Holiday Inn San Francisco-Fishermans Wharf Rating: 2.5 Pearls

Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, California

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A Standard Room

First impressions matter, and the Holiday Inn's first impression on me wasn't good. In fact, it was annoying. The hotel's 585 rooms are split between two buildings, and the level of services and amenities in the two are quite different. When I checked in at the main building, I was told that my room was in the annex, a block away. The employee checking me in kindly offered to provide an escort to help with my bags and show me the way. This was nice, but also an indicator of how inconvenient the setup is. The annex is a block closer to the wharf, but it's also farther away from the hotel's pool, fitness center, business center, and primary restaurant -- all of which are in the main building. The lackluster design goes beyond the simple inconvenience factor. The pool, which is next to the parking lot, is bordered by a poorly kept garden. And some things are just awkward: To enter the annex, you either have to walk through the parking garage or pass through the entrance to a 24-hour Denny's.

It isn't all bad, of course. The hotel is clean and the staff is friendly. Each building has a lobby, front desk, and concierge -- though when I asked a concierge for a restaurant recommendation, he couldn't remember the names of several area restaurants and instead resorted to describing them and pointing me in the general direction. At Bristol Bar and Grill, in the main building, kids under 12 eat free if accompanied by an adult ordering from the regular menu. As you might expect in a food-centric location like Fisherman's Wharf, the Bristol was pretty empty both weekend nights I stayed there, but busier in the mornings. In the rooms, the comfortable Serta Perfect Sleeper beds were a plus, as was the hotel's pillow menu. Other amenities were outdated: a Zenith 26-inch tube TV and an old Magnavox alarm clock. Mini-fridges are available only by request, for a fee ($10 per day).

A group of chain hotels vie for business on or near the wharf, and the Holiday Inn may be the least attractive among them. Try the Radisson, with its impressive outdoor pool and prime location, or the Hyatt, with its superior restaurant and fitness center.

View on a Larger Map

Just one or two blocks from the Fisherman's Wharf waterfront (depending on which building you stay in), the Holiday Inn is conveniently located near the docks where ferries leave for Alcatraz, Sausalito, and Tiburon. The hotel is also a block away from the terminus of the Powell-Mason cable car line, which connects to the farther reaches of the city, like Union Square and Nob Hill.

• A 30-minute stroll on the boardwalk will get you to the fancy waterside restaurants at the Embarcadero, or you can take the F-line streetcar, which also stops a block away from the hotel.
• North Beach (San Francisco's Little Italy) is a 10-minute walk up the hill.
• Roughly 3.5 miles to Golden Gate Bridge (for public transportation, the 28 and 29 buses are the best bet)
• Golden Gate Park is over five miles away, a $10 cab fare.
• 25 minutes to San Francisco International Airport, about a $40 cab fare