Southwest USA & The West Coast (California, Arizona etc) - General Thread

Vikki_74

sapphire7 wrote: »

What are people's thoughts on booking holiday rental apartments? I have found alot of nice places near Fishermans Wharf/Union Sq on 'homeaway' website (not allowed to post links yet) the only problem is that I cannot see many reviews, I like to read reviews!!

blindman wrote: »

Rentals can be cost effective if there's a few of you and you stay a few days.

Look at VRBO
and maybe AirBnB

Homeaway

I've never done it in San Francisco but we rented a place for a few days in San Diego and it worked out great. I've only ever used vrbo so can't comment on the other sites, but they usually have at least some reviews for each property. Trip Advisor also list some private rentals, although personally I've always found the site not that great to use when checking for availability and they don't tend to have the volume of listings like vrbo.

Things to maybe watch out for which I have come across when looking for somewhere to stay in various parts of California - minimum stay requirements and high security deposits. The details should be clear in the listings though, or most owners seem pretty quick to respond to questions in my experience.

I'm not aware of any legal issues with short term rentals in SF (in New York for example, renting an apartment for less than 30 days is generally against the law) but it's worth checking before you make any decisions. There's always a risk that an apartment won't be as advertised or some kind of scam but I would say as long as you're sensible about it i.e. if something seems a bit off or too good to be true then trust your instincts, then it's certainly something to consider.

sapphire7

Vikki_74 wrote: »

Things to maybe watch out for which I have come across when looking for somewhere to stay in various parts of California - minimum stay requirements and high security deposits. The details should be clear in the listings though, or most owners seem pretty quick to respond to questions in my experience.

Thanks Vikki, after speaking with him last night my Fiance is not keen on the rentals as he thinks they are less secure than hotels and normally not as nice so I think we will be sticking to looking at hotels.

We were bidding on Priceline last night with no luck in SF but we did manage to book the Polazzo for 5 nights in Vegas, it looks absolutely amazing :j will be back on PL tonight with more bids in SF so fingers crossed I have good news tomorrow!

Just a few more things to sort and then we can sit back and count down the days (56) to this fantastic trip!

blindman

sapphire7 wrote: »

Thanks Vikki, after speaking with him last night my Fiance is not keen on the rentals as he thinks they are less secure than hotels and normally not as nice so I think we will be sticking to looking at hotels.

We were bidding on Priceline last night with no luck in SF but we did manage to book the Polazzo for 5 nights in Vegas, it looks absolutely amazing :j will be back on PL tonight with more bids in SF so fingers crossed I have good news tomorrow!

Just a few more things to sort and then we can sit back and count down the days (56) to this fantastic trip!

I think you mean Palazzo-and yes it is amazing.

Hope you've done your Priceline research :cool:

Rentals
Each to his own but I find rental far better than hotels and safer TBHO

sapphire7

blindman wrote: »

I think you mean Palazzo-and yes it is amazing.

Hope you've done your Priceline research :cool:

Rentals
Each to his own but I find rental far better than hotels and safer TBHO

Indeed I do, too excited to worry about spelling, oops!

I have read quite a bit on these forums and also betterbidding but I feel I also need a lot of luck on my side for San Fran bidding!!

blindman

sapphire7 wrote: »

Indeed I do, too excited to worry about spelling, oops!

I have read quite a bit on these forums and also betterbidding but I feel I also need a lot of luck on my side for San Fran bidding!!

Did you read my guide ?

Best thing is to book a cancellable back up hotel and then the pressure's off when you're bidding.

Make sure you know what hotels to expect and what the "standard" rates are for your stay.

If you look at Hotwire you can get a feel for what price Priceline will go for.

Good luck

sapphire7

blindman wrote: »

Did you read my guide?

Best thing is to book a cancellable back up hotel and then the pressure's off when you're bidding.

Make sure you know what hotels to expect and what the "standard" rates are for your stay.

If you look at Hotwire you can get a feel for what price Priceline will go for.

Good luck

I did not realise it was you who wrote that guide, it is very good! thank you. I have also got the mother-inlaw giving some tips as she has used priceline quite alot herself and has also stayed in SF a few times also.

No wins last night but will try again tonight.

I have been trying to convince the OH to book a rental apartment in the meantime as we can cancel that upto 30 days before which is still a few weeks away. I will ask his thoughts again tonight and get something cancellable booked (whether rental/hotel) in case we do fail and the prices keep hiking!

Thanks blindman!

gracie10

We used Hotwire for our San Fran hotel. Our trip starts next week, feel like we have been planning it for months! We got the holiday inn at fishermans wharf. Think it came to £330 for 3 nights, that's the best deal we could get.

northwest1965

7 weeks and counting:j

1. Is there such a thing as an easy hike to do at the Grand Canyon?

2. Lake Powell - Do we need to take an organised tour for Antelope Canyon (we are only at page for 1 day) or can we drive ourselves? ( I am presuming we need to be in a 4WD?)

Is lower canyon better than higher?

Vikki_74

northwest1965 wrote: »

7 weeks and counting:j

1. Is there such a thing as an easy hike to do at the Grand Canyon?

2. Lake Powell - Do we need to take an organised tour for Antelope Canyon (we are only at page for 1 day) or can we drive ourselves? ( I am presuming we need to be in a 4WD?)

Is lower canyon better than higher?

1. If you go to the official National Parks website for the Grand Canyon (I think the link is on page 1), you should be able to download a copy of the current park guide which I think from memory has details of all the hikes. I don't remember there being the same range of easy to moderate walks there as there were at Zion and Bryce but I think there might be one or two.

2. Antelope Canyon is on Native American land and you can't access it without paying them admission at least - IIRC you also had to go down to the canyon with one of their guides but I'm not 100% sure on that. I do remember the last bit of the ride being very bumpy though; you would definitely need an SUV but there's no chance I'd do it in a hire car - driving 'off road' usually invalidates the insurance on your rental agreement. There are a number of different small companies in Page who do the tours and will drive you out there. We only did the upper canyon which is the busier, more popular one. Try to go as close to midday as you can to see more of the light effects in there, but do note we were told when visiting in late September that we had really missed the best of the light shafts and so on as it's obviously all relevant to the position of the sun. I still have some amazing photos though.

The float raft trip down the Colorado River is also well worth it whilst you're in Page, although it's a half day trip so you might be too short on time.

northwest1965

Vikki_74 wrote: »

1. If you go to the official National Parks website for the Grand Canyon (I think the link is on page 1), you should be able to download a copy of the current park guide which I think from memory has details of all the hikes. I don't remember there being the same range of easy to moderate walks there as there were at Zion and Bryce but I think there might be one or two.

.

Thanks:)

I have already looked at the GCNP site for walks. I am a bit wary however. A 3 mile hike here may not seem a lot, but I know it is going to be really hard there!!:)