More about The Opal San Francisco
things to do
by Daffy_Duck
If U R planning to visit Alcatraz make sure U call at least 2 weeks in advance, Old Faithful Geyser a rumbling eruption of hissing steam & seismographic mystery, one of the most photographed places in California, If you’re interested in Nature, the petrified forest here you'll find petrified wood rich in deposits of minerals, crystal, wood opal, obsidian, silica and more. Since 1871 this forest has attracted scientists, students & tourists like me from all over the world. If you're into wine, Napa Valley is surrounded by vineyards and wineries that offer tours and tastings. Into cooking visit the "Culinary Institute of America", the food in general is a little salty, but no one can beat their desserts!!! Castello dell’amorosa, a Genovese creating an authentic castle. Visiting California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento State History Park which is the most popular rail road museum in the country. We also went to the Military Museum and met an 87 year old retired WWII Veteran.
Great location, good value for families of FIVE!
by TripAdvisor Member GENOVESA
We just came back and I was very pleased with the hotel. The location is really excellent. You can walk to many places or use the public transportation with ease. The staff is extremely helpful. I was watching them for a while and they are always ready to explain and share information. They give you the best options without you even asking!! Their breakfast is perfect to start the morning. Waffles, juice, hard boiled eggs...
We are a family of 5 and we asked for a "roll-away" bed. The hotel is NOT luxurious, but the shower has a 5 star pressure! Just lovely after a long day walk.
If you are planning to visit San Francisco, spend little time in the hotel ... this is an excellent choice. Is really a budget oriented choice but very very convenient!
overauthorised mastercard for services they dont sell to begin with.
by TripAdvisor Member legendaryrob
Pros: location, location, location.
Cons: 100% overauthorization of mastercard for nonexistent services REALLY annoying.
now, if any of you read my la quinta review of the boulder/louisville property, you know that i had a devil of a time when they 'fixed' an overcharge on my debit mastrcard-as happens, tho, THIS time, i was aware of the '10%' temp surcharge for incidentals (such as pay-per-view)-so i made a reservation using code 'LMD' at la quinta
room price 49.99
'temp over authorisation' for 'incidentals' such as pay-per-view and laundry:
$49.99
yes, thats right, my card was overauthorised not the standard '10'percent, but rather 100% of the price of the room.
heres the kicker:the hotel did not even HAVE pay-per-view for sale, nor did they even have HBO.
the laundry wasnt billed to the room key, either , it was COIN-so said overauth was just STUPID.
la quinta,CORPORATE however, to their credit , gave me enough points in my returns account for a free night elsewhere, when they got wind of how long (possbly two weeks)it was going to take to get my extra 50 bucks back.
also, unlike most la quintas, no tubs, just showers.
overauthorised creditcard for services they dont even sell
by A TripAdvisor Member
this is the old hotel richielieu-it used to be very expensive-nwo that it is a 'la quinta' (in name, anyway) its a bit cheaper-HOWEVER- i would ONLY reserve rooms here at lq and use promo code 'lmd' otherwse, you will get hit for a c-note or better.-that said, i would only use your CC for ID, and pay CASH-becuase they will 'double' charge your card 'temporarily' for 'incidentals' you MIGHT use, (such as pay-per-view)(this wouldnt be so bad, but they don;t HAVE pay per-view available-they don't even have HBO!.-other than that its pretty much the same as any la quinta-also, no tub, just shower.
Good overall experience
by A TripAdvisor Member
The overall experience was positive. We stayed there for a night in January 2005. The hotel is clean and in a very good location. Here are the quirks. In the first room we were assigned the phone was not working. They did change our room promptly. They do have Internet ports in each room and they are free of charge. Also, the front desk told me that there was wireless Internet in the entire hotel, but it turned out they only had wireless in the lobby.
A great hotel
by A TripAdvisor Member
We stayed here for two nights off of a last-minute Expedia vacation package.
The hotel is nicely situated, making it possible to walk to a variety of SF area attractions. The really nice Hotel lobby is the first thing that you see when you walk in- not typical of a La Quinta: the hotel is an upscale La Quinta. This ranks up there with some of the nicest hotels we have stayed at. Would definetly stay here again and would recommend it to others.
Pretty good hotel
by A TripAdvisor Member
Hotel was clean and staff was very courteous. I would definatley stay here again. They have a free continental breakfast in the mornings with waffles, bagels,cereal and toast, also an assortment of fruit. The hotel is right along a main bus line so getting around is easy.
One thing that I did not like was that the walls are very thin and when your neighbor got up to take a shower in the morning you could here the shower going pretty loudly. Also make sure you get an inside room if street noise is a problem because like any other city it is a problem here. If you are not comfortable taking the bus then this hotel might be a little far from all the sights. If you want to be right in the thick of things then stat at the wharf. Also recommend North Beach District for resturants.
