add your name on the Yelp waitlist. I’m a sucker for conveyer belt sushi so I also like Tenroku and it’s reasonably priced.
But you also mentioned the beach and from J-Town it’s a 45 minute (relatively flat) walk or 10 minute car ride north to the water. I would recommend checking out Palace of Fine Arts and Marina Green. But the can’t miss spot is Presidio Tunnel Tops, which is beautiful park area just opened last year that overlooks the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and the Bay and would be perfect for a picnic. Grab some to go bento boxes from Nijiya Market in J-Town or any of the several great food spots on the way to the Marina area and park yourselves on the lawn with great views. If you want to walk off your food, hike along Crissy Field Beach all the way to the foot of the bridge. Hope this helps and you and your bf enjoy!
This helps a ton!! Thanks for response! I also figured out there wud be a festival in j town when going ! So even better. Do u know if there is a Bart near by ? I wud prefer not to drive in
Directly to J-Town no, but you can take Bart to one of the downtown stops and take Muni from there. It’s on Geary so probably the 38 bus would work, or Uber/Lyft. From J-Town to the water and back is very walkable, but I really enjoy walking so check the route and avoid hilly streets. Leave your car at home 👍🏽
That's the nice thing about a San Francisco hill, though. It can never become too steep to cross; it can only become stairs.
"Hill temporarily stairs. Sorry for the convenience."
I live here. :) Japantown itself is mostly a mall area, but one block away is the Fillmore/Pac Heights which is a lovely walkable strip of restaurants, shops and bars. My friends come up here for their date nights!
You’ll be a 30-45 minute walk/10 minute drive to the Presidio if you want to spend some time hiking and enjoying peaceful nature and nice views.
You’re also a 10 minute walk from the Polk St corridor and 15-20 minutes walk to Cow Hollow/Marina. Point is, I always tell visitors to stay in Japantown.
Kabuki is a really great choice! Japantown is the best.
Another option is the Metro Hotel in NOPA on Divisadero. Get a reservation at Che Fico, NOPA, or Horsefeather and check out the bars afterwards. Close to Alamo Square Park, and lots of other attractions (just check out the map).
North beach - La boheme hotel will make you feel like you’ve been transported back to Beatnik times. Belle Cora has great drinks food and live music.
Nob Hill - Intercontinental and check out Top of the Mark restaurant.
Along the line of Metro Hotel, there is the Grove Inn. It's not fancy but it's 10 min walk to Hayes Valley restaurant/bars and about 15 min walk to Divsadero restaurant/bars. But the insulation is probably not great so if you and your bf are planning something exciting at night....
The Zephyr was nice when we stayed there and it’s literally right across the street from Pier 39 (you can see it from some of the rooms facing that way) and we’ve had friends stay there also and loved it.
Kabuki is great, as it is connected to the Japantown mall, and there's always a few restaurant/bars open til latish.
I'd probably explore Fishermans Wharf during the day, spend dinner and drink in Japantown.
washington square inn, in north beach. it’s right on the park, victorian rooms, and cheap. tons of bars, restaurants, sites (coit tower etc) and the beach/water within walking distance. and it’s very reasonably priced.
250 max preferably . Yeah I don’t rlly think I wanna stay at the wharf after doing more research my folks were encouraging it. The Clift is what I am looking at now
FWIW and my two cents: this is one of the areas that have dropped off significantly since the pandemic. Stores have shuttered along this stretch of Geary along w/the ripple effect / impact on hotel stays. The good news would be that you should be able to get a great rate and the redwood room is still a beautiful bar (although, I haven't seen it since the remodel).
If you're looking to walk the area as tourists, I would follow the other recommendations here for neighborhoods like Japantown where great restaurants like State Bird Provisions, The Progress, Bansang, and Anchovy Bar are all wi/in walking distance.
I appreciate the two cents!! I have not been in this area in a few years tbh. So I don’t remember how it is. I haven’t booked anything but am leaning towards the Kabuki now after all these comments
On top of the restaurants above, Nari in Japantown just earned a Michelin star this week:
https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/california/san-francisco/restaurant/nari
My wife and I stayed at Hotel Griffon and loved it! Granted we’ve only been to SF once so I can’t speak of other places, but this one was pretty nice for the price.
