the Diva hotel on Market is a little boutique hotel I stayed at a few times when I needed to be in the City overnight (I lived near San Jose). They sometimes have specials. The Hyatt Embarcadero is a big chain but convenient to a lot of things. Hotels.com usually has some discount rooms there.

Definitely check out the musuems and Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park, and there are tons of great restaurants in SF, depends what you are in the mood for. If you have a car and the weather is decent you can drive down the Coast Highway to Half Moon Bay and have lunch down there and come back one day.

There are tons of homeless /street people asking for money and people from out of town are always surprised. There are also some bad neighborhoods so don't just set out exploring, be sure to ask. 

Kay

I think using hotels.com is a safe bet. I would recommend staying in Union Square, where all the shopping is. It's not too touristy but there's stuff to do there and it's a pretty central location. If the weather's nice I recommend you go across the bay to Sausalito. It's a cute town and a nice place to have lunch. If you're the athletic type, rent a bike and bike across the golden gate bridge to Sausalito, otherwise take the ferry. If you like wine you could go to Napa. If you like ice cream, go to Bi Rite Ice Creamery. They have the BEST salted caramel ice cream and they're on a list of 100 things to eat in San Francisco (you can google the list).

Have fun!

Thank you very much, Kay and Jennifer! I definitely will have a good time :-)

Best,

Irene

Trip Advisor is a good and safe bet - there you really have peoples' innermost thoughts whether good or bad. We stayed in SF in September and it is magical: walk across the GG bridge down to Sausalito and then back on the ferry where you have a marvellous view of Alcatraz. Bon voyage!

If you're interested in a less touristy approach, try www.airbnb.com. I'm a former New Yorker, now living in Geneva, and whenever I go back to NYC for work, I use this site. You can rent a room OR an entire apartment, usually for much cheaper than a hotel. 

I'd also recommend renting a car for a day or two, pick up a map and drive around! Golden Gate Park, the beaches on the north and west, the Presidio, driving up and down all the crazy hills near the north east, are all great for sight seeing. I'd also recommend the Mission neighborhood, walking along Valencia Street (between 16th and 24th Street), for some fun shopping and restaurants too. And the Elbo Room (www.elbo.com) is always fun for dancing! 

Have a great trip!

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Hi!

I just wanted to let you know that I had a great travel thanks to your advices! I love San Francisco and surrounding!

Thank you very much!

Irene