The Fairmont on Nob Hill in San Francisco

Living in San Francisco, I see lots of families on vacation. It’s easy to spot the tourists, usually wearing brand new sweatshirts purchased when they realize how quickly the weather changes here.

But where are these families staying? Here are some good choices for your family’s next trip to the Bay Area:

Hotel Del Sol, a bright 50′s style motor lodge located in the Marina District, frequently is voted one of San Francisco’s best family-friendly hotels. Fresh-basked cookies greet you each afternoon, kids splash in the pool with complimentary beach balls, and the Union Street and Chestnut Street dining corridors are a few blocks away.

The punchy Hotel Metropolis, situated right in the thick of it on Market Street, offers an “urban explorers kids’ suite” that features kid-sized furniture, a chalkboard wall and toys. It’s just a hop, skip and jump to a cable car that will take you to Fisherman’s Wharf.

For a luxurious experience, try the Fairmont San Francisco, located at the top of tony Nob Hill. The Fairmont offers babysitting services, a children’s menu at the hotel restaurant, and a special Nutcracker-themed tea service for the little ones in December.

Travel well, and pack layers!

Seattle Washington

Yet another wedding sent me to Seattle, Washington this summer. Finding reasonably priced hotels in this city is like climbing the Space Needle with your fingernails. The Executive Hotel Pacific was the cheapest non-shady lodging I could find, and while it was in a fantastic location, I will not be staying there again. Despite the 30% off discount on Hotels.com, the hotel was STILL over $150/night. Ouch. Secondly, the room was small, smelled bad and the bathroom was uncomfortably small and it felt and looked old.

There were some perks to the Executive Hotel, though. A Seattle’s Best Coffee is located in the downstairs lobby area, so I didn’t have to walk far to get my coffee fix in the morning. And, the location was fantastic. The hotel was only about a 10-12 minute walk from Pike Place Market, and there were plenty of good restaurants and bars nearby. The hotel isn’t close to other big attractions like the Space Needle or the Experience Music Project, though, so I was thankful that we had a car to get around in.

I disliked this hotel so much that I ended up staying with my boyfriend at the Hilton all the way out in Bellevue, a good 15 minute drive away. (He was in Seattle for a video game convention at the same time, good timing!) Now that was a nice hotel — see my next blog for my comments!

Pike's Market Seattle

Thank you to fddi1 and worldsurfer for their photo contributions.

dog friendly hotel

Gatlinburg, Tennessee is a great city for outdoors enthusiasts, and if you’re looking for a pet-friendly city, Gatlinburg is it! Nestled in the heart of the Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg offers a wide range of camping, hiking and boating activities, and at the end of a fun-filled day, you and your pet can hunker down for the night in one of the city’s pet friendly hotels.  As a dog owner, I love the fact that this city offers so many hotels which allow my pooch to travel with me.

The Knights Inn Gatlinburg has a very liberal pet policy – up to two dogs of any size are

Smoky Mountains

permitted for only $10/night. Rates start at about $55/night and you can ask for the jacuzzi suites. Free breakfast and a business center make this hotel a good place for those who want to take their dog with them on business trips, and there’s even an outdoor swimming pool which is open in the summer months.

If you and your furry friend are looking for slightly more posh accommodations, check out the Park Vista Hotel and Convention Center. Take as many of your dogs with you as you like – so long as they’re under 25 pounds, it’s $20/night per pet. You’ll enjoy beautiful views of downtown Gatlinburg as well as 360 degree views of the Smokey Mountains. The hotel provides a designated pet walking area, or you can make the short drive to one of dozens of local hiking trails. While your pet is relaxing in the room, take the family down to the great pool area – there’s an indoor swimming pool, a jacuzzi and even a kids wading pool. Not bad for a hotel with rates that start at $85/night!

The pet-friendly Holiday Inn Sunspree only charges you $15 per stay, not per night, for your dog, and you can bring dogs of all sizes, which is a rarity.  Relax in your room with your pet and surf the Internet for free. Your pooch will even get a little baggie of pet treats! Most of the rooms are oversized, too, so you and your pet will have plenty of room to spread out. Rates start at around $55/night depending on the season.

Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Photo credits: Jared422_80, Snotgoblin and jrubinic.

Philadelphia Pennyslvania

Ah, Philadelphia. Home to the best cheese steaks, the Rocky statue and oh yes – a little bit of history. My boyfriend and I took our first trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this past summer, and we we really wanted a hotel that was close to all the action — which in Philly, means the historical sights and quirky shopping districts. (Thank goodness we did not choose a hotel close to either Geno’s or Pat’s, or I would still be eating cheese steaks there.) Like most big cities these days, Philly is not cheap near downtown, but we were able to find a great place called Club Quarters Philadelphia, conveniently located on the corner of 17th and Chesnut, only a few blocks away from Rittenhouse Square Park. The train station’s only two blocks away too, which was great since we had to hop on the train to New York City after our stay.

Club Quarters is one of those membership hotels, and if you belong to it you get extra good discounts on all of their hotels, but we got a great price nonetheless of about $105/night. Be forewarned – the rooms here are rather tiny…I might even go so far as to say teeny tiny. They are very clean and well-kept, but if your room is like ours, you will be sleeping on two single beds (kind of cute!), and showering in a bathroom which requires to you close the door to use the toilet. It almost felt like we were in a hostel, or camping as kids, but with much nicer furniture. The beds were so comfy though, I couldn’t believe it! Perhaps not the best choice for a romantic getaway, though if you both have long arms you can hold hands as you lie on your respective beds. In the end, the size of the room didn’t bother us at all because we like to be out and about when we travel, and Club Quarters was perfect for this, we walked to everything we wanted to see – even the Rocky Statue, which took about twenty minutes.

Now this might not tickle you like it did me, but in the lobby of the hotel, there is an automated check-in/check-out kiosk. All you need is your credit card and your keys for the door are printed out for you – you don’t even need to talk with the front desk clerk if you don’t want to. This was, as I like to say, just ducky, because I detest waiting in lines.

All in all, definitely check this hotel out. It’s a great home base for exploring Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Cheese Steak - Geno's