Holiday Inn San Francisco-Civic Center Rating: 3.0 Pearls

SoMa, San Francisco, California

A Standard Room

The 14-story, 388-room Holiday Inn San Francisco is located just south of the Civic Center Plaza in a somewhat seedy part of the city that few tourists frequent. It is, however, the center of most of San Francisco's governmental and cultural institutions, including its courthouses, and if you have business in the area, the Holiday Inn can be a far more attractive choice than the dark, disappointing Hotel Whitcomb just around the corner. This is due to its heated outdoor pool, modest but functional fitness center, and, largely, its recently renovated guest rooms, which received new carpets, bedding, furniture, and flat-screen TVs during a renovation completed in summer 2010. But compare prices at the eco-oriented Good Hotel one block away, which also has a pool, workout room, and up-to-date electronics in the rooms (including iPod docks, which the Holiday Inn lacks).

View on a Larger Map

Located half a block south of Market Street, the hotel sits between the Asian Art Museum, the Orpheum Theatre, and the Bill Graham Auditorium in the Civic Center area (to the north) and the numerous clubs and restaurants in SoMa (to the south). Nevertheless, the immediate area around the hotel can feel seedy, even by San Francisco standards, and it can feel eerily quiet at night. Union Square this is not.

Indeed guests find themselves far removed from most of the city's top tourist attractions. It's a 30-minute walk to the great dining at the Ferry Building and the picturesque promenade at the Embarcadero, and the touristy shops and sea lions along the waterfront of Fisherman's Wharf is a 15-minute cab ride away. Luckily, there's a BART subway station and the MUNI line half a block away, so escaping the area is as easy as hopping a train.

• Seedy surrounding area
• Limited dining options in the immediate area
• A 20-minute walk to Union Square, a major transportation hub known for high-end shopping
• A BART commuter train and a stop for Muni Metro (streetcars) is half a block away. Both systems connect many areas in the San Francisco Bay area, but there's no easy access to cable car lines.
• Two miles to Fisherman's Wharf and the ferries to Alcatraz
• Like most hotels in San Francisco, it is far from Golden Gate Park and Haight-Ashbury -- about a $15 cab ride away.
• $40, 30-minute taxi from San Francisco International Airport (SFO)