We have reserved rooms at two hotels within a block of each other in the Union Square area of downtown San Francisco. Both hotels are just a stone’s throw from the Union Square shopping district, the Chinatown gates, the Theatre District, and the famous cable car lines. The F-Market streetcar line, which runs above ground to the Castro, Civic Center, Embarcadero and Fisherman’s Wharf areas, is also only a few blocks away, as well as the MUNI light rail and BART trains that will take you pretty much everywhere else in the city you might want to go. Those who like a longer stroll can also hoof it over to North Beach, SOMA, and that curvy part of Lombard Street we know you all want to see.

October is prime tourist season, since it’s pretty much the warmest, most colorful part of the year to be here, so please make your reservations as early as possible so we can reserve additional rooms if necessary. Though these special rates will be in effect up until the wedding weekend, the hotels will not guarantee rooms will be available unless booked by September 9.

• The Canterbury Hotel
  750 Sutter Street

  The Canterbury has offered us a rate of $115 per night for a single/double; additional people are $15 each, with kids under 18 free. Valet parking is available for $25 per 24 hours; there is also a private garage a block away that offers parking for $18 for 24 hours. The Canterbury was fully restored in 1998 and is quite lovely. Call 800-227-4788 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific time and mention the Skott/Becker wedding to reserve a room.

• The Hotel Beresford
  635 Sutter Street

  The Beresford is our budget option at a rate of $79 per night for a single/double; additional people are $10 each, with children under 12 free. Valet parking is available for $20 per 24 hours; the aforementioned private garage at $18 per day is two blocks away. The Beresford is decorated in a Queen Anne Victorian style, for that true San Francisco experience. The reservations line is 800-533-6533 — tell them you are with the Skott/Becker wedding.

  NOTE: Both hotels are on Sutter Street, with the Beresford between Mason and Taylor, and the Canterbury between Taylor and Jones. Therefore, all maps and directions on this site are to/from the corner of Sutter and Taylor Streets.

• Other Hotel Options

  If you prefer to stay at a luxury hotel, there are certainly plenty in the Union Square area. The Clift, The Westin St. Francis, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Nikko and many others are all within a few blocks. The Palace Hotel, The Argent and the W are within blocks of the ceremony site in SOMA, though a little further from shopping and other attractions.

  If you don’t mind a little bit of uncertainty in your life — if you like to live on the edge! — you can also try Priceline or Hotwire for hotels. Priceline and Hotwire let you choose the number of nights, the price you want to pay, and the quality of the hotel, but they won’t let you pick the actual hotel, just the general area in which the hotel is located (look for “Union Square” to stay in the area.) It’s not a bad way to try and get a lower rate for a hotel, and we’ve used it successfully in other cities many times. As this will be the height of tourist season in the city, however, your mileage may vary.

San Francisco is serviced by both San Francisco International (SFO) and Oakland (OAK) airports.

• SFO is a 25-minute drive to downtown. Shuttles are about $12.50 per person, and a cab ride will set you back around $30. It’s surprisingly difficult to get to/from the airport by bus or train, so we recommend against trying.

  Driving directions: From SFO to the hotels

• Oakland is a 45-minute drive via the Bay Bridge, and shuttles to downtown SF are about $26 first person, $13 per additional person. Cabs are prohibitively expensive — we've got no idea how much, because you'd have to be crazy to take a cab. Despite being further away, Oakland is actually far more accessible via public transportation (shuttle bus and then the BART train into downtown SF, about $5 altogether), but expect that to take at least an hour and a half.

  Driving directions: From OAK to the hotels

If you plan to rent a car or take a shuttle, SFO is probably a better bet if there is not much difference in flight price. But if you fly Southwest airlines, you’ll be going to Oakland — you can take the BART to the Powell Street station by Union Square and you’ll be fine!

A car: to rent or not to rent? You decide:

PROS: If you plan to take a day trip to the wine country, drive down the coastal Highway 1 before or after the wedding, or go see the big trees at Muir Woods — in other words, if you plan to leave the city at all — you will need a car. If you plan to explore the city beyond downtown, garages get much cheaper and you can usually find a spot on the street if you drive around for a few minutes. And some people just have to have a car!

CONS: Street parking is difficult all over in San Francisco and virtually non-existent downtown. San Francisco is one of the least car-friendly cities on this continent — we don’t even have any freeways in the city! Valet and garage parking is expensive and the city is difficult to navigate if you don’t know where you are going. Not to mention all the really steep hills.

San Francisco is small (7 miles by 7 miles!), so cabs are not too expensive, and with the exception of the picnic, where we recommend taking the J-Church light rail line, all wedding weekend events are within about a mile of the hotels. The MUNI light rail & bus system and the BART trains are cheap, safe, used by pretty much everyone in SF, and will get you all over the city. To learn about the MUNI and BART public transportation systems, see TransitInfo.org.