Travel Recommendations Union City

[1SAST]

Family and I will be traveling to Union City in a couple weeks for State Gymnastics competition for my daughter. Can someone please recommend a nice/safe hotel. For our family, indoor pool would be cool:wink: My wife also wants to travel down into San Francisco the day after the competition. Any good tourist suggestions??? Thanks in advance.

[SCHUMACHER]

Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, and Ghirardelli Square have always been my favorite places. I strongly recommend the clam chowder bread bowl down at the wharf and hot chocolate at Ghirardelli Square. Dress warm and be prepared for wind and rain.

Sorry I can't help with any hotel suggestions. Just a note, parking has become ridiculous in SF. You can expect to pay between $25-50 a day for parking depending on your perseverance (and frugality).

Have fun!!!

[Tom]

I grew up in Fremont and apart from my military days I have always resided and worked here in the Bay Area....that being said...I wouldn't stay anywhere in Union City or Fremont for that matter.

If I had to stay in a hotel with Union City being my destination I probably would stay on the other side of the Dumbarton Bridge (SR-84)....Palo Alto, Los Gatos, Mountain View area....

As far as visiting definitely hit SF...home of the World Champion SF Giants...the Steinhart Aquarium, Museum of Natural History, Deyoung Museum, Japanese Tea Gardens in Golden Gate Park are all close and you park in same place for all of them.

The exploritorium at the palace of fine arts is cool and you are close to the Golden gate bridge and Fort Point as well as the Presidio.

Alcatraz, Pier 39 and the WWII submarine Pampanito are all in the same area too....

Go see them all!

[1SAST]

Thanks guys, we dont have to stay in Union City. Thats just where we have to be at 0800 on Saturday. After that my wife seems to want to take the kids down to Pier 39 and the Wharf. So any suggestions on a good point to stay with that in mind? Will be driving down Friday evening and leaving Sunday evening.

[dw]

Hyatt Place in Fremont has always treated me well.

[Vinnie]

The hotels near SFO seem like a decent jumping off point for both touristy crap in The City, or the morning reverse-commute to Union City. There are a few off Oyster Point, including a Residence Inn, which was good enough for us for a few days, if that's the kind of place your family likes to stay.

When it comes time to visit the Wharf / Pier 39, suck it up and park in one of the big garages in the area. You can generally get a few hours or dollars validated at some of the reastaurants in the area, and if you come out after a full day for $15, you've done OK. If your wife is into the shopping thing, you can park at the big garage on 5th and Mission, then it's an easy walk to Union Square (where you can pick up a cable car to anywhere those go, including the Powell Line, which goes to Fisherman's Wharf if you wanna double up), the whole Mission/Market region, and The Metreon/Moscone Center. If you want good pics, top it off with a drive up to Twin Peaks (keep going west on Market- you can't miss it) where you can see a good 360 of the whole city- but bring a jacket, it's pretty breezy up there.

The aforementioned stuff in Golden Gate Park is nice, but each one of those places is almost a full day's visit... parking is free, however, if you can find a spot on the street.

[Zenith1Y2K]

There is an Embassy Suites in Burlingame, south of SFO that is nice and has a full complimentary breakfast. Not sure about a pool, but it is right on the Bay with nice walking areas and views. Not that you are going to need a walking area after being in The City, but it is a nice setting right on the Bay. I think the hotel parking is still free too.

It would be an easy commute on the San Mateo Bridge (SR92) to Union City and back, as well as easy access into San Francisco.

Enjoy! and have fun seeing the sights.

[CitizenKane]

Go to priceline and bid half face value on the 4 star hotels near SFO. You'll get it, and they all are VERY nice. Plus the BART station is about a quarter mile away and easy to use.

[HonkingAntelope]

Ditto the above on staying in the Union City. Don't do it unless you know the area or someone who knows it well enough. Fremont is decent, though. Just look at the map and keep about a mile south of Thornton Ave and Peralta. That's pretty much the unofficial border between the areas that are ghetto and the areas on the way to getting there.

I did spend quite a few nights at the extended stay off of 880 and Mowry a couple years ago when I still lived with my parents and needed a room for the night, and I thought the place was pretty good. I wouldn't expect to find anything with an indoor pool around East Bay, though...

[HonkingAntelope]

FYI, I wasn't aware of the Great Chuck-E-Cheese Robbery just east of the mall on the other side of 880 when I wrote the above. I was busy with other stuff on the weekend and didn't check news. That took place last Saturday night. See http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Chuck+E+Cheese's+near+Newark,+CA&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=48.240201,78.662109&ie=UTF8&hq=Chuck+E+Cheese's&hnear=Newark,+Alameda,+California&ll=37.524839,-121.992187&spn=0.091624,0.153637&z=13

for the location.

Excerpt from http://www.kmov.com/news/national/Northern-California-police-searching-for-Chuck-E-Cheese-gunmen--108793514.html


Police in Newark, California are searching for a group of gunmen that robbed a Chuck-E-Cheese last Saturday night, while the restaurant was full of families.
The surveillance video shows a gunman pointing a gun at an employee, who stayed curled up on the floor. Surveillance also shows the other gunmen forcing the rest of the employees and families into a storeroom.

The gunmen emptied the cash register and were gone by the time police arrived.

Detectives say the suspects were wearing masks and have very few leads on the criminals.

Did those guys mistake it for the First National Bank down the street or what? :lol:

[LA]

There is an Embassy Suites in Burlingame, south of SFO that is nice and has a full complimentary breakfast. Not sure about a pool, but it is right on the Bay with nice walking areas and views. Not that you are going to need a walking area after being in The City, but it is a nice setting right on the Bay. I think the hotel parking is still free too.

It would be an easy commute on the San Mateo Bridge (SR92) to Union City and back, as well as easy access into San Francisco.

Enjoy! and have fun seeing the sights.

This is a great hotel, and they offer a state rate. Also has an indoor pool / sauna. Don't forget the free happy hour.