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The bolded in this statement is blatantly false. Unless Grace's brother spent his entire time in San Francisco hanging out in the Tenderloin (where 60% of the homeless reside), he saw nothing of the sort. The APEC conference in San Francisco took place on Nov 17 (so exactly 2 months ago). The President and dignitaries from Asia were in town. Not only was there not rampant crime happening all over the city (needless to say there was quite a police presence), but the homeless were practically non-existent. The city was spit shined and most of the homeless had been removed.
If you read my trip report, it talks about this and how my trip (3 weeks after the conference ended) was the beneficiary of this. I took an 8 mile walk and went through Union Square, Chinatown, North Beach, Fisherman's Wharf, and the Embarcadero. The city looked World Class. And with all the WFH, there were just not a lot of people out and about so I was treated by feeling like I had the place to myself.
P.S. I'll go ahead and post a few pictures and see if they allow them here. You'll notice how sparkling clean the city is and the lack of people around (including the non-existent homeless)
I'm glad you had a great time but it doesn't mean OP's experience will mirror yours. The city spent a ton of money to clean themselves up for the conference, and it's clear that once all the world leaders left, things regressed slowly but surely to the way it was. To claim 'non-existent homeless' in SF just because you visited right after the clean up is naïve at best, not to mention misleading.
My brother's employer booked him at the Westin, which is quite close to the Tenderloin district. The 2 hotels that OP listed are in the same area (I think King George hotel is almost across the street from Westin), hence my response.
OP, you've asked and received various answers. If you don't plan on renting a car, then you will avoid the car break-in issue altogether (no matter what anyone says, the car break-in issue in SF is very real). If you decide to go, then arm yourself with the latest info of what's happening in the city (go to various sources such as Trip Advisor, Lonely Planet, etc, to read the latest trip reports from people who visited SF recently) and adjust your plan and expectations accordingly.
I'm glad you had a great time but it doesn't mean OP's experience will mirror yours. The city spent a ton of money to clean themselves up for the conference, and it's clear that once all the world leaders left, things regressed slowly but surely to the way it was. To claim 'non-existent homeless' in SF just because you visited right after the clean up is naïve at best, not to mention misleading.
My brother's employer booked him at the Westin, which is quite close to the Tenderloin district. The 2 hotels that OP listed are in the same area (I think King George hotel is almost across the street from Westin), hence my response.
OP, you've asked and received various answers. If you don't plan on renting a car, then you will avoid the car break-in issue altogether (no matter what anyone says, the car break-in issue in SF is very real). If you decide to go, then arm yourself with the latest info of what's happening in the city (go to various sources such as Trip Advisor, Lonely Planet, etc, to read the latest trip reports from people who visited SF recently) and adjust your plan and expectations accordingly.
If the OP is thinking about going now, then in my opinion the OP would have a wonderful time. As stated, your brother's description in no way reflected what the overall City looked like when he was there. There's absolutely no way it did with the amount of cleaning up the city did before the conference and I think it's disingenuous to imply what he did. His snapshot appears to only reflect that of the Tenderloin, which as stated has roughly 60% of the homeless that reside there. This is nothing new and has been going on for years. Your link doesn't concern me in the least (and of course all it does is disingenuously focus mostly on the Tenderloin) . I was there and saw what the city looked like with my own eyes (and I can't do much more than post the pictures that prove it). Posters on internet forums and the media have a tendency to sensationalize things (The media in particular knows it's a great way to sell ads). I remember watching the news on KTVU the morning after my walk and wondered if any of the people making these sensationalized reports actually spent any time walking the city in its current state (it's like they were in some alternate universe). Ultimately it was apparent it was more about making sure their stories were filled with shock and awe to get that ad revenue (what fun is it to make positive comments).
Multiple posters (including myself) have discouraged the OP from hanging out in the Tenderloin. But let's not disingenuously imply the whole city looks that way because it does not and never has.
No, I'm not being naive. I'm giving a description of the current state of San Francisco, which appears to be what the OP was looking for. And my trip was 3 weeks after the conference. The myriad of friends I have living there says it has been somewhat maintained still. Of course many of the homeless will make their way back (no city could maintain the current state that San Francisco is in). But if they can maintain even 50% of it, it will be a smashing success. And as stated, there's no reason to rent a car. San Francisco is a wonderful walking city and has a great transportation system. Not to mention, the OP appears to be on a budget so why incur the high cost of a car and expensive downtown parking? There's no reason for it.
Unfortunately, these conversations always seem to get into people's political leans. I couldn't care less about that nonsense. I'm more into the scenic beauty of places I visit. And this is a travel forum (there's a forum for the political nonsense the poster above you was getting into)
P.S. I'm sure they'll be some pictures to follow with more tents in the Tenderloin
Last edited by blameyourself; 01-18-2024 at 11:03 AM..
We normally stay in the suburbs, but we are not tourists, having lived there many years, If we go it is normally for some kind of friend or family visit. Lyft or Uber are very good in SF, & when we called a ride, there were there within minutes.
Well damn, I kind of just wanted to go walk around and check out the lgbtq scene, I found a good deal on expedia. Been trying to decide where to go for my bday for like 4-5 months and never been to the west coast. I want to go somewhere I've never been, but I don't want to go somewhere I'm going to be uncomfortable.
If it's the LGBT community you want to explore, why not stay right in the heart of it?
Beck's Motor Lodge on Market Street would put you in easy walking distance of the
LGBT community center, the famous Castro Street, plenty of restaurants and watering holes, etc.
And you could get there quickly on transit from the airport, so no need to rent a car.
But I've never stayed there, so read the usual review sites and see what people have to say.
For a unique “Time Machine” experience look into motel Capri in Marina District
Ask if they still have rooms with the skylights in the bathroom with the emerald green tiles- it was very inexpensive and charming
Very basic, very simple but clean and very much 50th Cali; free parking, pretty walks nearby
There used to be a few good restaurants in walking distance- not sure lately
Use discretion where you are at 2:30 in the morning.
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