One of SF's best budget hotels
I stay at the Hotel Bijou quite often, both for work and for pleasure. Though many lament its "next to the Tenderloin" location, hey, it's located right behind the more expensive Renaissance Parc 55, and just one block from the San Francisco Hilton, so what's the difference in location (plus you pay about two times less than at the Renaissance or Hilton!)
It's located one block from the Powell St. BART Station, making it very convenient to access from SFO or OAK airports. After you exit the Powell St. Station and are out on Halladie Plaza/Square, just head toward the Renaissance Parc 55. Go up the sidewalk to the left of the Parc 55, and the Bijou is on the next block, corner of Mason and Eddy.
The hotel is also one block from the Powell St. Cable Car turnaround, and just a few blocks from Union Square.
For around $99 USD, the Hotel Bijou is a bargain that can't be beat. Book online through Joie de Vivre's website, or through www.quikbook.com.
Give the Hotel Bijou a chance--it's one of SF's best bargains!
Unique Quality: The staff is almost always extremely helpful. The rooms are basic, but very clean. Each room is named after a film shot in San Francisco/Bay Area. (I've stayed in the "Maltese Falcon," "Junior," etc. rooms. The registration counter looks like a movie theater concessions stand, and every evening they play two movies that have been filmed in the SF/Bay Area in the little lobby theater. These include "The Graduate," "The Maltese Falcon," "Barbary Coast," "When a Man Loves a Woman," "The Rock," "The Birds," etc.
Film lovers will appreciate that the Hotel Bijou lobby includes a bulletin board with all the week's local movie listings--no need to scrounge around for a copy of the local paper--all the movies and where they're playing are on the bulleting board!
There is even a phone in the lobby with a direct line to the San Francisco Film Commission, so you can find out what is currently filmed in the city and where to check it out.
So maybe you will have to pass some homeless people on the short one block from the BART station to the hotel. But, they are humans too and deserve some dignity.
