Not to be confused with the H.I .Fisherman’s Wharf, which is actually a youth hostel, the HOLIDAY INN FISHERMAN'S WHARF was really quite nice.

I had read bad reports on this place before going, but in my opinion, it was a great hotel with a superb location, just one block back from the Wharf, where there are many shops, bars, and restaurants. It's tacky but fun.

I could be a tad biased, because once the clerk realized we were on an anniversary trip, she upgraded our room to a business level. For this, we got a special card to use in the elevator to get to the top floor. We have never had business level before, so it was a constant source of amusement to get this card out in front of the other elevator riders and place it in that slot with a slightly smug look!

The hotel is advertised as all rooms having a "bay view", but we only just had a view past the building in front of us, so I can’t possibly see how the other rooms could have one.

We could see the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, though, so this was great, especially as it was bright and clear during our visit.

As the hotel was so close to all the action, it was also very noisy. The was no nieghbour noise, but as the windows were the floor-to-ceiling kind, you could hear music from the nearby Dirty Martini bar and street noise. The bar across the street was open and hopping until 2am, so if you are not night owls, this could well be a problem.

Not sure how the regular rooms were, but ours was big, with huge windows and a giant bathroom. Oddly enough, there were no closets, and we couldn’t figure out why, unless the business class rooms just have everything taken away and hung or something?? It's something of a mystery to us budget travelers.

They had a Starbucks coffee inside and a breakfast area. The Holiday Inn Express across the street had a Denny’s, but we didn’t use any of the restaurants in the hotel, as good food was too close at hand in the streets

For a great local breakfast, we walked across the street to PERGAMINOS for some waffles or omelets; all fresh-made with homemade jams. The black guy who works there is quite a character and will tell you all you need to know about San Francisco.

The prices for the Holiday Inn, if booked independently, seemed pretty steep at $80-$129 a night.

The standard of the room was standard HI. No better, no worse. Clean, quite spacious, good bathroom, with a secure feel. Its location is between The Cannery and Pier 39, one block back from the sea front. Convenient for these attractions but a fair hike from the central attractions of China Town, the Financial District.

One advantage of the HI hotels is that there are often mini-bus airport shuttles that do the HI/Radisson/Hilton loops and you don't have to wait in line for a cab. I think we paid about $10 each for the one-way 20 minute trip to and from the airport - not bad value.

I have to say in my opinion it doesn't really earn its rates - maybe because of its location it doesn't have to. Service was generally formal and frosty, sometimes snotty. We found it difficult enough getting a civil response to a query about what's in the hotel, so we could forget about getting any helpful advice about what to see and do outside, there are leaflets in reception, after all. Bar and restaurant prices are high enough to encourage eating out (some reasonable options within 10 minutes walk) and I cannot remember a single unexpected nice touch or nice surprise that you sometimes get. Take your breakfast at either of the two breakfast joints directly opposite or at a place on the sea front directly opposite the entrance to Jack's Cannery Bar. I can't remember what any of them are called but they are all good value and, importantly, friendly.

It's well located for Fisherman's Wharf (10 minutes), The Cannery (2 minutes), Ghirardelli Square Complex (10 minutes) and for nice walks along the sea front towards the Golden Gate Bridge (a walk right up to it will take about 90 minutes, though). In truth, however, you are not likely to base your holiday experience in and around the wharf - there is simply not that much to see and do there - so if you want to be based closer to where you are likely to spend more of your time, maybe somewhere close to the Financial District would be a better option.

Would I recommend it? Only if you managed to get a rate like we did. At their standard rates there must be better options.

Location: This hotel is situated on Fisherman’s Wharf, which is one of the main tourist areas in SF. It's a two-minute walk to many of the local attractions such as Pier 39 where you can find the sealions and get Alcatraz and Bay tours. Pop across the road to the Cannary and then up the road to Ghiradelli Square for shops, restaurants, etc. It is a stone's throw from the cable-car turnaround, so you can get to pretty much anywhere from here. All in all, the location could not be much better.

The rooms are large and you either get a king or two double beds with the usual dresser, drawers, TV, coffee maker, and large bathroom. We also had an iron and ironing board.

There are several options for eating -- one of the hotel buildings has a Denny’s which serve breakfasts, dinners, etc., 24-hours a day. We chose to have breakfast at the main hotel restaurant, the Bristol Bar & Grill, which serves a buffet. Here you can get fruit, cereal, yoghurt, eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausages, potatoes, toast, bagels, pastries . . . the list goes on. We paid approx $30 for two breakfasts and tea/coffee/juice which I didn’t think was too bad considering you can easily fill yourself up and not eat again until evening. There are also lots of bars and restaurants within walking distance.

The hotel also has an outside pool, concierge service, gift shop, coffee bar, and guest laundry facilities.

Now for the downside –- we found the hotel to be exceptionally noisy. The room windows weren't double-glazed so all the street noise came straight into the room –- all through the night, both traffic and people. It is definitely the noisiest hotel we have ever stayed in. We were in a room on the opposite side from the Wharf and asked if we could move to a quieter room. We were told we were already in one of the quietest rooms!

Also the room, although large, had wallpaper peeling off the wall, which didn’t look very nice, and curtains that didn’t meet in the middle, so shafts of light came into the room at dawn -- we had to prop lamps and cases around the curtains to combat this. Another problem we encountered was that the vending machines were often empty, forcing you to go to the hotel coffee shop to buy coke, water, etc., at a higher cost.

If you plan to go to SF, I would not recommend this hotel. I would recommend the breakfast at the Bristol Bar & Grill, however.