Fabulous for the price
by A TripAdvisor Member
I am giving this hotel an excellent, because I only paid $51 thru priceline a night and believe I got a bargain. The room was small, admittedly, but nicely decorated and clean. The hotelstaff were all very courteous, and the two complaints I had (toilet stopped up once and noisy neighbors Friday night) were taken care of within 30 minutes. The breakfast is pretty good for a continental breakfast: fresh waffles, apples and oranges, Yoplait yogurt, bagels, toast, danishes, boiled eggs. The location is pretty good as well. It's about a ten minute walk to the cable car stop at Market Street, and a less than ten minutes bus ride to Fisherman's Wharf and less than 20 minutes to Golden Gate Park. There's a bus stop right in front of the hotel, and they come about every 8 minutes. My only word of caution: stay away from Mel's diner - the food's no good for the price.
Convenient Place to Stay
by TripAdvisor Member mtnight
Stayed one night on a quick trip in and out of town. Had booked a Hotwire rate of $72.95 (with taxes), but were surprised with a $28.50 per day parking fee (on premises) when we checked in. Have seen "park free" rates quoted for $114. Rate was still competitive and we were very pleased with the hotel. Staff was great, acted like they truly enjoyed serving. Location is excellent for driving quickly to all the tourist sites. Would go there again for sure.
The Grass is Greener on the Other Side
by Diceman_
My Aunt and Uncle started selling opal jewellery, in the 80's they moved to Los Angeles to set up business there. Probably a smart move as in addition to the much larger market Opal jewellery is probably more of a rarity over there than it is in Australia.
In the early 90's when they visited one time my parents said we would visit them over there, and after saving up for a year we set off in December '92, I was almost 13 at the time and my brother almost 17.
The holiday lasted for four or five weeks. After getting a taste of life through the average Laguna Hills resident's eyes, we went to Tjiuana, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco and Honolulu.
It remains the only time I have been overseas and was probably the best overall experience of my life (yes, the latter half of my life has been that boring). Since this trip I've had the ambition of migrating to the U.S., but with my life stuck in neutral for the past eight years and having removed my rose-tinted glasses that ambition has mostly faded, even moving to a different part of Australia seems like an ordeal. And I'm not eligible to migrate anyway because I never finished university and only have pizza delivery, cleaning and Taxi driving as my work experience.
Maybe I'll never get to see North America again (it's a possibility). One of my dreams has been to spend six months touring the backstreets of North America, although now I hope to see as much of the world as possible so it's not at the top of the list.
Photos
Salt & Pepper Dungeness Crab
Footpath along Ocean Beach
Pancakes
Phillies Get Dumped Into the SF Bay
Forum Posts
san fran in june...
by amy-tobin
hi,
im 22 and goin to san fran next week with friends...they are going for 4 months but im only joining them for 3 weeks. What is there to do or wat shud i do before i come home??? any particular hotspots for shopping? any theme parks or exiting activites? good nightlife spots? we are staying in amsterdam hostel for a few nights before they get an appartment.
i prob will never get back to san fran again so i really wanna make the most of the 3weeks
any suggestions greatly appreciated
Re: san fran in june...
by leics
Welcome to VT, Amy.
Whilst you are waiting for members to give you their ideas, why not look at the VT San Francisco pages? All VT content is member-generated, and you'll find hundreds of tips and ideas on what to see & do, where to eat, where to go off-the-beaten-path etc etc..all written by VT locals and visitors.
There are more than 3000 tips just on what to see!
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_States_of_America/California/San_Francisco-755471/TravelGuide-San_Francisco.html
Re: san fran in june...
by Agraichen
VTer Goodfish just posted some GREAT SF pages. I had the opportunity to to have lunch with her while she was in SF. Theme parks are mostly outside of SF. Great America is near San Jose and Marine World is in Vallejo.
Shopping is all over SF. Just go to the corner of Market and Powell and you'll find lots of shopping.
Nightlife...hmmm...haven't been in the scene for a while, but the Clift on Geary has a great bar scene; check the Redwood room. There are also a number of clubs in the neighborhoot but I don't recall the names Ruby Tuesday does come to mind.
Re: san fran in june...
by gail128
What would you like to buy? Chinatown is best for gifts to bring home. Cloths shopping is best around Union Square such as Macy's. Saks and Neimans are high end. Westfield shopping Center is two blocks from Union Square and is on Market street and has lots of shops inside. The food court in the basement of Westfield is a must try. Lunch time is really crowded. Go to Golden Gate on Sunday's and walk around Kennedy drive. Lots of stuff going on. But Sundays are the best.
Theme parks are in San Jose and Vallejo which is about one hours drive.
Feel free to ask me anything else. I lived in SF all my life and know the City well.
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