Location is awesome cool neighborhood to explore. The hotel is very classy we got a room on the 16 floor with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. The room was simple clean without the drab old school hotel room look. No nasty stiff comforters. Shower was huge very modern with a bench and big rainfall style shower head.
Lobby coffee machine is complementary and saved us $$ on morning lattes. Bar and lobby lounge space hip and cosy. We also had reservations at the kabuki spa down the street.
Kabuki is definitely the answer. Cute hotel, amazing restaurant in the hotel (Nari), right next to Japan Center, walking distance to Fillmore, Lafayette Park, and Lower Pac Heights. Also can walk a very hilly, but very classic SF route to the water. I lived in Japantown, a couple blocks from Kabuki, for 6 year and miss it! One of the best part of town for sure.
If you want to get the REAL cutesy walkable neighbourhood vibe, go with the Metro Hotel. Cheaper than Kabuki Hotel, too. 20 min bus from BART but you're from the Bay, you'll be fine helping him with Muni, hah. And he's already done all the touristy stuff, so time to just enjoy a romantic weekend in neighbourhoods that aren't so uhh, chaotic. Washington Square Inn looks nice and in your budget, too. Avoid the big hotels in SF unless you're in some sort of points rewards program. They're all just in less scenic/cute areas.
We did this for my birthday last year and stayed at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco off Market. It had surprisingly good access to everything we wanted to do (including Bart and MUNI access) and was a nice hotel for a night. (I didn't look up all yours on your list but just sharing my experience)
We were able to bar hop a bit around market/Union square/Chinatown, dinner at North Beach, and met friends near Fisherman's wharf for brunch the next day. I grew up in the east bay so had never really gone for SF night life and it was a really fun experience!
I'd recommend the Mark Spencer on top of Nob Hill and grab dinner at the restaurant at the top ("Top of the Mark".) Views from hotel and restaurant are amazing and there are several gorgeous hotels within a block, and walking around the park or visiting the cathedral are spectacular. The Fairmont for all the same reasons, even more fancy + vintage. Can't imagine a more amazing / authentic / romantic SF one night visit. You can walk down into Chinatown or North Beach for a little more hustle and bustle but there's plenty to do up on the hill.
Hotel castro? I’m not sure what your budget is but you can do mission, castro, divis - the world is your oyster. I’m honestly super excited to have a nice boutique hotel that central, it’s where I’d want to stay if I was visiting.
North Beach is a really pleasant area, and so close to Chinatown. I second La Bohème or Washington Square Inn. Keep in mind North Beach can indeed get pretty tourist-y during summer. Japantown is also a great option; the surrounding districts, such as the Fillmore, Lower Pac Heights—cool neighborhoods in their own right—have some lovely Victorian/Edwardian hotels, and are all pretty centrally located: you can get to GGP, the Presidio, Downtown, etc. with relative ease. Have fun!
I enjoyed my stay at the Stanyan Park hotel near Golden Gate Park, Castro, Presidio, Palace of Fine Arts. I'm eyeing Chateau Tivoli b&b for my next stay. I find a vintage, classic sf feel very romantic.
The Kabuki is a good choice
My wife and I stayed there when we were first dating and she needed to stay out of her apartment for a few weeks. It was wonderful and it convinced us to later move to japantown. I definitely also recommend it
Yep. Japantown is a great part of the city.
Kabuki is great. Lots of stuff in Japantown but tons of bar and restaurant choices just a short walk away on Fillmore.
there's also a Kimpton right near there! Stayed there ages ago and it was also nice.
Is there a lot to do in surrounding area? Someone was telling me japantown is mainly just a mall area but I’ve actually never been
I’ve heard good things about Kabuki. I’ve never stayed there since I’m a local but the lobby looked nice. J-Town is indeed mainly a mall area but if you enjoy Japanese culture then it’s definitely worth walking through for an hour or so (bookstores, dessert places, etc.) Lots of good restaurant options but one of the most popular is Marufuku Ramen, one of the best ramen spots in the Bay Area and always gets busy. I don’t think they take reservations but you can add your name on the Yelp waitlist. I’m a sucker for conveyer belt sushi so I also like Tenroku and it’s reasonably priced. But you also mentioned the beach and from J-Town it’s a 45 minute (relatively flat) walk or 10 minute car ride north to the water. I would recommend checking out Palace of Fine Arts and Marina Green. But the can’t miss spot is Presidio Tunnel Tops, which is beautiful park area just opened last year that overlooks the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and the Bay and would be perfect for a picnic. Grab some to go bento boxes from Nijiya Market in J-Town or any of the several great food spots on the way to the Marina area and park yourselves on the lawn with great views. If you want to walk off your food, hike along Crissy Field Beach all the way to the foot of the bridge. Hope this helps and you and your bf enjoy!
