Valentine's Day 2006

Pier 39 is always great to go out to. We really just like to visit because that's where we got engaged.

Quick Tips:

Really get out and explore Coit Tower; don't just sit in your car.

Best Way To Get Around:

Walk, drive, and ride. Do it your own way; just expect to pay anyway you go.

Coit Tower is a wonderful place to get a great view of the city. Jason thinks the city looks so peaceful from here.

Don't just park and admire the view! Get out and walk around, there are paths that take you around the base of the tower, and the views are wonderful.

The website coittower.org says it's open everyday from 10am to 5pm, but on Valentine's Day it was open until at least 6pm. I don't think the website is kept up-to-date. The murals on the first floor are great, painted in the Italian fresco style by WPA artists. They are very vibrant, and run the entire length of the bottom of the tower on both walls.

It was $4 for adults to take the elevator to the top, cash only. There is an ATM, but there's a $2.50 fee. There are stairs to the top, but I believe that you can no longer use them. There is a gift shop, restrooms, and a snack truck.

There is very limited parking up at the top. There is a a MUNI bus that goes up there, it's #39 and it leaves from Washington Square about every 20 minutes.

At $110 for 1 night, this is one of the cheaper places to stay in San Francisco that's not a dive. The base rate was like $90, but there's always tax!

Our room, no. 237, was super tiny. A queen bed, two nightstands, two chairs, a small table, and a small dresser with a TV were all crammed in there. The bath was super tiny as well, but this is San Francisco; you aren't going to be spending a lot of time in your room. The bed was nice enough, but the three pillows were super squishy and made it hard for Jason to get a good night's sleep.

The lobby is nice and the check-in staff was friendly and offered all sorts of tips. There is a free daily shuttle to Union Square that runs on the hour and, the biggest bonus of all (at least for me), there was free parking!

The hotel has a pool and sauna, which are open until 10pm. The hotel set-up is very unique, as there are lots of places to sit and lounge outside in the many courtyards. Comfy wooden Adirondack chairs and small tables are provided.

When making reservations, I'd do it either by calling the hotel directly or calling Best Western's general reservations line, not the 1-800 number for the hotel group. I got someone who had a lot of problems communicating with me.

Based on the size of my room, I wouldn't recommend this place if you had kids, but for a couple or a single traveler, it would be fine for a few days.

Of course, the restaurant is themed around the movie "Forrest Gump." When it's near the time for you to be seated, they call out your party name and invite you to head out to the dock for chow time. Basically it's a fancy way to make you wait in a standing line for another 10 or so minutes. The service was fast and friendly. I did like the little license plate frames on our table that said "Stop Forrest Stop," which did actually make the staff stop to see what we wanted! The food was okay but very overpriced. Everything has a cute name, of course. Jason enjoyed his fried chicken and my stuffed shrimp was okay. When we asked for the check, it was prompt in coming, and when our trainee waitress took our drinks before we were finished, we were given to-go cups filled with soda. I found the final bill to be outrageous (two sodas, two entrees, and one appetizer) at over $40. Something the staff didn't mention was that lemonade had to come from the bar and that refills were $0.95 each. We asked for soda instead.