San Fran

I'm from San Francisco and I can tell you that hotels there are EXPENSIVE. Because it's such a convention crowd draw, though, you might score a better deal on a weekend night than during the week. The Courtyard by Marriott is not a full-scale-with-restaurant property but at the weekend they have some good deals. They have a newer property at Second and Folsom that has had good weekend rates. There's also one on/near Fisherman's wharf.

My husband and I once got an excellent deal at the Omni, on California Street, for $139. So they are out there. I like to run a search on Expedia and Hotels.com, then check the hotel's own website. Usually they will match it. If you can get a good room at the Hotel Vitale, GRAB IT! It is right on the waterfront, and you can walk to the Farmer's Market at the Ferry building. Really don't miss that. You can also get the ferry to/from Marin there.

And J. B. is right--VRBO has some really cute properties in great neighborhoods. I personally recommend Russian Hill and North Beach, but there's also the Marina, the Fillmore, Noe Valley...the list just goes on. Feel free to message me if you have any questions...

Sorry so long...one last thing: parking rates at hotels run $30-$40 a day, and sometimes you have to pay that based on where the hotel is located. Sometimes there is a garage nearby (i.e. Union Square area) but you have to check their overnight rates. And don't go for a hotel costing less than $100 a night unless it's a super deal with a brand you trust--some of the other ones rent out long-term rooms to people down on their luck...probably not what you're looking for : ) Have a great time and enjoy! S.

It will be hard to be "cheap" in San Francisco, but the visit is worth it! Marin is so lovely, if I were you, I would check VRBO to see if you can find a townhouse or cottage to rent. You can go over to the city for the day to sight see. If you really want to stay in the city, I would get on deal alerts for Kayak, hotwire, expedia, etc., for hotel rates. You may really luck out in January and score a great rate that still applies to when you're going.

I used to live in Novato, which is about 35minutes north of San Fran. What town in Marin are you going to be in? Ping me and I'll see what I can remember.

We stayed at the Baldwin right in San Fran, just outside Chinatown. Rooms were small but very clean, and the price was right. We found it through tripadvisor. Looked at all the cheaper places and the comments people left. The research paid off.