Description: Okay, first of all this hotel is at Filbert and Van Ness, so it isn't technically in the Marina (but hotel names around here are sometimes misleading, as there's one called the "Pacific Heights Motor Lodge" that is in a distinctly flat neighborhood that isn't Pacific Heights). However, it's in a pretty convenient location, and we looked at this motel for hosting out-of-town relatives.
This is a textbook example of a budget motel. It was built in the nadir of commercial architecture, 1958, and supposedly has been remodeled . . . hah! The decor is pitifully cheap-o (but clean) and there is less atmosphere here than on the moon. But unless you are planning on staying in your room all day, you are about as ideally located as can be to all sorts of touring, dining, and shopping attractions, as well as on several main transit routes.
The room comes with a free parking spot. You have to register your car at time of check-in, otherwise you could probably make $15 bucks at the dinner hour selling your space to frustrated drivers looking for parking on Polk. You are within walking distance of several nice restaurants (a good thing, given the lack of street parking) on Polk Street: Osteria Antica, La Folie, Petit Robert, Yabbies' Coastal Kitchen, Pesce, Spoon, and Street to name but a few destination dining spots.
The continental breakfast is pretty skimpy and the coffee awful, but pay five bucks and walk three blocks to Polk and Green and you can have croissants and Cafe au Lait at La Boulangerie de Polk or one of the four other coffee/tea houses in the neighborhood.
There's also a laughably small pool, but if you came to San Francisco expecting to bask in the Californian sun and heat, well, I've got a bridge to sell you.
If you need to go a step up to bland but somewhat more tasteful decor (and superb views), check out my entry for "Comfort Inn by the Bay" which runs for about $40 more. But this place is about as cheap as you can get and not be checking for roaches, bed bugs, or stepping over drunks. So save your money here, and then use the extra to have a special meal at one of those restaurants mentioned above.
As it is on Van Ness, traffic noise could be a problem. Ask for a room away from the street (or pick a Filbert, rather than a Van-Ness facing room) to be safe.
Close