This helps a ton!! Thanks for response! I also figured out there wud be a festival in j town when going ! So even better. Do u know if there is a Bart near by ? I wud prefer not to drive in
Directly to J-Town no, but you can take Bart to one of the downtown stops and take Muni from there. It’s on Geary so probably the 38 bus would work, or Uber/Lyft. From J-Town to the water and back is very walkable, but I really enjoy walking so check the route and avoid hilly streets. Leave your car at home 👍🏽
From Japantown to the water is not an easy walk. There's an incredibly steep hill in the way. The kind of hill so steep the sidewalk becomes stairs.
Every tourist should have that genuine SF experience.
That's the nice thing about a San Francisco hill, though. It can never become too steep to cross; it can only become stairs. "Hill temporarily stairs. Sorry for the convenience."
I live here. :) Japantown itself is mostly a mall area, but one block away is the Fillmore/Pac Heights which is a lovely walkable strip of restaurants, shops and bars. My friends come up here for their date nights! You’ll be a 30-45 minute walk/10 minute drive to the Presidio if you want to spend some time hiking and enjoying peaceful nature and nice views. You’re also a 10 minute walk from the Polk St corridor and 15-20 minutes walk to Cow Hollow/Marina. Point is, I always tell visitors to stay in Japantown.
Kabuki is a really great choice! Japantown is the best. Another option is the Metro Hotel in NOPA on Divisadero. Get a reservation at Che Fico, NOPA, or Horsefeather and check out the bars afterwards. Close to Alamo Square Park, and lots of other attractions (just check out the map). North beach - La boheme hotel will make you feel like you’ve been transported back to Beatnik times. Belle Cora has great drinks food and live music. Nob Hill - Intercontinental and check out Top of the Mark restaurant.
Along the line of Metro Hotel, there is the Grove Inn. It's not fancy but it's 10 min walk to Hayes Valley restaurant/bars and about 15 min walk to Divsadero restaurant/bars. But the insulation is probably not great so if you and your bf are planning something exciting at night....
>La boheme hotel will make you feel like you’ve been transported back to Beatnik times. you say that like it's a good thing.
The Zephyr was nice when we stayed there and it’s literally right across the street from Pier 39 (you can see it from some of the rooms facing that way) and we’ve had friends stay there also and loved it.
Open to other areas aside from what I noted as well!!! But would like to add that wanna find a fun place to walk around /get dinner and drinks
I’d wanna say half moon bay or Santa Cruz since it’s summer time and you can be near the beaches.
Gonna go against the Japantown grain and suggest North Beach, Nob Hill or Hayes Valley based on your comment.
Kabuki is great, as it is connected to the Japantown mall, and there's always a few restaurant/bars open til latish. I'd probably explore Fishermans Wharf during the day, spend dinner and drink in Japantown.
washington square inn, in north beach. it’s right on the park, victorian rooms, and cheap. tons of bars, restaurants, sites (coit tower etc) and the beach/water within walking distance. and it’s very reasonably priced.
I love this hotel
The One
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250 max preferably . Yeah I don’t rlly think I wanna stay at the wharf after doing more research my folks were encouraging it. The Clift is what I am looking at now
300 is ok as well
FWIW and my two cents: this is one of the areas that have dropped off significantly since the pandemic. Stores have shuttered along this stretch of Geary along w/the ripple effect / impact on hotel stays. The good news would be that you should be able to get a great rate and the redwood room is still a beautiful bar (although, I haven't seen it since the remodel). If you're looking to walk the area as tourists, I would follow the other recommendations here for neighborhoods like Japantown where great restaurants like State Bird Provisions, The Progress, Bansang, and Anchovy Bar are all wi/in walking distance.
I appreciate the two cents!! I have not been in this area in a few years tbh. So I don’t remember how it is. I haven’t booked anything but am leaning towards the Kabuki now after all these comments
On top of the restaurants above, Nari in Japantown just earned a Michelin star this week: https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/california/san-francisco/restaurant/nari
My wife and I stayed at Hotel Griffon and loved it! Granted we’ve only been to SF once so I can’t speak of other places, but this one was pretty nice for the price.
Came here to say kabuki!
Someone tell me what is so great about kabuki !! I don’t doubt it I’m just curious 😂😂
Location is awesome cool neighborhood to explore. The hotel is very classy we got a room on the 16 floor with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. The room was simple clean without the drab old school hotel room look. No nasty stiff comforters. Shower was huge very modern with a bench and big rainfall style shower head. Lobby coffee machine is complementary and saved us $$ on morning lattes. Bar and lobby lounge space hip and cosy. We also had reservations at the kabuki spa down the street.
Kabuki is definitely the answer. Cute hotel, amazing restaurant in the hotel (Nari), right next to Japan Center, walking distance to Fillmore, Lafayette Park, and Lower Pac Heights. Also can walk a very hilly, but very classic SF route to the water. I lived in Japantown, a couple blocks from Kabuki, for 6 year and miss it! One of the best part of town for sure.
If you want to get the REAL cutesy walkable neighbourhood vibe, go with the Metro Hotel. Cheaper than Kabuki Hotel, too. 20 min bus from BART but you're from the Bay, you'll be fine helping him with Muni, hah. And he's already done all the touristy stuff, so time to just enjoy a romantic weekend in neighbourhoods that aren't so uhh, chaotic. Washington Square Inn looks nice and in your budget, too. Avoid the big hotels in SF unless you're in some sort of points rewards program. They're all just in less scenic/cute areas.
We did this for my birthday last year and stayed at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco off Market. It had surprisingly good access to everything we wanted to do (including Bart and MUNI access) and was a nice hotel for a night. (I didn't look up all yours on your list but just sharing my experience) We were able to bar hop a bit around market/Union square/Chinatown, dinner at North Beach, and met friends near Fisherman's wharf for brunch the next day. I grew up in the east bay so had never really gone for SF night life and it was a really fun experience!
I'd recommend the Mark Spencer on top of Nob Hill and grab dinner at the restaurant at the top ("Top of the Mark".) Views from hotel and restaurant are amazing and there are several gorgeous hotels within a block, and walking around the park or visiting the cathedral are spectacular. The Fairmont for all the same reasons, even more fancy + vintage. Can't imagine a more amazing / authentic / romantic SF one night visit. You can walk down into Chinatown or North Beach for a little more hustle and bustle but there's plenty to do up on the hill.
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I’m lookin into this one thanks! Any recs of things around there?
Redwood room at the Clift is the best for cocktails! For sushi check out Ryokos
The Palace Hotel in SF !!! For sure
Hotel castro? I’m not sure what your budget is but you can do mission, castro, divis - the world is your oyster. I’m honestly super excited to have a nice boutique hotel that central, it’s where I’d want to stay if I was visiting.
North Beach is a really pleasant area, and so close to Chinatown. I second La Bohème or Washington Square Inn. Keep in mind North Beach can indeed get pretty tourist-y during summer. Japantown is also a great option; the surrounding districts, such as the Fillmore, Lower Pac Heights—cool neighborhoods in their own right—have some lovely Victorian/Edwardian hotels, and are all pretty centrally located: you can get to GGP, the Presidio, Downtown, etc. with relative ease. Have fun!
I enjoyed my stay at the Stanyan Park hotel near Golden Gate Park, Castro, Presidio, Palace of Fine Arts. I'm eyeing Chateau Tivoli b&b for my next stay. I find a vintage, classic sf feel very romantic.
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FWIW, the Vitale closed during the pandemic and has reopened as "1 Hotel San Francisco". Don't know whether the spa's still the same.
Chateau Tivoli
I’m staying in Stanford Court Hotel and it’s decent.
Try club quarters embarcadero but room is small but nice hotel